April 14/24
My knee is healing pretty good, I think. Tuesday will be one week and I'm walking on it - I was surprised to learn that it's expected to be able to put your full weight on it asap. There is pain, of course but meds are given to you. I have exercises to do, and I'm pretty good at elevating my leg to keep the swelling down. I'll be taking off my bandages (for the second time) tonight, and I'll be able to have my first shower tomorrow.

I used the walker the first day or two, but don't anymore (I do stay inside) and I don't depend on my cane, either. I never did use the crutches, or the elevated toilet seat. I doubt I'll use the bathtub seat tomorrow - I was able to stand and help prepare lunch today, so I think I can shower w/o it.

March 30, 2024
Thanks to all the nice folks who have sent me their well wishes for my surgery, and stories about your own, or your loved ones, experiences - I'm overwhelmed by your kindness!

March 26, 2024
On April 9, I'm having knee surgery; I went to the information session yesterday and it doesn't look like I'm going to be very mobile for a few weeks. For three hours a day (45 minutes x 4), I'm going to have to keep my leg raised (I'll be able to read a lot!), and then I have exercises I need to do, also 4 times a day. Sitting for long periods of times won't be encouraged, which is what I do now. I'll have to be on the computer sometimes for my p/t job, so feel free to pm/email me.

I'm going to try to get the swaps on my dashboard done in a week. After that, I won't be able to host my regular swaps, so I'll have to take a break. I should be up and about by the middle of May, in time for camping season. :)

Jan 12, 2024
I love this idea for storing embellishments and whatever you've "lost" in your drawers and bins!

Jan 2024

A niece of mine has posted something on FB that is a great idea.

Write down something nice that happens each day, and put it in a jar. On New Year's Eve, bring down the jar; read each slip of paper and remember the good things.

Don't forget to mark the date on the paper. Or, is that important? Maybe not.

Oct 2/23

I love this song

March 3/23

Hi, my name is Sandra and I live in Calgary, Alberta.

My profile is updated whenever I add something to it. The list of map postcards are updated every time I get a new one that isn't in my collection. Same for the coins and shaped paperclips.

Sept 8/22

The Queen has died. It's going to be very different to hear "Long Live the King" and "God Save The King" - I was raised with the Queen always being there. My husband also noted that all the stamps and money will have to be changed; that will be an undertaking - her image has been on stamps and money in many countries for many decades.

Sept 2/22

I've complained to my American friends, when mail is late, that the "invisible line" that separates our countries seems to make it impossible for mail to cross. Well, it's NOT an invisible line after all.

See this article

It's VERY visible, lol.

A waste of time and money? What do you think?

June 30, 2022

I can't believe that I FINALLY understand what a junk journal is - I love doing collage and stumbled across this video by Margarete Miller showing how to start one. She's the artist who's helped teach me how to collage better.

James Blunt makes me emotional.

After the horrible discoveries of over 5000 bodies (and climbing) at Native residential schools across Canada, I recommend reading a book by former Chief Bev Sellars called "They Called Me Number One". It's about three generations of a family who were forced to attend a residential school and how it affected them and their families. It's a real eye opener, and is relevant for many countries.

This is a video of a wonderful cat we had, and a funny surprise my daughters discovered one night!

I get a newsletter from a website that sends me very interesting & informative things. See if you like it.

"I am just a tiny person but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own."
- from a book called The No. I Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

The only thing I ask of my partners is don't send me pink - I just don't like it and I never have. I'm not a girly girl in the slightest way possible. I like BRIGHT over pastel any day!

COLLECTIONS

COINS

I've always had a love of foreign (to me) coins and banknotes, so would love it if you could help me increase my collection.

When sending me coins, please let me know what they're called in their country - as much as I'm appreciative in getting them, I'm not very knowledgeable with what the currency / name is.

Whenever we go on vacation, I try to find pressed pennies. If you have extra's you don't want, they'd be loved. Again, please let me know where they came from.

Trades would be a welcome option!

