V: Five Questions




The main reason that I enjoy blogging is because it is about connecting with other people. You discover that your neighborhood reaches all across the world to places that you might never have the opportunity to visit in person. It interests me to "meet" other people and hear the stories they have to tell. Yes, I know I keep saying that everyone has a story!

So in blogdom, it's not just about "us" and our stories, but about all our friends out there, most of whom we'll never meet in person. Our friend, Kathleen, from Four Miles North of Nowhere, and Kate, from Chronicles of a Country Girl, have posed questions as a means of sparking interesting dialogue on their blogs. Don't know if it'll work here, but I thought it would be fun to try it! I'll be first and I'll even use photographs to illustrate my answers! Feel free to answer briefly, or if you have an interesting related story, please share!

So here are the 5 questions:


1. Where were you born and how far from there do you live now?

2. What is your favorite view outside your window?

3. What is your favorite candy or sweet?

4. What is your most special, treasured piece of jewelry?

5. What is your favorite scent? Perfume, flower, and/or food.



Stick Horse Cowgirl V:

1. Where were you born?

I was born in Ft.Smith, AR at Sparks Memorial Hospital. It was two days before Christmas and my mother said that she remembers the carolers singing at the hospital. I currently live approximately 167 miles from where I was born. Ft. Smith is the 2nd largest city in Arkansas, located on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. An infamous "border town", it was a hotbed of outlaw activity in the 1870-1890's!


Many outlaws met their end on the gallows outside the courtroom of the famed "Hangin' Judge" Isaac Parker. His jail was known as "Hell on the Border". "C" and I visited Ft. Smith recently and toured Judge Parker's courtroom, the gallows and the jail. That jail had to be a miserable place! In his 21 years on the bench, Judge Parker sentenced 161 men to death. 79 executions took place on the gallows. "People have said to me, "You are the judge who has hung so many men, and I always answer: "It is not I who has hung them. I never hung a man. It is the law," Parker said.



2. What is your favorite view outside your window?

It is my backyard patio and the woods beyond. Also, my neighbor's horse next across the field.






3. What is your favorite candy?

I DO love chocolate, but my favorite hard candy is without a doubt Napoleon Sour Bon Bons! This luscious candy is imported from Belgium and comes in assorted fruit flavors: Lemon, Cherry, Tangerine, Lime, and Pineapple. It is unique in that the hard candy shell encases a tart powder center which will make your mouth pucker!!! Apparently many chemotherapy patients find the lemon Napoleons helpful with the symptoms of dry mouth and metallic taste that often results from treatment.



4. What is your favorite piece of jewelry?



An especially sentimental piece is an ivory carved rose pendant that my Great- Aunt Velma purchased on a trip abroad many years ago. Of course genuine ivory is no longer harvested because of the endangered status of the elephant. She was a wealthy widow who traveled all over the world and treated my sister and I as surrogate grandchildren. This photo shows a necklace like the one she brought back from her travels. I think it is in my youngest daughter's jewelry box now! Both of my daughters love it --this might be a problem! lol



5. What is your favorite scent? This can be a perfume, flower or even food!


I sometimes try new scents, but I always return to my favorite fragrance, Fifth Avenue by Elizabeth Arden.



I love the delicate scent of the rose, and the heavier lush fragrance of the gardenia. As I child, there was a mimosa tree outside my window with the most delicious scent.




Nothing smells better than fresh brewing coffee on a cold, frosty morning!--V

Comments

KathySue said…
1. Where were you born and how far from there do you live now? I was born in Little Rock, AR--St. Vincent's Hospital...Now I live in Tuscaloosa, AL which is the home of the Crimson Tide and causes me a little split loyalties with football teams. Grew up with "Hot mania" and now, being a graduate of a different "U of A", I support the "Tide" (and when they play Arkansas I just say "I can't lose today"!

2. What is your favorite view outside your window? I work from home and love the view from my home office - it is of the woods behind my house and at the woodland edge we have started landscaping...so there are some "toddler" shrubs and trees planted and I am gradually adding perinneals as I find them on sale. I have oakleaf hydrangeas (what is left after the deer munched on them in early spring), knockout roses, some kind of nandina, cypress tree, corkscrew willow and maples.

3. What is your favorite candy or sweet? Cotton Candy - hands down! Favorite Christmas present...Cotton Candy machine...didn't work very well...but I got a little heavenly fluff from it and it was magical!

