My Life in a Nutshell

 Some time back one of the bloggers, Brenda, asked if I would give some info on myself like where I live, favorite place and where I grew up etc. I'm at a total loss as to which blog Brenda has so if you are reading this, Brenda, let us know where you are.

Well, here goes. 

I was born in 1934 in Alabama to a newly widowed mother. We lived with my grandparents because Mom had to work and heaven forbid she have her own apartment in town! A single woman. That was unheard of back in those days. 

Me with my grandparents and hen that was wandering around. 

I married when I was 16 to a Navy man! Handsome, the most kind, gentle and happy person ever. We were married 60 years. 

This picture was made shortly after we were married.

20 of those years I followed him around, when I could, to various bases so I've lived in a lot of places. All of my babies were born in different states.

I had 5 children, 3 girls, 2 boys. One of my sons died when he was 3 months old. I was all of 20 years old when we had to bury our baby. That was tough.

My husband retired from the Navy in 1969 and we moved back to our hometown. Stayed there 30 years and then moved to Wakefield, Virginia where a daughter and her family lived. ( I now live in a nearby town)

My husband died in 2011 after years of battling Alzheimers. 

As for favorite places: We lived in Honolulu, Hawaii for awhile. That was a cool place and could be classified as a favorite! 

my two daughters standing outside our apartment in Honolulu

Then we moved on to Midway Island. That was not a favorite place but one that was so different and unusual that I  had to mention it. 

We are about to board a plane bringing us back to the U. S. after our stint on Midway Island.

If I could have, when I was younger, I would have lived for awhile in Paris, France. My favorite place!! I've been twice on short visits and if I had the energy I'd go back again. I can just imagine going out every day, grabbing a pastry and some tea and sitting at one of those sidewalk cafes for hours maybe reading a bit, watching passersby and listening to music being played out on the street. Scents of flowers fill the air. They are in big bins lining the sidewalk. But, alas that is just a fantasy! 

1986 Susan and I are in Paris.

I've always been involved in learning, going to museums, etc. I paint, I write, I enjoy classical music and I used to quilt all the time. Nowdays I blog, I watch tv, read, paint and just putter around in my apartment alone. 

                   Glad I have my blogging buddies to keep me company. 

                                                                                                                   Latane