getting to know you

[Rae86]

- I have a collection of Living Dead Dolls

- I have probably at least 70+ rubber duckies

- I have an affinity for bats, and in fact have three bat tattoos

- I love to hunt for unique antiques and cool finds at thrift stores that I can craft with

- I grew up in a bilingual household in which English and Hebrew were spoken fluently. (I have unfortunately lost a lot of my ability to speak Hebrew now due to not doing so anymore regularly, however can still read it fluently.)

- I have a cat who thinks he's a human...or a dog, we haven't quite figured out which- but certainly does not think of himself as a cat lol

- I work in the Mental Health field. As challenging and frustrating as it can be sometimes, I am completely in love with the work that I do to help others.

[havanaholly]

I don't have that mini rubber duckies! Just Chipper Jones and one other (who lives in the camper bathtub). Did I mention I'm a retired RN with several years of state mental hospital nursing behind me?

[dknit]

I introduced myself as a new member but lets see...

I love to read and I usually take a book with me everywhere I go

I love watching re-runs of the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie

I am learning how to quilt. All of the women in my family have quilted.

I love to decorate and some people have told me I should have done this as a career.

I needlepoint, cross stitch, quilt, read and do miniatures.

I have a dog and a crazy cat.

I've been married 30 years and have a daughter who is a 1L in law school.

I like to eat but I don't like to cook.

I like to sing and have sang some solos in church and got away with it lol.

I'm a cheerful person but I procrastinate and sometimes bite off more than I can chew.

Strawberry shortcake is my favorite dessert.

I love to spend time in the mountains

I like to shop in thrift shops...looking for treasures.

Ok.. someone else's turn....

[havanaholly]

DH & I celebrated surviving 49 years of living with each other this past August.

[~morningstar~]

I don't really know how to answer this one...

I'll share some things about myself I haven't already shared in other threads:

my favorite colors: sapphire blue, silver, forest green, garnet red, sunshine yellow, plum purple (I love all colors, but these are my favorites)

my favorite breed of dog: pug, chihuahua, boston terrier (in that order)

my favorite place to go for vacation: Bolan Lake

Cheerios. I love them.

Unsweetened tea. Hot or cold, it doesn't matter.

Baked goods. I love them.

I'm a fairly simple person, with simple tastes when it comes to foods. I enjoy the occasional complex meal, but for the most part, I enjoy the simpler meals.. sandwiches and chips.

Photography. I love to take pictures. I have a canon EOS Rebel T2i, which I use frequently to take pictures. At the moment, it is in my bedroom tied up in another project. .... Will have to untie it. LOL. I also have a Pentax A3000 which cannot be used at the moment. It was gifted to me...but there is film still in it, and it's jammed. I don't want to damage the film, nor the camera and since I know nothing about the camera, I am waiting until we have a lil' extra money, to take it to a camera shop to see if they can remove the film and check the camera out and see if it's ok to use.

Another thing I like to do, is beadwork. I have drawer cabinet that has 40 something drawers in it.. full of beads and bead working materials.

There is another thing about me.. I won't stand up and fight for myself. I'll turn and walk away. (I'd said in another thread that I usually lurk for awhile and just ...appear from the shadows.... There's a reason for that, but this group is so warm and friendly that I just couldn't help myself... ) If someone harrasses me on a website, (I have had this happen) I will just disappear. It's better for me not to be around them, because I can't be a part of it. The stress it causes me can cause me to have a stroke. It isn't worth it. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's truth. I don't go out of my apartment building alone, usually. Either my son is with me, or my Beloved. I'm a creature of habit, which isn't good if someone wanted to harm me, it'd be easy for them to learn my routine.

I love all kinds of music... I'm eclectic.

I love all kinds of movies...

I love to read..

I can't think of anything else to share at the moment.. LOL

Oh!! maybe a picture?

~morning

[havanaholly]

Harassment isn't tolerated on this forum. If someone gives you any problem, copy and save what they have posted (PM or whatever) and report it.

