Podcasts

I admit it, I'm a radio nerd. I think it all started when I would sit on my Dad's lap and listen to his short wave radio. I remember hearing voices speaking in foreign languages I could not understand, and my Dad saying: "That's Russia! or Finland! or Japan! The idea that I could hear these people from THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD was a revelation to me. Remember, this is WAY before the Internet (I was born in 1958) and back then, a long distance telephone call was a big deal.

In my 20s I became an NPR junkie. I loved the news stories, the special interest programs and the soothing voices of the hosts. Several years into my addiction, they started making more entertainment-type programs, but the ones I really wanted to hear were always on at 3:00 a.m. or some otherwise inconvenient time. Then I discovered podcasts!! This was almost as exciting as those shortwave broadcasts and I could actually understand what was being said!

Here are a few of my favorites now:

Postage Stamp Trivia

Since I use postage stamps in my jewelry, I will occasionally be posting stamp trivia. You never know when you could use this, like if you become a contestant on Jeopardy. Besides, it never hurts to put the Candy Crush down once in awhile. - Jan

When Iceland released its first stamp on New Year’s Day, 1873, it shared a king with another country.

Iceland wasn’t a republic until 1944.  So when its first stamps appeared, they were identical to the stamps of Denmark.  Iceland had been a Danish dependency since the end of the Napoleonic wars.

The king who ruled over Iceland in 1873 was Denmark’s Christian IX.  He first appeared on one of Iceland’s stamps in 1902, four years before he died at the
Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen at the age of 88.

As a young man, King Christian asked Britain’s Queen Victoria to marry him, and she declined.  His eventual wife was a German princess.

The king’s legacy is largely that of a prolific father-in-law.  His six children married into other royal houses and today, his descendants include Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

During World War II, Iceland was invaded and occupied by the British, who handed off occupation responsibilities to the Americans a year later.

Today, Iceland is the most sparsely populated nation in Europe.  Two thirds of its 322 thousand people live in the capital city of Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost national capital.
From: http://stores.ebay.com/Paul-Talbot-Stamp-Dealer

First Birthday

Yep, that's me. On my first birthday, with my sister, Wendy, my Mom and Dad. Later,there was chocolate frosting everywhere. To this day, my favorite birthday cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

I was very lucky. I had a family who loved me unconditionally. Was it perfect? Of course not. But I grew up knowing there was never anything I could do that would make them turn me away. I am the person I am because of them. Knowing I always had a safe place to go to allowed me to test the waters; to go out and try something that probably would not work out.

I'm doing that now. I've started my business, PSPendants.com. I don't know where it will lead, but I have to try. And even though my parents are no longer alive, they are always with me.