Lenna

Hi-my name is Lenna and I’m a 33 year old woman from Greece. I have studied English and European Literature and I also have an MA in Literary translation. Currently I work for a Non Profit development organization that implements projects in developing countries. I have been working in the field for the last 10 years and had the opportunity to experience things I wouldn’t have otherwise. I also do the occasional translation in my spare time (what is that…???)
I think that I am quite open - minded about things, I respect other people's beliefs, and I anticipate that in return, they will respect mine. I am not religious but I am fascinated by female goddesses and the wisdom they carry. I was born in Prague, Czech Republic, but I’m very proud of my Greek heritage. I'm not easily offended and people tell me I have a good sense of humor. I love traveling and visiting new places, and when I do, I enjoy long walks and visits to museums. My dream is to visit Mexico, Egypt and India-I find all three fascinating!
Last but not least, I love dogs and especially wiener dogs. I can't stand racism, cruelty, fanaticism, ignorance, stupidity and cruelty against animals.

I love reading and creative writing, so a good book or a poetry collection is always welcome. My academic interests include symbolism, anthropology, psychology, literary translation and mythology (mainly goddess related mythology from all over the world). I love reading about the goddesses of various civilizations and I also love anything related to them, from figurines to pendants and books to ritual music. Mythology is a big love of mine.
As I was born with two left hands (as they say here in Greece for people who are not very good in making things with their hands), I am not very good in crafting, however, I try. I have made some altered matchboxes and gift tags, but that’s about it. I am currently intrigued by scrapbooking and will give it a try, I think! I don’t knit, crochet, embroider or sew, despite the fact that I would love to. When it comes to that, I’m completely useless.
I try to channel my creativity to cooking and pastry making and enjoy the time that I spend in the kitchen, therefore I would like to receive anything that would help me with my endeavors, from utensils and inexpensive gadgets to ingredients, containers, napkins etc.

Candles, tea lights, scented and unscented
Bath stuff, cosmetics and toiletries (not the dollar shop type), travel size items (I travel a lot due to the nature of my job). Again, when it comes to cosmetics and bath stuff I don't like so much the fruity, floral and fresh scents, I usually go for the more sensual smells (but not "edible" smells like chocolate or vanilla).
Wiener dogs, puppies, crabs, frogs, ducks, bees. I am hopelessly in love with wiener dogs, I think that they are the cutest thing ever!
Moon, stars, mystical,witchy & pagan stuff
Goddesses and fairies
The art of Gustav Klimt, Alfonse Mucha, J.W. Waterhouse
Anything book related
Tins and boxes
Baking
Anything Christmas (crackers, stickers, cards, anything really)
Indian, Chinese and Italian food, any ingredients welcome
Apples, pears, apricots, both as shapes and tastes
Ethnic, ambient, trip hop, celtic, chill out music

Baby-ish stuff (Hello Kitty, Kawaii etc), Disney, Harry Potter, with the exception of MOMIJI items!
Cats
Anything with western religious connotations
Guns and anything related to them
Skulls
Anything with political connotations
Vintage,second hand, used stuff
Anything smelling too fruity, the scent of lavender, the scent of rose
Fabric scraps, yarn,beads, threads
Fluorescent colors
Loose teas
Handmade dolls-for some strange reason they freak me out
Country, metal and rap music
ATCs
Dollar store stuff
Earrings
Food with artificial sweeteners (I don't tolerate these very well)
Herbal teas
Faux fashion accessories
Pens and pencils (I have thousands of them)
Hard candy
Liquorice
The taste of mushrooms
Clowns
Postcards
Hand made clothing items
Animal prints
Chewing gum

The warm colors of autumn and nature. Terracotta. Sea blue and green. Yellow and orange, purple. The colors of oriental spices. Gold (as a colour!). I don’t like red and black. Pink is ok, but I would rather receive something in the darker tones of pink, not baby pink. I am also not very crazy about pastels.

