Hello! Come on in and make yourself comfortable. In the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside where I grew up, everyone got together around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and had a good chat. I hope you will do the same here at my cybertable.
I was born in Petersburg, Virginia. My father was stationed at Camp Lee at that time. This event of happenstance gives me the honor of being the only southener in the whole Adams clan! My growing up years were spent in southeastern Pennsylvania. The most formative of those years were lived out in the country, where we rented a small cottage on a property that used to be an iron smelting business. The old iron furnace, overgrown with weeds, used to be a favorite climbing place. We also had a swimming hole at the creek and a pond full of salamanders. The carefree country years finally did have to come to an end and we moved to the suburbs, where I attended junior and senior high school and college.
My degree is in Elementary Education, with an emphasis on science, as a result of those country years! I have taught in Pennsylvania, a DOD school in Germany, tutored in Idaho, and have worked for the past 26 years here in Maryland. After completing 30 years of teaching, I finally retired. It is interesting seeing what life is like on the "other side"!
My husband, Ron, is also a teacher and attended the same college as I, where we first met. Prior to his teaching career, he spent 20 years in the Air Force. Because of this, I have had the pleasure of living in Germany, Italy and Idaho. Ron also retired after 15 years of teaching here in Maryland. We have two children, a son, Frank, and a daughter, Ami. Frank lives with his wife Morgan and their children in Virginia. Frank is a computer security engineer. Ami lives only a few miles from us. Her first child is Amielia Haley, who is 18. She is in high school now. Our grandson is 14. His name is Hal Eugene, III, but we call him Trey. Trey just completed his first year of high school. The day after Christmas, 2000, we were blessed with Abigail Faith, who goes on to middle school next fall. Then, on Christmas Day, 2002, Frank and Morgan added their first child, Zoe Caitlin to our growing family. In September, 2003, Ami added another granddaughter to the group. She is Skylar Grace. Sky just finished second grade and is ready for third grade in the fall. We added our sixth grandchild and fifth granddaughter when Frank and Morgan had their second child, Lily Seraphim, on June 27, 2004. Both Zoe and Lily have done extremely well in school and are a great pride for all of us. On September 1st, 2005, Ami gave birth to twin boys, William Stanley and Gavin Alexander. They have completed first grade and are well on their way in elementary school. Then, on November 12, 2006, Frank and Morgan added Gabriel, the first and only male child to carry our surname! Gabriel loved going to pre-school and is now ready to enter kindergarten this fall. So grows the crew!
We were "owned" by several pets, a yellow lab named MacGraw (Mac), an Old English Mastiff - Knight Templar of Maryland, Frodo, and 2 cats, Merlin and Bitty Kitty. They have all crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It was very strange not having a pet. But, after a long dry spell, we now have Daegan and Kieren.They are American Mastiffs.
My hobbies used to be gardening, cooking, needlecrafts and crossword puzzles. However, since we hooked up to the internet, I find any spare time is devoted to my computer. I was webmaster for several community sites as well as my own. I have enjoyed teaching myself computer graphics and had a great time doing it! I work with the Paint Shop Pro users group, PlusPSP, and PhotoImpact International. I continue to play with graphics through tutorials. Some of my work can be seen under the Paint Shop Pro and Terragen Images buttons at the bottom.
UPDATE: In 2007, I had my right hip replaced. That surgery went very well, but the pain problem was not solved. Further investigation showed some major lumbar spinal problems. So, on June 25, 2008, I had three lumbar fusions. That still didn't solve the problem. So, in August, 2009, a final fusion of 9 vertebrae was done. Having three major operations three years apart has taken a toll. Weight gain and lack of exercize have made walking or standing for long periods of time difficult. Currently, I am working on weight loss and hope to add exercize to the routine once the weight has come off. Progress is slow, but in the right direction.
2014: The years continue to fly by. There were several years without any pets, we were going to retire and travel whenever the spirit moved us. We are now pet owners again. After all the surgeries, having the grandgirls come to live with us, and not traveling much of anywhere, I decided I was going to have a dog. Two years later, we decided that our dog needed a dog. That is how Daegan, our brindle female American Mastiff, and Kieren, our fawn male American Mastiff, came to be members of our family.
Daegan and Kieren have now crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Our remaining American Mastiff is Jessie, a girl we rehomed when she was 4. She is now 6 years old.
We also fostered three kittens from the Humane Society. They were supposed to go back to the Society for adoption, but, guess what? They now live with us too!
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