Thursday, May 04, 2006

Wild N Free HNT!

When I was growing up, my dad was in the Navy, and we lived in all sorts of odd places such as Eritrea, and Kodiak Island, Alaska. Living on Kodiak as a child was one of the most wonderful experiences! We grew up wild and free!
Near my school there was a little tiny forest that we named Dogwood. My sister and our friends and I used to play there, making forts with little beds of ferns for our dolls, playing hide and seek among the trees, and climbing branches for hours.
Then when I grew up, and married Mr Ratburn, we were very adventurous indeed and decided to drive to Alaska from Los Angeles. And so drive we did.....what a wild summer that was! Was it not adventurous enough for us that we drove to Alaska, camping all along the way? Oh no, after that we then drove to New York before returning home to Los Angeles....Crazy kids!
For HNT this week I present to you a picture of myself taken by Mr Ratburn about 18 or so years after I used to play there as a child, in my Dogwood. Funny.....the woods seemed so much bigger then....



Hey, didja know these ferns make great dolly beds? :P

And by the way, I was 22 when last weeks HNT picture was taken!

57 comments:

Minka said...

What a lovely HNT picture:)
I bet your childhood was wild and free, hence the sparkle in your eyes.

Phain said...

love trips down memory lane...

*~*Happy HNT*~*

Logophile said...

hey, I sorta did a flashback too!
I don't think I played too much with dolls, I totally dug the Barbie sports car though
:-P

lime said...

love that pic. it says 'come and play' happy HNT

paitl1 said...

LA to alaska to new york and back to LA? Wow that's a lot of driving I don't think I could handle that much time in the car. Great picture, very fun and pretty.
Happy HNT!

Leesa said...

I think the drives sound great! Love the pic too :) HHNT

Lee Ann said...

I love that picture! Happy HNT!

Jerrster said...

it's in your eyes Susie...no more words needed...ask mr R. he'll tell you.

Wenchy said...

Beautiful!

keda said...

absolutely beautiful!

i remember those making great beda and also shelters! lovely. lovely hnt.

AndyT13 said...

Fabu! HHNT!

Still Searching... said...

Beautiful pic. Your story brought back memories of my own little forest..

HHNT!

The Grunt said...

I agree with all of the above. The greens and browns of the photo really play off each other well.

Jerrster said...

um yeah i gush all over you at my blog....hahahahaha

Anonymous said...

NIce one! I know what you mean by things seeming a lot bigger when one was little.... HHNT!

Suze said...

Delightful shot beauty and nature in one vision.

Happy HNT sweetie ;)

WDKY said...

Mmmm... I love your face. But I was three years out last week :-(

Happy HNT x

Anonymous said...

I love this picture, another great HNT and what a smile.:)

btw, you NEVER bore me, my attention span is a bit short these days.

Happy HNT.
tc

Lelly said...

Thats a great post and a wonderful, happy, beautiful pic Susie! HHNT! x

onan the bavarian said...

Very cute picture. Enjoyed the childhood memories.

betchacantguesswho said...

Very lovely. HHNT!!

Aisha T. said...

It's great to get a snippet of what influenced you as a kid. Weird how we remember everything so huge and then get back and huge isn't huge. Like the dolly bed idea! Great pic!

Breazy said...

that is so cool Bare! Happy HNT!

Sexy Duet said...

Great pic! Its nice thinking back to happy childhood memories. Happy HNT!

Stephanie said...

LOL - I still play with dolls.

Great picture and story. You always look so playful - I love that about you!!

HHNT!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful eyes!

And wow ... 22? I am definately surprised

Happy HNT

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pic. And you still look about 22.

Thanks for sharing your beauty.

HHNT!

CozyMama said...

love the fern shot, very pretty.

MG said...

great story, great pic...
HHNT

CyberWarlock said...

Great pic :) Love the ferns. Your last line though reminded me of a line from the movie Hook, when you said you remembered the woods being bigger.

Pan : "I remember you being a lot bigger?"
Hook : "To a 12 year old, I'm huge!"

mrs. awesome said...

you looked beautiful then and now. great story!

happy hnt!

BTExpress said...

That's a great shot and very artistic. Happy HNT

Wow, 22 huh. I'd a never believd it. I'll bet you were asked for proof until you were 30.

LushlyMe said...

I used to use them to make fairy houses... HHNT!

The Village Idiot said...

Dolly bed huh...did you know, that those ferns come in handy for nettles too, assuming you dont have a banana slug close by

Very cute pic!

Queenmatrai said...

"Wannabe Indian"...what does that mean - pardon my sounding ignorant...

noojes

Mike said...

Happy HNT!

Chickie said...

Pretty photo! It is funny how our childhood haunts seem to get smaller over time.

k o w said...

Great post.
HHNT

Melissa said...

Your beauty is timeless!
Happy HNT from one child who played free to another!!

Jericho said...

like fine wine... seems you get better, lovelier... HHNT!

Cindy said...

Such fun you are-- that's a beautiful picture!

Leesa said...

Love the story!

Cristina Rodguez said...

Great story. HHNT!

Mia said...

awwwww - this is a great HNT!

happy hnt babe!

Shay said...

Oh that ferny picture is so cute!!

Happy HNT

Mark Leslie said...

What a great shot and fun story. Thanks for sharing it.

(oh, and BTW, I think I'd guessed you were in your teens in that old shot - you look more like 22 now)

The Lily said...

Amazing! You looked SO much younger than 22 and still looking great. Good genes!!

HHNT!

~Tim said...

Wow. Quite a trip and quite a photo.
HHNT!

Doug Bagley said...

What a great memory! Do you think we get less spontanious as we get older? I hope not.

SCH said...

Sounds like you had a great trip. Happy HNT!!

Backdoor Slider said...

very lovely HNT pic and a very nice story !

HHNT !

Avery's mom said...

you look like eve in the Garden of Eden
very pretty

decker said...

nice pic!
HHNT!

T - Another Geek Girl said...

LA to Alaska to NY is adventurous!
We used to do Md to North Canada and back down through the great lakes when I was in college. I have no idea why, but we needed to GO. Some need to keep moving, to be going somewhere.

Then real life and jobs came into the picture. Sad thing when that happens.

HHNT!

Tara Tainton said...

Cute photo, and you're a gorgeous girl. But I know you know that already. ;)

xoxo
Tara

Grimstarr said...

Suze you are a goddess. You are beautiful. HHNT to you doll.
TG

Anonymous said...

A Free soul and a Navy Brat to boot. Yeah there was a reason I stopped by you blog yesterday, and now I know why. Thanks for posting your comment on mine. Your not a whack job, your just one of us...ED