Meet You at the Sandbox

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Posted on August 18, 2014

“Play is the work of children. It’s very serious stuff.” ―Bob Keeshan

Welcome back! Hope you had fun weekend.

A few years ago when I moved to Colorado, I went to a business conference for entrepreneurs. I sat next to a very nice young woman, not many years out of college. We visited throughout the day and enjoyed each other’s company. At end of the conference, she turned to me and said, “You know, you really ought to join the young professionals networking group.” I began laughing!

“What?” she asked, in all seriousness. “What are you laughing at?”

“Young professionals?” I asked. Not because I thought joining networking groups for professionals was a bad idea but because I was questioning her judgment of how old I was. If fact, there are great advantages to joining organizations to meet-up with other entrepreneurs and business people. http://bit.ly/1uICWXy.

“Yes,” she said, “they are a great group and you ought to be part of it.”

I kept laughing and said, “I don’t think you understand how old I am. I’m not sure I can keep up with all the techies and you. I grew up with Captain Kangaroo!”

“What?” she asked. “Who is that?”

“A TV icon from the 1950s and 60s. You know,” I said, even though I knew she didn’t, “his friends were Mr. Green Jeans, and Bunny Rabbit.”

“Sorry, I don’t know who or what you are taking about,” she looked at me like I was crazy and dropped the subject.

As I left the conference and considered what she said to me, I began to feel good that even though I am a baby boomer this young professional had wanted me to play in the same sandbox!

If you even know what a sandbox is you belong in the same group as I do – the playpen for people who remember when life and child’s play was much simpler.

This blog brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her book, the memoir “Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected,” please follow this link.http://amzn.to/1pRK5Ao

“Rock ‘N Roll Babe”

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Posted on August 15, 2014

Do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul? ~ Don McLean (American Pie)

A bad trip, ban the bra, beatniks, bean bag chairs, bellbottoms, Berkley, black lights, bongs, “blow your mind” and body paint are just a few words that describe this era. If are a baby boomer, and you are reading this story, that means you survived the age of Aquarius and the hippie generation. You were lucky, some didn’t! Aren’t you just the grooviest and out of sight!

Here are some images that further tell the psychedelic story. Only a few other words are needed. Peace, Love and Right On! All Things Fulfilling often serves as a crash pad for remembering the “good ole days.” It’s where I do my own thing!

Come back tomorrow – don’t be a cop out. I plan to be here if I don’t have to go looking for my granny glasses and my earth shoes. Now, where did I put them…….probably with my Rock ‘N Roll, Hoochie Koo album by Johnny Winter.

Old hippies don’t die, they just lie low until the laughter stops and their time comes around again! ~ Joseph Gallivan

If you like recalling times in our country’s cultural history, you’ll enjoy Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Click here for more information! The book is now a FINALIST in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Book awards. http://amzn.to/1pMxnjH

Those Were The Days

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Posted on August 14, 2014

You know you are a baby boomer, born in the 1950s and 1960s if you remember when:

The milk man cometh

the World Book Encyclopedia salesman showed up at your family’s front door

going to the drive-in movies with your parents was exciting (I remember seeing Goldfinger at Timonium Drive-In….shhh…don’t tell my parents. I was supposed to be asleep in the back seat!)

mail arrived accurately without a zip code

phone numbers were only two letters and five digits

pretzels and potato chips were delivered by truck in large tin cans

the Girl Scout “flying up ceremony” was prestigious

you had to walk to the TV to change the channel

seat belts were not even in the vocabulary

Miss Nancy ruled Romper Room

Thumbelina was the most wanted gift on your Xmas List

fun meant “hanging with the crowd,” at S.S. Kresgres or Reads Drugstore drinking ice cold soda, jiving to the juke box, and swirling around on swivel stools.

Those were the days, weren’t they?

As Robert Frost once said “In three words I can sum up what I have learned about life. It goes on.”

This blog is brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on the publication Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, which has been selected as a FINALIST in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY BOOK AWARDS, please visit this link: http://amzn.to/1kzGw2t

Sing-A-Long Songs

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Posted on August 13, 2014

Monday’s blog fired-up my noggin’! Today on All Things Fulfilling, I’ll share tunes that baby boomers will have fun recollecting.

