From the Barefoot Files...

Today is the end of July. When the end of July rolls around I am a year older. Last week I posted about my grandmother and how our birthdays are a week apart. This week it is my turn.

I can't remember the name of this doll -- I want to say Susie. I think that is it. I always liked dolls. My favorites were Barbies. I had a mountain of Barbies and a bigger mountain of Barbie clothes. A box of my old Barbie clothes is in my closet now. My old Raggedy Ann is in my sewing room. I have no clue where Susie ended up.

Growing up I had a collection of pets: guinea pig, hamster, mice, cats, dogs, ponies, and fish. I loved going fishing with my granddaddy and even helped him clean a fish or two (or at least I thought I did).

I grew up in an area where ancestors had lived (or lived very near) since the late 1600's. When I was 24 I moved away and have not been back, except for visits. I moved to Georgia first. Then I moved to California. I loved living in California. Going to the beach when ever I pleased -- almost every day -- was excellent! When we lived in California I won a recipe contest -- Orange Macadamia Biscotti -- yum. Then I moved back to Georgia. Three times I have moved to a place where I did not know anyone or knew where anything was. It has been an adventure each time.

I have planted gardens growing everything from herbs to broccoli to beans. At our first house in Georgia I had a big garden. One year -- on my birthday -- I spent the day making tomato sauce with all of the tomatoes and herbs from the garden and putting it in the freezer for another day. In California I had a great little patch of tomatoes and basil in the backyard. We also had a lemon and an apricot tree.

I like to sew. When my daughter was young, I made all of her little play dresses. She loved them. She had a ladybug dress, a sunflower dress, a dress with kittens all over it and more. When my husband travels out of town -- I take that opportunity to redecorate. I have completely reworked our master bedroom twice -- making the duvet, window treatments, and pillows shams myself -- to match perfectly with the room.

Sometimes I paint -- I think my painting is a little bad -- but I like it. Usually I stick to abstracts -- but occasionally I will paint from one of my photos. I have a 30x40 painting of Diamond Head over the fireplace that was from a photo from a trip to Hawaii.

Thanks for reading the blog -- send me an email sometime -- I like hearing from readers. And I know you are wondering -- yes those are my eyelashes looking that long in the photo.