Tagged!

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:
Taking care of a woman who was in her early nineties. She was bedbound and blind, and had mostly lost her ability to talk, but she would "quilt" her bedcovers for hours. I used to sing to her and we would have conversations as best we could... I never could tell what she said, but she always seemed happy to see me.

One day I was sitting by her bedside singing as I was beading an amulet bag, and the thread kept snarling and breaking despite Thread Heaven. Finally in utter frustration I said to her that my thread kept tangling and breaking and that I *just* didn't know what to do!! And this woman with over eighty years' quilting and sewing experience said one of the last clear sentences of her life: "You have bad thread."

It was a lightbulb moment for sure--I had never realized there could be bad thread! I thought it was just me... I switched threads and voila, problem solved!

I've always treasured that moment. The gift of her experience came welling through her terrible case of aphasia and senility; she spoke despite all obstacles, giving a guiding light from one generation to the next, from one needleworker to another.

Bless you, darlin Gladys. I like to think you're quilting the night sky now, and the cloud patterns. Thank you for the gift; I'll cherish it all my life.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Buy potting soil. (Yes, I *do* owe y'all a pic of my seedlings! Not only that, I rescued a wire rack to hold my flowerpots and I owe you a pic of that, too. Um, maybe I should put batteries in the camera, too.)

Vacuum the apartment.

Make watermelon popsicles. (Mash up fresh watermelon, pour it and the resulting juice into popsicle molds, freeze for several hours. Best popsicles I've ever had! And they're non-fat with no added sugar, since they're just fruit.)

Print pics of a friend and her dog, and take them to her. I would email them, but gmail has snarkily decided I am spamming her by sending pics! I have been censored. *shocked look*

Do laundry.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Hmmmm... this doesn't say, "my favorite food" just the ones I enjoy..... hooo, that's a long list lol!

I love sweet stuff and I think fresh sweet cherries are a WONDERFUL snack, as are berries. *grins* The mulberries off the shrub out back were TRULY enjoyable, as much for the unexpectedness of them as anything (blackberries taste better, but oh the sweetness of knowing a tree is gifting you with food!!). Fresh peaches, too, and apricots.

Dried fruit is wonderful. For eating as a snack I love dried pineapple, dried apricots, and dried papaya. The rest of the universe of dried fruits I love to bake with---and yes, lol, then those baked goods become a snack I enjoy!

Donuts and other pastries. Mmmmmmmmm!!

I'm not at allllll sure chocolate counts as a snack... I am thinking tis more along the lines of "the staff of life".... *cheeky grin*

I also enjoy salty snacks, not popcorn so much as chips and nuts. I have to limit my salt, though.

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Be a philanthropist!! I have always wanted to make the world run MY WAY, lol, and what better way to get a taste of that than to have the money to fund my favorite causes? *eyebrow waggle*

I've long had this lottery fantasy of havng enough money to set my birth family up with houses, cars, college funds, healthcare, and then having enough money to do the same for other people. And OH! to have my own huge community farm!!!! I could make an organic farm, self reliant energy- and water-wise, and hire people at a good wage to live on it, tend it, run the farm store. With that kind of money, I could do it more than once, have community farms in several areas, make them the kind of places you could bring your kids and friends and spend the day at.

This is my favorite fantasy, yanno? A big farm with pick-your-own berry patches and flower gardens, with animals to be petted and with picnic areas, with seasonal produce to buy from the farm store--and also things like fresh cheeses, yogurt, milk, pies, jams, fresh eggs, all those old-fashioned things!

Then of course we cannot forget the herbal products, wreaths, vinegars, sachets, soaps, etc; the wool; the feathers; the grape and berry vines ready to be woven into wreaths and baskets; the preserved autumn leaves; the dried flowers; the stick trellises; heck, even the bagged compost outside the door.....

Most of all, what I would want people to come to my community farm for? The peace, that glorious peace that lives in the countryside and comes when people are doing right by the land they stand upon, work upon, make their homes upon.

5. Places I have lived:

The Arizona desert, both in the city (metro Phoenix) and out in the country (on unimproved land).

Washington state, both the Puget Sound area and the Olympic Peninsula.

Oklahoma outside Oklahoma City.

Wichita, Kansas.
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This has been fun! Thank you Dawn, for including me!