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Originally posted by sherone_13

Amy,

I wanted to tell you the story of my amazing musical mama. At an early age, it became apparent to my Grandma that little Sylvia had musical tendencies. Grandma had been hoping that some of her father's natural musical abilities would be passed down to one of her eight children. Sylvia was the chosen one. She started out by showing interest in the piano. She would peck at the keys until she found a familiar tune. Sometimes, she would compose a little ditty. Grandma put her into music lessons and she thrived.

By the time she was in high school, she had mastered her Grandfather's violin. She was first chair in her high school orchestra and had plans to go on to music school.

Love, however, got in the way. She met my Dad during her senior year and the rest is history. Music got set aside to raise 5 children and follow an construction worker husband around the US. She taught herself to play the guitar and accompanied every Happy Birthday song in our family. She occasionally played the organ. It wasn't until all those children were grown and gone, that she picked up that old violin and dusted it off. She could still play it like she was doing a concert in front of the President. She decided that the old violin needed to become a fiddle. She practiced and practiced.

The day I realized the extent of my mother's talent was a cold Christmas day. My Dad decided she needed to learn a new instrument. He bought her a mountain dulcimer. She was delighted! The rest of the day was spent picking out songs on strings she wasn't familiar with. That evening, she asked us all to gather in the living room. She treated us to a beautiful rendition of Irish Washerwoman. I sat in awe and realized that she had just taught herself how to play an instrument in less than 12 hours.

In the years following, she taught herself to play the banjo, the hammer dulcimer and the beetle back mandolin. She was invited to play in a local Celtic group and perform repeatedly at Old Time Fiddler's performances all over the State of Utah.

Upon her passing, I was gifted the old violin. I never learned to play it. I look forward to the day that I can sit down and take the time to see if her gift has transferred to me. It is my hope that it did. If not, the old violin holds a place of honor in our home. It hangs above the piano that I never play, the banjo that I am going to learn, and the flute that will someday feel my breath.

Sherone

Farmgirl Sister #1682

My Blog

www.annapearlsattic.blogspot.com

My Etsy

www.etsy.com/shop/annapearlsattic

Women are angels. When someone breaks our wings, we just jump on our broomsticks and fly! We are flexible that way!

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Originally posted by churunga

In my twenties, I went to New York City for a blind date. Going to New York City was the same as going to Europe for me, a Midwestern girl. Although I had already spent time in Spain, Canada and Japan, New York City seemed very exotic.

I was working a temporary job in a personnel department of a music retailer, before CDs became the preferred media for music. One of my tasks was to score the retail honesty tests. The store managers would call me with the answers and I would score them and give them the results. One store manager kept calling me even when he didn't have any tests to score or information he needed. He called just to chat. I had to keep putting him on hold to answer other calls. One day he asked me for my phone number so that we could talk uninterrupted. We talked until 3:00 AM and he said he wanted to see me and offered to buy me a round trip plane ticket.

We agreed on a weekend to come to see him in New York City and I hoped on the plane. As we approached La Guardia Airport, I was feeling excited and afraid with anticipation. I turned to the gentleman sitting next to me and told him that when we landed, I would be meeting a gentleman who had bought me the ticket for the first time. I told him that I just could not explain how I was feeling. He wished me luck and we all got off the plane. As I stepped into the gate area, I scanned the crowd to see if I could pick my blind date out. I saw a gorgeous-looking guy looking right at me. I stepped forward and said, "Gabriel {my question mark key doesn't work}". He extended his hand and said, "Marie {}".

He took me out to dinner and drove me around the city. He lived in New Jersey so we had to go there to his place. I met his cat Alpha and looked at all his photography equipment. I was expecting to sleep

[Gotta go. More later.]

Marie, Sister #5142
Farmgirl of the Month May 2014

Try everything once and the fun things twice.

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Originally posted by Cindy Lou

I love these stories! What a great idea, Marie!

