I'm Joy Norton. I was raised in New Boston, IL, a small town on the Mississippi River. I was married in 1956 to my husband Ed Norton and in 1962, moved inland 15 miles to Aledo, IL. He passed away in Aug 2002. I have 5 sons and at last count, 14 grandkids, 9 boys and 5 girls ranging in age from 24 down to almost 2. I worked 30 yrs at Rock Island Arsenal, mostly in Accounting and retired in 1999. I keep myself entertained with my projects -- sewing, quilting, doll making, redecorating the house, the furniture, the yard, anything that doesn't move. Old habits are hard to change so I still have a big garden every year that we plant mainly with tomatoes. I flunked my drivers test with the rototiller so have to round up one of the boys to do that, then it's all mine till picking time when it reverts back to "our garden". I have a mini-schnauzer, Mickey, and a cat, Tweetybird, to keep me company here. Other things I like to do are drive around the back roads to see where they go, and I love to dance. Due to my husbands long illness, I've been pretty much confined to home the past couple of years and found some friends in a quilting chatroom to while away the evenings. Not long ago, I entered the Myrtlebeach chatroom and the camaderie among the chatters there is just the greatest way for me to start the day.