in the beginning...

happy new year!
hope that whatever celebrating you did was pleasant, and safe.
we normally choose to stay home, take it easy.
Patrick had to work last night, so I made myself some snacks, poured a glass of wine, toasted 2008 (at about 9:30 pm!), and went to bed early.
such a party girl!
anyway, I don't make resolutions in any formal way, but the very nature of the year ending and a new one beginning usually makes me take some time, reflect, take stock, and dream a bit about what may come.
I hope that I will be more faithful about blogging, among other things, and started my day by going through all my old e-mails.
yes, ALL of them - I'm horrible about saving e-mails, always meaning to get back to them, file them, copy down information, check out new websites, reply, etc.
and it was downright frightening what I found in my IN box!
some pleasant surprises, as well.
like this one:
I was TAGGED for a meme quite some time ago by collage artist Nancy Lefko - we "met" this last year through Illustration Friday, and I saved her e-mail, fully intending to get back to it.
sorry it has taken me so long, Nancy, but here goes...
I had never been tagged before, so I wanted to make sure I had the time to read through it, do it right.
the rules of this meme are:
· when tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you.
· then post the rules before your list, and list eight random things about yourself.
· at the end of the post you must tag and link to eight other people.

8 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1 - I am an only child.
not sure why that came to mind first, except that with the holidays, family has been on my mind a lot.
I don't think that my lack of siblings caused me to suffer any, growing up.
but because my parents were older when I came along, I may have had to grow up a lot faster than most of my friends.
and all that stuff that must be faced when your parents age, and reach the end of their lives, well, I had to do it alone.
I have two dear friends and two nieces who are Only Children, and I'm thinking of starting a club or something.
if anyone out there wants to join, let me know, and I'll get back to you on that one...

2 - I was a conductor.
music, not trains.
taught public school orchestra, grades 5 through 12, plus some college gigs. and did a fair amount of travelling as a guest conductor/clinician.
and I miss it very much.
not the adult politically-correct crap, but working with kids.
I always thought that maybe some day I would teach again, but with every year that goes by, I have more doubts.
but I cherish those memories, and hope that there are kids out there that grew up, and think back on their experiences in my class as positive.

3 - my favorite movie is Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves
the one with Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman.
I started watching it shortly after my divorce, probably because it was one of few VHS tapes I had, after the "settlement." (odd word, as it was very unsettling.)
anyway, for some odd reason, it was very comforting to me.
it's hard to explain, but whenever I got to feeling that I just couldn't do it, couldn't go on, couldn't endure one more humiliation, I would watch that movie, and it helped.
needless to say, I wore out the tape, memorized all the lines, and was tickled when I received the DVD as a Christmas present this year, from my husband.
(he "gets" me!)

4 - I tend to write in run-on sentences.

5 - I like to eat potato chips with cottage cheese.
yes, better than any dips I've tried.
and I can fool myself for a few minutes that it's actually better for me!

6 - I hate to shop.
especially in big department stores, or malls.
would rather chew on broken glass.
when I need a gift, or (horrors!) have to buy something for myself, I would much rather go online, and then wait for the package to arrive.
or go to a small specialty shop.
I like supporting the local small businesses, if I can.

7 - I love to get mail.
snail mail, in particular.
a day without mail delivery, like today, for example, just isn't a complete day for me.
that's one of the reasons I started teaching a class in mail art.

8 - I am the Queen of Making Do.
I get so much pleasure out of fixing something, or re-purposing something, rather than running out to buy a new whatever (see #6).
yesterday, I patched several pairs of my husband's work jeans, and it gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling, knowing that it will be several months before we'll have to break down, and buy a new pair or two.
and then there's all that recycled denim, to make other stuff...

well, there's my list.
and here are the people I've tagged: Julie, Rice, Teesha, Claudine, Judy, Keri, Stephanie, and JuJu

have fun with it - I did!
later,
Patty

Comments

[Nancy Lefko]

Great list !!! I hope your new year is off to a happy start....fun getting to know you !!! And I am sure the children in your music class have very fond memories... :)

[Kathy McCreedy]

What a fun list! I noticed your chips and cottage cheese reference and had to smile... I love cottage cheese on toast! It's really wonderful, you should try it! Im glad I stumbled on your blog... my parents lived in Sturgeon Bay for a number of years and were both raised in Stevens Point. I LOVE Wisconsin! Happy Belated Birthday... enjoyed your posts... all the best!