UPDATED every time I get a new coin

US Quarters (state&park):

AL (1&0), AK, (1&1), AZ (3&0), AR (0&1), CA (1&0), CO (1&1), CT (2&0), DE (1&0), FL (0&1), GA (3&0), HI (0&1), ID (0&1), IL (0&2), IN (0&2), IA (1&1), KS (1&0), KY (1&2), LA (1&0), ME (1&0), MD (1&0), MA (2&0), MI (1&0), MN (0&1), MS (0&0), MO (0&0), MT (0&0), NE (2&0), NV (2&0), NH (3&1), NJ (0&1), NM (2&0), NY (1), NC (3&1), ND (2&1), OH (0&0), OK (0&1), OR (2&0), PA (1&0), RI (3&0), SC (0&0), SD (1&0), TN (1&1), TX (2&2), UT (1&2), VT (1&0), VA (2&1), WA (0&1), WV (1&1), WI (1&0) WY (1&0)

Northern Mariana Islands - (1&1)
American Samoan Fruit Bat (2)
District of Columbia with Duke Ellington (1)
District of Columbia with Frederick Douglas (1)

Others:

The Drummer Boy (2)
Sacawajwea gold $1 coins (2)
Maya Angelou (1)

Updated each time I get a new coin

Canadian quarters all are 1867-1992, except AB which all are 1905-2005 coins & one of the SK ones which is also 1905-2005:

BC (1), AB (4), SK (5), MB (1), ON (1), QC (3), NB (2), NS (1), PEI (0), NL (1), YK (2), NWT (0), NU (0)

Would LOVE to get the 2012 dinosaur quarters I just found out about - they glow in the dark!

MAP POSTCARDS

On January 2017, I made a list of the map cards I have. The list is updated whenever I get a new map card.

The number beside the country/place is the number of pc's I have of different mapcards; duplicates aren't indicated (but are loved), nor are partial scenes of a particular place (except the Florida Keys).

World (10), North America (2), South America (1)

Canada (7): British Columbia (3 full, 7 partial), Alberta (3 full, 1 partial), Saskatchewan (3 full), Manitoba (1 partial), Ontario (2 full, 2 partial), Quebec (1 full, 1 partial), New Brunswick (2 full), Prince Edward Island (5 full), Nova Scotia (2 full, 1 partial), Newfoundland (0) and Labrador (0), the Atlantic Maritimes (1) and 1 of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & PEI together.

Territories: Yukon (0), Northwest Territories (0), Nunavut (0).

United States (8): Alabama (3), Alaska (10), Arizona (7), Arkansas (2), California (10), Colorado (4), Connecticut (4), Delaware (4), Florida (5), Florida Keys (2), Georgia (4), Hawaii (5), Idaho (3) Illinois (3), Indiana (5), Iowa (3), Kansas (7), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (5), Maine (2), Maryland (2), Massachusetts (4 & 5 of the Capes), Michigan (7), Minnesota (6), Mississippi (4), Missouri (10), Montana (4), Nebraska (2), Nevada (2), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (3), New Mexico (3), New York (2), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (1), Ohio (4), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (4), Pennsylvania (6), Rhode Island (2), South Carolina (4), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (2), Texas (8), Utah (3), Vermont (1), Virginia (3), Washington (2), West Virginia (6), Wisconsin (7), Wyoming (5), (Territories): Guam (0), Puerto Rico (0), Virgin Islands (1)

Australia (7)

New Zealand: (18) North Island - Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula, Wellington & Kapiti Coast, Waikato, Auckland,

South Island - The "Top of the South", Canterbury, Southern Scene

I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL TO GET THE MISSING PC'S TO COMPLETE MY COLLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND (printed by The New Zealand Souvenir Company) & AUSTRALIA

UK: I have a lot of "parts" of places in England - have a couple of Scotland, a few of Ireland and a couple of Great Britain.

Mexico (0)

Central America (0): Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama

South America (1): Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil (1), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile

Europe (4): Austria (0), Belarus (0), Belgium (1), Czech Republic (2), Denmark (1), Finland (5), France (4), Germany (4), Greece (0), Holland (5), Italy (1), Norway (0), Poland (0), Portugal (1), Romania (2), Spain (1), Switzerland (2), Sweden (0), Ukraine (0)

I'd love to have a postcard from each individual province in any European country that has them!

Others: Iceland (1), Greenland (1), Turkey, Africa (1 of the continent, one of S. Africa), India, China, Malaysia (1), Japan (1), Russia (3), Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica (1), etc etc etc.

I have Bermuda, Tortola, and two of the Caribbean Sea. I have one of the West Indies.

