Seven things

Marie tagged me for the Stylish Blogger Award, and I am honored!   (And also slightly amused, as I am stylish approximately zero days a week.   But we can be whoever we want on the Internet, right?)  Marie has been turning out these wonderfully detailed aprons of late, and you should go check them out on her blog.  There really should be more occasions for wearing such fantastic aprons -- they are wasted on mere cooking!

Anyhow, the Stylish Blogger Award stipulates that you share seven things about yourself, and that you pass the award along to seven other stylish bloggers.   So here goes ...

1.  I am a huge animal lover, and I've had a lot of different pets over the years, including birds, fish, reptiles and invertebrates.  I currently have a four year old canary named Sunshine (but called Eeper for the most part, because of the little sounds she makes) and a dozen land hermit crabs who dwell in a 75 gallon terrarium.  Hard to say how old the hermit crabs are (they cannot be bred in captivity, and thus were all wild-caught) but I've had them for five-plus years.  A little less than three years ago, I got my first dog.  You've seen him lurking around in my sewing project photos.  His name is Dinky, and he's a "ratapoo" -- a rat terrier / miniature poodle mix.   And let me tell you, my dog is amazing.   I never knew I was a dog person (though my husband did!) but clearly I am.   I could go on and on about my dog, but I'll stop now.  :)


2.   My husband is also amazing!  We celebrated 20 years together last month (we've been married 16 of those).   He's my best friend and supports me in everything I do.  We've always had fairly different hobbies and interests (and sleep schedules!) but we share fundamental beliefs and aspirations, and have a similar sense of humor.   I think at this point he knows more about me than I know about myself.

3.  Besides sewing, one of my other major hobbies is film photography.  I also collect vintage cameras, the crappier the better (so long as they work), and I have over 300 of them.  I use digital cameras some too, but for me, film is where it's at.  I love double exposures, light leaks, cross processing, scratches, colored gels, long-expired film, dirty lenses, you name it!   My flickr stream is here, but this is a sample:

4.  I'm a software developer, and have a Master's in Computer Science, but before I figured out that I enjoyed programming, I got a BFA in Fine Arts (Drawing) and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology.   I was in school a looooong time, folks, but I'm happy to say that I did finally end up with a career I enjoy.  

5.  I'm a native of the state of Florida.  I was born in Tallahassee, and went to college in Gainesville (where I met my husband).   As far as I'm concerned, North Central Florida is the most beautiful place on Earth.  Fun random fact: Samuel Coleridge's description of Xanadu in the poem Kubla Khan was partly inspired by descriptions of North Central Florida written by the naturalist William Bartram.   Yep, paradise ...  certainly it will always feel like home to me, no matter how long I am away.

6.  Another thing I love to do is run.  I've been running regularly since I was around eight years old, though back then it was because my parents made me!   At this point, it's more of an ingrained habit than a hobby.  I do pretty much the same run (about 3.5 miles) every day, and just relax.   I have no interest in pushing myself or being competitive, I just do it because it feels bad if I don't.

7.   I am a major introvert, and my husband and dog provide all the social life I could possibly need.  I feel uncomfortable at social gatherings because I've never mastered the art of small talk.   I can geek out about hobby stuff, but I don't know anyone in real life who shares my hobbies (so I'm fortunate that my husband is happy to listen to me prattle on about them!)  Lately I've been doing more presentations for work, and that has actually helped some, but I'll always be a loner, though not at all in an unhappy way!

So there are my seven things, and here's who I'd like to nominate ... some of these folks may not read my blog, but I won't let that stop me.  :)

1.  First off -- schmeebot!  We met a few years ago through our shared interest in photography (and specifically, in sending Polaroids through the mail) and have become close friends despite living a thousand miles apart.  Or maybe because of it -- who knows how I might drive ya crazy if you had to see me every day, schmee!

2.  Georgi is a fellow animal lover, and of all the photographers I know of, nobody has a closer photographic aesthetic to mine  She has many breath-takingly beautiful film shots in her flickr stream.

3. Shannon of Hungry Zombie Couture's blog was one of the very first sewing blogs I started reading, long before I ever imagined I'd blog about sewing myself.  I love her sarcastic wit, her gorgeous sewing projects, and I would happily kidnap her shoe collection.  And of course, she also has an amazing dog! 

4.  Bea of Butterflies and Hurricanes who keeps turning out these enviable vintage garments -- I love each and every one! 

5.  Little Black Car, possibly my closest vintage sewing neighbor, who has brought many a 1970s-does-1940s gem of a pattern to my attention.  Plus we both love rick-rack!

6.  Jenny of the ironically named Chronically Uncool who brings us Tetris fabric and gorgeous full-skirted 50s numbers.

and finally, 

7.  Marianne of Dancing With Poodles, who hasn't posted in a while, but I hope will post again soon.  I love her sense of style, and what an awesome name for a blog!