Rollerwriter

Obviously if you are reading this you are someone who puts alot of thought into your swaps. If this is a postcard or envelope type swap I would like you to consider sending your stuff directly to my best friend's mother, Margaret. My mother passed away very recently & like Margaret, she was wonderful & gentle & loving & the keeper of my joy. My dear friend and I have spent hours contemplating the enormity of losing my mother and the fragility of hers. Margaret is a bit lonely and loves getting mail. I recently did a "For our mums" swap using her as my "mum". It made her so happy. If you're willing, send me a message & I'll provide her address. Thank you. I promise to rate when she receives.

I am the mother of 3 grown children, the aunt of several others. One of my big goals in life was to insure they were all crafty - and they are. This allows for lots of family days and nights that revolve around creativity.

I am a vegetarian for both health and political reasons. I strongly oppose factory farming. I fully support local farmers being paid a living wage for what they sell and do whatever I can as a chef to encourage the purchase of local goods.

I enjoy shopping for vintage and going thrifting. I look at everything I buy and immediately want to alter it. I have dozens of projects going at once (good thing those craft days prompt me to finish the demos or nothing would ever get finished).

I love fabric, trims, cool paper, and I want to learn how to do every handmade craft there is(I seem to have no talent for jewelry but I keep hoping). My house is mostly decorated in red and yellow to keep my eclectic taste in check. My bathroom however is a homage to watery blues and greens, very peaceful. I have to relearn many of the crafts I once did thanks to a patch of black ice and a poorly made car. I am a C7/T1 quad. I hope to write a book about crafty alterations made so others will feel like they can pick up those lost parts of their lives. I have finally gotten up the courage to start a blog about these issues, hoping it gets me back writing my book.

So here is another step in channeling my mother - today is a chance to be a better person than I was yesterday.

Spent another vacation at the Traverse City Film Festival watching many amazing movies! So many of which will never see wide release, especially the documentaries (a horrible shame!!!!). Some of these movies should not be missed: "Theater of War" "Body of War" "Captain Abu Rayd" "Hamlet 2" "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" Try to see one documentary that looks like something you would never go see at least once a year Movies are one of the shared passions between hubby Richard & I.
A big recent favorite: "The Visitor" And films we loved at last year's festival that we still think about: "Grace is Gone" "Once" One that our whole family loved(remember our youngest is 23) "In Bruges"

Always Favorits: "Room with a View" "Rocky Horror Picture Show" "The Thin Man" And just a note, the next time your're considering a girls night in, get your hands on a copy of the original "The Women".

Feel ready to ditch the cable and move on to only watching TV on DVD. However while we are still paying for it- I seem to be watching a lot of Law and Order. Big fan of Lost, Psych, The Office, Top Chef, Project Runway Trying out In Plain Sight and liking it.

All time favorites: Buffy Alias Picket Fences Cagney & Lacey

Making softies Any excuse to use fabric Embroidery Creating bags Knitting with a loom

For mindless fun, the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich.

Desert island book, The Four Agreements

Basics, anything by John Irving, Amy Tan, Nick Hornby, Anna Quindlin.

Love to read cookbooks and craft books like they are novels.

My random list of likes and dislikes in an effort to perfect such a list in case I am ever on "Inside the Actor's Studio": LIKES *Stuffies *Vintage stuff that can be used to make something new *Children's books with great illustrations *Buying fabric knowing I'll figure out a way to use it *Gardening *www.wherethehellsmatt.com *www.makingfiends.com *Playing games- board, card, party, outdoor - like them all *Words *Thrift stores, library sales, flea markets *Food - reading about it, cooking it, growing it, talking about it *Kitchy beach stuff, shells, driftwood *Colors found in nature (which is of course almost all of them) *Blank books and fun writing instruments *Art *Zines DISLIKES (I don't care to make these generalizations since almost everything has a version that I like but maybe if I changed the title of this part to "THINGS I TEND TO AVOID") -Goth -cutesy Japanese toys -florescent or very bright colors -jokes about old women, man bashing or bathroom humor & any joke that relies on someone being hurt -horror films -Battle fields, miltary museums, war movies

Regina Spektor, The Beatles, Rick Springfield, Marc Cohn, Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Indigo Girls, Yoyo Ma, Swell Season, The Delicious, Bare Naked Ladies, Lyle Lovett