I’ll bet this image piqued your memory. If you are a baby boomer, you’ll remember LP albums and 45 rpm vinyl records. I’m willing to bet that you listened to tunes on a portable record player, like the one pictured.(That is if you could hear the words with all the scratches.) See if you remember the full verses to these songs –

How much is that doggie in the window…
….And if that mockingbird don’t sing, daddy’s gonna buy me a diamond ring…..
All around the cobbler’s bench, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey said…..
Zippedity doo dab, zippedity aye – my, oh, my what a wonderful…..
I love you a bushel and a peck and a ……
Bibbidi…bobbidy…boo. Put it together and what do you got?
Jeepers, creepers! Where’d you get those ….
A dream is a wish your heart makes when you are ……
Mama’s little baby likes shortnin’, shortnin’, Mama’s little baby loves……

I hope your memory has served you well, and you haven’t lost your faculties. Chances are you are aging better than your ancestors! Are you singing yet?

If you can’t remember the verses of these songs, you can listen in to a few bars of music from each of them, and other popular hits of the same era through this link, http://bit.ly/1oSzXIz.

See how much fun it is to arouse the brain with past times in our personal histories?

Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling.

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Now available for your listening pleasure in audio book (the voice holds the real treasure), paperback and e-book for all types of e-readers. Click the link to see how to get it. http://amzn.to/WQbl8O

Hot Flashes

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Posted on August 12, 2014

Today, instead of the Flashback blog that I had promised, we will post an independent publishing NEWS FLASH ! Short, sweet and to the point!

Flashes, are good – it means something is hot, scintillating, light filled or illuminating! Here is the announcement ~

Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected has been nominated as a FINALIST in the

Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Book Awards – anthology category!

Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling there will be another sweet treat for our readers –flashbacks to songs for baby boomers! You are invited to celebrate with me.

This blog is brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information and ordering Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/VcIcTO. Now available in audio book (the voice holds the real treat), paperback and e-book.

Domestic Duties

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Posted on August 11, 2014

“The best time to plan a book is while doing the dishes.” ~ Agatha Christy

On All Things Fulfilling sometimes we jump from subject to subject. This is “Flashbacks Week.” So today is the first in a series of words and images that will stir your memories of an era gone by.

For many Americans, the 1950’s evokes images of domestic duties that have now gone by the wayside. Before the 1970s, “household domestics, ” were often hired to assist families with household tasks. This was more prevalent in homes south of the Mason-Dixon line. Baby boomers who remember “those days” will relate to my memoir and will have interest in this article. http://www.safemotherhood.org/domestic-work.html

When was the last time you saw a women spending part of her day doing the following:

Polishing sterling silver
Manually sprinkling clothes and rolling them before ironing
Making school lunches and wrapping the food in waxed paper
Setting out crystal salt and pepper dishes at in front of each place when setting the table
Teaching the next generation how to properly set a table, with several size spoons & forks, special butter knifes, crystal goblets and bone china.
Hosting a weekly “bridge party” with tea sandwiches, homemade baked goods, and a little afternoon glass of sherry.
Starching the tablecloths and sheets and ironing them.
Darning toes and heels of socks
Icing a cake wearing an apron and pearls

Memoirs are made out pictures of our past. Some people use recollections to create written legacies, like myself.

Do return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow. This blog brought to you by the author of “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” by Sue Batton Leonard. For information and ordering, follow this link.http://amzn.to/1mCmyQd

We’ve Got Ya Covered

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Posted on August 8, 2014

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of the living.” –Miriam Beard

I’ve always had a penchant for covered bridges. I suppose it began during my childhood years when our family spent time on Lake Champlain in Vermont for many summers. Every time we passed by the Shelburne Museum, I saw their covered bridge and loved it.

When I was in college and moved off campus, I had to cross a covered bridge every morning and evening on my way to campus. Sometimes it was by way of foot and sometimes in my old hand-me-down station wagon. The girth of the car took up the entire bridge it was so wide. Only one car at a time could travel through it.

If you are a fan of covered bridges, you’d love Vermont, and you ought to visit the State. Leaf peeping (aka fall foliage) time is the best. Colors of golden yellow, vibrant orange and firey red from the maple trees are a sight to behold along with the contrast of verdant green in the fields and meadows. From the northern border which touches Canada to the southern part of the State, bordering Massachusetts, vibrant color is everywhere.

Crossing over that covered bridge in Johnson, Vermont every morning and evening gave me warm, fulfilling feelings. As it turned out, this girl who originated from the south of the Mason-Dixon Line had found a place in the North Country that she would call home for three decades.

