20 Facts About Me
1 – I was born and raised in California but have lived in a total of 8 states and 2 foreign countries. The other states I have lived in are Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Texas, and Washington. I have also lived in France and Germany.
2 – I have played clarinet since 4th grade, though I am not as good at it as I should be. I have been in orchestra, concert band and marching band. I have marched in half-time shows during high-school and college, and marched in the Pear Blossom Parade in the Rogue Valley, Oregon. I even won a solo competition in 10th grade, playing “Little Fugue in G-minor” written by Johannes Sebastian Bach.
3 – A couple years ago, I bought a ukulele so I could play and sing lullabies to my grandson. His favorite song for me to play is “You Are My Sunshine”. Ukuleles are a lot of fun and it’s easy to learn how to play them. I watched a lot of tutorials on YouTube, LOL. My son started playing around with mine and liked it so much that I bought him an electric acoustic ukulele for his birthday.
4 – I served in the Navy during Gulf War. My Rate was Data Systems Technician, which is now called Information Systems Technician, and I was a Petty Officer, Third Class. I served aboard a Sub Tender, the Emory S. Land (AS-39). I joined the Navy to see the world and instead spent two years at Mare Island, California, and the rest of the time stuck in the mud in Norfolk, Virginia.
5 – My family tree is full of veterans. I have ancestors who served in most of the American wars going all the way back to the Revolution. My ancestors fought for the Union during the Civil War, served in the Army during World War I and World War II, my Mom and Dad both served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. My sister and I both served during the Gulf War and my nephew is currently serving in the Army. We are definitely a family of Patriots! And because of my Revolutionary War ancestor, I am applying for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution.
6 – I am a Francophile. I love everything French. I love the food, the architecture, the art, the language. I am descended from one of the early French pioneers to New France, Nicolas Paquin. He was a carpenter and he emigrated to what is now Quebec in 1672. He and his wife, Marie-François Plante, had thirteen children, and they are the ancestors of most of the Paquins in North America.
7 – Speaking of France, I spent the summer in there during college. I lived with a French family in a town called Angers. I completed my entire second year of French during the 2-month long immersion program and got straight A’s. I was even mistaken for a native once while I was shopping! I was also able to visit many beautiful châteaux in the Loire River Valley, including Chambord, Chenonceau, and Azay-Le-Rideau, and spent three days exploring Paris before coming back home.
8 – I took belly dancing classes for a while. Belly dancing is no joke. I was sore in muscles I didn’t even know I had! It’s a great workout. In fact, I got interested in belly dance after coming across the exercise show called Shimmy on Fit TV.
9 – I love animals, but dogs are my favorite. I currently have 4 dogs. I have a chocolate labradoodle named Bisou, which means kiss in French, so she is my chocolate kiss. I know, I’m a dork. I have a white terrier mix named Stella, a red Italian greyhound named Lola, and a little black chihuahua named Trixie.
10 – I am currently working on a Temperature Afghan. You crochet each row with a color of yarn determined by the temperature that day. Some people do one row each day for a whole year. I am making mine for my grandson with the temperatures every day of his first year of life. I went to the Old Farmer’s Almanac website (https://www.almanac.com/weather/history), got historical temperatures and then chose my yarn colors. I am crocheting each row with the moss stitch. Each afghan will be different because the temperatures are different based on where you live and whether you are using current or historical temperatures. Below is an example from The Crochet Crowd’s website.
11 – I have ancestors that have been in America since early colonial days. My earliest Pruyne ancestor in this country, Johannes Pruyn, was from Holland and was in New Amsterdam before 1657.
…to be continued
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