[~morningstar~]

Thank you, havanaholly. I've gathered from this family so far that it's something I need not worry about. I've been in places where it has come out of nowhere.... But if it happens I will copypasta and report if it happens. So far everyone has been stellar. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

As I said in another thread, I've fallen in love with this family. I'm happy to be here, and be a part of this family. I look forward to sharing and observing and being a part of this family. Before I came here.. I felt : After I got here and started meeting you all, and learning about each of you and seeing the kindness in each of you, I started feeling : and in the short time I've been here, and begun to feel like I belong, you all have made me feel like I'm one of the : Thank you..

You guys ROCK!

~morning

[Soapz]

Well, I am quite new and somewhat old...

Sometimes people ask me what do I do in my 'free' time - wrong question here, it should be: "what don't you do in your free time?" because I seriously don't have free time.... I have a dollhouse and too many projects I'd love to do...

I make soap (from scratch), I'm a pretty good potterer, I started making polymer beads and I knit scarves (lots of them...), I love cooking and my cats.

In my not-free time I study for my BS in Psychology. After too many years working corporate in Germany, I moved to the US to help my parents after hurricane Katrina and decided to get another degree. At first I thought Social work might be it, but after interning with the DHS I realized that I can't deal with a lot of the regulations there that do not make sense to me. So - psychology it is. I was a bit surprised that I am evidently pretty good at it, and no, I do not deal in counseling or therapy - I'm in social psych. I'm planning on applying for a PhD program this year and I hope someone will accept my application despite me being older than average (48), however, my grades are excellent, I'm trying to publish this year and I'm working on a thesis - so as I said - no free time.

I live alone (by choice) because I like my stuff just so and I get really ornery if my stuff is not just so...

Of course there is much more but that's for another time.

Have a good day, y'all... I'm off to the crafts-store... again... ('cause school starts next week)

[Mandystar]

I've just gone through the posts on this forum and, I must say, "Wow"; I had no idea that I was surrounded by such wonderfully interesting people! One usually writes about a current situation or such, but no one gets down to the nitty gritty about what makes them tick, but this being such a -- I want to call it safe and closely knit (after a fashion) -- family, that it's quite an eye opener probing the depths of individuals.

I married very young (sort of had to -- at least in those days it was a 'sort of have to'), have a marvelous, fantastic, beautiful daughter and a handsome, talented son. My daughter lives in FL and my son in NY. I moved from FL to the Chattanooga area (Hixson is a suburb just north of, and across the river from, Chatt) two years ago this coming June because 1) I hated the constant heat (hah -- little did I know what I was getting into! It was 7° F this morning when I first woke up, but I went back to sleep in a flash!); 2) I love the mountains (FL is flat as a pancake, ugh); and 3) my granddaughter was here and, when I told her that if and when the time came, I would absolutely NEVER go into a nursing home (I have severe COPD, for which there is no cure... it either stabilizes for a while or gets progressively worse), she said, "Grandma, that's not gonna happen. I'll take care of you!" Well, when I mentioned that a few months ago, she said, "I said what?" Be that as it may, we are living together in a lovely home, where I turned an enclosed sunroom into my craft room. I've always had an artistic streak and loved all hand crafts, whether it be knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, clay sculpture -- whatever. I had enough scrapbooking supplies to open my own store! Ahem, and then I found minis. You should see my collection now -- and it now contains just about every power tool I could possibly need!

I always wanted to build a dollhouse -- ever since I was a kid, but I guess it just never made it to the top of my bucket list until I realized that I had best renumber the entries. Once I started, however, it was all over. I'm consumed by this hobby (hobby? more like a total life style!)

But, I digress. Going back a few years (!), I started my job career as a medical secretary at The New York Hospital, where I worked until I gave it up to work at home where I did manuscript typing. Had to be pretty fast to raise two kids (divorced by now) on that kind of money -- it paid by the page! I graduated from a regular manual typewriter to an IBM selectric (remember those little balls? I had to juggle them, one for text, one for Greek symbols, one for fractions, and so on), to a Compugraphic Editwriter. This was a 750-lb monster that placed the type you set on a screen on film that had to be developed in a separate (monster) tank (actually series of tanks). After developing the film, letting it dry, I'd put the individual blocks of type through a waxing machine, and then do my page layout on my drafting table (the wax enabled the film/paper to stick onto the layout sheets). Then my daughter, who has always been technologically advanced, took me to a MacWorld trade show. She pointed to a Mac computer and explained that I could do EVERYTHING on that little box. No more stinky developer. No more drafting table. No more sending glossy photos to a lab to be screened into Veloxes (Holly, I bet you know what I'm talking about). My first response was, "Don't even say the word computer to me. I don't know what that is, and I don't want to know!" Well, guess what? By now, I can take them apart and put them back together again! The digital age had arrived and I never looked back.

