Lenna

ATTENTION! I HAVE STARTED UPLOADING THE PHOTOS OF MY SWAPS ON FLICKR THE MOMENT I SEND THEM, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE YOUR SURPRISE RUINED, DO NOT LOOK!

Hi-my name is Lenna and I’m a 33 year old woman from Greece. I have studied English and European Literature and have an MA in Literary translation. Currently I work for an NGO, which implements projects in developing countries.
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'm not easily offended and people tell me I have a good sense of humour. I love travelling and visiting new places and I am one of those people who will go to a museum in a foreign city rather than go shopping. I think that travelling enriches our perception of things and my work with the NGO has made me realize the things that really matter.
Currently I am single but when in a relationship, I get disgustingly romantic :-) even though I am pretty much rational and cynical at times. I am grateful for my friends, my family and my two adorable nephews (the older one is usually a force of nature, adorable nevertheless!)
Last but not least, I love dogs. I can't stand racism, narrow mindness, 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). 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 enjoy exchanging gifts with people I love and make sure that they look nice. I also like making pastries and all kinds of sweets and cakes, even if I'm more into savoury food.
I intend to start working on a miniature fairy garden project, so anything that could be used for that (all sorts of fairy related miniature items, like tiny flower pots, plates and cups, furniture, miniature food) would make me extremely happy!

Note books-I always carry these around
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.
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
Coffee (I’m a coffee junkie), Mocha
Fridge magnets
The art of Gustav Klimt, Alfonse Mucha, J.W. Waterhouse
Anything book related
Tins and boxes
Baking, cookie cutters, muffin paper cases, food coloring in tubes,cake sprinkles, cake decorators, kitchen stuff and utensils, herbs and spices (sealed)
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
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
Stuff related to cars and motorcycles
Black and white color combinations
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
Roosters, chicken and the whole country decorative style
Scrapbooking supplies, papers, stickers (with the exception of Christmas stickers)

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.

 Indian (as in Asian Indian stuff): decorated picture frames, boxes, candle holders, table runners etc. Decorative items in the warm colors of the Indian culture.
 Balti & chutney serving dishes for Indian cooking.
 Christmas-y scented candles & tealights: spiced apple, winter mix, vanilla etc.
 Gel decorations for the tiles on the wall.
 Nose-studs, tiny and discreet in any color, anklets.
 Goddess stuff (music, figurines, books etc).
 Ceramic aromatic oil burners.
 Fairy figurines. Dark fairies are ok, too.
 Cookie cutters.
 Coffee in any possible flavor. No decaf please.
 Spices, herbs and seasonings from your country (maybe with a recipe showing what you can do with them?). Any from the Schwartz or McCormick range. Schwartz cooking sauces (in powder).
 Cute bathroom sponges in the shape of crabs, frogs etc. Bathroom items in general (small baskets, boxes, etc), preferably blue or green.
 Meditation cds (you know, the ones with dreamy & instrumental music, a little bit on the new age side!), celtic music, ethnic. You can put these together yourselves!
 Funky kitchen accessories & utensils, tins.
 Patak's Tikka Masala curry paste.
 Mythology books or info from where you live. I am particularly interested in female deities & fertility goddesses so anything related to these would be great!
 Soap, massage bars and bath balls from LUSH.
 Christmas ornaments in gold or red or the combination of the two, handmade or purchased.
 Deli items from where you live.
 Christmas crackers (which are also impossible to find where I live).
 Shortbread cookies.
 Tea filters.
 Small cute kokeshi dolls.
 Christmas miniatures (1:12) in order to make a diorama (the interior of a miniature Christmas living and dining room)
 Decorative items related to Halloween and the Day of the Dead. We don't get these celebrations here and I find both fascinating!
 Anything with the moon on it, the symbol of the snake biting its tail or the symbol of the lunar goddess.
 Utensils for Asian Indian and Mexican cuisine (colorful bowls, plates etc)
 Anything with my initial L on it!
 Small store bought jars with unusual mustards, jam, relish, local stuff etc
 Colorful measuring cups and spoons.
 Fridge poetry magnets.
 Magnetic bendy picture frames.
 A mug with a cute wiener dog.
 Eye pencils (black, dark blue, dark green, brown).
 A small book with muffin recipes.
 Clinique cosmetics and make up samples.
 Any miniature items (such as furniture, food, plates and cups) I could use for a miniature fairy garden!

THE ULTIMATE WISH: I am after samples or any bottles (full, of course!) that you don't have a use for of the perfume TUSCANY PER DONNA. It used to be my favorite (and only) perfume for more than 10 years but it is not imported to Greece anymore, and I wasn't able to find it abroad either. If you have it around or you don't want it, please PM me. Thank you!

This is just a rough guide of things I would like to receive, but really, I will appreciate the effort that you will put in any package and will do the same! So go ahead, surprise me!

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!)

Fairy and Goddess figurines, frogs with crowns on their head (eventually one of them might turn into a prince :-)

Lost, 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.