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musingaloudBecause the LJ world needs more memes, right? :-)
The ever-lovely Sarah Edwards (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snickelish ) made this Meme post: "Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given."
And so, for reasons unknown even to me, I decided to join in. Here is my assignment: LH, California, writing, gardening, kitties.
If you'd like to play with this meme, leave a comment here and I'll do as Sarah did, and "assign" you topics to post about in your journal.
LH (Liberty Hall)-- I joined this forum because there were quite a few people on my flist who were members and I was growing dissatisfied with Critters for a number of reasons. LH has been a lot of fun. I especially enjoy the Flash Challenges, which have taught me it's okay to just jump in a story and write as fast as you can and don't worry about where it might be leading, but just get to an ending and let the story do as it will. Stories often change about midway, endings usually clunk to a stop with a groan, but it's great exercise.
California-- I am a rarity among those I now know. A native. A fourth-generation native. Fourth-generation in the same small area, which is in the great San Joaquin Valley, about halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield (both of which, have been compared to the armpits of the world, but only one of which actually qualifies. -- yes, ok, Bakersfield. Icky and ugly, IMHO). I grew up in a small town nestled at the base of the foothills leading to the Sierra Nevada range. Population -- 4000 people, about half of which were my relatives. We had a cabin up in the old mining town of Mineral King until Walt Disney (the man is a saint in my book except for this sad project) decided to try to build a ski resort there, and my great-grandmother took that year to pass away, reverting the deed from the original owner, and the government (Forest Service owned the land) refused to re-deed it to the family (we only owned the cabin, not the land--that was a 99 year deed), given that the resort was going in and all the cabins would eventually be moved/taken away. Of course, the resort never happened, and my family was the only one to lose their cabin. We were fighting to get it back when it mysteriously burned down one winter. *sigh* It was a rundown old place with no running water or toilets (outhouse, yes. In the middle of the night!) but it was magical.
Writing: I was a practical girl. Writers were a nebulous creature that published books, but didn't come from "regular" people who lived in small towns. So I didn't really dream of being an author, as I figured that dream was way out of my reach. But I've loved books and reading since the age of 4, when I demanded my mother teach me to read because they weren't doing so in kindergarten, and it was all just "play and color." I raised my boys, volunteered a lot in the schools, and then one day they grew up and I wasn't needed in the schools anymore. So what do I do with myself? And then I turned 50. There's something very freeing about turning 50. You have nothing to lose anymore. No one to impress. Loads of unfinished dreams with a finite date to achieve them. So I told myself to go for it. And I did. I took an online writing course, maybe two. Still green around the ears, I used to say out loud on many occasion (only to myself, of course) that all I wanted was to just be published one time. Well, it actually happened, and I learned that wishes don't die once they've been met, but they morph into something else. Because it's never, ever, "enough" you know. I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere.
Gardening: I'm a late bloomer gardener, too. Hippie girl in the 60's, I had house plants. Who didn't? No, not the five-leaf variety, that never appealed to me much. I played around some, but never had a lot of success with outdoor plants. (Duh! Who knew they needed regular water!) Again, (see above), when my kids and the schools no longer needed me, I looked for something else and found the Master Gardener program. This is a nation-wide program of volunteers, sponsored in California by the University of California (and in other states, their state U's.) and the Cooperative Extension. We're trained for four months, taking a four hour class once a week, with a test at the end, in all manner of gardening issues. Our job is to educate the public, and to answer gardening questions on our hotline for homeowners and at public events. This last weekend we put on a big gardening seminar that was attended by 350 people. I've met some wonderful friends in my 10 years with this program. Gardening is kind of like writing, geeky in that gardeners love to just go sit outside and watch things grow. It was nice to meet others who shared my passion, and to learn more about growing and planting. Of course right now we have a big emphasis on resources such as water conservation.
Kitties: I grew up a dog person in a dog household. But we always had a cat, too. I think my grandmother must have been a cat person because I don't recall any dogs, but there were at least 6 or 7 cats running around her yard (she was a gardener, which is where I got my inspiration there, too. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was 6 or 7 and her loss is, I think, why I tend to write a lot about grandparents in my stories -- but that's a writing issue, not a kitty issue). When I had my boys, I found out that I just didn't have time to raise a dog, too. And the dog took a big backseat to my kids. Once I became passionate about gardening, I got really sick of the damage dogs do to yards. After our last dog died, I said no more. Maybe I'll change my mind one day. So I slipped pretty naturally into a cat phase. And my cat became my baby. Actually this happened a long time ago, when I was single and in apartments and working and couldn't really have a dog. I haven't been without a cat since I was about 20. I collect cat figurines, coffee mugs, yard art, tshirts, all that. But it's interesting. Now that I have the grandbaby to care for, the cat is driving me crazy. He's 14 and crooked. (He had a stroke 2 years ago that completely paralyzed him for a couple of days, and a lasting effect is a weak hind leg, so he walks like a drunken sailor with a pegleg). I used to sit at night and hold him, he's a crazy guy that loves to be held, but I just don't have time for him anymore, sad to say. When he goes, I'm not sure I'll have another. Not for awhile anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind. But I suspect it won't be until I'm not baby-sitting on a daily basis.
