Books quilts and sewing

Learning and Loving are two of my favorite things

I was going through comments as I usually do, some black tea in hand (a Seattle blend that I’ve grown addicted to) and went to someone’s site {Stretchy Hannah}…  There are so many things that make me smile, but some can even light up my day all day long.  Though I love to quilt and enjoy blogging about that and other things I really don’t know if I’ve pulled back the curtain on who I am.

Not to be too awfully blunt, but… I’m not generally someone who shares much about myself.  My children and my wife are the only people who truly know my more hilarious traits.  Reading Hannah’s blog made me think about opening up a bit and sharing some of my crazy with other people…  blame Hannah!!

1. My wonderful wife of 16 years who not only supports my craziness, but is my partner in most of my shenanigans!
2. I’m a voracious reader, though at times I go through lulls.  Favorite book is “The Book of Flying” by Keith Miller followed closely by Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
3. I have not always been a cat person, but now live in a place where a grey cat named Oliver reigns.
4. I’m fiercely protective of my younger brother who is in his mid-forties now, but will always remain 11 to me.  I can’t tell you how many fights I had growing up that were his fault.
5. Christmas…  too much to even start a sub-list
6. Snow and Winter should go together and I miss them both when Spring brings the thaw.
7. I have traveled to many parts of the world because I love exploring other cultures and connecting with other people.  Luckily for me my wife shares this passion.
8. I LOVE the color orange, and the fruit come to that… but Midnight Blue is my favorite color, like the color of the sky just after the sun has set.
9. My favorite flower is the Daisy…  I could never feel too sad looking at such a happy flower.
10. Texas will be in my heart no matter where I find myself on a map.
11. I like watching French films, but my three favorite movies are:  Gattaca, V for Vendetta, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory.
12. I love being in the woods and camping in a tent and whether I’m there or out on the ocean, those are the two places where I will always find my center.
13. I have had a heart condition from the age of 19 that has put me in the hospital over five times that I never really talk to people about.
14. I believe firmly that gingerbread cookies and pumpkin pie should be prepared all year long and not made for the Holidays alone.

When I was in kindergarten my school district was trying out a program for choir that put most of the boys in girls in a singing class.  I spent the rest of my school days in choir and even now, when I know my voice will go out of tune, love singing.  I walk down memory lane and think about all kinds of memories that I cherish of growing up and realize how lucky I am to have so very many of them.

I love Poetry, but rarely share it with others.  Here is one of the poems I wrote quite a while ago and I’ll close the post with this…

The dawn’s dewdrop
Has honeyed my tongue
With the sweet tastes
Of new beginnings.
From honeysuckle smell
To sweet apple blossoms
My senses are aroused
As the day grows long.
The trilling brook races
As onward go my thoughts.
In tortured patience I await
And Constance be my guide.
Unbridled and unbidden
My future so severe
Turns north from lands fall
I am sailing onward.
Past shores of knowledge
The new day has dawned
And I must away
The voyage never done

I hope you’ve enjoy a break away from the quilts that I make and to focus on a glimpse into the person behind the posts.