Family Stuff
This is a non-cat page.....a glimpse into the other side of my world. This is just my fun page. I have interested links below pertaining to my daughter's wedding photos, my kids entrepenuer ventures or interests and hobbies, and all sorts of this and that of life here at the farm in High Point. First a few pictures...
We have a small herd of fence cleaners (a.k.a. goats) and occassionally I end up having to bottle feed two or more "kids" that need a bit of help. This is Buttercup. A diaper and duct tape allowed her to romp around the den a bit for those first few weeks....but, then out she went.
I have always had Great
Danes - growing up and
all my "married life." I
did raise Danes there
for a bit too. This is Clementine as a puppy...isn't she a beautiful Harlequin colored Great Dane?
Below is a picture of "what she grew into"...all 140 lbs.
And.....I have three great kids.
Eldest is Jillian. She is married now to a wonderful son-in-law named John. Their first child, Tucker, was born 9/7/07. Their "first baby, tho, is a faithful chocolate lab follows her every movement.
She is a potter who
has set up her
workshopt here at
the farm. She was
deemed "Up and
Coming Artist" by
AVA here in
Chattanooga. One link
shows a sampling of
her best pottery.
Another link
shows a few of her
best Wedding
Pictures (June 4, 2005)
with all events taking
place out here at the farm.
Middle child Heather graduated from the University of Virginia with a civil/structural
engineering degree. She was a varsity rowing athlete garnering an All-American Award her Junior Year. After graduation, she returned to Chattanooga and soon began working for Worley-Parsons Engineering. Though her work at WP is a full-time engineering job, she coaches rowing every afternoon at Chattanooga Junior Rowing Club (where she herself learned to row during high school) as the Head Coach. She owns a home in North Chattanooga and visits the farm when time allows. She gives much of herself in these endeavors but often has time to create beautiful knitted scarves too!
Youngest is Jeremy who graduated from Chattanooga Christian High School, went off to Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. for two years, returned to Chattanooga to attend University of Tennessee. He has been living independently since returning - working as a land manager in North Chattanooga while attending college full time. He will graduate in December 2010 with majors in both Entrepenuership and Marketing. He is a jack of
trades and a master of none. We like to refer to him as a Renaissance Man.
His interests and activities have been so diverse that he is hard to fit into any
one peg. He did soccer and choir and school plays and powder puff while in
high school. He has worked at Ruby Falls as a tour guide, R&R Marketing as
an intern, Head of Marketing at a Haunted House, and now Land Manager
which has involved all sorts of things. He loves to swing dance and watch
drive in movies yet he is mechanically minded and family oriented. He is a
straight arrow and a honorable son.
And I have been married to a very patient man, David....who puts up with all my critter interests
In fact, one time someone asked him (after meandering around the farm and seeing our menagerie, asked David, "So, David, how do you put up with all these animals?" David, without a moment of hesitation, replied...."Well, I figure if you are gonna have a wife, you might as well have a happy wife." What a man!
David was a truckdriver with C&S Transportation. He has one many local and state truck driving "road-eo" competitions and competed numerous times nationally. He moved from truck driver to Safety Generalist at Kenco only to get laid off last year in the down turned economy. So, back to truck driving - and this time it is over the road. When he has free time (free time as it - when he isn't fixing fences, helping the son-in-law restore the old farmhouse, hauling hay, bushhogging the north forty, doing the honey do list or working 50+ hours a week at his day job), he loves to garden (half chore half pleasure but it inevitably looks like a segment of Victoria Garden), go fly-fishing and camping with the kids (ya know, the rustic kind of camping where you are out in the middle of nowhere and off the beaten path), relax in the hot tub, eat BarBQue, and watch John Wayne movies. He has been a loving husband and very supportive of all of my critter interests. He has built contraption after contraption - a cattery building, a cattery pavilion, kitty condos, and more. He has hauled off barrels of stinky kitty litter, helped birth kitty babies in my absence, and learn to handle cats sleeping on him during the night. He has touted before to a friend who came out and marveled at all of the critters saying, "If you are gonna have a wife - you might as well have a happy wife." As I gleamed with price over his loving supportive words....he has been a true silent partner in my cat adventures and journey - I could not have done it without him!
Both our daughter's have him wrapped around their pinkies.
David was honored to be selected as one of a few truckdrivers nationwide each year to represent the trucking industry with the America's Road Team. He does some public speaking on how to share the road safely with trucks as well as promotes the industry at conventions and Truck Shows across the country.
And finally me - always camera shy....
My life does revolved around my kids - going to school events, rowing regattas, soccer matches, festivals, family get-togethers and so on....I wouldn't have it any other way.
I am a bona fide animal nut - always have been. We have had chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, cows, a pet emu, a parakeet, dogs, and cats....just not all at once! When I go out in my yard, my voice alone beckons the goat to baaa at me, the sheep to bleet, and the horses to see if I bring food. There is lots of work to keep up with this menagerie but how wonderful at daybreak when the morning mist begins to burn off that you see a picturesque green field dotted
with horses, goats, and sheep.
I don't have too many other
hobbies but do enjoy my flower
gardens and I play bridge often
with three long time dear friends
who care for me no matter what.
I use to ride horses often but
don't seem to find time for that
anymore unless the kids are
home.
I am a part time church secretary
but long to be home with my
animals and my farm. I love the
peace and quiet of nature but
love it when the driveway is full of
cars - which means that my kids
are home from school or friends
are here.
My elderly mom lives on the other
side of the farm property and
soon Jill will occupy the old
farmhouse up near the barn. My
journey is satisfying and this
place is more than a place - it is a
way of life. God, family, and farm.
Below are a few more pictures
that help to paint a fuller picture
of life here in High Point.
Our Little House in the Woods
This is the view out off of my front porch looking towards the barn and pasture.
I live on family property. This is our driveway and this gorgeous view of High Point is from my mom's window.
Double click to edit
I have always loved horses and had a small herd of them. I previously had a Spotted Saddle Horse breeding program but now concentrate on my cats. This is lady - a beautiful chocolate spotted racking mare.
This picture is when Heather was 5 or 6. She has always enjoyed simple pleasures and is always doing "for others."
Jillian was born with a special knack for and with animals. She is also very artistic in everything she does - from turning a country farm wedding into a mystic fairytale, to creating earthy pottery that brings out natures beauty, to her unique art projects like the
graphic design on
the right (of the
farm), to her and
John restoring the
old farmhouse and
turning an old 140
year old run down
farmhouse into a
quaint and charming
home. Last picture (right) is of Jill and John titled "Happily Ever After."
Time moves on, and
much work has been
accomplished on the
farmhouse -
