Monkeywatcher53

I'm a magazine editor in Houston, Texas who also writes freelance articles on architecture, because art supplies and fabric don't grow on trees. I'm married with two daughters, nine years apart. One's studying photojournalism in college and the other is a seventh grader with a major shoe and make-up addiction. My third "daughter" is my golden retriever, Bella, who thinks she's "a people." On weekends, I volunteer as a keeper's aide in the primate house at the zoo, working mostly with orangutans, who also think they're people.

Classic rock! Rolling Stones (have seen them 10 times in concert), Beatles (made a special point of going to Abbey Road Studios to cross the crosswalk while in London on business), the Doors (ask about my L.A. pilgrimage to Jim sites with my daughter)...all the greats from the 60s and 70s. Of today's artists, I'm fond of U2, Train, Maroon Five, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones.

I can read Alice Hoffman's books over and over again and still be mesmerized. I also love Clive Barker's fantasy/horror fiction. I enjoy good short story collections (Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver), and biographies (especially those of film stars from the 30s and 40s).

"To Kill a Mockingbird," "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "Wuthering Heights," "Jezebel," "Casablanca"--just to mention a few of the classics. More contemporary favorites: "Michael" with John Travolta, "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Whale Rider," "Moonstruck," "Sleepless in Seattle," "When Harry Met Sally" and "Aliens" (second one, directed by James Cameron)

Right now I'm hooked on the AMC Channel series, "Mad Men," but in the regular season, I love "LOST," "Law and Order: SVU," "ER," "Two and a Half Men," and "The New Adventures of Old Christine." I think Craig Ferguson is the hottest looking and funniest late night talk show host in the world (gee, how I do love a Brit or Scottish accent)--although I really wouldn't mind having a dinner conversation with David Letterman or Jay Leno, either.

Cloth dollmaker, quilter, watercolor artist, photographer, altered domino maker, polymer clay dabbler, miniaturist (dollhouse and HO train scale), and collage/assemblage freak and world-class rubber stamp collector. Currently combining my dollmaking, assemblage and beachcombing frenzies into a mermaid's grotto shrine. Also making a Pierot doll sitting on the end of a large fabric quarter moon with a sculpted face--to be displayed in the International Quilt Festival. (Update: now working on a series of angel dolls.)

• Swap Bot! I'm here to have fun and make crafty goodies to share. Creating fun and pretty things is my escape from the drama that goes on in the rest of the world.
• I like bright colors. Popsicle orange, purple, sun gold or margarita green. Think tropical.
• Funky Michael DeMeng-style found-object assemblage is great!
• I think Georgia O'Keeffe was a fabulous artist, and I also like Gustav Klimt and the watercolorist J.M.W. Turner.
• Handmade dollhouse miniatures are always appreciated.
• I love buttons!
• I collect vintage ceramic mermaids (anything mermaid-ish!), Boyd's Bears and McCoy pottery (especially pieces with the green glazes and the planters shaped like frogs). I stopped collecting toy rabbits because, like real ones, they multiply.
• I like old black-and-white films from the 40s and 50s.
• I never get enough of anything related to dolphins, monkeys or great apes.

• I have seasonal affectiveness disorder in the worst way--can't stand cold weather or dark days. Love the sun too much!
• If I read about a celebrity behaving badly, saying bigoted things, refusing to sign autographs for kids, being rude to the press, or beating up photographers, I will boycott their movies, music, TV shows or whatever. (Note to egotistical celebs: If you don't like getting your picture taken, you've chosen the wrong career. When they STOP taking your picture, then you should worry because the career is over.) Sorry...had to rant.
• I have zero tolerance for petty, vindictive people whose own lives are so miserable they feel they must make others share some of the pain.

...beachcombing ...skywatching ...taking photos ...writing poetry ...filling the bird feeders outside my sewing room window and waiting for the cardinals to show up ...wrestling with my dog ...watching old movies ...playing Internet Scrabble

• Tailor your swap package to my profile in any small way and I'll love you forever! I'm fairly easy to please. If you find something cool in your stash--like a funky button or some little doodad that looks like it should be a doll accessory--and it doesn't suit your crafting purposes, pass it on. I love to draw inspiration from other people's castoffs.
• As an extra, send me a rock or shell from a riverbed or bay near you, or from some special geographical location in your area, and tell me about it.
• Put a heart on almost anything you send and I'll probably give you one back!