cypress

A BRIEF UPDATE, FRIENDS:

Back in 2009 I abruptly left Swap-bot to attend to some family emergencies. One of those emergencies turned out to be leukemia for my youngest daughter. After many months of treatment and acclimation to our new reality, we are finally turning a happy corner and expecting a full cure for her. She just turned 6 years old in April 2011 and even though we have many more months of treatment ahead of us, life is finally on an even keel again. As you can see, my ratings include a couple of sad, little "ones" from when I just dropped everything here. I am attempting to mend those fences. Meanwhile, I appeal to all my fellow swappers to be lenient with me and allow me a chance to join in the fun again. I hope that my "fives" are louder than my "ones" :)

I am a Waldorf mama to 4 daughters (3 teens and a preschooler) and am married to a gorgeous massage therapist ( I know...) We live on 2 rural acres just outside of Nashville Tennessee. I just turned 40 this January...so far so good.

In my life before children I was a Theatrical Costumer and later the seamstress for a scenic painting company. I tell my kids I can do/make anything...and I'm telling you guys, too! No really, I love to craft and cook and have cobbled enough skills together over the years that I feel bold about taking a stab at just about any project :)

I love gardening and grow flowers, veggies, fruit, and dye plants. I like doing things the 'old-fashioned way'...like making soap from scratch, baking my own bread, trying herbal remedies from my garden, and cooking over an open fire sometimes (I have big dreams to build an outdoor bread oven). I also dream about having goats or sheep and becoming more self-sufficiant...maybe even home-steading, building an earthship or strawbale house.....

Oh, and reading! I love to read...last year I set a goal of reading 50 books in 2008 and had so much fun that I'm doing it again for 2009!

What I spend most of my time doing right now is crafting clothing and Waldorfy toys for my youngest child and shepherding 4 kids through the day. Its a great way to while away the years :)

Favorite Foods: I am not exclusively vegetarian, but LOVE almost any vegetarian cuisine ,whole foods/healthy meats (trying hard to do organic, biodynamic, pasture raised, free-range...) ,ethnic foods (esp. Indian, Tunisian, Japanese, Ethiopian, Greek) ,seafood , tiramisu!!!! , home baked bread , nothing with artificial flavor , no processed foods (if it says "just add blank" or "blank Helper" on it, its not for me) , would love new recipes to help me use my homegrown chicken and eggs :)

Felting (wet and needle), knitting, dyeing, sewing, quilting, papercrafts, paper-folding, kite-making, doll-making, embroidery, needlepoint, calligraphy, beading.

I'm really interested in woodcarving and whittling, but have not gained much skill there yet...I'm workin' on it.

I've been reading alot of YA these past few years since I have kids and I've enjoyed it tremendously. Either I am reading to screen something for my children or they are recommending a book to me ...there are alot of treasures in that genre. ( JK Rowling, Garth Nix, Susan Cooper, Christopher Paolini, etc)

Historical mystery series (Robin Paige's Charles and Kate Sheridan mysteries, also her series featuring Beatrix Potter as an amateur sleuth, Kathy Lynn Emerson's Lady Susanna Appleton series etc)

Sci-fi/Fantasy series (Jim Butcher's Wizard for Hire series, Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books, Anne McCaffrey's dragon series, etc)

Barbara Kingsolver, AS Byatt, Agatha Christie, Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Toni Morrison, Nick Bantock, David Sedaris, Milan Kundera, Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Sarah Addison Allen, CS. Lewis, etc....

There is also plenty of non-fiction reading going on...mainly in the areas of homesteading, self-sufficiency, cooking/baking, Waldorf education, anthroposophy, crafting, inner work and parenting.

And I can't leave out my favorite genre...children's picture books. Tasha Tudor, Shirley Hughes, Tomie dePaola, Jan Brett, Elsa Beskow, Astrid Lindgren, Maj Lindman...I love re-living my childhood through books that I share with my children :)

This is so hard!!! I'm going to cheat and look at my I tunes library so I can give you some favorites...

Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds, XTC, Weezer, Beautiful South, Carla Bruni, Crash Test Dummies, Squeeze, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Elizabeth Mitchell, John Mayer, Johnny Clegg, Nora Jones, Regina Spektor, Sarah Mclachlin, They Might Be Giants, etc... I like world music, Celtic/Irish, and big band... some classical, some new age, some folk...

colors: - cobalt blue..all clear blues really (to look at - I love blue glass)

-purple and green together (to look at)

• mossy greens and bright or creamy white (home decor)

• butter yellow/gold (kitchen decor)

• deep rich pinks, blues, plums, greens and black (to wear)

-blond wood tones

-my favorite scrapbook pattern packs are black and white, stained glass colors, ivory/burgundy/black combos, not gingham/polka dot/cutesy so much.

Animals: -owl -dove -fox -sheep -dragonfly

Misc: -all things made from natural materials (wool, wood, silk, cotton, glass, nature bits...as opposed to plastic and neon colors)

-wheel of the year

-mushrooms and toadstools

-art nouveau style

-craftsman/mission style

-studio ghibli anything

-natural blond/pine wood

-waldorf watercolor style of illustration

-French anything

-Tunisian anything

-wool

-bento boxes

-roses

-nature/outdoors

-spirals

-greenman motif

-grapes and vines motif

-acorns and oak leaf motif

-blue glazed pottery

-handmade or textured paper

-dwarves/elves/fairies/gnomes/mermaids (elementals...not sugary sweet or cartoony ones!)