And that's it.
The ever-lovely Sarah Edwards (
snickelish ) made this Meme post: "Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given."And so, for reasons unknown even to me, I decided to join in. Here is my assignment: LH, California, writing, gardening, kitties.
If you'd like to play with this meme, leave a comment here and I'll do as Sarah did, and "assign" you topics to post about in your journal.
LH (Liberty Hall)-- I joined this forum because there were quite a few people on my flist who were members and I was growing dissatisfied with Critters for a number of reasons. LH has been a lot of fun. I especially enjoy the Flash Challenges, which have taught me it's okay to just jump in a story and write as fast as you can and don't worry about where it might be leading, but just get to an ending and let the story do as it will. Stories often change about midway, endings usually clunk to a stop with a groan, but it's great exercise.
California-- I am a rarity among those I now know. A native. A fourth-generation native. Fourth-generation in the same small area, which is in the great San Joaquin Valley, about halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield (both of which, have been compared to the armpits of the world, but only one of which actually qualifies. -- yes, ok, Bakersfield. Icky and ugly, IMHO). I grew up in a small town nestled at the base of the foothills leading to the Sierra Nevada range. Population -- 4000 people, about half of which were my relatives. We had a cabin up in the old mining town of Mineral King until Walt Disney (the man is a saint in my book except for this sad project) decided to try to build a ski resort there, and my great-grandmother took that year to pass away, reverting the deed from the original owner, and the government (Forest Service owned the land) refused to re-deed it to the family (we only owned the cabin, not the land--that was a 99 year deed), given that the resort was going in and all the cabins would eventually be moved/taken away. Of course, the resort never happened, and my family was the only one to lose their cabin. We were fighting to get it back when it mysteriously burned down one winter. *sigh* It was a rundown old place with no running water or toilets (outhouse, yes. In the middle of the night!) but it was magical.
Writing: I was a practical girl. Writers were a nebulous creature that published books, but didn't come from "regular" people who lived in small towns. So I didn't really dream of being an author, as I figured that dream was way out of my reach. But I've loved books and reading since the age of 4, when I demanded my mother teach me to read because they weren't doing so in kindergarten, and it was all just "play and color." I raised my boys, volunteered a lot in the schools, and then one day they grew up and I wasn't needed in the schools anymore. So what do I do with myself? And then I turned 50. There's something very freeing about turning 50. You have nothing to lose anymore. No one to impress. Loads of unfinished dreams with a finite date to achieve them. So I told myself to go for it. And I did. I took an online writing course, maybe two. Still green around the ears, I used to say out loud on many occasion (only to myself, of course) that all I wanted was to just be published one time. Well, it actually happened, and I learned that wishes don't die once they've been met, but they morph into something else. Because it's never, ever, "enough" you know. I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere.
Gardening: I'm a late bloomer gardener, too. Hippie girl in the 60's, I had house plants. Who didn't? No, not the five-leaf variety, that never appealed to me much. I played around some, but never had a lot of success with outdoor plants. (Duh! Who knew they needed regular water!) Again, (see above), when my kids and the schools no longer needed me, I looked for something else and found the Master Gardener program. This is a nation-wide program of volunteers, sponsored in California by the University of California (and in other states, their state U's.) and the Cooperative Extension. We're trained for four months, taking a four hour class once a week, with a test at the end, in all manner of gardening issues. Our job is to educate the public, and to answer gardening questions on our hotline for homeowners and at public events. This last weekend we put on a big gardening seminar that was attended by 350 people. I've met some wonderful friends in my 10 years with this program. Gardening is kind of like writing, geeky in that gardeners love to just go sit outside and watch things grow. It was nice to meet others who shared my passion, and to learn more about growing and planting. Of course right now we have a big emphasis on resources such as water conservation.
Kitties: I grew up a dog person in a dog household. But we always had a cat, too. I think my grandmother must have been a cat person because I don't recall any dogs, but there were at least 6 or 7 cats running around her yard (she was a gardener, which is where I got my inspiration there, too. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was 6 or 7 and her loss is, I think, why I tend to write a lot about grandparents in my stories -- but that's a writing issue, not a kitty issue). When I had my boys, I found out that I just didn't have time to raise a dog, too. And the dog took a big backseat to my kids. Once I became passionate about gardening, I got really sick of the damage dogs do to yards. After our last dog died, I said no more. Maybe I'll change my mind one day. So I slipped pretty naturally into a cat phase. And my cat became my baby. Actually this happened a long time ago, when I was single and in apartments and working and couldn't really have a dog. I haven't been without a cat since I was about 20. I collect cat figurines, coffee mugs, yard art, tshirts, all that. But it's interesting. Now that I have the grandbaby to care for, the cat is driving me crazy. He's 14 and crooked. (He had a stroke 2 years ago that completely paralyzed him for a couple of days, and a lasting effect is a weak hind leg, so he walks like a drunken sailor with a pegleg). I used to sit at night and hold him, he's a crazy guy that loves to be held, but I just don't have time for him anymore, sad to say. When he goes, I'm not sure I'll have another. Not for awhile anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind. But I suspect it won't be until I'm not baby-sitting on a daily basis.
And that's it.
