Does Willow Reinvent Herself?

People who cannot invent and reinvent
themselves must be content with borrowed
postures, secondhand ideas,
fitting in instead of standing out.
Warren G. Bennis

There has been some talk in the bloggyhood about various types of
blogs and their purposes. One of the beauties of the blog world is the
individuality of bloggers and their right to choose what they post.
One of my readers recently commented that, in their opinion, I try
to “reinvent” myself and my blog is somehow not in tune with the

"new millennium". Let me just say, and those of you who know me

personally can attest, that my blog is not too far from who I really
am, although reinventing oneself is not entirely a negative concept.
We all take part in the creative process of inventing ourselves by
blogging. I have chosen to keep my blog simple and hopefully positive,
sharing "a few of my favorite things" (hence the header) with a
thought, poem, film or even inspire you to try one of my favorite
recipes. I purposefully steer away from politics, controversy and

generally subjects that might be considered part of the harsher
side of life. With the current state of our nation and the world, people
are frightened, worried and exhausted. There is a plethora of blogs
out there with tough, real issues highlighted and discussed. Just
because I, personally, don’t regularly post on these topics, it doesn’t
mean I am out of tune with reality. My life is far from perfect, and
I’m not always in the sunny mood I try to show, but if I can share a
little respite from the daily grind, with my simple little Manor theme,
then I am happy. I don't know about you, but blogging has been a
most beneficial experience for me. All of you delightful friends out

there have made my life the richer with your thoughts, laughter and

tears. Thanks, dear bloggies.


Now, with that said, let’s get on to something completely and utterly
frivolous. I've been tagged twice! Once from Marc and also from
Sydney. Since the tags are similar, I'm going to combine the two.
(And if you aren't familiar with these two friendly bloggers, go
pay them a little visit.)

CLOTHES SHOP... Shopping for clothes used to be quite the
enjoyable experience. I could just throw any old thing on my lean
5’ 7” frame and look fabulous. Now that I'm not as young as I once
was and my body has started rearranging itself in unique ways, I
am forced to use my creativity to it’s furthest degree. Talk about

reinventing myself! So, the formerly fun experience is now a

challenge, to say the least. I usually stick to the minimal basics and

add flair with interesting accessories and jackets. And I always like

to shop for clothes alone.

FURNITURE SHOP... I can’t remember the last time I actually
shopped for furniture but do remember almost dying of sticker shock.
20 years ago, we bought two similar vintage sofas for $50 each and
covered them with matching fabric for the living room. They still look
great. But I would love to have a new sectional for the family room.
There’s just not enough furniture to accommodate everyone and their
significant others when we want to all watch a movie on holidays.

SWEET... Fortunately, I don’t really have the sweet tooth like so
many do, but really have a weakness for dark chocolate.

CITY... We lived in Kansas City for four years when we were newly
married. It is a delightful place to live and I have missed it ever since.
Another city I love is Philadelphia, where my daughter lives. It has
big city attractions like NYC, but on a smaller scale. Lots of charming
historical areas like Rittenhouse square and the historic district. The
Philadelphia Museum of Art is marvelous.

DRINK... I never turn down a nice glass of Chardonnay. Favorite beer
is Michelob Ultra (I know, a complete girl beer) in a frozen glass, of
course and I really like Svedka, Diet Pepsi and a twist of lemon.

MUSIC... Basically, I am a classical music kind of girl, with some 60’s
and 70’s music thrown in. My daughter is an opera singer, so I have
come to appreciate and love it, as well.

TV... The only regular TV programs that I watch are on PBS. I like
Nova, American Experience, History Detectives and Antiques
Roadshow. Not really a big TV watcher, though.

FILM... Now movies are entirely another thing. I LOVE film.
Especially vintage ‘40’s, foreign films and any well done time period
movie. I am totally embarrassed to tell you how many DVD’s are in
my collection.

COFFEE... I adore ultra strong coffee. But lately have found that
I can’t tolerate the caffeine. So now I mostly drink tea, but it is
just not the same. Now and then I treat myself to a cup of extra
strong Marques de Paiva whole bean decaf with fat free half and half.

So, for what it's worth, there you have it my bloggy friends.

Anyone who would like to play this tag, please consider yourself
TAGGED...you are all IT!!