pianoheart

I am on swap-bot to make friends and have fun. If you would like to correspond with a friend from Hawai'i, please start by watching these two short videos and tell me what you think of them:

Simple Acts of Kindness

I love piano, ukulele, and stringed musical instruments from different cultures., I am interested in making/restoring ukulele. I make lei and jewelry using seeds from Hawaiian plants.

I welcome pen pals from the Hawaiian Islands who want to share friendship. I currently have tons of mainstream writing stationery, so no need to send more to me, unless you have written a pen pal letter to me on it. Email pen pals from anywhere on Earth are also nice. I am more interested in forming friendships than accumulating stuff. I would like to find some like-minded people.

I love to cook. I experiment with adapting recipes for use with local Hawaiian ingredients. I grow many kinds of tropical fruit and like to use them in recipes. I cook mostly vegetables, fruit and whole grains. I don't cook with dairy, eggs or meat. I have too many vegetarian cookbooks, so no need to send more to me.

My husband collects retired license plates from all over the world. They don't need to be old, just no longer on a vehicle. If you would like to add to his collection, please send me a message to see if he already has a plate from your area.

Some favorites:

• Ocean - I love exploring the beach.
• Earth - I love being outside, hiking to waterfalls and great views, planting native trees.
• exercise: walking, hiking, mountain biking
• big tree forests
• pen pals

• musical instruments

  A agriculture, Anthony of Padua, additional ounce stamps, Amazon gift cards

  B beach, bicycles with fat tires

  C carnivorous plants, chew toys for a medium-size dog, cooking

  D dog treats

  E Earth, essential oil soap bars, exfoliator, electric vehicles, envelopes (mailable handmade art envelopes)

  F forests, fruit trees, face scrub, forever stamps, friends, fossils

  G gift cards, global forever stamps

  H Hawai'i friends, handmade blank books (small) to fill with my artwork, herbs

  I Ice sculptures

  J

  K knots in wood

  L long-sleeved cotton t-shirts without words, Lowe's gift cards

  M musical instruments, magnesium bath salts, mbira

  N ngoni

  O Ocean, oatmeal soap, origami, oven mitts - thick, silicon palms, left and right handed

  P piano, pen pals, painting, postcard forever stamps, PDT sticker labels

  Q quartz crystal balls

  R rain

  S sundials, stretch tubes (for exercise), solar power, sumi-e, seeds to grow herbs, sterling silver jewelry clasps/rings/chains/findings/headpins

  T trees, travel

  U ukulele, unused USA potage stamps

  V visitors

  W worry dolls, white whippets, watercolor

  X xylophone

  Y yellow highlighter pens

  Z zori

  Things I Use:

• art supplies: No big craft stores here, so I love to receive tools and materials, like wood glue, small drill bits, wood and stone carving tools, double-sided tape, wide packing tape, white-out tape, small silver clasps, headpins, rings, and findings for jewelry-making

• thin, durable bookmarks - I use them in my cookbooks, so ones that can be wiped clean are great.
• natural, plant-based essential oil soap
• For shopping gift cards), my favorite stores are Amazon and Lowes Home Improvement.
• I collect antique, old, and unusual switch plate covers and electrical wall plug covers (not plastic ones). If you would like to send one, please tell me about the type it is to see if I have a wall outlet that it will fit on.
• For flat swaps, I like: unused USA postage stamps, sturdy handmade mailable envelopes (5x7 or larger), adhesive PDT labels
• For papercrafts, I like artists' pens with black and colored ink, drawing, watercolor painting
• Things for the puppy: dog treats, squeaky plastic (not stuffed) chew toys
• Things for the plants and farm: sharp hand-pruners , outdoor digital thermometer, solar powered anything.

• Sealed, unused packages of natural skin care samples/products, like exfoliator, face scrubs, face wash, moisturizer, essential oil perfume, magnesium bath salts, essential oil soap bars

  Things I Don't Need So Much:

• fabric, stuffed toys, knick-knacks...the puppy chews them up

• skin sensitivities - parabens, preservatives, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate (common in liquid soap). Unfortunately, I cannot use products that are used, unsealed, or do not list ingredients.
• There are some papercraft things I don't use: stamped images, journal cards/project life/prompts, things cut from magazines, book pages, post-it notes, ephemera, feathers, used postage stamps, coloring pages/cards/books.
• Please no food or drink (this includes tea bags), because some foods tend to melt, get weird in the tropical heat, or the gecko living in my mailbox gets to them first. I don't drink coffee. If a swap I am in has a food component, please send a treat for my dog.
• I don't use makeup or nail polish. I prefer natural skin care products - see above.
• things that smell of cigarette smoke or cigarette smoke with perfume/dryer sheet smell added to it. Thank you for understanding.

• plastic craft supplies from China usually get donated to charity, so please do not dump these things on me.

  It is difficult to remove plastic on an island. watch this to learn more

I listen to instrumental music from different countries. I also like folk music and instrumental jazz.