I have been nominated for The Kreativ Blogger Award by Naomi Baltuck of Writing Between the Lines. I learned more about her life in her latest post and recognized more places of resonance between us.  Receiving this honor from a published writer and professional storyteller gives me a bit of a thrill, to tell the truth.  Thank you, Naomi!

The rubric of the award suggests that I publish 7 facts about myself and then nominate 7 other bloggers for this award.  I never consider these customs obligatory or binding, so we are all free to do with it what we will.  Think of it as a collection of beads on a string, something to fiddle with if you are so inclined.  Here goes:

1)  My work life as of now includes hours when I am engulfed by a corset, bustle, petticoats, and a prairie bonnet.  I sew pin cushions and crochet rag rugs and play the pump organ.  It also includes time when I sit in my underwear at my grandmother’s cherry table in the dining room, listening to Big Band music from the 30s, bantering with my partner Steve, and cleaning up used books for shipment to new readers.  And at times it includes working one-on-one with an individual who wants to learn more about vocal technique, singing, performing, and discovering the bag of sonic tricks they carry around in their bodies.  I am never going back to work in a cubicle again!

2)  I find looking at the sky a life-changing event. 

3)  I don’t have a TV, a dishwasher, a washer or a dryer anymore.  I also don’t have a mortgage.  Suits me just fine. I do live with approximately 30,000 books.

4)  I haven’t gone to a salon for a haircut for at least 3 years.  I trim off the ends myself every once in a while.  Steve’s hair is almost as long as mine.   A senior visitor to the living history museum where we work asked him brusquely the other day, “When was the last time you got a hair cut?!”  “1882,” he replied. 

5)  I sing along to Broadway musicals while driving 35 miles to work.  I sometimes sing along to Dvorak’s New World Symphony, too, not that there are words to it.  One of my favorite lines from a musical is this:  To love another person is to see the face of God.  For 3 pieces of cheese, tell me what musical that’s from!  (My father used to dole out precious morsels of expensive Camembert or Bleu if we were able to answer Bible questions after dinner, while he was finishing his wine.)

6)  Two of the people I have loved most in my life died right next to me.  My sister Alice died in the driver’s seat while I sat strapped into the passenger’s side.  We were taken by surprise.   That was 3 days before my 17th birthday.  My husband of 24 years died beside me in bed while I lay sleeping.  His kidney dialysis machine and sleep apnea machine made an uninterrupted white noise that covered any disturbance I might have heard, if there was one.  I suppose I have yet to experience a death while fully conscious.  I expect to get a closer look some day, and I want to be able to face it squarely.  

7)  I relish all kinds of hedonistic experiences now with less guilt than I was taught.  I believe Shame is a great thief of holy joy.  Doing nothing but gazing into the faces of the babies I bore was perhaps the beginning of his undoing in my life. 

Whether or not these can be considered facts is debatable.  No matter.  More beads to share:

Stephen G Hipperson takes excellent photographs.  Enjoy!

The Ache to Bloom is a new blog by a young writer of passionate expression.  She’s also one of my children, and I hope she’ll write more.  

These are the only two blogs I have begun to follow since the last time I nominated favorites for an award.  You can see the other 15 here.

Thanks again, Naomi!  And now to the post I promised on June 16…..