A Child of the 70's

My husband and I in Paris, 1978

I was a child of the 70's.

I wore bell-bottom jeans and embroidered, gauzy blouses, often with long beads around my neck.

I wore granny boots and tie-dyed t-shirts.

My hair was long, blonde and straight (the only decade where my thin, straight hair fit in), until I had to chop it off (see photo) when it was ruined by going in a swimming pool with too much chlorine. (It turned my hair green!!)

I often wore dark eyeliner and purple and blue eye shadow, but very little lipstick

I listened to the soothing sounds of Jim Croce and the Carpenters, and sang along with Carly Simon and Carol King; played John Denver and Bread on my stereo.

I also went to my share of rock concerts, most notably Chicago and Carlos Santana. We listened to Donna Summer and did the "Hustle".

It was the decade of "cool." My teachers were cool, too. They were hippies abroad, traveled extensively, were probably liberals in today's sense of the word, and taught us History and Social Studies against the background of yesterday's battlefields.

I loved the 70's. I graduated from high school in 1976 while living in Germany. It was a small DOD school for military dependents. Life was simpler then. We didn't have electronics. Unless you count 'boom boxes'. People actually called you on the phone. I took "Bookkeeping" in High School, an archaic subject nowadays. I also took Typing. At least that skill stayed with me.

I wanted to be a lawyer in the 70's. I love Law, Government, Politics, History, Philosophy, etc. I love a good debate.  My first job after High School was in a bank, so I became a banker instead.

I met my husband in 1977, in the Spring. It's funny how this time of year brings back those memories. We took little weekend trips to Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, etc.
We sampled the local wines in the villages along the Rhine River. When our daughter was born our landlord gave us a bottle of wine as a present. He owned a vineyard.
The 1970's were cool. After I had written this post I thought of all the sweet memories I had. And no wonder that Spring is a bittersweet time because I met my husband in April and lost him in April, too.
What decade brings back memories for you?

Blessings,
Anita

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms are in bloom at at the park.

It was a perfect day to take the grandchildren 

to feed the ducks...

or sit and watch the fish...

This is the Japanese bridge.

A perfect day.

Storm Warnings

It was another scary day in North Alabama. The tornado sirens started early. By 9:30 this morning tornadoes had already hop-scotched across our county. It destroyed  dozens of homes, and also hit a high school, middle school, a church and the restaurant where my daughter was hired for her first job. That family restaurant is less than five miles from my house. Here's a picture of the tornado that someone took.

Nerves were on edge...we don't want a repeat of April 27, 2011, the day of the tornado outbreak that devastated entire towns all throughout the Southeast.

Things have calmed down. We are safe. As my grandson said, "Jesus can stop the storm."

Blessings,

Anita