4. What is your favorite piece of jewelry? This is hard...Prettiest is the black pearl ring my husband gave me for our anniversary this year and it is certainly loved and special. And I absolutely love my wedding ring, but I don't think it is my favorite either. My favorite piece of jewelry is my childhood charm bracelet that I never wear. It has a piano charm because I loved taking piano lessons. There is a charm with my March birthstone. Then there is the lovely "head" with my name on it and the date for my 10th birthday. Of course there is a roller skate because I absolutely loved skating. And then there is this squirrel...Not sure what the significance of the squirrel was. But I do remember the excitement of getting new charms for that bracelet and remember my parents; excitement over getting them for me.

5. What is your favorite scent? Perfume, flower, and/or food. That would be a toss up between the heavenly cotton candy smell and gardenias!
KathySue said…
oops...Hit the wrong button and did not preview - that would be "Hog Mania"
kath001 said…
Thanks for mentioning my poor little blog which has been sorely neglected lately. Even my boss is telling me to blog more...not at work of course. LOL

1. I was born...on the Texas gulf coast.
2. My favorite view outside the window...the afternoon sun shining on the hills.
3. Candy or sweet...Godiva chocolate...I won a European vacation in their Valentine's Day Giveaway in 2004...to anywhere we chose to go...we went to Ireland.
4. Tresured piece of jewelry...a little enamel shamrock with a fake pearl in the center...when i was little, I gave it to my mother for her St Patrick's day birthday and she always kept it
5. Favorite scent...a baby...nothing like it!
Zuzana said…
This definitely worked, I so enjoyed reading this post!
Your views are out of this world and I agree with you on the candy.;) My favorite too, or at least one of them. And I love the scents you mention too.;)
Have a lovely Friday,
xo
KathyB. said…
I enjoyed learning a little bit more about you~ the view out your window is indeed very nice and I can see why it is so special !

You are so right about blogging connecting us with other people,and I am still amazed that we can connect with people world-wide!Thank-you for sharing a bit of your story V.
Sumandebray said…
nice to know a little about you. Enjoyed
Reading
Gone are the days when one is to live close to where one is born.
Kat_RN said…
What a nice idea,
1. I was born in Ogden Ut at St. Benedicts Hospital. I am the youngest of nine children, or as my Father put it, Oops.
2. My favorite window view is over the kitchen sink. You look out towards the barn from there.
3. Favorite candy is chocolate, but favorite sweet is my Sweet Hubby's home made pumpkin pie.
4. Favorite piece of jewelry, my wedding ring.
5. My favorite scent is lavender.
Cheers, Kat
5th avenue is my favourite fragrance too
V, since your girls will probably fight over Aunt Velma's pendant, you should leave it to me....

1. Fayetteville, AR--couple hours and couple hundred miles from where I now live.

2. Love my breakfast room window into the woods.

3. Since I consider chocolate a medicine, let me say: gelato might be my favorite, although this changes.

4. I love my pearl necklace. I wear it several days of every week.

5. I am not huge on perfume. The scents of roses and honeysuckle pop into my mind. And, odd duck that I am, I LOVE the distinctive scent of horses. I love to bury my face in one's neck and take in that scent. C
Tanna said…
I was born in Sweetwater, TX. About 365 miles from where I live now.

Favorite view is out my bedroom window to the fish pond.

Candy... milk chocolate with almonds... mmmm...

Favorite piece of jewelry... my wedding ring. Simple silver James Avery... Song of Soloman verse in Hebrew... My Beloved is mine...

Favorite scent... oh, there are so many... honeysuckle, scented geraniums, steak on the grill, heavy wet morning air, my grandson...
Anonymous said…
Hi V great to learn all these thing.
Born in Lebanon,Ky. hospital about 30 miles from where I live.Favorite candy is chocolate for sure. Favorite view is out my breakfast room window to the bird feeders.My favorite scent is lavendar. My favorite piece of jewelry is Blue Topaz pendent HH gave me, because he gave it to me. Nice post V. Blessings
QMM
1. Where were you born and how far from there do you live now? I was born in LR Ar., St. Vincents

2. What is your favorite view outside your window? my trees and hanging baets and flower beds

3. What is your favorite candy or sweet? fudge

4. What is your most special, treasured piece of jewelry? My bracelet that Aex and Jill go me, it is wide slver bangle from Bahamas

5. What is your favorite scent? Perfume, flower, and/or food.
love smelling great nothern beans cooking, scent is roses or power smell
With the loss of our boy Maguire I'm getting caught up on my blog visits, and love spending time on yours!! But I did something like this list, this week as well and I really enjoy reading others answers because you find out some interesting and fun things about people when you do!! THANKS for sharing!! Hope you've had a good weekend!!
Ayak said…
What a good idea.