When the Internet first popped its head up to the public, I told my uncle (who was unquestionably the patriarch of the family) that I was going to take my graphic design skills a step further and learn to create web sites. His answer was, "the Internet? Hah! It'll never last!" Well, let's see. That was in the early 1980s if my memory serves (which it doesn't always), and I do believe the Internet is still around!

Knowing what I did about graphic design and publishing requirements, I knew what to look for in computer software, and literally taught myself. Unfortunately, there wasn't all that much of it to choose from, but I went through every trial version of everything out there, often working around the clock (because that's the way I am when I become engrossed in a project) until I found what worked for me. Of course, that's changed through the years, but I do keep abreast of the latest technology, both hardware and software, and still do publications and create websites for clients, often both to to go hand in hand as marketing tools -- http://www.uniquity.com

Wendy, my point being -- you can do it if you want to! If I could do it, anyone can! Just more software and/or coding to learn and nowadays there are tutorials for everything on line!

MorningStar, you are safe here! As Holly put it, no one will stand for harrassment of anyone for any reason on any of these forums. If you haven't worked out the jammed film problem, just take the camera into a darkroom (aka, dark room!) and open it up and get the film out. Put it into a foil container and it will be fine -- as long as it didn't become exposed earlier.

Wolfie, I just wish we lived closer to each other so that you could teach me the fine points of using my new scroll saw (among other things, I'm sure!).

Thankfully, the trade that I work at is one that I can still easily do, sitting at a keyboard, and not anything whereby I'd have trouble breathing (walking from one room to the next is a trial). Ditto, building dollhouses. I make the occasional trip to Hobby Lobby or, even better, Michaels, where they have those little electric scooters, but mostly I shop online. Ebay is my best friend!

I love music, most especially classical and opera (Domingo, Pavarotti), the color green (hey, it's the color of life!), good food & cooking (can't have one without the other, and I'd rather spend $ on mini supplies than eating out), reading (my iPad, which I recently treated myself to, has become my best friend!) and, best of all, family! I LOVE having family and friends coming together at my home, laughing, eating, drinking -- just being together and having fun!

[LouMorgan]

Wow so many interesting people!

I'm 52 and was a nurse in the National Health Service in the UK for 25 years mainly doing burns and plastic surgery and orthopaedics. Became completely burnt out at work during my 40's and became a bit too reliant on alcohol. I had 6 months off work with stress and alcoholism.

Decided to turn my life around mid 40's and I am teetotal, vegetarian, smoke free and generally clean living and lost a lot of weight. I went off and did a science degree and I'm now a Podiatrist specialising in childrens biomechanics and rheumatology and work in the local prison teaching diabetic foot care to inmates.

I'm also the community pagan prison chaplain in the local area and provide religious care and assistance for men on parole and with drug and alcohol problems. I run my own Wiccan group and also take part in the local multifaith clergy group. I am the best of friends with the christian minister.

My husband and I like motorbiking and we each have a bike, mine is a Kawasaki GT 750, we go to all the motorbike rallies and club events and hold our own rally on the South Downs National Park in summer.

I have a 30 year old son from a brief and ill advised marriage in my early 20's and we are very close. Met my second husband in my late 30's by which time I was already an irreversible crazy cat lady but luckily he is a crazy cat man and we just had our 12th wedding anniversary.

We have three lovely cats, well ok three needy, difficult to manage rescue cats but hey they are entitled to be cranky just like us.

I like to be on my own doing minis and dollshouses and don't need a lot of human contact, I could easily become a recluse on a desert island but my husband is gregarious and doesn't let that happen so my hermit time is limited and we go out quite a lot.

I like books, cross stich DIY and decorating, gardening and animals and am more homebody than career woman but the mortgage has to be paid somehow.

We live by the sea out in the sticks so we spend a lot of time looking for shells in rock pools and swimming in rivers and also harvesting wild food and herbs for use at home. This week I collected lots of tiny shells and have sprayed them silver to use in my dollshouse witches room. We recently had a giant storm and a lot of cliffs collapsed so we have been out a lot looking for fossils and other interesting things.

