: About Me

It is impossible to earn college degrees without writing dozens of term papers and for an advanced degree there is the lengthy dissertation.  After all of those it is logical to try other types of writing.  After that dissertation, I became the editor of newsletters for several groups through the years. This actually involved writing the articles, designing the format and printing the finished paper.  A few years ago I took a couple of creative writing classes to help me polish my writing skills.  This introduced me to a whole different world of the written word. 

The teachers that I worked with during my recent Peace Corps tour in Ukraine really liked the way I wrote.  They asked me to write articles and narrative essays about my life and life in the United States.  To accompany those pieces, two other teachers designed writing activities based on those stories.  This was sent to a Ukrainian publisher who liked it enough to publish it. The book is now used in University English classes in Ukraine.

For more than two years I have written articles extensively for Helium and recently I began writing How-to Guides on a multitude of subjects.  Two areas of concentration for a number of articles and How-to Guides are knitting and genealogy.  I have had articles published in local newspapers, regional publications and a national magazine.  Currently I write a monthly genealogy column for my hometown newspaper.

My passion is ...

Genealogy

I know too much about ...

Does one ever know too much?

My parents always told me ...

to be truthful

My childhood ambition ...

was to be a cowboy (cowgirl)

My favorite memory ...

is of my father

Why I write ...

to fulfill a creative urge

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

some country music, at the moment

My first job ...

was teaching 22 pupils from grades 2 - 8 in a one room country school

My best moment ...

there have been lots and the best is yet to come

My inspiration ...

my love of life

Travel > Travel Diaries & Adventures (Other) Travel diaries: The worst vacation ever

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The first problem should have been a warning of what adventure was ahead for our summer’s vacation.  Sitting in our driveway, one of the tires on our motor home blew out!  A quick repair and early Saturday morning we set off for Las Vegas, our first night’s stop.  The first eighty miles went smoothly.  But then we noticed a noise around the other front tire.  Driving a few turns around the parking lot of a service station showed the tread was coming loose.  That meant another new tire.  So – two tires down and only four more to go - what...

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Writing:

• Creative Writing Bronze
• Teacher
• Marketplace Premier Writer
• Marketplace Approved Writer
• 7Marketplace Articles Sold
• Helium Charter Member