BabaKatya

I llive with my husband of 42 years in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. We have three sons and one granddaughter. I have recently retired from teaching adolescents with emotional and behavioral disabilities. I loved the work and the young people, but want to spend some time with my husband and the rest of my family now. My beautiful (at least I think so) granddaughter Vera starts kindergarten in the fall, and I will miss having as much time with her. I love birds; my husband has put a garden of birdfeeders right outside my office window. I see cardinals, goldfinches, hummingbirds, robins, purple finches, bluejays, doves, chickadees, orioles, etc. every day. They are fun to watch. Other than reading and crafts, I love to travel and I enjoy writing children's stories for the Internet. I am a committed Christian and find Bible study, meditation and prayer helpful in making peace within myself.

My favorite music is a little of almost everything. I don't like violent themes or abusive language, though.

I love to read and am not too picky about what I read. I like historical romance, mysteries, spy stories, Robert Ludlum, John Grisham, Maeve Binchy, Robin Cook, science fiction . . . You can see that I'm not stuck in a rut! Oh, and recently, I have been reading The Power of Less by Leo Babauta. Ordinarily I don't care for self-help books, but he is right on point for me.

Gone with the Wind, Dr. Strangelove, almost anything with Nicolas Cage or Sean Connery, the Bourne movies, Driving Miss Daisy, Schindler's List. Too many to mention all of them.

Card-making, ATCs, matchboxes, most all papercrafts, photography, knitting,and calligraphy.

Pastels, especially pink, lavendar, and yellow. Bright, clear colors like red, green, and blue.