What can be said about a woman who spends so much time in bed?   Quite a bit I should think.  Is she an invalid?  Is she a slut?  Perhaps she’s depressed or just plain lazy.  Sarah Ban Breathnach  author of the bestseller Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy confessed to sometimes working on her books while ensconced in bed.  So in my own defense let me just say that spending lots of time in bed is not always a bad thing or unproductive.

Although I must confess that I never thought I’d spend this much time in my bed alone!   But here I am!  To be fair I do spend a lot of time in my bathtub too. There’s something wonderful about soaking in a large tub, surrounded by an exotic array of lotions and potions, bubble baths and body scrubs.  The only light emanating from the glow of a multitude of candles, the light playing off their silver and crystal holders and highlighting the rich ruby color of the merlot in my wine glass.  Heavenly moments spoiled only by trying to channel Coco Chanel only to have Lizzie Borden come through. What can I say? I have issues.

I am an English woman by birth and by culture.  A woman who took for granted her flawless peaches and cream complexion.  I won’t tell you my age but I will say that currently my complexion is more prunes and oatmeal.  I have also been transformed from Twiggy  ( the famous model of the 1960’s )  who had the figure of a stick insect to, oh how shall I say it? more curvaceous.   I have been a widow for more years than I like to remember and while I have not had any bodice ripper affairs I have had my moments.  I was raised a Roman Catholic and educated in parochial schools and as a young woman was converted to Mormonism.  I have a dear friend who contends that I was not so much converted as simply outwitted!  He may be right.

I have three amazing children, one of whom passed away almost three years following her father’s death.  (It’s sad, I can’t keep houseplants alive either) and I am lucky enough to have three grandchildren who are the light of my life.

I have many passions and now that Barack is the president elect  ( yeah! )   my energy can once again focus on issues dear to my heart, such as human rights, reproductive rights, poverty, the various peace organizations, women’s rights and of course children’s rights. Did you know that the USA and Somalia are the only two countries who have not signed the International Declaration on the Human Rights of the Child?  Righteous indignation can still get me out of bed for a protest march and speaking of righteous indignation, I don’t wish to be crude but the passage of Prop. 8 in California and the involvement of the LDS church got me out of bed faster than a laxative!

I enjoy people who are witty and have a highly developed sense of humor, I guess that’s one of the reasons I love Janice’s Chopped Liver site so much.  I have a great affinity for nature and have many favorite places but my greatest peace and contentment comes from being close to the ocean, perhaps it’s because I am a Pisces and lived on an island for the first twenty years of my life, which begs the question: why have I been wandering around in a desert longer than Moses?  ( 44 years!)   I love to read and have an eclectic library of a great many books.  Allison thinks I need to thin the “herd” but as Thomas Jefferson stated, “I cannot live without my books.”  For those of you who may not know me, Allison got me in her divorce from her first husband. I was his aunt through marriage. Allison has been a dear and loyal friend and I think I am glad that she talked me into this blogging thing.