Birthday Quiz - Linda

Hello everyone.  Linda here to wish the new Our Creative Corner a happy first birthday!  I have answered a few "interview" questions to help me share a bit about myself with you.  So here we go...

What’s the first thing you’d do if you were the opposite sex for one day?
I have absolutely no idea of how to answer this question. I guess that is because I can’t think of anything I could do as a man that I can’t do as a woman.

Which of the four seasons do you prefer and why?
I love the fall season, the harvest season when the colors are so warm and rich, the leaves are turning and falling and there is a comfortable feeling of abundance.

How much time does it take you to create one of your projects?
It generally takes me three to four hours to create a tag, a mixed media project or a card front. I create a lot of my own embellishments because that is what appeals to me. Rather than using a commercial flower, I prefer to make a hand made flower. I don’t care for stickers or pre-printed chipboard embellishments on my work. I sometimes use stitching which also takes more time. I love altering metals too.

What three things do you think of most each day?
1) my family – like most moms, the wellbeing of my children and how they are faring is always on my mind. And like most daughters in my age group, I am always thinking of my aging parents, wondering how they are and checking up on them.
2) my boutique and customers – I work my boutique 7 days a week. It is amazing how much time it takes to keep up with all the tasks required to keep it running smoothly – from packing the orders and creating all the little give way packs, to shopping and placing orders with suppliers and keeping up with the financial end of things, I work every waking minute that I can squeeze in. I briefly take time out for running my home, visiting my parents two days a week and trying to get out on my bike for a couple of hours each time a few times a week.
3) my art – what are my commitments and deadlines for the week, what am I going to create and how am I going to fit it into my busy schedule?

If you had a year off, what would you want to do?
Travel – I have always wanted to travel, but must of my life has been tied up with earning a living and raising my children. Money was always tight so big/long trips were rarely do-able. Plus my husband is a cranky traveler. He doesn’t deal well with the inevitable delays and problems that come up when traveling. I have finally nagged him enough that we are taking a couple of fairly long trips this year. We have an Alaskan cruise booked for June and are in the process of arranging a driving trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York state and then on to Nantucket for a few days in August. Taking a driving trip across the USA is still on my bucket list.

And as I was responding to this interview question, I realized that we would actually be vacationing in Key West when this interview was published.

Is there something you wish you were better at?
There are a multitude of things I wish I were better at.  I wish I was better at being a friend. I don’t have any close friends…acquaintances and casual friends, yes, but no real friends. It’s all because I don’t take time to connect. I have always been obsessed with working and with my family that I just never really developed a close friendship with anyone. It’s totally my fault because I don’t take the time to reach out and stay connected.

I hope you are enjoying our birthday bash month and learning a bit more about the talented members of our design team.  The next post up will be our Guest Designer post on the 11th.  Be sure to stop by then to see who it is and what she has made for this month's post to inspire you to participate!