Postcards I've never heard of, and would love to know more about:

•Anderson Design Group
•Art of Instruction
•Belle and Boo (have 1)
•Blue Cats
•Boo and Stu (have 1)
•Cavellini (have 1)
•Flags of the World
•IKEA
•Inga Palster
•Inge Look (have 1)
•Kaj Stenvall
•Ken Brown
•Lou Paper
•Moomin
•Spirit of the Dog
•Writerie

Ones I know about, and love to get:

•Alice in Wonderland
•Anne Taintor
•Charley Harper
•Coca Cola
•Edward Gorey
•Harry Potter
•Jetoy •Lantern Press
•Maxicard
•Naughty Little People (LOVE)
•New Yorker •Norman Rockwell •Picatso •Route 66 •Vanity Fair
•Pantone

More postcard likes are down below (I like to receive my postcards blank and in an envelope - not written on).

SHAPED PAPERCLIPS

August 20, 2020 - I received an order of shaped paper clips today, and organized them with the others I have. I thought I'd keep track of them here.

I keep this list updated as I get more.

1. HUMANOID: head (2), body (1), heart (6), foot (5), hand (2), moustache (1), breast cancer ribbon (1), conversation bubble (2), eyeglasses (1)

2. PETS: dog (11), bones (5), cat (17)

3. FARM: horse (3), pig (6), rabbit (5), goat (1), yak (1), mouse (2), spider (1)

4. ANIMAL (LAND): stag (3), deer (1), elephant (2), giraffe (2), hedgehog (1), bear (7), rabbit (1), mountain (1), sloth (1)

5. ANIMAL (WATER): alligator (5), turtle/tortoise (13), dolphin (10), fish (4), whale (5), manta ray (3), shell (1), seahorse (3)

6. ANIMAL (WINGS): penguin (3), swan (1), butterfly (5), owl (1), bat (1), bird (2), flamingo (7)

7. FANTASY: yeti (3), dinosaur (11), mermaid (4)

8. SEA & SKY: anchor (1), airplane (10), planet (11), astronaut (1), rocket (1), spaceship (1)

9. FOOD: apple (4), pineapple (6), lemon (1), pear (2), cherry (2), grapes (1), strawberry (3), peach (1), blueberry (1), carrot (1), peas (1), ice cream (9), banana (1), cupcake (1)

10. PLANTS: flowers (15), cactus (2), leaf (1)

11. HOUSEHOLD: light bulbs (23), envelope (15), coffee mug (3), camera (2), telephone (1), wine goblet (2), clothes hanger (1), clipboard (1), jewel (2), key (2), present (1)

12. TO WEAR: bow (1), witch's hat (1), dress (1)

13. MUSICAL: notes (3), guitar (2)

14. SHAPES: star (3), circle (9), square (11), triangle (2), arrows (12), Xmas tree (15)

15: NUMBERS: 0-9

1. WORDS: cafe

2. Xmas: Xmas tree (15), bell (1)

Ongoing:

Please be patient with mail! Even between Canada and the States, mail can take over a month. I had one swap take 39 days to get to me from the States, and now a swap of mine took 40 days to get to my partner there - the same day I resent (naturally).

UPDATE: Apr 17/21 - the longest for a swap from me to the States has been almost 2 months (from Feb 7 to Apr 4) - she got two swaps the same day! The second one was sent Mar 8/21.

Just recently, I received a swap from New Zealand that took 4 months to get here - her resend only took a month! This, of course, is because of COVID.

We need to be patient.

2016

The updates on my profile show both the date AND year, which is a bonus everybody likes. Wish everyone would do this.

Please - update your profile, especially if you join profile-based swaps. I sometimes wonder - are you/your husband/kids still sick? Have you moved? How's the new job going? etc etc. :)

Most of the statements on my profile are from the early days of SB (November 29, 2008), which many SB'ers will know.

=====================================

Books:

November 4/22

In late January or early February, I started keeping a list of the books I've read (or didn't read because I just couldn't finish it).

I'm on 240 now.

Music:

Try radiogarden.com! You can listen to music from all over the world.

I love the blues and, what I think is called, "alternative" music. I like rock, easy listening, and swing (think "In the Mood" by Glen Miller), too - I listen to a station you can log onto on the web: CKUA.com (Friday nights from 9 pm and Saturday from 3-5 pm they play the blues - Sunday AM they play swing). But, the station plays everything, and it's listener sponsored, so you don't hear ads. I hear music played by people I've never heard of and I LOVE (most of) their styles. Try it out.