COLOR COMBINATIONS/STYLES IN MY FLAT:
LIVING ROOM & BEDROOM: Asian Indian, terracotta, dark shades of orange, yellow, red as primary colors.
KITCHEN: Modern, lime and dark pink primary colors.
BATHROOM: Green and blue.

 Anything from my etsy favorites.
 British short cakes, flapjacks, mini mince pies
 Playscale (1:6) quality miniatures for a living room diorama that I am making for the little girl of a friend of mine who is going through a nasty divorce, for Christmas. I would really love to cheer her up, she's such a sweet girl! It can be anything in miniature, really. Please, no pink plastic Barbie stuff, I am more after realistic looking stuff, purchased or handmade that you don't have any use for!
 McCormick's Chilli con carne seasoning-I love it cannot get it here!
 Balti & chutney serving dishes for Indian cooking.
 Christmas-y scented tealights: spiced apple, winter mix, vanilla etc. I burn them practically all day long and run out very soon!
 Goddess stuff (music, figurines, books, pendants, incense, candles etc).
 Funky kitchen accessories & utensils, tins.
 Deli items from where you live.
 A tea strainer.
 Anything with the moon on it, the symbol of the snake biting its tail or the symbol of the lunar goddess.
 Anything with my initial L on it!
 Small store bought jars with unusual mustards, jams, relish, local stuff etc
 Stamps and inkpads.
 Paper kitchen napkins.
 Anything to help me get organized (plastic boxes, tins, baskets etc). I need serious help in this department!!!
 Pattern edged scissors (zig-zag pattern).
 Sepia or black and white vintage looking postcards (especially with women on them).
 Anything related to the movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang or the amazing actress Brigitte Helm.
 Things to put on my desk at home (pencil cases, desk organizers, tins etc).
 A small bar of Honey I washed the kids soap from Lush.
 A Soft Coeur massage bar from Lush.
 A travel size Vitamin E cream from the Body Shop.
 Second hand horror books-but nothing too splattery.
 Adhesive labels for glass food jars.
 Anything Christmas. I love Christmas and I don't mind receiving stuff related to it during the entire year!
 Cherry, apple or strawberry themed items for the kitchen.
 Drinking chocolate sachets - I love strawberry and orange flavored hot chocolate!
 Mini Christmas themed stamps
 Regular size cupcake liners for baking.
 Clinique and Lancome make up and cosmetic freebies. They come very handy when I travel!
 Incense oils in Christmas-y scents to burn in my incense burner.
 Felt handmade Christmas ornaments
 Glitter glue
 Anything Lumpy the Elephant from Winnie the Pooh. Don't ask, it's a long story :-)
 Notecards with matching envelopes
 Any flavor Pocky you would like to share with me-never had any!
 Cadbury or Galaxy chocolate bars.
 Any of the Blue Dragon stir fry sauces, which I also cannot get here.
 Regular (18 cm) Filofax colored re-fill pages (with or without lines) or those adorable stickers that Filofax has issued a while ago for its organizers, and cannot be found here yet!

NOTE: Please feel free to re-swap any items that I have sent that you don't like or won't use! It's better to send them to somebody else than to have them sitting in a drawer...I hope that you won't be offended if I do the same (obviously, this does not apply to handmade items that you've put your heart into!)

Lost (this is of course my addiction!), House, Battlestar Galactica, Grey's Anatomy, E.R.

Cat fur (please please please keep them away from the things you send me-thank you!)
Aspartame and similar artificial sweeteners
Faux fashion accessories

My favorite author must be Milan Kundera. I love the fiction of Anais Nin and the poetry of Sylvia Plath and e.e.cummings. Margaret Atwood is another favorite, but I am also a fan of horror literature (Ramsey Campbell, Masterton, Joyce etc). If you send me a decent collection of modern horror stories in the spirit of the authors above-new or used, I don't really care-I will probably love you forever. Love reading books on symbolism in general, Sumerian, Greek and Egyptian mythology, dream symbolism (from the psychoanalytic point of view), literary theory and translation, etc. I also like love haikus.