About

Who am I really?

I grew up in “Amish Country,” Pennsylvania but since moving away when I was 19, I have lived all over the country. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania will always be a part of who I am. I still say things like “redd out/up” and “dippy eggs.” Luckily, I somehow got away without “you’s” becoming part of my vocabulary.

Of all the places I’ve lived, my favorites by far have been Wyoming and Montana. My least favorite is not Wyoming or Montana.

I am married to my best friend, Brian. We live with one of the most adorable dogs I’ve ever seen, named Wicket, a border collie/red heeler mix. She was brought home from a cattle ranch north of Billings, Montana, just a couple months after she was born, in the late summer of 2016. Recently (February 2024), we acquired an Australian shepherd/blue heeler mix, named Elstree (sometimes called Ellie). From one of our former outside cats, Kimkin, we adopted four of her five total kittens: Chirpa, Gimmick, Alice, and Pigeon. We also have four yard-clipper goats named Barnaby, Silas, Tesco, and Oliver. In addition to Wicket, Elstree, the cats, and the goats, we have befriended a handful of feral cats throughout the years. Currently our regulars are Zelda, who lives on the front porch and has a little house all to herself, and Nickajack (aka Jack), a loveable old guy who fights every male cat who comes around and pees on absolutely everything.

Here are a few random facts about me:

• My favorite color is yellow but I don’t really like anything that’s yellow. I do tend to like a lot of things that are turquoise.
• I despise greediness, lying, and manipulation.
• My favorite words are glass and clarion.
• I love dandelions, thistles, and bear grass.
• My favorite songs are O Mio Babbino Caro, especially when performed by Renata Tebaldi, Green Fields Of France by The High Kings, Coyotes by Don Edwards, The Irish Ballad by Darby O’Gill, Seven Nights In Ire by Reckless Kelly, and Bourbon Street by Jeff Tuohy. My favorite band at the moment is Brown Bird.
• Things must line up exactly or not at all. I feel uncomfortable when things are just slightly askew.
• When everyone else is running for bread and milk in preparation for a storm, I am stocking up on toilet paper and deodorant. At all times I have at least six bottles of deodorant.
• My favorite animals are Canadian geese, coyotes, opah/moonfish, and quokkas.
• I adore birds and vehemently oppose them being kept in any sort of enclosure.
• If I had to choose a superpower, I’d choose to be able to move through paused time.
• I cannot tolerate repetition.
• My favorite scents are lavender, lilac, pipe tobacco, honeysuckle, and a blend of spearmint and clove. Lavender used to be my favorite scent but now its odor makes me think of unwashed hair. Currently, my favorite smell for our house is Sweet Tobacco Leaves by Milkhouse Candle Co..
• I wear a variety of perfumes but my go-to recently has been Lily of the Valley by Woods of Windsor, which smells like flower scented baby dolls. I first had a bottle of this perfume when I was eighteen and I still love it. I will also occasionally wear Burberry Brit and Valentino – Donna, Born in Roma.
• I am afraid of moths. I do not want them to touch me. It’s quite ridiculous.
• I love reading. We own more books than one of the libraries I used to visit as a kid. My favorite book is Jane Eyre.
• My sense of smell is tragically powerful.
• I hate the phrase, “You do you.”
• My favorite TV shows are Life with Elizabeth and Duck Dynasty, and my favorite movies are Housebound, Grabbers, Decoy Bride, and Trollhunter.
• Dusting is my least favorite chore, followed closely by washing dishes, vacuuming, and all other chores.
• I do not like children.
• I am terrified of sink holes, deep water, and heights while in a vehicle. I went up the Beartooth Highway once. That will never happen again.
• Winter is my favorite season, though as I’ve become more health and fitness oriented, my adoration of winter has waned.
• I do not have patience for inconsideration.
• I have a touch of The Misophonia. Certain sounds will cause anxiety, frustration, raging anger, etc. Licking and chewing are some of the sounds I can tolerate the least. The sound of teeth dragging on cutlery is another. Also, the harpy screech that little girls are prone to emit can also wear on my nerves quite quickly.
• I abhor being told or hearing/reading someone else be told to “Google it.” If you’ve said it with any seriousness, we’ll never be friends.
• I am not a sociable person. I will go to great lengths to avoid interacting with people.
• Some of my favorite quotes are:

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.
– Henry David Thoreau

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
– Betsy Shirley