Monday, January 12, 2009

Interview With A Small Town American Girl in Denmark

Julie at Moments of Perfect Clarity is passing along a fun little interview game.

Here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. Please comment below and I'll ask you five questions and we can keep the interview chain going!

Don't forget to leave me your email address.

Here's the questions that Julie asked:


1. you write so fondly of your husband Don--how and when did you meet him?

I met Don at a company were we both worked. He started on a co-op program through the university where he enrolled to study Computer Sciences following the completion of his degree.

I met him when I was almost 29 - so you all can do the math. Here's a hint - it was a long time ago.


2. what is the biggest standout memory from your trip to ethiopia with your daughter to pick up gabriella?

I have so many that it is hard to encapsulate them into one outstanding memory. The country and people are so beautiful ..... the pain of Ethiopia hit me hard like a physical illness and I felt her pain in my heart .... the extreme poverty, the extreme wealth .... the children partially clothed, barefoot, sleeping on the streets, living on the streets, begging on the streets .... the fabulous food.

If I have to choose just one memory, then the moments leading up to seeing Gabriella for the first time wins.

Waiting at the guest house for the driver to take us to the orphanage .... watching Sebrina pace back and forth none too patiently .... driving through the city and down the dirt road to the orphanage seemingly in slow motion .... waiting outside the compound for the gates to be opened .... driving in and seeing all the children living there for the first time as they timidly made their way to the car to investigate .... going into the hut where Gabriella was .... the first moment that I saw her precious face .... watching Sebrina as she took her in her arms with tears streaming down her face, then holding her close to her breast and breathing a thank you for this child and this moment .... the first time I touched her and took into my arms & my heart and we've never looked back since that second.


3. if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would you take with you?

Back to Ethiopia on a Humanitarian mission.

I would want to take Don, Sebrina, Mike and the babes so everyone could see, taste and feel this beautiful country where Gabriella took her first breath.

4. i know you are a quilter, but what other crafty hobbies do you have (pictures, please!)?

I love to Knit .......... Crochet .......... Sew ..........

Scrapbook ..........













Decorate my home. I especially love putting together little vignettes around the house, not leaving any little corners untouched by me. I also love decorative wall work - this is an example of glazed Venetian plaster ..........













Painting - oils & palette knife .......... Writing ............


















5. what do you do when you really want to pamper yourself?


Now this is a tough one, I take care of myself regularly and go to the spa every 6 weeks for pedicure & facial. When I first started, I considered this a luxury. Now however, I look at it as an important maintenance program to take care of myself and stay in the best condition I can.

So pampering myself would have to be a long, lavender bubble bath in my deep soaker tub, scrubbing my skin with a sugar scrub, candles lit, a big cup of African Red Tea - rooibos (my favourite right now) and a deliciously good read.

5 comments:

julochka said...

so fun to read your answers and see your pictures--somehow, i didn't realize you were a painter, how did i miss that?! most of all, you make me want to go make a cup of rooibos and get in the tub. but alas, dinner isn't going to make itself...

thank you for playing along, it's really been fun for me!

Iris said...

Wow! That painting is really amazing. I haven't been reading you as long as julochka but I didn't realize you painted either. Do you have more of your work up here on your site in older posts? And I'd love to know how/where you learned to do that.

tangobaby said...

What a lovely interview. Gabriella was a lucky little girl to have you!

Barb said...

Iris, Some of my paintings are down the left hand side of my blog.

I studied Fine Arts and have an honours degree. Just never really went anywhere career wise with it. Strictly for my own enjoyment. It really exploded out of me 4 years ago, when my sister was diagnosed and subsequently died from Leukemia. Great therapy. Barb

Thanks all for the nice comments and thanks to Julie for this fun interview. Barb

Iris said...

Oh wow, you must really think I'm thick. lol. I mostly follow your blog through Google Reader so I've only actually been here a few times. I thought those painting at the side from your favorite artists, not that you'd painted them yourself. They are very impressive!

I'm sorry to hear about your sister but I'm glad you had something to help you cope during that time.

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