Trying to put down in a few words just the right phrase to catch someone's attention...such a tricky thing to do! To analyze yourself enough to let someone catch your 'essence' without sounding too sappy or boring...or too 'cutesy' or needy...I can only be honest, I guess. I'm a widow, retired from a long career with a big aerospace company, living in a new state and trying to find a new friend. I love animals, I'm basically shy and a little nervous with 'first dates'...been so long since I've done much of that, I'm seriously out of practice. I'm looking for someone to first of all, be my best friend, and then hopefully, more...I love animals, small children, most larger children, movies, books, music, God, family...the usual, I guess. I like to cook, love to be taken out to dinner and/or a night of music somewhere. I love to travel, and hope to be able to do more of it. I love just spending an afternoon, driving and looking at the sights, maybe finding some little shop full of someone else's old treasures. I love most music, except rap or hip-hop...tend to lean toward country or easy listening, or oldies for the most part. In the last analysis, just probably like most people, I consider myself a good, kind, loving woman and hope that there is still one man out there who might be THE man for me.

The first date is usually awkward and a little nerve-wracking. I think the best ones are spent over lunch, with the opportunity to talk and get to know each other, hopefully with no big time constraints on the lunch. I think the next date could either be a movie or dinner, or a nice drive in the country.