I don't like classical, jazz or rap, so I do have to change the station sometimes :).

I don't see a lot of movies anymore. I did when I was younger - living on an Air Force base in Germany, I went to a movie every Saturday with my 25 cent allowance. A movie (15 cents) and a bag of fries (10 cents) is what that bought.

I watch a few on my laptop now. I have Amazon Prime and I'm a Geek Squad member, so I get a free movie from them once a month.

I don't watch TV anymore, except Netflix.

Scrapbooking ruled once upon a time (I actually finished an album), but because card-making is so fast, I finish them more often than any of the albums I dream of having someday (there's no way I can give anybody a "store bought" card anymore)!

Since discovering Swap-bot Nov/08, ATCs rule these days! I spend so much time making these little gems, that everything else has been put on the back burner!

2022

I love Collage and host a Collaged Index Card in the Skinny Swappers group. Come and join us!

2018 - ATCs, APCs and postcard making is what I mainly do now. Mixed media and collage is awesome!

My first swap: X~Mas Card Swap International Nov 29/08 - there was over 400 people who signed up, with about 15 people who never sent.

I think I joined SB before this date (is that why I'm an "original member"?), but was banned from a recipe swap, because my profile wasn't long enough (HA, that changed, didn't it)!

I shrugged my shoulders and forgot all about SB; then I found it again! Haven't looked back.

Personal stuff:

I met my husband in 1992 and we married exactly 5 years later. We have a few children between us, all of them grown now.

I'm a camper - my husband and I have an acre sized campsite about an hour and a half away from the city and visit it every weekend if the weather allows. My parents had a place there before us, and that's where we got married.

I would love to have an acreage. Have always dreamed of living on a farm.

I'm an Air Force brat, so travel is in my blood - plan to see more of this planet. When we lived in Germany, mom and dad took us camping all over Europe - lucky us. When I was in Germany a few years back, I understood just how brave my folks were - they didn't speak German, but they took us camping everywhere we could go. They were social people and made friends with the ones who spoke English.

Have always had an interest in photography, but don't apply myself.

July 5, 2011 - last day of my "real" job. Husband retired 2013 and we're content to putter around at home, or the campsite. How did we find the time to do things when we worked??

==========================

LIKES:

I like bright colours - red, yellow, and the different kinds of blue there are.

I like having little kids around, teaching them to cook or do crafts - expand their world. With babies, the first thing I do is have them touch something - usually a plant.

Love the vintage look; things that are old. Things from old books, old tickets, pictures. I like sorcerer pics, dark, mystical visions. Love the steampunk look!

The following likes could be for anything to do with rub-ons, stamps, die-cuts, etc.

I like: faux stitching, doodles, trees, wild animals & bugs, birds, ocean stuff, travel, nature, ducks (the real ones, not the rubber ducky ones), horses, grass, lighthouses, fairies, mushrooms, dinosaurs. dragons, pin-ups, tasteful nudes. I'd love to get some decent punch-outs or die-cuts - unusual ones, not hearts and squares (who doesn't have those?)

If somebody wants to trade some punch-outs or die-cuts with me I have a cool carousal (horse) punch, and others (wings) - I can send a list of what I have. Just pm me.

Feb 25/17 - Since this was written, I have a ton more die-cuts to share!

I like pictures that could be incorporated into an ATC - kind of off the wall, or macabre, quirky, not cutsey. Dragons, mermaids, Boris type art.

I like Native art, and masks.

I'd really like it if you wrote a bit about what you're sending me - why you like it and what you'd like me to know about it. Or even just something about yourself!

I don't wear jewellry, but I'd like to get "parts" that I could use - I'm getting into Steampunk art.

I love "Classic 45" scrapbooking paper, Zetti, the grunge look, Tim Holtz.

If you're from another country, I'd love it if you'd send me a coin or two from where you live. I've started to collect all the specialty quarters that I've just learned about on our trip to Florida this year (Apr/18)! Or a postcard (especially a map card), or a postage stamp (used is fine), or anything else different from what I'm used to seeing here.

DISLIKES:

PINK == though I don't mind fuchsia. I don't care for pastel colours. I still remember, as a child, my bedroom walls painted a pale green! So, bright colours, please.

