to my personal web site!

 Let me tell you a little about myself...

I live in the South, and am one of the True "GRITS"

For all of you foreigners to the North, East and West,

that's "Girls Raised In The South",

or Steel Magnolias, for we aren't like

the "Scarlett" of yesteryear. Real Grits aren't prejudiced;

we are bright, tolerant and well-rounded (even us blondes!).

My husband says that anyone living north of I-10

is from the North <g>. Actually, that's an exaggeration...

I'm not a Redneck (they really are a minority here),

for I've lived outside of the South,

I've traveled abroad, and I'm well educated.

I consider myself fairly liberal.

There are many intelligent people in the South, even though

we do have variations of a "Southern Accent" and tend

(sometimes) to sound like hicks to northerners.

Actually, we think Northerners have the accents.

I've lived long enough, and been enough places to realize that

anyone from anywhere other than where you live has an accent

of some sort. People from any part of the country

have an accent indigenous to their region. That's where tolerance and understanding

come into play.

I am a retired Middle School Library Media Specialist, and although I loved

my job, I am thoroughly enjoying retirement. (Well, sort of retirement - after five years of retirement, I've learned that Retirement is a Myth!)

I've become a fine art photographer, and take photos of a number of things,
including magnolias, shore birds, flowers and things I just "like". I've won a fewnumber awards at art exhibits, also.

I'm fascinated by pelicans and magnolia blossoms,

and I photograph them every chance I get!

I have a web page of photographs of magnolias if you are interested.

I love snorkeling...

I've been snorkeling in Hawaii, the Bahamas,

and the Florida Keys.

I enjoy painting oils and watercolors, but have lately taken a few jewelry workshops and mixed media / collage workshops to broaden my scope of art work.

Recently, I've started a small photography and art business called

Southern Creations, Inc. My husband has joined the business with his pottery that he

has taken up since his retirement. Everyone needs a creative outlet, we believe.

Besides, that which does not kill us keeps us young.

I'm left-brained and constantly have a running list

of things I need to do (lest I forget). And the older I get,

the more I seem to forget! Oh, those Senior Moments!

I've even heard them called Intellectual Moments, for the older one gets, the more

facts and information we have to carry around, thus the longer it takes to retrieve it.

They are happening more often than not, though usually after about two minutes,

I have rememembered what I was trying to remember.

 I enjoy working at my computer...

Sometimes I spend too much time with it,

and my housework suffers (so who cares?).

I tend to think that, as we grow older and wiser,

we find other things more interesting than

housework, anyway. Life is short, so why not get the most out of it

and set priorities.

Since I'm a librarian, it's natural I would like books.

My reading time is scarce; however, so I am also addicted

to listening to audio books whenever I'm in the car. Plus, I'm prone to watching

TV while I work on the computer or mat and frame my photography.

I get to keep up with

my favorite authors' latest novels and it

helps to pass time while driving around.

It's gotten so that I have to be listening to a good story

when I'm in the car or I'm bored.

I sit in the car and listen for a little while to see what is going to happen.

I adore my husband...
he's the best thing that ever happened to me!
I'm a very happy mid-life newlywed (for about twelve years now).
We consider ourselves blessed that
we found each other. Life is good.

There is happiness after a mid-life divorce and, in the case of my husband,
loss of a wife through death.

 Chocolate is my most favorite food!

I love the beach at dusk...

I love a high, full silvery moon on a cold, winter night...

and a low, golden full moon in the summertime.

I love the scent of blooming magnolias, wisteria, night-bloom cereus, yellow jasmine,

roses, and Oriental lilies.

I still like weekends and lazy Saturday mornings.

I love to watch the birds feed in my back yard.

Our yard has been certified as a National Wildlife habitat.

Although it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and many trees and flowers were lost,

the wisteria came back, most of my magnolia trees are still alive, and strangely, the

azaleas and camelias suffered no damage, and the Angel

Trumpets kept blooming all winter.

I relax by working in my several flower gardens around the yard.

I think swans are truly beautiful.

If I had a lake I would have to have a pair of swans.

© 2003 Linda S. Nix

I grew up going to movies because my dad owned a small-town theater.

I never missed a show.

