I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark - Bispebjerg to be exact
The first year of my life we lived in an appartment on Statholdervej - My father was a hairdresser with own business and my mother was at home with my halfsister and - brother - then my parents decided to emigrate to America and as I was too little to have any say in this, so I went along - We sailed to America from Sweden with a steamship named Gripsholm - the year must have been 1947
Our first home was in White Plaines - my parents however were divorced and we, my sister, brother, mother and myself
moved to Flushing Queens - we did often visit my dad, who had moved to Manhatten
I attended school when I was 5 or 6 and my first school was PS 165 in Flushing Queens, both my sister, Gerda, and I
attended this school. It was when we lived here we got our first dog, a white mix, named Tina
My mother began to work for Scandinavien Airlines Systems and my father expanded with more and more salons around the country and on luxury liners as well as a travel agency - his main salon was in the St Moritz hotel on Manhatten, just across the street from Central Park , where I spent a lot of time during my childhood - I loved staying with my dad and I loved wondering around Central Park, skating in Winter and sailing in Summer - once in a while my sister and I were sent on holidays to Denmark to visit family
Growing up in NY, my dad always spoke Danish to us kids, which was a good thing later in life
I remember the statue of Balto and found this link about how and why Balto became so famous
I also recall visiting several other landmarks in NYC - here is link to one of my favorites
At one time when my dad came to Denmark I waited for him at the airport, but got sidetracked by the fact that actor/singer Bob Hope was also onboard, so here is a photo that was published in a magazine - yes, me at right ...
Due to the fact that I was born as a "blue child", which meant I had a hole in my heart, I needed surgery, however this was not an option in America, so surgery was done in Denmark. Being in Denmark meant leaving my sister and brothers behind in America for almost a year and we unfortunately grew apart - At this time I got my second dog, a wirehaired foxterrier
Later in life my sister married a dentist and had 3 children, my brother became a doctor, married a Swedish girl an had 3 children and my little baby brother also became a dentist but never married although he has a daughter
My brothers dental clinics in USA
After highschool I worked in Germany near Frankfurt as an au-pair girl -
here I met my first husband, Charles Henry Taylor, who was the first love of my live and the father of my only child, Tina, born 1964
We moved to Pennsylvania and my inlaws in a very small house but not for long - we were too
young and Chuck was eager to go to Vietnam as the soldier he was, however he never went, and just as well !
(My first love died in 2006 suffering a heart attack)
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I went to New York and stayed with my father and got a job at the Worldīs Fair (1965) built on Flushing Meadows, where I
used to play cowboys and indians as a little girl -
It was hard being a single mother in America in the 60īs, so I returned to Denmark with Tina
Instead I went to Artcollage and became a graphic designer and moved to London, England (1970) to work. Our first home was Dedworth Windsor, England where Tina attended school and a few years later we moved to Lightwater, Surrey, with my second husband, Mr Wright, who turned out to be Mr Wrong big time!
In 1972 when living in England I bought our first basenji and later a pharoah hound
I worked very hard as a graphic designer and at different advertising agencies, so to unwind and avoid stress (as if!) Tina and I attended dogshows at weekends around the country. We had some great times and made a lot of friends - but never got an English Champion to call my own - We also attended catshows, as I had siamese cats - with same results as the dogs
After a very frightening experience at Earls Court in London (IRA bomb) I decided to move to Denmark with Tina, 4 of my dogs and 2 siamese. There were other reasons for leaving England, but they shall remain private
Back in Denmark and hopefully for good, I began yet a new part of my life with Tina. I found a job as a graphic designer and continued with this line of work almost the rest of my working life - and in my spare time I continued to show my basenjis and
pharaoh hounds all over Europe and with great success, if I may say so myself
The catworld was a bit different so I decided to stick to the dogs only
I felt we were safe being in Denmark in the late 70īs and Tina did well at school and had her heart set on becoming a chef and she eventually graduated as such
Both my father and mother have passed away as well as the second love of my life - something I will never get over and find it hard to talk about, let alone write - however it is part of my life
My littlebrother, Carl Peter & our Dad - April 1984
10 years later we had to say Good-bye to our Dad and I miss him every day
My mother suffered a stroke during an operation - here she is celebrating her 81. birthday in the nearby nursinghome, where I visited her every day til she passed away Christmas 2003 - note, Oliver and Cattie searching for birthday cookies ?
I am still in Denmark & here I shall stay having entered the new world of the Internet, I design websites, collages and other graphics, however I have stopped travelling to dogshows due to health reasons and bred my last basenji litter born December 1, 2009
August 2010 - I have been to the WDS and it was great to see 98 basenjis and 56 pharaoh hounds judged the same day
as well as meeting friends from near and far - Great show
2. December 2010 - now I am officially an Old Age Pensioner ! Where have all the years gone ... who would have guessed I would reach this age - mind you the aches and pains I coud do without ...
Latest photo of littlebrother, Carl Peter
8. April 2011
Happy birthday, littlebrother
(you will notice his nice teeth - well guess what, Carl Peter is a dentist - click on his photo )
Today is Mother's Day - 8. May 2011
this is for my mother, who died 7 years agoWhen my life has reached it's very end, and I take that final breath,
I want to know I've left behind, some "good" before my death
That maybe I have brought a smile to someone else's face
and made one moment a little sweeter, while they dwelled here in this place
Lord, please be my reminder and whisper softly in my ear...
To be a "giver" not a "taker" in the years I have left here
For if not a heart be touched by me, and not a smile was left behind...
Then the life that I am blessed with, will have been a waste of time
With all my heart, I truly hope, to leave something here on Earth
that touched another, made them smile and gave to my life worth
Author Unknown