I need lots of time in the woods and by the sea to feel truly at peace.

[rackey]

Wow, Louisa. You are a very impressive and inspiring woman. I admire you for turning your life around, as we all know how hard that is to do. As it is, the life you created sounds very interesting and desirable.

When my niece Tara was in her early teens, she was very interested in the Wicca religion, and I bought her a Wicca star necklace and books on the topic. Her and I also used to play with the Ouija board a lot. When my boss heard me talking about my relationship with Tara, she laughed and told me she was afraid that if she did something I didn't like, I would cast a spell on her. I told her that if I cast a spell on her, it would have to be a good one because Wiccans believe that whatever goes around, comes around; therefore they only conjure up good things. I like that mentality.

I can see how you would feel at home in the woods and the sea. I also find miniatures very peaceful.

[LouMorgan]

Thank you Maureen, mid life crisis can hit hard sometimes but is usually a message to move on and do something more fulfilling to your needs at that time.

Miniatures are definitely very peaceful, I could spend hours doing just that.

[AndySeven]

My first love are my 2 grandkids Cameron 5 and Madison 3.

Madison being the reason I am building a doll house. But that's not my first dabble with miniaturization.

I used to have a large HO/OO model train and am currently building one of Cameron.

Cameron has also got me back in to the radio control world both cars and planes.

My other passion is my old Lotus Super Seven sports car.

I'm not a big reader except to gain knowledge in my many hobbies.

And yes after almost 50 years of full time employment I am retired and …. busier than ever

[KathieB]

Welcome, Andy. Sounds like your grandchildren have your retirement all planned out for you.

[havanaholly]

Oh, Andy, when the hubs and I retired we had no idea! We never kept calenders when we were working; now we keep a three-ring binder with the pages that are a month at a time, and if it doesn't get in that book it doesn't happen!

[rackey]

Andy, congratulations on your retirement and in contributing to the work force for 50 years. My father retired after working 50 years in one company, which is almost unheard of today. He is 91 now and still going strong for his age. I wish you many happy retirement years, and I have a feeling your grandchildren will keep you young. I would love to see Madison's dollhouse when you are finished with it. She and Cameron have a good grandpa.

Holly, my guess is that you didn't need a calendar when you were working because you automatically knew what day it was. Working people seem to live for the weekends and have certain duties to perform on certain days; but when you are home, the days seem to blend. Time also seems to go faster because once something absorbs your mind, there are fewer interruptions at home then what you may encounter in a working environment. At least its been that way with me, as I am semi-retired as I am pretty much caring for my mother and aunt.

[havanaholly]

Actually, Maureen the calendar is because both of us are so much busier now, have more events and things going on in our lives that if we don't keep the calendar we skip medical appointments and meetings before we know it!

[Cheverly]

This is such a cool topic. I love reading everyone's stories.

I love to read and my favorite author is Dean Koontz. This may be because my aunt loaned me the first book of his that I read (Midnight), and then she died of breast cancer the year my daughter was born. My all time favorite book of his is Watchers. I can't even tell you how many times I've read it. I also have the complete collection of Nancy Drew books (the ones with the yellow spines)... also because she loaned them to me when I was young and I loved them so much I wanted my own copies.

I became a single mom at 20, and have a beautiful daughter about that age now. Unfortunately, she never took to my Nancy Drew books like I did, though she loves to read. I look about 10 years younger than I am, and people are surprised when I tell them my age or how old my daughter is. Good genes... my mom is 72 and doesn't look 60. I met and married my DH 14 years ago. He is 14 years older than me, with grown children of his own. Neither of us were interested in having more.

I have a 15 year old cat named Anna and an 11 year old dachshund/chihuahua mix named Penny. I tease Penny and call her "Fatty Patty" because she is now 8.2 lbs instead of 7.9. Don't worry... I really don't think her self-esteem has suffered much. They are my surrogate children now that my daughter has moved out to attend college.

