Versatile Blogger Award

My blog received the Versatile Blogger award recently from two other potter/bloggers, Julia of Henhouse Pottery and Suzi at The Smart Cat. Thanks ever so much, your award means a lot to me, especially now. In my Etsy Shop for pottery I recently listed the mesmerizing floating blue green pools bowl above. This bowl was hand formed in a loose flower shape and glass was slumped in the interior which created the blue green pools which are wonderful to gaze upon. There are so many colors in this dish I can't describe them all. Below is a celadon green leaf serving platter which is approximately ten inched across.

Unbeknownst to myself I am gathering quite a few collectors of my pottery from all over the globe. Folks from Canada, Brazil, Viet Nam, Europe, and many more locations. These folks are perusing my Etsy shop, my blog, and our local flea market looking for unique handmade pieces of pottery. Of course you all know my pottery fits that bill. Yesterday a businessman flew into town in his Beach Baron from Brazil (I am sure there is a story in that title) and raved about my pottery. He's coming back today. He was telling Gary he flew over our home this morning. And judging from the engine melody early this morning, I am sure he was correct in that assumption. Gary is definitely my marketing representative extraordinaire. Oh, here's one more dish I listed a shimmery gold and blue green leaf dish also in my Etsy pottery shop.

Anyway back to the seven things you may not know about me: My first job was at Kentucky Fried Chicken while I was in high school. To this day I cannot eat at that establishment or even go in there, something about the smell of the frying chicken. Maybe it was the colonel's special spices which he never revealed to me..

At nineteen I started out with $389 in my pocket, a bicycle, and one suitcase full of clothes. I rented a furnished (luckily) house which included utilities (luckily), bought a few household items at goodwill, got a job at a theater selling tickets, and later paid my junior college tuition. Two weeks later I started college.

I put myself through four years of college working mostly as a waitress, a couple of places being Bob's Big Boy and Dennys. I usually worked the swing shift and went to school during the day. I graduated with a bachelors degree in English and Psychology four years later. My last semester I took a student loan and later regretted it. It took me seven years to pay off that loan, remaining a waitress would have been easier. I've been back to various other colleges over the years for other reasons like landscape, horticulture, art, and pottery.

I lived in ten different states during my childhood and attended as many, if not more, schools. I took ballet and tap dance in kindergarten and art classes in summer school in every other grade just for fun.

I was raised a Catholic and attended Catholic schools from kindergarten to 10th grade. My last two years of high school were in a public school. At 19 years of age I quit going to church and have never been back since. About the only thing I miss is singing in the choir and church architecture. But I am a spiritual person. Now that I think of it maybe listening to a Latin mass might not be bad, something about the chanting of the phrases reminds me of a peaceful feeling - In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, Dominous vobiscom.

I smoked occasionally my first year in college, maybe two or three cigarettes a week. One day a friend picked me up for college and I hadn't had breakfast. He said, do you want a cigarette? I started to say yes. Then I said,  no I've given up smoking today. I was thinking to myself, if I have a cigarette before breakfast I may never quit. So I quit and have never had another cigarette since.

Sometimes people misunderstand me or they think I am an extrovert. Little do they know, I am really shy and sensitive. Sometimes I clam up and don't know what to say especially in groups of people or I say the wrong thing. I do much better one on one, and I'm comfortable with my writing here on the blog. In the past I have pushed myself to do public speaking engagements just to improve. I can talk about horticulture or my pottery once I get started. I guess it's easy to talk about what I love.

Now on to my nominations for the versatile blogger award. This week I've been reflecting on kindness, inspiration, encouragement, and the human spirit, so I nominated the following blogs in no particular order: There are so many others I would nominate but either they prefer no awards, are on hiatus, have already been nominated, or I've run out memory space in my brain for the day.

Amy - Amy Huacani Pottery
Anna - Anna's Ceramics
Barbara - The Inquisitive Magpie
Janice - Ms Sparrow
Kittie - Kittie's Stories with a Dash of Insight
Mary - Play Off the Page
Michele - Meesh's Pottery
Patti - The New Sixty
Teresa - Teresa Evangeline
Turquoisemoon - Daily Om -  (I finally sent your package today)

Don't forget to tell us seven things about yourself and spread the love. Thanks for reading and for all your comments and encouragement. I read on Ms. Sparrow's side bar this quote which is so true: "Always be kinder than necessary, everyone's fighting some type of battle".