postmansdaughter

January 2020 - I am returning to swap bot after a 10 year hiatus & working to repair my rating.

In 2010 life sent me a series of curve balls. My current low rating is because of this dark period. I am in a very different place now (10 years later). I hope you can see fit to give me a chance to prove that I am better than my past mistakes. Examples of my swaps available on My Flickr Photos.

I am a wife & Mom to two sweet boys (ages 5 & 2), a crafter, an activist, a religious educator, a book lover & a wanna be...

I wanna be: an artist, a good person, someone who dances while sober, wickedly clever, fun, beautiful, musically talented, educated, kind, exciting, a philosopher, political, knowledgeable, loved, spiritual, vibrant, a world traveler, someone who knows how to: fix things, ride a horse, inspire others & get places on time.I wanna be a great hostess, dramatic, truthful, wise, sexy, a fantastic cook, & happy. I have mastered some of these things, dabbled in many, & some of them may elude me always but wanting to be these things, successful or not, gives you an idea of who I am for me.

"As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." -- James Lane Allen

Interests include : Arts & Crafts (obviously), My family, My friends, My lovely gray tabby cats, the city of Asheville NC where I live, Cooking , Baking & Candy-making (chocolates), Wine (especially dry,spicy reds), Herbology, Really good Coffee,
Vintage/retro styles/items, ephemera (especially Art Nouveau, & Craftsman & to some extent Art Deco), Steampunk items/aesthetic , Ink, Woad, & Henna Tattoos, Architecture, Celtic Myths/Legends/Crafts, Irish anything, Costumes, Masks & anything Carnival/ Mardi Gras, Travel (that is I'd really like to- I haven't so much yet),
Paganism (Wicca), Unitarian Universalism, & Catholicism,
Social Justice & Politics(I secretly want to be Arianna Huffington) , Feminism, & Standing up for the oppressed, NPR (Public Radio in General - especially This American Life, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Democracy Now, Car Talk, Speaking of Faith, the Story Core segments & the excerpts from The Moth)
Reading , Poetry, Roller Derby, Film Noir, Pin up art, Vintage Cars, Power tools, Peacock Feathers, Swans, Seahorses, Mermaids, Snakes, Cameos, Time pieces of all kinds, Antique buttons. Ivy, Poppies, Lillies, Shamrocks, Dogwoods, Willows, Thistles, Lotuses & other "pod" plants Shakespeare in the Park, Renaissance Faires,
& the Muppets (or really anything Jim Henson)

I love pretty much all crafts! I have the most experience with: drawing, painting, photography, acting, collage, henna, & some sculpting, I also love: beading, print making, stamping, calligraphy/fonts, stencils/screen prints, puppets, ceramics, paper making, book arts, sewing, doll making, jewelery making, etc & would love to try/learn/get better at: furniture design, woodworking, glass blowing, tree sculpting (arbor smithing), gardening/landscaping in general, bas relief tiles, art restoration, perfumery & millinery

Since becoming a Mom I don't get to read as many physical books as I'd like, but thankfully audio books keep me sane. I read/listen to a pretty wide mix of fiction & non-fiction from a variety of genres. I like to read anthropology, sociology & political science books for fun as well as light fantasy/fiction. I'm one of those people who can be in the middle of 3 or 4 books at once & I think this is totally normal, or at least as normal (& far less annoying to those around me) as channel surfing. I also occasionally like erotica but I do not read romance books with the likes of Fabio & women in ripped bodices etc on the covers. Some noteworthy books are: Slaying the Mermaid..., The Red Tent, The Time Traveler's Wife, Of Love and Other Demons, Like Water for Chocolate, Waiting for Godot, The Other Woman..., Ahab's Wife, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, the works of Anais Nin & any I've found by Charles deLint, I.Allende, B. Kingsolver , F. McCourt, or N. Gaimen. I have also been known to like books by: Joanne Harris, Sarah Addelson, Sue Monk Kidd, Phillipa Gregory, Laurel K Hamilton & so many others...

Lately I am especially into blues/greens. My general tastes run to muted earthy tones (olive greens/cadet blues) black and shades of gray. I am really into navy & peacock feather colors. I love purples & deep, claret reds. I prefer silver to gold & adore copper.

I do not generally care for pink...the only exceptions I can think of are the first lovely pink blooms of spring here in the mountains: the redbuds, the pink dogwoods & "tulip" Jane Magnolias.

My favorite movies tend to be set in another time/place ...I like period dramas/comedies & fantasy... I'm having a hard time thinking of them now... Much Ado About Nothing, Labyrinth, Big Fish, Howard's End, Chocolat, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, Oscar & Lucinda, Tea with Mussolini, Braveheart, Stardust, The Aviator, The Last King of Scotland, Waking Ned Divine, Gross Point Blank, Big Night, The Lord of the Rings Movies, Miller's Crossing, Frida, Edward Scissorhands, Chasing Amy, Atonement, The Princess Bride, Stealing Beauty, Pan's Labyrinth, Benny & Joon, The Dead Poet's Society & of course anything Jim Henson.

Tori Amos, The Cure, The Pogues, Ani Di Franco, This Mortal Coil, Portishead, Rasputina, Sting, U2, Erin McKeown, Madeline Peyroux, Led Zepplin, Teegan & Sara, Dresden Dolls, the Beastie Boys, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Beck, The Black Crowes, They Might be Giants, David Byrne, Bonnie Raitt, The Empty Hats, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Enya, Suzanne Vega, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Django Reinhardt & local "hot club" artists: One Leg Up & the Spaceheaters, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana...

Here are some examples of my swaps so far: Imbolc postcard:
February Theme Matchbox swap (2):
Vintage Flower Girl ATC: Paper Goddess Doll: [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/38121551@N00/]Susan Alena E[/url], on Flickr)

E. Gorey, E. Munch, V. Van Gogh
E. Schiele, G. Klimt
C.R. Mackintosh, A. Mucha, & H. Matisse

I love all kinds of art but seem to be especially drawn to the works of these artists (and too many others to mention).

I like expressive art & provocative images.