Throwback Thursday - Who's That Girl?!

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Welcome to another Throwback Thursday featuring a member of our little Yahoo group, someone you may not recognize in this first picture but you will as you scroll down...

1985 (bartender by night and accountant by day) - Yes I loved the local car races but I never drove - this photo is from a camera shop in the Dells!

2012 - happiest day of my life as granddaughter marries

 2013 - church photo - hair really was silver tho!

"Welcome to Linda's world - just a peek into lil ole me!  Basically I love nature, people and crafts, but my entire life centers around "My God".  Yes, I do pray daily at all times, I thank the Lord for all the wonderful things he has allowed me to see/touch/do.  Now please read on - you'll see why.

I loved grade and high school, especially my Home Ec and art classes.  Oh yes, I loved math, science, English, German, even took summer classes to keep thriving....always maintaining high grades.  But at age 9 and the oldest of 4 children, my father passes away at only 34 years old of a massive coronary and pulmonary embolism they told me - didn't know what that was at the time.  Would learn later the entire family was basically under the cloud of this thing called FACTOR V LEIDEN from congenital issues.  But now I'm active as mom's biggest helper, have to babysit other kids, do errands for townspeople while mom survived with us on only dad's vet pension.  I learned to pin and draw chickens for the freezer at that ripe age of 10.  Little time for crafts, I survived on school - it drew me into another place in time where I loved to read and dream etc.  

But now mom passes away only 6 years later in a diabetic coma just leaving all 4 of us - me at age 15 didn't even know how to drive.  But we made it into fine occupations.  I've worked as secretaries, property managers, a university professor private secretary, a paralegal for many years and my final fun job was in marketing for both Lands' End and then my husband and his brother's hovercraft manufacturing.  I did the marketing, the bookkeeping, the gophering, and yes the lectures at the schools as we took them around the country.  We sold 150 and retired happily.   And now I had a lot of pictures from all those adventures and my daughter told me about SCRAPBOOKING!  OMGoodness, I am still thrilled when I think of that first page she gave me!  

I am the first female to fly a 'flying hovercraft' (a/k/a WIG) which normally hovers/flies 7 ft. off the surface of a river/sandbar/logical surfaces!  One day the guys couldn't get the latest model to fly under their light weights of 170# - so I begged.  My heart was in my throat hoping I could be the person to do it!  AND IT FLEW!  20 FEET off the surface of the Miss. River.  When I flew near tree tops I remember wondering how to get down so gently let up and up but then accidentally killed the switch and pancaked about 5 ft. off the surface.  Nothing hurt but a tailbone!  :)  Here's part of my huge website that I still maintain the huge website for Star Cruiser.  

Now that I'm retired, I am a design team member on SEEMS A LITTLE SKETCHY, OUTLAWZ GREETINGS CHALLENGE, and SQUIGGLEFLY DESIGNS, as well as designing cards for a friend in northern WI so she can take them to wholesale shows.

I mentioned in the beginning 'around My God' ... well not to get too religious on you, but I was all set to become a Benedictine nun at the time of my mom's death! What a change in events in my life....especially drawing on my faith later as I survived a heart attack and a stroke - thanks to today's medicine as well.  Sadly, it haunts me tho that my dad did not have that opportunity and being a veteran of WWII it would've been marvelous to give him the Honor Flight to Washington!  

I do all I can to inspire my 4 great grandchildren, who are the apples of my eye.  I see 3 grown young men and a lady there someday, I only hope I leave them that artistic inspiration!   Right now they are my Achilles Heel - I'll listen and love every quiet moment and secret they share with me.

I want my children, granddaughter, and great grandchildren to remember me as having helped this precious earth, that I loved people and saw the good in all people, and in everything I've touched I gloried in what was given me...nothing huge, just life."

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Linda. You sound busier now that you're "retired" than when you were working!!  (Yes, I am - is it necessary to slow down tho?)  :)