An Award from Welchcakes Limoncello

Welchcakes Limoncello has a beautiful blog called Sicily Scene.  It is full of interesting tidbits - gorgeous photographs, recipes, articles she writes for Italy Magazine, cultural descriptions, anecdotes.  I always enjoy her descriptions of fabulous dinners she has attended and the accompanying photographs leave me writhing with desire - especially if I've had a day of high protein cereal for breakfast and lettuce for lunch!

I just received a lovely award from far away Sicily and, as a condition of the award, I must tell you seven things that you do not know about me.  Since I recently did something similar for steviewren, I had to ponder a bit.

Here  is  the award.

Now for seven more things you don't know about me:

1.  Once, when I was a student nurse in New Orleans, I swung on the velvet swing - and I lived in fear for months afterward, that I would be called into the director's office and told to find another 

profession!  We used to frequent a bar called "The Velvet Swing."  A damsel, in little scanty outfit - sort of a bikini, would swing, to music, for about ten minutes every hour.  I told the performer ( ? ) I wanted to try it,  never dreaming she would say yes.  When she did, I changed my mind but my buddies insisted.So, bikini and all, I had my few minutes of fame! 

2  My passport was stolen in London about five years ago.  I had just arrived that afternoon,

with three friends for a long weekend.  We had just finished afternoon tea and were about to

head to our rooms for a little nap.  Still seated at our table in the Hilton, I put my purse down on the floor for about a minute, while I put my coat on.  When I reached down to put on my coat, my purse was gone.  None of us had seen anyone.  We immediately set up a hue and cry and people went running everywhere, searching the perimeter of the building...no luck.  I was especially heartbroken because I had sent back this passport for additional pages and this was 

full ( 85 pages ) with stamps from all over the world.  I had to go to the U. S. Embassy ( lucky 

that I had a scanned front page of my passport in each suitcase ) for a replacement.  I was told

that, even if it were found, the U. S. State Department would not return my passport to me.  I know that I will never visit some of those countries again.

3.  When I was in the 8th grade, I was in the Alabama state spelling contest ( I went to St. Patrick's School in Phenix City, Alabama - just across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Georgia from grades 3 through 8 ).  I came in 25th out of 50, I believe, but I don't remember what word got the best of me.

4.  I once married a friend, a fellow judo club member, to try to keep him from going to Viet

Nam!  He was second generation Japanese from Maui, Hawaii, stationed at Fort Benning.  I was only 17, under age, and it was ( 1962 ) against the law in Georgia for a Caucasian to mary a Native American, an Asian or an African American.  My mother, who was a nurse for a doctor's office, was a notary public so I forged her signature on the license, used her keys to the office and notarized the application, then Tom and I went to Phenix City, Alabama and got married!  Less than a month later, off he went to Viet Nam and off I went to nursing school, really nervous since you could not be married and be in nursing school back then.  About a year later,

on his way to a new assignment, he stopped by New Orleans and took me out to dinner.   Three years later, when I finished nursing school, I tried to have the marriage annulled but the judge said, because so much time had elapsed, I had to file for a divoce.

Years later, Tom contacted one of our other judo club friends in Hawaii to ask if he ever saw me.  Warren said I frequently visited him in Hawaii and vice versa and gave Tom my phone number.  It seems he had been working as a CPA in San Francisco for about 15 of my beginning years in San Francisco!  During one trip a few years ago, he came by and met my

boys and we all had a great laugh!

5.  Unfortunately, since my back surgery about 25 years ago, I've gained 100 pounds.

6.  On January 4, 2008, en route to work, about three blocks from my office, in a huge wind 

storm, a huge city tree fell on my van, totaling it.  I was inside.  Fortunately, I was not totaled.  I

did have to miss work that day.

7.  About 25 years ago, when I was a nurse in the operating room at St. Mary's Hospital in

San Francisco, I slipped on hydraulic fluid that leaked from a defective operating room table.

I ended up bilaterally rupturing discs from L4 to S1 in my lumbar spine.  Even though Dr. Arthur White operated on me three months later ( he's the one who did surgery on famed Forty Niner

quarterback, Joe Montana ), it was a year and a half later before I returned to work.  My fusion would not fuse ( they had taken a piece of my right iliac crest.  It was a pretty difficult time for me.  I had a son, aged 3, and one a  year old - and my husband left.  If it hadn't been for Shawn, who was 13, at the time, I don't think I would have made it!

OK, now I have to pass the award on to 7 bloggers so I hope these folks might take the award from my site and give us seven facts about you that we might not know.


1.  lakeviewer at sixtyfivewhatnow
This is a wonderful blog of a retired educator, now living in Oregon.  Though Rosaria doesn't
post awards on her site, perhaps she will share a litte info about herself.  I feel I know a little bit
about her already and I love sharing this West Coast with her.


2.  beth at be yourself...everyone else is taken
Beth's writings and her glorious photography are always a joy.  


3.  Icy BC at Reach Beyond Limits
This blog is filled with beautiful photographs, helpful information, and good hints. 


4.  Tes at Craftista
This is another delightful blog with photography that is so beautiful.  Tes also has information
on products and assorted information that I find very useful.

Calligraphy in the Landscape
5.  ruma2008 at Calligraphy in the Landscape
I don't see awards posted on his blog but  I am sure ruma has them.  If he won't share info on the blog itself, I hope he will give us seven interesting things about himself and I'll post them here.  Ruma is a Japanese photographer and his blog is a visual feast, with so many wonderful pictures of beautiful vistas, Japanese treasures, things that will delight your senses.


6.  fullet at Secret Forest
 Josep, I think, is probably a little shy but I have so enjoyed getting to know him.  He is a lovely 
young Catalan gentleman who works for a publishing house and  has introduced me to some wonderful new poets and authors.  His photographs of Spain are wonderful as well.


7.  Chris at Enchanted Oak 
This blog is incredible with its poetry, prose, inspiration, sharing.  Chris is very open about her
recovery and her steps toward sobriety.