About Me

This is a change of life project. I am a great grandmother and now that my duties as matriarch have ... Oops! I said that already. Didn't I? Old age.

Besides my children, another significant life's accomplishment was working as a technical analyst on the Space Shuttle Main Engines. I retired from Boeing (Rockwell) after 20 years. I was there before the first Space Shuttle flew. I was there when Sally Ride was the first woman in space. And I was there for the analysis after the "teacher in space" accident. The technology and engineering that it took to build a shuttle was/is a constant source of amazement.

I left in 1996 to get my BS at Humboldt State University. I graduated at the age of 53 which checked off another box on my bucket list. I went on to work on my Masters in GIS (geographic information systems) but didn't complete my senior project. I realized that I would never get a job at 55 when there were so many young people applying for the same positions. My husband, Doug, and I wanted to stay in Humboldt and that limited my options even more.

So Doug and I started Rosepond Aquatics, and grew another love, ponds, plants and fish, into a business. We developed a unique way to package and retail water lilies and sold our plants from Southern Oregon to San Francisco. With our internet business, we had plants in Mexico, New Zealand and Canada and in over a dozen US states.

We potted waterlilies until our bodies just couldn't do it anymore. We retired from water lilies and sold the business in 2014.

In the meantime, I designed a pond vacuum, The Easy Pond Vac. When I discovered that my vacuum was better than any on the market, We began to sell it on the internet as a do-it-yourself project. The purchase price included instructions, 2 basic parts and phone technical support. We discontinued production in 2020 due to material shortages/cost increases and (don't tall anyone) age.

I couldn't just sit around so I began volunteering. My first volunteer was to help manufactured home (MH) owners get a rent stabilization ordinance in Humboldt County. People who live in MHs usually own the house but rent the land. It was an economical retirement plan until Wall Street investors realized there were big profits to be made. If they bought the land they could raise the rents as much as they wanted and the home owners had no option but to pay the increases regardless of their financial situation. If the home owners couldn't pay the increase the land owner ended up with the house. It was a win-win for the folks with deep pockets. I became the president and the treasurer of the "Yes on Measure V" committee. We hired a lawyer who wrote the law. We gathered signatures and we campaigned for MH rent stabilization. We won that fight and now MH residents in unincorporated Humboldt County have a secure home.

I remain a core team leader with Manufactured Home Action and work with them to help MH owners all over the country. As my years continue to increase, I have come to realize that it is time for me to slow down and to turn some of my energies into the creativity that I have denied for so long.

I am also a member of the McKinleyville CERT Community Emergency Response Team. We are trained for basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. We also volunteer to help in the community wherever our skills/organization is needed.

I chose beads because they don't take a lot of room to store and I can work inside during the long rainy season in Humboldt. The colors and shapes are awe inspiring and it is pure magic when it all comes together to become a piece of jewelry. I will also be able to travel to craft fairs and beads are small enough to transport in my small vehicle. Travel is also on my bucket list, so beads are a plus no matter how I look at it.

Well ... it is time for me to share them with you. Take a look. You might find a beauty that you want to take home.