100 things

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I wrote the list below in 2006. A lot has happened in 5 years (have I really had this blog for five years?). The list will still tell you more than you want to know about me, but for accuracy's sake here are a few updates: Moved to North Carolina to work in communications for a university. LOVE North Carolina. Met a wonderful man. Adopted a dog. Bought a house. LOVE the man, dog, and house. Married the wonderful man. Still sewing, still designing, still blogging. Very happy. 12/29/10
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I'm Julie. I've always liked my name.
The ree is the abbreviated form of my middle name, which I inherited from my grandmother.
I love that my blog reminds me every day of her legacy.

I'm a southern girl at heart.
Hot sun through closed eyelids is the best feeling in the world.
I'm trying very hard to like NYC.
I hate the smell of garbage.

I have a twin.
She is my roommate.
She is my best friend.
She is my best honest critic.
Some day a man will take her away from me.
That man should probably beware of poisoned apples, falling pianos, and being shoved in front of oncoming buses.

I have had a surprising number of professional incarnations for a gal of my youth.
I was a bookseller.
I was a teacher.
I was a cheeseseller.
I worked as a pastry cook.
It was a tough decision between culinary school and design school.
Design school won out.
Design school is not particularly good for your health.
But ever since going to design school, it seems my eyes are open a little wider.

I must have been French in one of my previous lives.
I fantasize about moving to France.
I love that this fantasy doesn't have to come true to taste sweet.

I like handkerchiefs, knee socks, and most kinds of cereal.
I hate bubble gum, disposable housecleaning products, and socks that fall down into your shoes.

I still don't know the difference between imminence, immanence, and eminence.
But it really bugs me when people confuse "you're" and "your."
Ditto with "their" and "there."

I admire my father's unflappable and imminently (eminently?) Buddha-like self-posession and inner peace.
I admire my mother's passion, energy, and boundless generosity.
I admire my brother's sincere, easy affability and the way he never does anything halfway, but instead with passionate pursuit.
I admire my sister's candor, her vivacity, and her wonderfully wry sense of humor.

I have a phobia about cranes.
The giant construction equipment that hangs precariously off tall buildings, not the birds.

My desk drawers are always extremely neat.
My sock drawer never is.

According to my brother, I have a very "girly" movie collection.
I think I own every Jane Austen novel-turned feature film ever produced.
I guess he's right.

I believe camping is balm for the soul.
Wind blowing through trees is one of my favorite sounds.
The smell of a campfire makes me see blue mountains.

I secretly believe I have pretty feet.
My nose is not so much to write home about.

I acknowledge the usefulness of cell phones, but I hate ring tones.
I believe my DVD/VHS player has a personality disorder due to its dueling halves.
This makes him fairly temperamental, and not a little quirky.

I can't believe I'm only to 50.

I love shopping for school supplies.
I hate shopping for electronics, cars, or anything else that is expensive.

95 degrees (and up) is not too hot for me.
In winter, my toes are perpetually frozen.

Some day I want to make my own paper,
Write a story,
Print it with a letterpress,
Silkscreen the illustrations,
Bound it,
Then give it to anyone who will read it.

I never used to think of myself as "creative."
But I love creating things, so I guess I am, in fact, "creative."

I was raised on Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger.
I was "little bunny fou-foued,"
And "bushel-and-a-pecked."
I was spoiled in the best possible way—
With unconditional acceptance and admiration.

I love containers.
Boxes, tins, jars.
Pockets, folders, cabinets.
Boxes of tins stacked in cabinets make me happy.

I now know that 100 things is way too many things.
If you're still reading, I am in awe of your perseverance.

I love to diagram sentences.
I love the cryptic doodle-like marks of proofreaders.

Ingonish, Nova Scotia is the most beautiful place I've ever visited.
Talloires, France is a close second.

I climbed Pikes Peak.
(in a cog railway car).

I can't wait to retire.
I have a very long time to wait.
I will move to Florida,
learn to golf,
sit in the sun til my skin turns to leather,
and stir things up in my old folks community.

I love smocks, smocking, and smuckers (apricot).
I have a growing weakness for eBay.

Mac, not PC.
InDesign, not Quark.
Jif, not Skippy.
Skim, not 2%.
Daisies, not roses.
Chocolate, not vanilla. (well, ok, maybe both.)

I love this blog.
It encourages me to create.
It encourages me to write.
It encourages me to explore.
I hope it encourages you in some way too.
Welcome.

Phew.