Back then, we showed three different movies a week;

Saturday afternoon matinees had cartoons and a serial,

plus two features. It cost $.35 for adults.

I got in free! I worked various jobs there as I grew up.

I took up tickets, sold candy and cokes,

popped the pop corn, and when I was older, I sold tickets.

I made $1.00 a night, even while in college, and a whopping $2.00 on

Saturdays when I worked the matinee and first night showing.

Now, popcorn is $5.00, a drink over $4.00 and it costs more to eat than watch the movie.

However, going to the movies is still one of my favorite pastimes. We like to go to the matinees when it is cheaper. And at night, being a "senior citizen" does
have its benefits in discounts!)

My favorite music is by Enya. I also like Elton John,

I love Spanish moss on Live oak trees,

and I am fascinated by magnolia trees and flowers.

In addition to the magnolia trees that grow naturally on our property, I've planted

several cultivars and Little Gems.

If you want to view my magnolia photographs, start off Here.

I used write occasionally for the Sun Herald newspaper as a free-lance writer and do

photography to accompany my articles. Since Katrina, they have cut back their use of free-lancers.

Whoever said that you get bored and fade away in retirement was totally wrong!

I stay busier now than I did when I was working full time.

I'm doing much more with my art and photography these days

I show my work at about five galleries locally, and occasionally do festivals and juried exhibits.

With everything I'm involved in, there is always something that needs to be done.

We have two grown children and a step-daughter who are very independent,

and who, of course, are very smart and talented...

My son, Dave, is a photographer in Denver. He has just finished his BSN and will be a registered nurse by this summer.

(Portfolio Photography)

He sometimes does portfolio photography for artists, and in his free time he loves to do photography for enjoyment.

My daughter, Sandy, lives in Devner. Now divorced, she is still in the art business. She does public and corporate art using glass, and has a studio at the new Dry Ice Factory in Denver.

She is now branching out into making glass counter tops.

Sandyisan accomplished glass sculptor, and her creations can be seen in

private homes as well as corporate offices such as Coors in Denver.

Vern's daughter, Kim, is a registered OR nurse in Pensacola

and is married to Charter Boat Captain Tom

who sails from Orange Beach, Alabama. Anyone

who wants to catch fish should charter his boat,

the Fairwater II. You can find it at Zeke's Marina.

I Love Angels... and I believe in Angels.

I've adopted this one to guard this web site...

and to share a little love and hope.

Elysium Adoption Agency I don't think this link is good anymore.

Things I don't like:

Fat-free anything, cigarette smoke, dishonesty,

rude or poky drivers, injustice, people who throw

trash and cigarette butts out of their car windows,

people who talk loudly on their cell phones in public,

loud people in restaurants when I'm trying to relax and enjoy a quiet dinner out,

cooking and housework (they interfere with my art and computer time!),

squirrels who ctry to get in my bird feeders,

raccoons that get into my patio fish pond and destroy it and eat the fish,

people who make fun of a southern accent, barking dogs,

and getting up early in the mornings.

Yuck! I hate getting up in the mornings.

I'm definitely a night person.

This is me (A few years back):

 May I never age! (But, alas, we all get older every year.)

This is me on the beach in 2009:

To learn all about Biloxi (where I live) and what it offers,

visit my "Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast" pages.

Sad to say, many things have been destroyed by Katrina along the Gulf Coast,

but things are slowly coming back except along the beach where insurance is now affordable only to the rich and big condo developers.

Links to all of my magnolia pages can be found here:

The Essence of Magnolias

In fact, lots of neat things about me can be found by clicking on

"The Essence of Magnolias" link below.

If you are going through a separation or a divorce, or suffering from any type of loss,

you may want to visit my Divorce Recovery and Grief Site.

Having survived a painful divorce, I have written about hope for

the middle-aged woman (or man).

 Links to My Sites:

(Counter re-started when I moved sites in 2005)

This page originated in December of 1997;

Updated 3/22/06 and 5/6/09

 

All sounds and graphics not credited to others (or created by me) are considered to be in "public domain". If you see something that is not in public domain that you created, please let me know and I will either give you credit or remove it. Every effort has been made to credit when information was available. Thanks.

Music: "Shepherd Moon" By Enya

Graphics & Background design by Binsam 1997

Link also no longer available.