Yes, I really am Linda with a Smile and that's because there are so many reasons!
I've been married
for 25 years to my husband Bill, a really tee-rrific guy who's
truly my soulmate. I have my son Dave who's one of the greatest guys
in this whole world, and I'm joined at the heart to my incredible (ex)daughter-in-law Sharon
.
I have Andi Pandi, my little cockapoo pup
who couldn't possibly be sweeter or move lovable and who never ever leaves my side, and Augie Augie, my beautiful little
kitty who starts and ends every day in my lap and is absolutely
convinced that live mice make the very best presents. I live
in sunny southern California and I'm staying here forever. I have
the best neighbors in the whole world, and I have loads of friends
and family who live close by. Put this altogether and that's why I wake up with a smile and fall asleep
content!
Bill and I have lived all over the United States, even a year in Ireland,
but have been happily settled for 20 years in sunny
Thousand Oaks which I can honestly say comes pretty close
to paradise. In fact, according to National
Geographic , we have the the best weather in the
United States and I have to agree — it's just about perfect with year-round sunny blue skies, rolling green hills, the sparkling
blue ocean only minutes away, and best of all, no bugs or humidity in the summer, and no snow
or sleet in the winter. I like to say if there really is a heaven, it looks just like this!
I've been an HR manager for two very large computer firms, an import/export manager for a gobal positioning company,
then I went into sales and sold building control systems, then wine then
finally real estate. When I found I couldn't work during the year we lived in
Ireland, I decided to take an "early retirement."
In 2002 I discovered eBay and taught
myself HTML and designed a handful of websites and now here I am, a geek
of all things, and I never even knew I had an aptitude for this stuff. In 2005 I went back to work for my
husband as the facilities
manager for his printer supplies company, and in 2007 I retired
again to get my feet fixed and I broke one before I
even got started so I spent the entire year with one foot or the other in a cast or a boot. In 2008 I took the whole year and remodeled
our house and pool and backyard. Then in 2009 we got Andi as a 10-week-old puppy
and the
rest of the year was consumed in chanelling the little blur of fur into a dog.
Happily I got to sit and smell the roses in 2010 and 2011, and now that Bill is
semi-retired, 2012 will be the most wonderful year EVER because we're going to
spend it traveling around the country in our new motorhome, just being tourists and visiting friends and
family.
I've always loved to work with textiles and at the moment, I spend my free time hooking rugs
which allows me
to be very creative with design and color, and I found it's the perfect medium to scratch my artistic itch. I've done every kind of
needlework imaginable and I paint , and I even combined the two
when I dabbled at painting needlepoint canvases, but that didn't last long because it finally dawned on me that my pretty paintings were being
stitched over and all my hours of work would never see daylight again
so that ended that!
I love antiques which is obvious from the liberal sprinkling of antique furniture, hooked rugs, miniature
woodstoves , vintage chalkboards and oil lamps
, and other treasures throughout my house that I acquired during my
travels in America and Europe. I occasionally sell some of them on
eBay, those that have long been in storage and need a new home, as well as great finds from estate auctions and the legendary southern
California swap meets. Sometimes I even sell first day baseball
covers (cachets) for my dad which is another adventure in
itself.
And that's a little bit about Linda with a
Smile. I wish everyone a happy healthy 2012 so that you, too, wake up with a smile and fall asleep content!
Yes, I really am Linda with a Smile and that's because there are so many reasons!
for 25 years to my husband Bill, a really 
guy who's
truly my soulmate. I have my son Dave 
who's one of the greatest guys
in this whole world, and I'm joined at the heart to my incredible (ex)daughter-in-law Sharon
.
I have Andi Pandi, my little cockapoo 
pup
who couldn't possibly be sweeter or move lovable and who never ever leaves my side, and Augie Augie, my beautiful little
kitty who starts and ends every day in my lap and is absolutely
convinced that live mice 
make the very best presents. I live
in sunny 
southern California and I'm staying here forever. I have
the best neighbors 
in the whole world, and I have loads of friends
and family who live close by. Put this altogether and that's why I wake up with a smile and fall asleep
content!
Bill and I have lived all over the United States, even a year in 
Ireland,
but have been happily settled for 20 years in sunny 
Thousand Oaks which I can honestly say comes pretty close
to 
paradise. In fact, according to National
Geographic 
, we have the the best weather in the
United States and I have to agree — it's just about perfect with year-round sunny blue skies, rolling green hills, the sparkling
blue ocean only minutes away, and best of all, no bugs 
or humidity in the summer, and no 
snow
or sleet in the winter. I like to say if there really is a heaven, it looks just like this!
then
finally real 
estate. When I found I couldn't work during the year we lived in
eBay and taught
myself 
HTML and designed a handful of websites and now here I am, a geek
of all things, and I never even knew I had an aptitude for this stuff. In 2005 I went back to work for my
husband as the facilities
manager for his printer supplies company, and in 2007 I retired
again to get my feet 
fixed and I broke one before I
even got started so I spent the entire year with one foot or the other in a cast or a boot. In 2008 I took the whole year and remodeled
our house and pool and backyard. Then in 2009 we got Andi as a 10-week-old puppy
which allows me
to be very creative with design and color, and I found it's the perfect medium to scratch my artistic itch. I've done every kind of
needlework imaginable and I paint 
, and I even combined the two
when I dabbled at painting needlepoint canvases, but that didn't last long because it finally dawned on me that my pretty paintings were being
stitched over and all my hours of work would never see daylight 
again
so that ended that!
, vintage chalkboards and oil lamps
, and other treasures throughout my house that I acquired during my
travels in America 
and Europe. I occasionally sell some of them on
eBay, those that have long been in storage and need a new home, as well as great finds from estate auctions and the legendary southern
California swap meets. Sometimes I even sell first day baseball 
covers (cachets) for my dad 
which is another adventure in
itself.
with a
Smile. I wish everyone a happy healthy 2012 so that you, too, wake up with a smile and fall asleep content!