Above: Covered Bridge at Rt 100C, Johnson, Vermont

This image and more wonderful Vermont images can be purchased through www,hansonstudio.com

Johnson State College http://www.jsc.edu

Below Photos: Shelburne Museum www.shelburnemuseum.org

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For information on the memoir, please visit this website

http://amzn.to/1oj1hjW

No Excuses, Play On

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Posted on August 7, 2014

Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. ~ Robert A. Heinlein

I remember thinking how lucky one of my girlfriends was because every year Mary Ellen and her sister and parents went to amusement parks in their motor home for Christmas.

Instead, our family rented chalets and went skiing in the mountains of Vermont. How I wished our family was “normal.” In the 1950s and 1960s few Maryland families traveled great distances. I remember trying to voice my opinion of how much fun it would be to go to amusement parks more often instead of having to work so hard at learning how to ski. Skiing wasn’t easy and I nearly froze my fanny off in the process. Not to even mention toting the all gear – that was very difficult for a young child whose start was so tenuous.

When I whined, my Dad used to tell me carrying the equipment builds muscles and the rope tow WAS an amusement park ride. “Who cares about muscles. ” I thought. For others who watched me fall off the rope tow, it probably was amusing. Doing face plants every foot up the mountain because I didn’t have the strength to hold onto the rope, and then again as I skied back down the mountain wasn’t exactly my idea of fun!

When I went off to college in the North Country, I was never so grateful for the years my parents spent planting seeds of appreciation in me for the love of the great outdoors and teaching us kids to ski. Those skills came in handy and my enjoyment of the sport grew in gigantic proportions.

There have been other lifelong benefits that came out of my early struggles, too. As an adult I can admit “Dad and Mom knew best.” Here is an article about the health benefits of skiing.http://bit.ly/1unzjDi

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Now available in audio book, paperback and e-book. Psst…..the voice holds the real treasure!http://amzn.to/1orPIRI

New Newswire: Outdoor Enthusiasts

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Posted on August 6, 2014

“Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

Vacation adventures from days of my youth have changed a lot with the availability of air travel. People like more active involvement in their experiences. Both young and old, seek sites in far off places across the globe. Popular forms of enchanting travel for many means visiting mountains, forests, oceans, deserts, fjords and glaciers. Indeed, experiential travel is big these days and so are the numbers of people who enjoy active lifestyles in the great big outdoors!

There is a new website which will soon be officially launching in September called http://thecruxcollective.com/. Anyone who loves nature adventures will enjoy frequenting this site.

The Crux Collective’s mission is to “educate, inspire and encourage traditional and non-traditional exploration of the outdoors.” Watch this site as it develops. It will serve as an interesting news wire with photographs, videos and other interesting content for the outdoors enthusiast.

My interpretation of Crux Collective’s mission is “give yourself the gift of living a life of fulfilling treks and expeditions!” Not everyone has the means to go to exotic places in far off corners of the globe but you can learn more about our world, near and far, through Crux Collective. Check it out.

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. This blog is brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Drink in the Outdoors

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Posted on August 5, 2014

“Life’s enchanted cup sparkles near the brim.” ~ Lord Byron

Baltimoreans of my generation will surely remember the Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City, Maryland. A trip to the Enchanted Forest always made me feel as if I had stepped into any one of my favorite fables. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, people didn’t travel great distances. Family day trips to amusement parks were considered special. For a child to see scenes of gumdrop cottages and fairyland castles like those in their favorite nursery rhymes turned boys and girls into princes and princesses for a day.

I liked peering into the windows of the Hansel & Gretel house and climbing on the statue of Old King Cole. Tiptoeing through a field of oversized gingerbread ladies and gents was thrilling to a youngster. You could even take a ride in “Alice in Wonderland” teacup shaped cars through the park. Baltimoreans, if you ever wondered where the Enchanted Forest went, follow this link. http://bit.ly/1nY7nQS.

Our world has changed over the decades and so have the people’s ideas of vacationing. Tomorrow we will be featuring a new website for outdoors enthusiasts who love to travel. The news wire for this site will be “officially launched” in a few weeks and it will feature inspiring places to see and things to do to enhance your lifetime experience. The great outdoors was created for us to enjoy. Take advantage and drink in all the great outdoors has to offer.

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Click here for info and ordering.http://amzn.to/1o69dEg. Pssst.. The treasure is in the voice of this author narrated audio book!