Welcome Friends! Several years ago I closed down my Facebook account and moved my social presence here. At about the same time, I consolidated my PocketPrimer and FunFoodLife domains and blogs here. Since most of the articles I’d written for PocketPrimer were no longer relevant, I didn’t move or republish any of those old articles here.
(click here to learn more about PocketPrimer.com)
My Background: I was born in McRae, Georgia, but moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1965 where I lived until I graduated from Bartlett High School in 1976. Right after graduation I moved to the Atlanta metro area and have lived here ever since.
I have under-graduate and graduate degrees in Decision Sciences from Georgia State University and have been married to Mark for more than 30 years.
My Work: I’ve worked in healthcare most of my career and am currently working as an Informatics Analyst for a bio-medical company that is based in Marietta, GA. Much of my research has been published into peer-reviewed articles that you can view and download from my publications page.
My Loves: Mark, my dogs, cats, books, flowers, sewing for the home and myself, needlework, coffee, singing & playing guitar, gadgets.
Some other things:
For the last 20+ years, I’ve hosted a local knitting, crocheting and needlework group called the NeedleNerds. Click here to learn more about the NeedleNerds.
You’ll find a dedicated page here that is devoted to my mother’s artwork, which you can find at this link.
Let’s Keep in Touch
I’m not on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or any of those other social networks, but I hope you’ll think about keeping in touch with me anyway. You can:
Send me an email (juliesbits at outlook [dot] com)
Follow me on Mastodon: @c.im/@juliesbits
Get updated when I add new content to the blog by subscribing to the blog.
I’ve read four of your five books! AND World Without End. I absolutely LOVED Tim Winton’s “Cloudstreet.” So wonderfully quirky. My friend from Perth, Australia sent it to me. Going to have to spend some time on your blog. And thanks for the follow, btw.
I loved your piece for Writing 101 today. Your writing is fabulous.
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone else who read and LOVED Cloudstreet, so I am pleased to meet you here. I have sought out and read most of Tim Winton’s books, which is quite a feat since it is hard to find his older books in the US. He is truly an Australian treasure!
I seem to be attracted to books that have some quirky turns and characters in them. I think many of Annie Proulx’s books and short stories are equally fun and well written.
Thank you for your nice comment about my writing…I have written articles for many years, but this 101 Writing project has challenged me to write and publish such personal experiences, so this kind of writing is new, different and quite challenging for me.
Hi Julie…I am Kathryn-Kathy McMillin, and I am absolutely sure that we know each other from Alaska…and my mother Joy McMillin and your mother were friends that shared the same interests including painting… she has not one, but two paintings that your mother painted, as they were friends…
Is it possible that you/family might recall any of that time period and have a painting that my mother may have painted that we can exchange photos of…
Hi Kathryn! Your mother’s name is familiar – I think I remember her from my mother’s painting days. I’m not aware of any paintings that my mother might have had that were painted by your mother. My older sister, Cindy Liggett, may have some memories about your mom and her paintings, so I’ll ask her and let you know.
I’m excited to learn that your mother has some of my mom’s paintings! I would love to get some pictures of the paintings!
I am planning to devote some pages of this website to my mother and to her art in the hopes of keeping her memory alive and also to provide a place for people who knew her and her art to visit and get in touch with her family (me and my sisters). I’m really glad you found me!
Julie
Hi Julie…I am so happy to let you and your family know that our mother also has very wonderful memories of your mother… one of which was of how that they were in the Artist Guild there in Anchorage and that there were about 6 artists that were together in sort of a “realist artists” group. She kept great records of her life and maybe there is a way of sharing some of the newspaper articles that your mother was also noted in… If you are interested, I can scan and send what is available and then maybe share all of her favorite memories.
Is there an email address that your family might be able to share anything we can send any information to?
I have a friend that has a painting that was painted by your mother for the dean of the university of Alaska Dean Short (1968).
That’s amazing! Do you think you could get your friend to share a picture with me?
I’d be interested in learning more about the painting. I was a young child when my mother was really active as a painter & remember going to many of the art shows around Anchorage where many of her paintings were shown & sold.
Hi Julie,
My husband & I were gifted one of your Mom’s Alaskan oil paintings in May 1967 as a wedding gift. My Uncle Raymond and Aunt Mary Allor were two of your Mom & dad’s best friends back in the day. My Uncle Raymond was in the USAF with your Dad. We have always loved your Mom’s painting and it hung in our home for many years until we retired to Florida. It is now hanging in my son’s home in Ann Arbor MI. I would have attached a photo of the painting, but I not sure how to do that.
I found this website while Googling your Mom about our painting.
Take care,
Doris