PERSONAL PRIVILEGES II:
As seen at Frog Blog:
These are my personal privileges of a very "different" sort. These are things that not everyone gets to experience and know in life. They are privileges, yet some of the wealthiest folks in the world have not done them. Copy and paste to your blog if you wish to play. All of these apply to my life, bold the ones that apply to yours. Please feel free to add any of your own.

*Learned to cook or bake before age 12 with a family member. Been cooking and baking ever since!

*Had a pet growing up and *experienced its death, as well as life. Let's see, there were goldfish, turtles and a terrier mix, Rex. Still a dog lover.
*Witnessed puppies or kittens being born or got to keep an eye on a nest until the eggs hatched and the birds flew. Haven't seen the puppies or kittens, but we were adoptive parents to bluebirds in our backyard.

*Helped plant seeds or plants in a garden and then eat the vegetables fresh. Bonus if you ate a tomato fresh off the vine! Not much better in life than a fresh, ripe tomato off the vine.

* Lived within 10 miles of a grandparent. -Nope, lived thousands of miles from my grandmothers. (Grandfathers were deceased)Did get to visit them in Switzerland and they visited us in the Windy City.

*Can remember having homemade ice cream in the summer (always peach for us). Nope, we got our ice cream off the Tastee Freeze (soft serve) and Good Humor Truck (ice cream bars)and 1/2 gallons from the grocery store. Make mine Chocolate Moose Tracks!

* Went on nature hikes with a family member. Extra credit if you collected stuff, licked the drops off of honeysuckle or skimmed rocks across the water. Yup, camped every summer on weekends and vacations. I collected rocks and skipped them across the water. We hiked in many states and in national parks, not to mention the alps in Switzerland!

*This one is a bit out there, but you have blown bubbles through a bamboo pole into a pond, creak, lake or river. If you have never done this, please do it before you die. The smell, sound, feel is wonderful.(perhaps you have one of equal weirdness)- Nope, just enjoyed blowing regular bubbles. Still do.

*Had a special tradition for Thanksgiving or Christmas that was passed down. This involves food. Still make our family stuffing, complete with Italian sausage! Still have a live Christmas tree every year (except for the one year when LH just had to have an artificial tree. It remains in the basement!)

* Built a snow person or rode a sled with sibling, parent, grandparent, or aunt/uncle. NOt only built snow people, but in the year of the Great Blizzard, we made an igloo!!! Sledding was tough in the flat area of the Windy City. However, sledding in Switzerland down an alpine road was a rush and way cool, even with my Mom!

* Had homemade hot cocoa (recipe on Hershey container) as a child. -Yes on the homemade cocoa, but it was Droste. Hershey was not big in our house. Probably spoiled by all the Swiss chocolate!

*Had an article(s) clothing that was handmade by family member or family friend. Mom made all our clothes growing up. Really cool stuff like skirts with matching trim jackets, back to school dresses. Mom made my wedding dress which I still treasure as a priceless gift.

*Lived in a town where RC cola and Moon Pies could be purchased at a local store. Surely, that was so. Never did like cola until 7th grade and never cared much for Moon Pies. Odd child. I drank water!

* You were taken fishing before you were 13. If you can call baiting a hook with chicken liver on a bamboo pole in a pond in Florida and catching bass!!!
*Had a pen pal growing up. Had a pen pal from Melbourne, Australia which ended in 8th grade. Had a pen pal from Philippines which ended about 20 years ago. Had a pen pal (family friend) from South Africa since sophomore year in HS. We still write (e-mail) and just meet last fall in South Africa.

*Know a family recipe by heart Pretty much, although I still have the recipes on hand to make sure I don't leave anything out. Mostly, there isn't a whole lot of measurements. I just know, even as Mom and grandma just knew.

* A trip to town usually meant you got a quarter to ride on the carousel at K-mart.

* You were encouraged to memorize scripture. Not necessarily. Did learn some scripture. Had to memorize German poems to recite at Christmas time and to Grandmas over the phone.

* Played Hop-scotch, Marbles, or Annie Over as a child. -Not really, skipped rope, played Red Light Green Light, Freeze and TV Tag, Ghosts in the Graveyard, and Mother May I?

*Drove through a local neighborhood, charity or business to see Christmas light display. Yes, we would drive through the neighborhood to see the lights at Christmas time. 'Course we'd go into Windy City to catch the window displays at Carson's and Marshall Fields.
Feel free to play along! I feel very privileged personally!