My DH and I found teaching jobs in a town about 50 miles from where we had gone to school. We rented a big old farm house and were semi-adopted by the farm couple who had built their new house a short distance away. We really wanted a place of our own though, so we started a search for an old house in the country to fix up or to live in as we built a house of our own. The realtor really wanted to sell to us and showed us everything from an old duplex in town (good income property, he said) to shacks beyond hope, to undeveloped land. He finally showed us a 10 acre wooded plot, part of a 40 he was keeping for an investment for his sons. That was it! We met two neighbors who became instant friends and started our adventure. We walked the area and came upon a slope facing south towards a small meadow that was to be HOME.
We spent a year planning, and reading books on "handmade housing", old barn designs, basic construction techniques, plumbing. Anyone else remember the Whole Earth catalogs? DH had confidence in me and appointed me plumber-in-chief. With only a small loan and the enthusiasm of youth the plan was set.
We would design and build it ourselves with the advice of an artist friend who had studied architecture and with our practical farmer friend, two men so different in attitudes and talents!
We hired the farmer's nephews to clear the building site and put in a square concrete block basement, and did the rest, with more advice from one of our neighbors, an electrician who advised us on safety and inspected all we did. That same summer we closed up the basement and set up the framing for our octagon dream home, and it "wintered in". The old farmer asked, "Do you plan on driving semi's on the roof?", but we wanted it sturdy. We worked on it weekends and every day after work, discovering that 30 degrees is still working weather when you have a dream.
When summer vacation came again we decided that driving 10 miles a day to work on it was a waste of time so we'd just move in and go from there. No windows yet, holes covered by plastic, a toilet and small sink for the bathroom, none for a kitchen. We didn't have kids yet and enjoyed working together, it was a wonderful adventure. We put our mattress on the second floor, no stairway yet and climbed the ladder to get to bed.
Our two dogs and cats accepted the move. One of the cats had been rescued not too long before we moved. She particularly loved the freedom and hunting. One night I woke to her meowing on our bed, she proudly showed off the mouse she had caught. I'm not too squeamish and after taking a deep breath thought OK, maybe I should praise her, it IS her job. The next night, when she brought us a frog, I discovered she was hunting OUTSIDE and bringing in her prey. Hmmmm!

Susan

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Mary Oliver

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Originally posted by marjean

I come from a European mix of English, Irish, Scottish and Dutch. I've always wanted to visit Ireland and it seems when I watch movies from foreign lands I resonate the most with Irish movies and actors. I even want to talk like them. Some of my words just in normal conversation come out sounding Irish and everyone laughs!

I grew up in the rural area of Orlando and Oviedo, Florida. My dad was a truck driver and later became the foreman of his crew. He moved heavy equipment all over the state. One was a ship that is at Downtown Disney that has a restaurant. He'd tell us where he'd been and I would soak it up in my mind mapping out where he'd been and what route he took.

Later, in life when I started driving I was very good at finding my way around even on road trips. I attribute that to his stories and to my 3rd grade teacher who taught us how to tell directions with our eyes closed. After, about a week of practice I finally knew my directions. It gave me an internal compass. My family all say I am a blood hound and have an internal GPS.

My Mom loved to garden and the ocean. In Orlando we had rich black soil but in Oviedo we had good soil but bad water (salt and sulfar) so no more gardens. We'd go to the beach every summer right near the space coast. It was called Playalinda beach. I loved to travel and when I was out on my own with my first full time job with AT&T I would go visit friends in MD. I took my Mom and niece on one trip and later my brother and his friend on another to the same place in MD. I've been through the Smithsonian about 16 times! Harpers Ferry 5 times, Inner Harbor 6 times and Williamsburg, VA 1 time. I've been to New Orleans, Mobile, Gettysburg, New York, New Jersey and every state south of there on the east coast. I've been to Helen, GA 6 times, one of my favorite spots for hiking and waterfalls. The last trip in 2004 is when I came back with Lyme disease.

I am happy to say my new doctor has a cure for me and I will start treatments in the Fall. It will be a rough time so I am wating until I finish my pioneer ministry at the end of August of this year.

My beautiful daughter of 24 years and I love to garden and this year for my Anniversary present she landscaped the front yard with my DH help. It looks fantastic.



We are looking for a trailer and truck so that when I am stronger we can travel and do more of our missionary work in rural areas of the U.S.A. I collect butterfly's and vintage items of all sort. I love to do every type of craft from polymer clay to scrapbooking with a splash of sewing and jewelry making.

We have always had animals too. Horses and dogs a few chickens, rabbits and ducks when I was growing up. In my family we have had rabbits, fish, bird, dogs and cats.

That's part of my story and I'm sticking to it!



Farmgirl sister #308
Buying Club & Marketing
www.marketsofsunshine.com
Bible Research
www.jw.org

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