riftvegan

• Wed 25 Jan 2023...

Still dealing with some computer issues, and my online time continues to be a bit random. I hope to catch up with ratings before the weekend, I know I've got a couple more to do! Apologies for not being timely!!

• Saturday 14 Jan 2023...

a bit of chaos here today. My tablet died, and my backup computer isn't working either. I don't have a smart phone, so I'm almost down for the count!

This should not affect swapping too much, tho my outgoing swaps are going to be on the basic side and ratings will be a day or more after I rcv. Apologies for that!

I was doing proper backups, tho, and that's definitely the bright spot here! I lost a couple hours of work on a few random files, but that's it! All of my photos are good, and setting up a new computer will be pretty straightforward!!

• Friday 20 January 2023, The fun continues...

It turns out the motherboard on the backup computer is fried, which is a bummer because that's not an easy fix. I've ordered another computer, but it won't arrive until next week.

So my online time will continue to be hit or miss, so sorry if I don't respond right away!

Yay Vegan! Being vegan is the best and most important thing about me! I love being vegan!

I'm a reader: science fiction, animal fiction, mainstream, and random non-fiction: mostly science and nature, and some autobiographies.

I keep a paper journal. And a blog, occasionally.

I'm a photographer and I print my photos up as postcards.

I enjoy art in many forms. Mail Art is awesome... And I especially love handmade cards and postcards!

∞ Photography My focus is urban wildlife. I go for walks every weekend and take pictures of nature; I love trees, birds, flowers and any kinds of animals that I find, including a wide variety of bugs! Photography is definitely my passion, and I love sharing my photos with the world as postcards...

∞ Postcards I've been involved in a (5 card) monthly postcard exchange since July 2008. It's mostly defunct, but it got me started! Now I send out 100 to 150 postcards every month! I use desktop publishing software to turn my photos into postcards, which I print at home on a (very temperamental) high-end printer.

∞ Gardening I'm a terrible gardener, but I still end up with more cherry tomatoes than I can eat! I'm mostly there for the photo opportunities. ;)

∞ Drawing I started a daily drawing project at the end of 2019, and I'm still at it now in 2021! For the most part, I sketch birds or animals in pencil on ATC sized paper. I'm not sure I'm getting any better, but I'm proud of my collection!

∞ Rarely: Crochet, Book Making, Making Bookmarks

I don't watch much tv, but there are a few shows I like... Doctor Who (I love the new, but it all started with the old!), and I'll watch Firefly over and over!

Movies: Legend (the one with Unicorns!), LadyHawke, The NeverEnding Story, Ever After, The Secret Life of Pets, Serenity

∞ 2022 Feb/March... It's starting out to be the Year of the Hawks! For a while I was seeing a hawk or two most every time I go out walking!! Mostly Red Shoulder Hawks, but I've also seen a couple Red Tail Hawks and even two Cooper Hawks!! Not hawks, but still exciting: a juvenile Bald Eagle and a Turkey Vulture!

∞ 2021 It's taken a while to figure out who this year's critter is, but the Raccoons have definitely made an appearance in my l life!! 🦝🦝 It has been years since I've seen raccoons down at the little creek. But now we have a family of 4 kids (or 5?) who hang out near their den about 1/2 mile away. and there's a pair with one partner missing a tail (??!) And then there's just random sightings, not sure who they are, except they make me happy! :)

∞ 2020 Last year was my Year of the Lady Bug... and this year, seems to be the Year of the Roly-Poly! (also called Pill Bugs!) When they sense danger, they roll up into a sphere... if only humans could do that. Instead we are stuck with masks and social distancing!

∞ 2019 🐞 I keep coming across Lady Bugs! They are a symbol of good luck, and I need it. :)

∞ Postcards and Notecards I'd love to receive nature, animals or art. But I'm not picky! I just like to get mail: send me anything, and then write something interesting in the text block! :) Also love handmade postcards and cards!

∞ Other than Nature and Animals, I am also interested in * Ocean themes * Skies, Clouds and Rainbows * Astronomy, Star Gazing and Outer Space themes

∞ Animals I truly love all animals, even bugs, but here are a few of my most favorite! Bumble Bees & Beetles, Chickens & Turkeys, Crows, Dolphins, Elephants, Equines, Foxes, Frogs, Guinea Pigs, Humpback Whales, Mice & Rats, Octopuses, Raccoons, Sea Horses, Squirrels!

Oh my gosh, I love to read! I also love to buy books, both dead-tree books and Kindle books! I tend to buy more than I have time to read. The words I live by: I can't die until I've read all my books! ;)

I enjoy reading science fiction, but lately I'm reading a lot of non-fiction. I love to read about nature and animals. And also an autobiography here and there.

Favorites in Random Order:

• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis Series
• The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
• Ancillary Justice and the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie
• Anything by James Tiptree, Jr
• I think To Kill A Mockingbird is the perfect novel
• I seek out winners of the Burroughs Medal (nature writing), the Tiptree Award (gender identity), and occasionally Hugo and Nebula winners.
• Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men This is such an important and informative book, I think Everyone should read it! And fortunately there's an easy solution to all the problems listed... more women in leadership positions, and more men Listening to women!
• 2021 addition... Murderbot!!!

crochet amigurumi

stamp carving

drawing and colouring my own postcards

Yay, Mailbox Joy! I love to create and send mail! I enjoy sharing my nature photography as postcards and notecards. I like to read profiles and figure out what I have that will make my mailing partner happy. I enjoy challenging myself occasionally with different kinds of swaps.

∞ 500 Swaps!

500 Swaps completed on 28 April 2019

750 Swaps on 30 August 2021

Whee! And I can't wait for the next 500!!

∞ Hosting

All of the swaps I create are International and Newbie Friendly. Both of these things are important to me, and I'm especially passionate about International swaps.