yath

This is the short version......(the longer one is at the bottom.)

I live in the US near Seattle, WA with my husband. We have 5 children, 18 grand children, and 5 great grandchildren...so far. (So much to our commitment to zero population growth.)

We love living here. We've lived all over the US, in Germany & in Thailand. This is the best! We love the mountains and the sea, the giant trees and the moderate climate.

My husband & best friend has been disabled since 2007. He is not well. Taking time to make art is the interlude that allows me to stay strong and keeps our love strong.

When I join a swap, I'm am dependable, on time, & meet the swap criteria. I usually rate quickly & generously. I'm not easily offended but I do have preferences. Below is an easy-to-read list:

LIKES

Vintage & Vintage-look Anything!!

Paper !!!

Postage Stamps (used or unused)

Vintage-look or Old Postcards

Vintage Cigarette & Cigar Wrappers

Cigar Boxes

Textiles Pieces

Templates for Envelopes, Boxes,

Rubber Stamps

All Kinds of Art Supplies

Bright colors

Jewel colors

Vintage sepia colors

Frogs

Hedgehogs (including Mecki & Micki, German)

Birds

Fish

Bears

Insects

Trees

Rocks

Shells

Moss

Bracken

Mushrooms

Vines

Steampunk

Fairy Tales

Mythological Characters

Trolls

Moomin (Finnish)

Medieval Themes

Interesting Script

Scientific Botanical & Biological Illustrations

Shrines

Bird Cages

Magnifing Glasses

Gears

Marbles, Sea Glass, Glass Anything

Small Metal Things, Embellishments, Zippers, etc.

                      DISLIKES

Pale Pastel Colors

Characters that are not your originals like...

 Known Cartoon Characters

 Disney/Marvel Characters

  Anime Characters

Cigarette Smoke Smells

Cat Fur (I'm allergic)

Animal Parts (I'm vegetarian/vegan)

Slacking (the behavior, not the person)

                    MORE LIKES

Music......

classical baroque, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Middle Eastern ethnic, 60-70 folk-rock, medieval & renaissance, acoustic guitar reggae, and occasionally some bluegrass & country.

Books.....

Dan Brown type, sci-fi mysteries, historical novels like The Heart must Break, The White Umbrella, The Glass Palace, travel novels - especially of places I've been, biographies, classics like Kafka, Hesse, Salinger, poetry such as Yates, Silverstein, EE Cummings

TV/Movies......

Fantasy-sci-fi-secret agent such as Lost, Under the Dome, Angels and Demons, Divenci Code, The Life of Pi, The Matrix, James Bond; political activist-themed like the Rabbit Proof Fence, The Constant Gardner, Game of Thrones, The Network, etc., historical fiction like Out of Africa, The Mission, The Reign, Outlander, The Crown, Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Survivor, some cooking & renovation series, nature & travel shows. German films, TV - Lindenstrasse, some 'Krimis'. I dislike TV commercials so often switch to public television or on-line streamed videos.

Painting - Acrylics, Watercolor, Mixed Media

Jewelry Making - Pendants, Earrings

Sewing - Art Creature Pillows, Square Things,
Teesha Moore Style, Bags, Small Quilts

Assemblages - Shrines - Driftwood Sculptures

Glass Fusing - Jewelry, Plates, Suncatchers

Photography - Nature, Small Things, People

Travel - Exotic Places, Staying a While.

Vegetable Gardening - (but not at the moment)

My swap-bot handle is 'yath' and I have no idea what possessed me to chose it, except that I rather like the shape of 'y's' and 't's'.

My name is Carol. I'm a retired psychologist and instructor who has spent a great deal of my life relocating to various parts of the globe. Many moves took place before the age of internet. When working, I wasn't the most consistent letter writer, so some friends were misplaced along the way. I'm pleased that a few of us have found each other again thanks to social media.

Most of my life has been in the Midwest, from Texas in the south to Minnesota in the north and as far west as Colorado. We also lived on the East Coast for a while.

Germany was a place that we truly enjoyed for several years. Nurenberg offered all of us, including four children, a wonderful immersion in the language, education, climate & culture, with opportunities to travel throughout Europe. For me personally, it stoked the flames of adventure-seeking.

Later, children grown, my husband and I moved to Thailand for several years, beautiful, exotic, intense, and of course warm. What a time that was!

After life in extremes of heat and cold, we are both loving this most pleasant of places and our home in the Pacific Northwest forests not far from Seattle. Cool summers and mild winters are more than I could have ever hoped for. I don't even mind the rain.

What I do miss, on occasion, is the opportunity to wiggle my toes in the warm beach sands of ... to be honest ... any southern warm beach.

Now in my older years, five children, eighteen grandchildren, and soon-to-be five great grandchildren later, I spend most of my time as a caregiver to my dear friend, and husband.

Beginning 17 years ago in Thailand, he developed his first signs of neuropathy - numb toes. The disease that started in such a benign way ended up as a very rare variant of an already rare neurological autoimmune disease - similar to but less fatal than MS or ALS. It has left him in a power wheel chair with clumsy use of his hands and no ability to walk.

As if that weren't enough, he also developed heart disease and now, stage 4 cancer, incurable but held at bay for the present with medication.

Time and circumstance has taken it's toll on me as well. l've had two full hip replacements and a third 'revision' after a post-op infection that left me tethered to an IV antibiotics bag for six months. I would do it all again if necessary. Even major, seemingly-barbaric surgery is better than the constant pain of arthritis. It is amazing how the body heals.

Hopefully, that is in the past. Weekly card games, occasional lunch dates with other golden girl friends, chats with neighbors are pleasant. From time to time, I attend meditation retreats & shop at farmers & flea markets. I banter back and forth with children and grandchildren via the internet and enjoy their company during visits. Our large, blended family is spread out across the U.S. in CT, MI, OR, PA, WA, CA, with some extended family in OK & TX.

These days, I spend a great deal of time contemplating what life might be like after my partner is gone. Care giving has so absorbed my time and energy for so long, i struggle to imagine anything different.

I'm far from being an artist, but have always enjoyed dabbling in creative activities. Swap-bot is helpful there. So I wonder if I might spend even more time...eventually, creating what pleases me.

I used to love teaching. Sometimes I consider returning to volunteer work, teaching ESL to new refugees arriving in the US.

And then there is travel. That bug has never left me. I imagine putting a few treasured items in storage, and taking off in my car for yet another cross-country tour, or joining one of those Road Scholar trips back to Europe, Asia, Africa, or New Zealand.

For now, here I am, enjoying a cup of hot tea, looking at rain dropping on giant conifers just beyond my window, and wondering what produce in the fridge might end up as dinner this evening.