About the Author Grandma Joyce was once a little girl. Growing up in the 60’s in a large family, she and her siblings had many wonderful adventures together. Her four older brothers were charged with helping to keep an eye on their two little twin sisters. These big brothers, built tree forts, rode bikes and motorcycles and taught their sisters how to do all these things and made sure that they knew how to correctly throw a baseball . And If we polished their shoes or made their beds for a week, we could take their little sports cars out for some fun with friends, These big brothers were a lot of fun. Grandma Joyce and her twinner Janice, thought of themselves as each other’s built in best friend. Her family lived in many wonderful places as her father was in the military and they didn’t stay in one place too long. While learning their way around a new school or neighborhood, she and her twin could rely on each other to sit together at lunch or to play with at recess. And as they began to date boys, their father or a big brother, would remind a young man to have her or her sister home at the right time and to be sure to treat them with respect. When her family returned from living overseas, a brand new, Skyblue Ford pickup truck and camper was waiting for them. That truck and camper traveled across much of the United States that summer, packed tight with their family of eight. The Rand McNally Road Atlas was studied carefully, and the course was plotted. Stops were made at campsites, at National Parks, Caves, Canyons and Historic Sites. As the road rolled beneath their truck, they explored Mount Rushmore, The Grand Canyon, Mammoth Caves, Four Corners, Yellowstone National Park and more. These were all adventure stops on this wonderful summer journey. Grandma Joyce had a sketch pad and a box of charcoal and color pencils that were busy the entire trip capturing the sites. BEST SUMMER VACATION EVER. It was in this blue truck with the manual transmission that she and her twin learned how to drive. Years later when working in radio broadcasting with all men, she was the only one at the news station who knew how to drive a manual transmission vehicle, so was always stuck driving the one vehicle that didn’t have an automatic transmission. Her offer to teach the men how to drive the little manual truck was not accepted (or appreciated) Her favorite part of radio work was as a disc jockey where she played the top rock music of the day and had more leeway to enjoy a spontaneous broadcasting approach. Her dad loved to tell jokes and stories. His bedtime stories were often made up adventures with mischievous little animal characters and life’s lessons. This tradition has carried through Joyce to her sons and they in turn to their children. Grandma Joyce has the gift to see beauty and stories in every day. THERE ARE NO ORDINARY DAYS IF YOU HAVE EYES TO SEE. While growing up, her family home was filled with the smell of freshly baked bread and all the family pitched in to help with daily tasks. Her mother had a special gift of knowing who might need an invitation for a warm meal or a bit of assistance while facing a difficult time. Once, when asked at a party, what her greatest achievement was, without even thinking she replied that it was to be a mother to three wonderful boys. As she desired to work from home and be more present in the lives of their young sons, she created a floral business, Le Fluer Si Beau, that employed women who also needed employment and balanced time with their families. The last 30 plus years have been spent as a real estate agent where her professional skills and love for each of her clients has woven a successful career and rich legacy of treasured friends and interesting experiences for her life. Grandma Joyce credits her loving parents and siblings with creating a solid faith and value based home life, that instilled in her a Christ centered open heart and an optimistic outlook for life. She has loved many dogs over the years, starting with a stray little Aussie mutt that she found in a winter snowstorm, took home where he became part of the family and her childhood adventures. Grandma Joyce is currently living in the Rocky Mountains in her home with the “NOT SO ORDINARY” Backyard. She is involved in nature and land preservation and volunteering in her church and community. Her greatest joys are opening her home to family and friends and inviting them to gather, to share good food and good company. She often has a story to share and has been teasingly dubbed as a “Wordsmith” Grandma Joyce is finding great joy in writing her whimsical tales and creating the artwork to bring them to life. She invites you to join her on this journey.