1. I was born in Berkshire, England and now live near Bodrum in Turkey which is approx 1675 miles as the crow flies.

2. The view from my window is spectacular..greenfields and mountains as far as the eye can see.

3. My favourite sweet...well it's chocolate..to be precise Cadburys chocolate. I'm a serious chocoholic.

4. I used to have several favourite pieces of jewellery that belonged to my grandmother. Unfortunately I was burgled about 15 years ago when I lived in England and all my jewellery was stolen. I don't really have any interest in jewellery anymore.

5. I love the smell of freesias, and I'd like to find a perfume that smells the same. I love the smell of bacon cooking.
Sandra said…
This is a wonderful idea, V! If you don't mind, I think I'll do a post like this too. Soooo interesting to hear everyone's answers. :)

I was born in Springfield, Missouri about 600 miles from where I live now. We live on a small lake and I never get tired of that view. My favorite candy is anything that combines chocolate, nuts and carmel, but my favorite sweet is a reallly good, reallly gooy cinnamon roll. My very favorite piece of jewelry is the eternity ring Hubby gave me 6 years ago. Whenever I look at it I smile. I am a "scent" person, so enjoy many scents, but one of my favorites is a lilac.
Anonymous said…
V, I enjoyed all your remarks. Question: Where do you get the bon bons? I've never tried them but would like to from your recommendation. They just sound good today. :) Also, have you ever smelled the blossoms on a sweet olive tree/bush? The blossom oils are used as the main ingredient in Chanel #5 perfume. Heavenly!
Anonymous said…
Dee from Tennessee

1. Born in Oak Ridge, TN -- The "Secret City" during World War Two. Live about 80-90 miles from Oak Ridge now.
2. Maybe a view out front window when it is snowing. Just don't have good views sad to say.
3. Good (expensive in other words) chocolate malt balls
4.my plain wide weddding band of almost 40 yrs
5. not sure....Chanel No 5 brings back college days instantly and those were some of the best days of my life
carla said…
1. I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and live about 300 miles from there now. My heart remains in Mingo, the community just east of the airport, which is now gone. I feel like the lady in "A Trip to Bountiful."

2. It would either be out the east window because all I can see is our land. Our land goes up from our home and then dips down, so we'll never have to look at anything someone else puts up. Or the view out our kitchen window in the springtime and early summer when the wildflowers are blooming. My sweet husband mows around the big patches so I can enjoy them longer.

3. My favorite candy would be either a Hershey bar or my husband's homemade fudge, which he will only make at Christmastime. When we were going to spend several months in England I went to Sam's and bought a big box of Hershey bars to take with me. Sadly, they didn't last the whole time.

4. None of my jewelry is valuable in dollars, but the one that means the most to me is the bracelet my dad made for me in the metal shop at Douglas Aircraft when I was a little girl. I lost it (probably took it to school when I was told not to); a few years ago when my mother realized that she would not be able to live at home anymore, she gave me the bracelet that Daddy had made for her. So I value it the highest, along with the note she put with it. Because of Alzheimer's, she can no longer read or write.

5. I read the question wrong the first time, but I'll go ahead and list it like I did in my mind:

a. my favorite scent is homemade chicken pot pie because it reminds me of rainy days at Mingo school when I could smell it baking from the hallway. They made it from scratch, and I don't even like to eat it, but it is my favorite scent because it always takes me back to those halcyon days.

b.My favorite perfume is either the original Jungle Gardenia or Oscar de la Renta. Oh, I forgot one: Oh! de London by Yardley. The original, not the current copy.

c. My favorite flower would be the big headed zinnias. I love their fragrance, too. Second favorite flower would be a fresh gardenia.

d. My favorite food is pinto beans and cornbread. I'd rather have it than just about anything else (and I like a lot of other things too: my homemade brownies, really good fresh fruit, homemade ice cream, just about any of the cookies that I make, and a really good salad).

It's no surprise to me that many of my favorites are from my childhood.

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