Click here to see things I have to trade: Things for Trade

I am interested in corresponding with people from different countries. If you would like a penpal in Hawai'i, please send me a message. I include things from your profile with my letters if you would like to swap.

I play piano, guitar and ukulele. When I'm not playing music, I'm usually listening to music. I love listening to unusual music. My favorite music is instrumental folk music from different countries. I don't like rap or loud music that is vocally abusive.

I love to cook. I use mostly whole, natural, macrobiotic ingedients. I love new macrobiotic cookbooks and sharing recipes. I'm currently working on a vegetarian version of the Sicilian cannoli. My favorite ethnic cooking : southern Italian , Japanese, Indian.

Other hobbies/interests: snorkel diving, boogie boarding, hiking, tropical plants and fruit trees, travel

Favorite crafts - restoring old musical instruments, building new musical instruments, carving kokeshi dolls, painting old wooden croquet and bocce balls, crocheting and sewing small Japanese projects. To feed these obsessions, I am always in need of: old wooden croquet/bocce balls, unusual natural fiber fabrics for small sewing projects and my never-ending quilt project - I use lots of cotton and silk, Japanese kimono cloth, cotton and wool crochet yarn in solid colors, Asian bamboo paint brushes, books and patterns for amigurumi and other small projects.

Other Favorites:

• color...gray
• scent..ginger, tangerine, fresh cut gobo
• animals...rabbit, birds of prey, lizard, goat
• characters...Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet too, ," Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons," Craig from "SouthPark," Bob from "Bob's Burgers"
• tea: bancha (roasted twig tea), dandelion root, mugi cha (roasted barley), mu tea, black tea with exotic spices (for my henna tattoo recipes), herbal tea (no caffeine)

• holiday: Easter

  Things I would like to receive

• I love stationery, especially from outside the USA: interesting writing paper and envelopes, handmade natural fibre paper, cute character stationery sets and desk accessories, fountain pens, unusual writing instruments and especially handmade sketch books with unlined paper

• soap with a natural ingredient like oatmeal, seaweed, herbs, essential oil, etc.

• silk and cotton kimono cloth from Japan

• Asian bamboo paint brushes

• kokeshi dolls

• omamori from temples in Japan, Hawai'i and other places

• instrumental folk music CDs from different countries

• animation and foreign films with English subtitles on DVD or VCD

• milagros

• retired automobile license plates

• Old wood croquet and bocce balls

• Gift cards and codes for shopping online or offline, especially Walmart (not my favorite store, but I use the Rx), Wholefoods, Safeway, Costco and amazon.com

• penpals not living in North America

• rolls of clear plastic packing tape

• established friendship books

• commercially made perfume and natural skin care samples

• SanDisk CompactFlash cards for my camera...It looks like this

• HP black ink cartridges (74 or 74XL) for my printer

• plastic (not wood) hashi...these are like "chopsticks," but they are the Japanese kind, which are shorter and tapered

• independently published comics and graphic novels from all countries

• seeds to grow plants that will grow in a tropical environment: cactus, palm trees, fruit, flowers and culinary herbs

• sealed containers of cullinary spices, especially basil (I use so much of this one) and exotic, difficult-to-find spices from other countries. My favorite swap was a container of an unfamiliar herb with recipes for using that herb in its native country.

• kitchen things: new oven mitt, pot holder, thick cotton dish cloth, apron, measuring spoons and cups, silicon tongs and bakeware

• things on my Amazon wishlist (link at top of page)

• things on my Etsy wishlist (link at top of page)

• prayer cards of any of the Catholic saints, especially if they are made outside of the USA or in a language other than English...also saint medals and religious charms to keep my truck safe

  Things I would like to send:

• items from your profile in exchange for items from mine

• music - I share original CDs from my collection...let me know the music you like or, if you like to experiment, I can send a variety of music
• used world-wide postage stamps
• postcards
• POG milkbottle caps
• pressed tropical flowers from my garden

• tropical plants and seeds

  I live in a non-smoking, pet-free home.

  Things I don't need:

• earrings (I don't have anything pierced)

• candy, gum, coffee, soft drinks, snacks or food of any kind (they melt, get weird in the tropical heat or the gecko living in my mailbox gets to it first)...please don't send food or drink except if a swap requires tea, please send herbal tea (no caffeine) or black tea with nice spices in sealed bags. I don't drink black tea, but I use it for my henna tattoos :D
• candles or wax (they melt in my mailbox)
• used body products, handmade lipbalms and any products containing parabens
• nail polish and makeup...I don't wear them
• VHS tapes (I don't have a VCR player)
• My home is macrobiotic, so we cannot use recipes or cookbooks that have these ingredients: meat, eggs, dairy products, white flour and sugar. The exception is cookbooks of homestyle southern Italian recipes. I love to adapt traditional Sicilian recipes for my macrobiotic lifestyle.

Allergies: petroleum, mineral oil, msg (monosodium glutamate), aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, spiders and mites

Broken Promises...Forum tags and swaps that I never received...Angels welcome

• 5/18/08 GiddyUpSoldier: 3 lettersets of stationary and a DVD or CD
• 8/12/08 omeletdufromage: $10 Old Navy gift card for Higher Stakes Swap Tag
• 4/2/09 Sharila: a small profile surprise and some gold pouches for "Pick Two!"
• 4/17/09 Sharila: animation DVD for "Media Junkies PIF"
• 6/29/09 DragonflyDore: stones/gemstones for "Cheap Postage Tag You're It"
• 8/17/09 cloudsdreamdisorder : beginner's knitting kit (needles, yarn and dvd) for "Global Swap Tag-Rated Swappers Only!"
• 10/7/09 Mommyof2: x-stitch kit for "Pick Two"
• 11/11/09 Minou89: a small profile surprise for "Pick Two!"
• 3/4/10 Rainbowdino: barrel of monkeys for "Tag through the Alphabet"
• 4/23/10 K8ty: a book for "This or That tag"
• 7/5/10 aprettykitty84: music cd and stickers for Pick Two
• 11/15/10 luvmylife: two 6 oz. bars of oatmeal soap for Postcards/Soap Swap
• 12/3/11 Pinkfootballs: Secret Santa (US Only)...she didn't send and is now suspended
• 12/26/11 OrigamiGrace: 2 origami notecards + envelopes(crane) for Swap Tag US - rated swappers

• 2/6/13 @antiope : bag of beads and 3 skeins of yarn for Pick Two...never sent, never received, never tag again :(

  Waiting to receive:

  • 4/15/13 @bettflow09 : Random Flat Envelope - PIF,US,rated