Disney, cutsie, lots of small anything, pet things, stuff for kids (mine are grown), wedding items, stickers with sayings on them, religious themes. Crayon drawings of "cute" things. I'm way too old to appreciate them - I'll give them to the young folk in the family :)

I don't need stickers - don't use the ones I have, so please don't send any. I don't like too much glitter, but I use Wink of Stella. I don't like stickers on the art you send me. Unless it's so nice, you can hardly tell it's a sticker! You know what I mean.

If you're sending me a recipe (food or drink), I don't like coffee, coconut, tequila or scotch. I'm not an adventurous person with many types of seafood (oysters, sardines & mussels), though I like fish and prawns (large shrimp).

POSTCARDS

November 4/13

PREFERENCES:

Store bought pc's: I'd like mine sent blank/unwritten on, in an envelope, if it's allowed in the swap (or even if it isn't).

I don't join many "naked and stamped" postcard swaps - I like blanks ones so I can send them on when needed (themed swaps, more than one in an envelope, etc). I also keep many, just because I like them so much.

If you sent the following, you'll be just fine:

map cards, map cards, map cards!! If you have any Canadian map cards, I'd love them. Please take a look at the list of map postcards I have but, again, I don't mind duplicates because I like to join map postcard swaps!

steampunk, retro ads, nudes, naughty, fairies, dinosaurs, sci-fi, fantasy, monsters, old comics, movie posters, some movie stars, space (stars), water (rivers, waterfalls, lakes, ocean - I love water), lighthouses, tropical (palm trees, beaches), ships (rocket, sailing, etc), muscle cars (I used to have a 1972 Challenger - I rue the day I sold it), aboriginal scenes/portraits (from any country), art, bright and colourful (NO PINK or PASTEL for me).

I don't care for touristy postcards (but LOVE map cards). I don't care for reconnoissance art, but I do love Toulouse Lautrec art.

No kittens, puppies or cute things, unless it's a human baby. I do like horses. Not crazy about vintage postcards, unless it's something to do with the above likes. I don't like them just because they're old. I was sent a vintage pc of a Hula dancer - that was fine. Hawaii is a place I've been to and loved.

Handmade postcards: please (if you can), keep them 4 x 6" so they'll fit (10 x 15 cm) in my storage place. These can be sent naked OR in an envelope.

Wishlist:

Art By Marlene stamped images, die-cuts, stencils, etc.
Canadian map postcards
shaped paperclips
foreign money (bills / coins)
pressed pennies
US specialty quarters
magazines I'd love (no matter how old): Art Doll Quarterly; Cloth, Paper, Scissors; Stampington & Co.; and, mags like that
1 1/4 in circle punch
word dies or die-cuts
gnome dies or die-cuts
envelopes that a postcard will fit into (4.5 x 6.5" at least)
plastic sleeves for handmade cards or postcards
unused low denomination CDN postage stamps (3 cents, 6 cents)
Posca paint markers
bat die(s) or die-cuts
Silhouette spatula
cigar bands (or wrappers)
numbers (smallish)
Braille paper

December 11, 2016

I always rate and I don't flake. If I ever do, I'll take this statement off.

Because, why would I want to earn that 3, or (shudder) 1?

If you get my swap, I'd appreciate a rating. If you didn't, please let me know so I can fix the problem. After a month or so, I will pm if I haven't been rated to see if my item made it to your house.

Postal workers in Canada don't work on weekends, so if the send date is a Saturday/Sunday, they won't be postmarked until Monday. I try to have it done before the w/e in those cases. I always give extra time for things - especially overseas, before rating (and will check before giving a 1 or 3). Even crossing the Canada/US border seems to take forever sometimes. See the top of my profile!

I will sometimes put something in the closest mailbox on a w/e, and hit "sent" that day, but it won't be picked up until the next p/u day. I don't worry about it, if it isn't due. If it's DUE to go out that day, I take it to the post office, so the stamp will have the correct date on it.

I don't automatically give a heart because of extra's. Except for postcard swaps - if you've given me an extra one, from my profile likes, on top of sending me great cards, then why wouldn't you deserve a heart? I always send an extra postcard, and hope my partner does, too.

If something makes me say "wow", you'll get a heart. Even if it has pink in it, you might still get a heart, but you'll know it's your art that got it for you. Hope you'll do the same for me.

November 4/22

I appreciate getting a heart as much as anyone - when you give me one, I hope you love what I've sent.

THINGS FOR ME (and you, if you want):

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