About I can blame my mom. I say that tongue in cheek. She passed her love of gardening on to her children. She loved her gardens, especially her flower gardens. She didn’t start out gardening just flowers. With five hungry kids, we had a large vegetable garden that we all had to tend to. As children left the nest, the gardens eventually turned into flower gardens. And they were so beautiful. She became a master gardener and was a member of the Poynette Garden Club, helping beautify the small village of Poynette, WI, my hometown. My dad soon got on the gardening bandwagon and discovered his passion for hostas. Together they made their corner of Main and Seward Streets in Poynette quite lovely, overflowing with baskets and beds of flowers wherever they could find room. They were always on the move to different greenhouses and nurseries. Our treks to the Amish flower auction in Dalton are legendary- we filled their van to the brim! Oh, what fun we had trying to stuff all our purchased flowers in dad’s van! Mom loaded down with flowers after our trip to the flower auction My family. L-R Back Row: Brother Chris, Dad, Brother Marty, MeFront Row: Sister Janet, Mom, my Twin Sister Cheryl Unfortunately, Mom suffered a horrible stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. Her gardening days were over. To go to bed a vibrant, active woman then end up needed to be cared for almost every need was quite a blow. But she persevered for 5 years. My dad kept up all the gardens and my mom loved being wheeled around to check out her gardens. She enjoyed going to all the local nurseries and gardens. She especially enjoyed trips to the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, WI. Sadly, Mom passed away October 5th, 2019. Dad still keeps up all the gardens. Gradually, as I have owned my own homes with my husband, Jim, my gardens have grown. I love digging and planting and watching things grow. Like my parents, I started with vegetables, but with heavy clay soil here and a short growing season, it was tough going and really I was quite a failure. If we had to rely on my vegetable garden for sustenance, we would have starved. Plus, my vegetable garden kept getting more shade as trees grew up around it. Slowly, my vegetable garden became a shade garden. Now I have many perennial gardens and also do many annual pots. As most of you gardeners know- its addicting. It’s my “thing”! My relaxation, my hobby, and my “escape”. I can putter around my gardens all day and before I know it, suppertime has passed! Some of my gardens. Bear the dog seemed to pose. He must have been on the lookout for squirrels. A few years ago I began pressing flowers and making pictures from from them. After awhile I had enough pictures and was pondering what else I could do with my pressed flowers when I remembered some jewelry I had purchased years ago that had flowers in it. I had thought to myself at the time, “I can do this”. Well, I retired from a 35 year career as a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, so it was about time I learned! With much trial and error I did learn and my jewelry ended up being gifts. Soon, with urging from friends, I began the craft sale circuit. I do this for fun and a hobby. I find it very rewarding when folks enjoy my jewelry and find the perfect piece. Mom and me at the Rotary Gardens in Janesville, WI Friends and me with our pressed flower creations A Little Bit More About Me I live in Hermantown, MN, which is a “suburb” of Duluth, MN- a beautiful area on the shores of Lake Superior- and yes- waaaay up north. Some people think it is near Canada, but we are still 150 miles from the Canadian border. I grew up in the tiny village of Poynette in southern Wisconsin, which is about 25 miles north of Madison. I attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison (Go Badgers!) where I earned my BS in meteorology. I spent most of my weather career at the National Weather Service in Duluth, MN. I retired in 2018 after 35 years and am loving retirement. I met my husband, Jim, at the NWS and we married in 1988. We have two daughters, Anna-Marie and Carla. Anna is a corrections officer at the county jail for just a short time more and recently became a registered nurse and will begin her new career at a local hospital. Carla just graduated from UW-Madison with an art degree and is on her way to a new career in glass-blowing. We used to have quite a menagerie of pets, but are now down to one dog, Finnegan, a mixed breed Corgi, and a cat, although Anna’ dog, Bear, is with us frequently as she works long hours. My hobbies include gardening (of course!), I am also a houseplant lover, I play guitar and love to ride my bike, but I admit that I am a fair-weather biker. I am active in our church- the webmaster, on the prison worship team, Sunday school team and do lay leadership, among other things. I am also working toward becoming a master gardener (DONE! See below). I have done the course and now working to get in my volunteer hours. I love the outdoors- hiking, canoeing, etc, and also like a good book. I guess you could say I am never, ever bored. The Christenson’s- Anna-Marie, husband Jim, Me, Carla and Bear the dog This past year was my first year as a full-fledged master gardener. Master gardeners volunteer many hours to educate the public about horticultural practices and to improve people’s lives. You can read about one of my volunteer projects in the October issue of the Senior Reporter that gave me great joy and satisfaction by providing plants to assisted living residents . Below are a few photos. I plan on keeping this project going as there are so many more eager recipients! My house is filled with pots getting ready to go and cuttings in water growing roots. This was my intern year- I gave plants to an agency that has group homes throughout the area.