~ My Life in Words and Pictures ~
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My Nana reading to my daughter Jenny.
1988 at my parents home during Thanksgiving holiday. Books were a part of our lives. It's a generational gift.
Both sets of my grandparents and my mother and father instilled creativity, a love for words, and culture in my life.
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My dad reading to his four oldest daughters - Maureen, Bridget, Shawne & Kathy. 1959
I'm the attentive one on the right.
Don't let this picture fool you, I loved being read to as a child. I think this was the beginning of my fascination with camera's. This photo was taken by my mother with a Kodak Brownie.
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Doing research for my novel.
One of my favorite reasons for being a writer - research! I get to frequent libraries, conferences, workshops, seminars, bookstores, city and government offices, coffee houses with WiFi, and do interviews in exotic places, well interesting places...
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Lake Tahoe, California
I interviewed the Coast Guard, stationed at Tahoe's north shore on a windy day and witnessed a sailboat capsize. They were the only ones out on the water. My interview went live as the Coast Guard headed out. Everyone was okay, but I gained a new respect for the lake that day.
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Getting to Know Me
Lap swimming is a year-round sport for me.
Taking tea, hostessing a tea and visiting charming teahouses throughout the states, Canada and England has become a passion and delight.
My mother's Italian and my father's English/Welsh heritages greatly influenced our home life. Family was always the heart of the home.
Contrary to popular belief, the northern California town in which I was raised, was a small town, namely - Fair Oaks Village. To this day, it retains much of the charm and atmosphere from the 1950's. Fair Oaks Fiesta Days, St. Mel's Catholic School, Grant's, Dairy Queen and Raley's were staples in my life.Roosters roam freely everywhere you go in the village. I photographed this fella at the Sunflower where you can order a Nut burger. It used to be the Susie Q Burger Drive-In. You know, long before drive-thru fast food chains took over the nation's countrysides, cities and towns. Ah, the blessings of a simple life.
I loved walking through Harry Dewey's last remaining orchards hand in hand with my older sister, on the way to kindegarten.
England
Early in my marriage, we were stationed in England for three years. It was a life changing experience for our little family of four. My oldest son, who is now 36, hopes to eventually be stationed there and take his wife and three daughters with him. The English countryside beckons and I long to return for an extended holiday.
Both my husband and I have English ancestory; his mother's family is from Stoke-on-Trent, my father's from Cornwall.
I fell in love with Suffolk & Norfolk counties; we lived in one and Joe worked in the other.
We bought most of our antique furniture in the village of Melton Constable. Our sons loved family holidays at Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea. I could have spent a fortnight at the quaint Victoria B&B in Cambridge, our weekend there was lovely.
Joe's big adventure was a deep sea fishing trip in the North Sea.
733B London Road Castle Rising, King's Lynn
RAF Sculthorpe Norfolk, East Anglia
