Saturday, November 22, 2008

Secrets!

Darla over at Family and Flowers tagged me to write 6 things you don't know about me. I have done this a couple times before so I hope I don't repeat myself. There isn't much that I haven't told, I don't think.1. I love to garden but I only have one houseplant. It is in my beauty shop on the windowsill. It has almost died several times. My daughter looked at this plant in my living room one day and asked "Is that a fake plant?!! I can't believe you have a fake plant!!" Since I love the plant holder and had already killed 2, I decided I better go fake!


2. When my Father's family came over from Sweden they changed their name from Cederquist to Carlson. Then his Mother died and left his Dad with 4 small children. As was common back then, the children were given away to relatives. My Dad was the youngest and he and his older sister were given to a cousin. Their names were then changed to Olson. His 2 other sisters were given to two other families several miles away. Miraculously, they remained in touch. None of this was done thru the system or made legal. That's just the way it was back then. So who am I really?

3. When I was young, my Mom made me take ballet lessons because I was so clumsy. I'm not sure that it helped much!

4. I also took piano lessons for several years. My Mom was a very good pianist so we always had an old piano in our home. I was never accomplished and didn't continue past junior high school.


5. I went thru all the ranks for Girl Scouts. As a Senior Scout I earned the highest award possible. During school I helped my Mom with a troop and when my daughter was in school I had her Brownie troop. I believe it is a great organization and wish more teen girls would give it a try.

6. This is a biggie! You know I'm desperate when I tell a real secret to the world! My Uncles had a special nickname for me. As I got older I hated it but by then they were so used to it they didn't even think about it. My one Uncle worked construction and I walked by where he was working. At the time, a boy from my class was also working there. Imagine my embarrassment when from the roof he yelled " Hi! Jerky!!" Yup, that's what they called me! The last time I saw my one uncle before he passed away he still slipped and called me Jerky! I'm told they called me that as a baby and I smiled so they decided I liked it!

I'm supposed to tag some people but I know everyone is busy so if you want to make me feel better by telling one or more of your deep, dark, secrets just leave me a comment and let me know.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

thank you for playing, that's some interesting things. I really enjoyed it.

Wendy said...

Wow - that's a lot of good stuff. Strange giving away children back in the old days. I guess that's how people survived. Who could afford to take in all 4 children? Probably not many.
Interesting how your name changed with the times.

Sweetie said...

Hi Jean, I enjoyed reading the six things about you. I do a lot of family genealogy and have found that families took in relatives' children and changed their names quite often. That has led me on some wild goose changes. Your plant looks like a real plant to me. I took ballet lessons. I was so skinny and awkward. I took piano lessons and still like to play. I guess that we have a lot in common.
Sweetie

Suzanne said...

Loved the story of the name changes in your family. I've done quite a bit of genealogy for our family and I can tell you that a situation like that is a genealogist's nightmare! Unless of course you know all about the changes like you do, then it's just really, really interesting! ;o)

Lori said...

Thank you for sharing your 6 things. I must ask though, who is the artist for the "friends" above? I'd love to to order a print, if I could find it online.

Rosemary said...

LOved your sharing, love your nickname, obviously they cared very much for you to give you a tag.

Diana LaMarre said...

That was a fun read, Jean. I think it's cute that your uncles had a nick for you. You must have a close family.

I don't like houseplants either. I have two that were a gift (Christmas cactus). They don't take much care. By the time frost hits I am happy to put the plant scare aside for a few months.

I hope you have a good Thanksgiving. I will be working all day and then going to MIL for dinner. I work a lot of holidays so I am used to it.