2. Town where you live: Rural Kelley, 3 miles from Kelley, Slater and Huxley, right in the middle. We have a Huxley phone number, a Kelley address and we vote in Slater! So we suffer from identity crisis. LOL (meaning lots of laughs)
3. Where did you grow up? On a farm near Hartley, in Northwest Iowa
4. What is your occupation? I am an artist/floral designer/owner of the Chicken Shed Primitives in Huxley, which began 15 years ago in the century-old chicken shed on our acreage. I like to create, collect and gather antique, primitive, old stuff (junk) and give it new purpose. I also make silk, dried and floral arrangements. I don't like doing two things alike, so most items are one-of-a-kind creations.
5. What do you wish was (or had been) your occupation? I don't have any wishes or regrets, because I have the job of my dreams - I play at work all day. I started out to be an art teacher, but changed my major after a couple years to horticulture, so I graduated from Iowa State with a B.S. in horticulture, but all my electives and more were art classes. I was an art teacher at Ames Christian School for 14 years part-time while doing my current business. A year ago, I decided to move the store to Huxley and work/play full time in a location that was more accessible to customers.
6. What is your favorite TV Show? "Psych" or "Bones," but we don't have cable TV, so I watch them as reruns or online.
7. What type of music do you like to listen to? Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock
8. If you could live in any other state, which state would you live in and why? Somewhere warmer in the winter. I haven't lived anywhere else, but have visited South Florida and love Sanibel Island, with the gulf waves and all the sea shells on the beach.
9. What's your favorite season of the year and why? That's a tough one because all of the seasons were created by God for a reason, and here in Iowa we get to experience them all in full splendor. Spring because it is a time of renewal and life. I love to see all the perennials coming up and the trees leafing out. Fall because of the colors on the trees, the fields of corn and beans when they turn brown, it's like a warm cozy quilt, and I know that no matter how many weeds are in my garden, I get to start all over next spring.
10. What was your favorite decade and why? I try to be content with where the Lord has placed me and what he has called me to do. I used to not want my kids to grow up. Every time they would learn something new, I wanted them to stay just the way they were, until the next new discovery. Now I really enjoy seeing them mature and grow, even though it also means I am MUCH older. LOL
11. What meal do you like best at suppertime? A small, medium rare steak on the grill, smothered in onions, a baked potato and a fresh green salad
12. What hobbies or pastimes do you enjoy most? I love to work in my garden with my family. I have a big perennial flower garden that we designed and planted as family, going to my kids' ballgames and events, but most of all I love playing board games and having my whole family home.
13. What's your favorite color and why? That might be the toughest question yet. In fresh flowers I love bright vibrant colors, and delivering is the best job. In decorating, I love the rich dark primitive and country colors.
14. Would you rather live in a very old house with lots of character or a new house where everything worked perfectly? That is the easiest question - I live in a 100-year-old house that fits me perfectly. Where's the fun or adventure if everything working perfectly? Our character is built on adversity.
15. What's the best book you've read in the past few years? Oh man, just one? Max Lacado's "Cure for the Common Life, finding your sweet spot," Josh MacDowell's "Seeing yourself as God sees you," Bob Vanderplatt's "Light from Lucas"
16. What Web site do you enjoy going to often? We are currently redoing our site for the store: www.chickenshedprimitives.com, and it should be up and running soon, so my second favorite Web sites are my son, Jeremy's, Web site www.jeremyharmsen.com and his friend Matt Rittman's site, www.mattrittman.com. Jeremy wants to be a film director, so he is always filming crazy things and posting them on his Web site, and Matt's site is just crazy!
17. Who are the members of your family? My husband - Leroy - whom I have been married to for 31 years; Jeremy is 21, married to Aleah, 21; Emily, 20 and Andy, 16
18. What's your favorite thing to eat with chocolate in it? Anderson-Erickson's Family Style Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter in it.
19. What was the best present you ever received as a child? My parents always made sure that I had art supplies to create with; it was my way of coping with "sitting still and paying attention in class."
20. Did you have a teacher who inspired you, and how? I had a high school guidance counselor who told me I was not college material so I should take secretarial courses. I guess it did inspire me to go to college, just to prove him wrong and because I really didn't like typing, shorthand and bookkeeping.
21. What place in the world have you not visited, but would most like to visit? The Caribbean, I want to see those clear blue waters, white sand beaches and hear the waves, maybe because it is so different than Iowa.
22. What's the greatest movie of all time? I really am not a big movie fan (Don't tell my son Jeremy)
23. What do you love best about Iowa? The friendly hometown people who scoop each other out in the winter, bring food when you have a baby or are sick, wave when you pass even though you have no idea who that was, watch out for each others' kids and genuinely care about each other.
24. What's one of your fondest childhood memories? Sunday afternoons, when my parents would nap, I would saddle up my horse and ride all afternoon; it was so great to be able to ride all over the countryside and dream. I was always in trouble in school and at home for daydreaming, so that was my escape for one afternoon every week.
25. Who do you most admire in your community? I most admire my pastors at Grace Evangelical Free Church. Pastor Marty Rietgraf has the toughest job of anyone I know. He is the shepherd to a flock that has many different needs, personalities, ideas and gifts. Balancing all his church responsibilies with his own family, driving school bus and tennis tutoring takes a special person. Pastor Gabe Casciato has a young family, teaches Karate, is a chaplain in the army and works with our teenagers. I admire them both for their dedication to our community and to their calling.
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