Dana

November 2007: I need to take a short break from swapping. My daughter and son-in-law are going to have their first baby in December, and I will be spending the whole month in Boston, Massachusetts helping them. If you send me any ATCs after the end of November, I may not be able to rate them until January. Happy swapping!

I am in my early 60's, married to the same husband for 42 years, four great children all married to awesome spouses, five adorable grandchildren. I grew up in Preston, Idaho (now made famous by Napoleon Dynamite), have spent most of my adult life in Orange County, California - moved to Salt Lake City, Utah after retirement. I found that I didn't do well with retirement, so I took a job at a professional genealogy research company to keep me busy when I'm not producing art. Art and ancestors are two of my passions.

Classical and country, including bluegrass and folk music, and 50s and 60s era Oldies. I am a die-hard Elvis fan. Andrea Bocelli is my favorite classical singer, and George Strait is my favorite for country. I love collecting music CDs from other countries and cultures.

My all time favorite is actually a mini-series of Pride and Prejudice - the one starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I also love The Phantom of the Opera, Napoleon Dynamite, and nearly every chick-flick I've ever seen.

I'm mostly a Fox News junkie, and hardly watch any of the regular series. I do like old re-runs of MASH, Seinfeld, Cheers, Frasier, and Friends.

My art is mixed media on watercolor paper, usually 22x30, often including collage, gold leaf, and paper mosaic pieces. Most of my paintings are what I call abstractions based on nature, often having a rock or mineral theme. Other than that, I love photography, mosaics, assemblage, and jewelry making.