I am rather obsessive when it comes to hobbies. In the past, I've dropped everything and focused on ONE thing... crochet, knitting (didn't last long and certainly hasn't ended up in the rotation), painting, drawing, sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, clay, etc. After a month or two, I'll completely drop that and go on to something else in the list. I hope that I stick with the miniatures long enough to notice improvement since it encompasses much of what I've enjoyed doing over the years.

I have signed up to do a half-Ironman triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run) this October. Unfortunately, at the same time I should've started training I re-discovered miniatures. I have a REALLY hard time forcing myself to get out there to train when all I'd rather do is hole up in my craft room and work on dollhouse things. This isn't conducive to a fast finishing time as I'm currently 20 lbs overweight and out of shape, so I really need to get out there and move.

I love the beach. Like, LOVE the beach. I would live there if I could, but DH prefers mountains and solitude. Neither place is an option for us now since I work for an oil company and must stay where the jobs are. I suppose we could move to Denver since there are a lot of oil companies there, but that would mean moving away from my daughter and the rest of my family here in Texas (not to mention I'd be farther away from a beach).

Halloween is my favorite holiday and I fully plan on creating a haunted dollhouse. I just haven't decided which kit I'm going to haunt because I keep waffling back and forth between several candidates.

Favorite color is blue (all shades and hues). I love Reese's peanut butter cups and have recently discovered that peanut butter M&Ms are also awesome.

Guess that's about it. I know this is an old post, but I just had to contribute my two cents!

[havanaholly]

This is an ongoing post, as newbies feel comfortable enough to post here, so you might inspire some of our other new folks to contribute. One of my DILs is a marathon runner and DS#2 runs in the AM with her, but he confines himself to 5K races. Back when DH & I attended tandem bicycle rallies we rode a 45-mile course and nearly killed ourselves! 35 miles is about our limit when we've been riding, but now that my arthritis is raging I'm good at 10 miles. Two of our hiking/ paddling buddies used to work for oil companies in the Lafayette, LA, area, and there are some nice beaches there; but IMO the best beaches on the Gulf east of you are where we live and FL.

[Cheverly]

IMO the best beaches on the Gulf east of you are where we live and FL.

I totally agree. I hear Gulf Shores is nice (never been, it's on my list), but I adore the 30A/Seaside/Seagrove beach area. In fact, I've decided the Princess Anne I found on CL is going to be a beach rental similar to the one we stayed in a few years back.

[havanaholly]

I totally agree. I hear Gulf Shores is nice (never been, it's on my list), but I adore the 30A/Seaside/Seagrove beach area. In fact, I've decided the Princess Anne I found on CL is going to be a beach rental similar to the one we stayed in a few years back.

Where FL 30-B takes off for Indian Pass off of 30-A is one terrific oyster bar! We always eat there at least once whenever we camp at St Joseph Peninsula State Park.

[rackey]

Thank you, havanaholly. I've gathered from this family so far that it's something I need not worry about. I've been in places where it has come out of nowhere.... But if it happens I will copypasta and report if it happens. So far everyone has been stellar. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

As I said in another thread, I've fallen in love with this family. I'm happy to be here, and be a part of this family. I look forward to sharing and observing and being a part of this family. Before I came here.. I felt : After I got here and started meeting you all, and learning about each of you and seeing the kindness in each of you, I started feeling : and in the short time I've been here, and begun to feel like I belong, you all have made me feel like I'm one of the : Thank you..

You guys ROCK!

~morning

Thank you for posting this, Morningstar. I like to engage in "intelligent conversations" shall we say, so I used to comment on news forums. I was always careful to stay on topic and to respect other viewpoints, but on every forum, I've seen abuse - so much so that I rarely comment anymore because I don't want to be a part of such bickering and nonsense.

It is so much different on this site. It is like our love of miniatures brings out our love for each other. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but to me this site is like a piece of heaven in the brutal world of electronic communications.

[rackey]

After following this thread for some time, I don't believe I listed anything about myself. That is probably because I feel you all know so much about me already, but here are some things I may or may not have shared.

My name is Maureen because my mother thought I looked like my grandfather when I was born. His name was Marino.

I was born three days after Buddy Holly's plane crashed, and when I learned about this, I told my parents they should have named me Holly. (If it were Frank Sinatra who went down in that plane, my name would be Francine for sure.)

Both of my grandfathers died before I was born, but my grandmothers both lived to be 96.

I acquired my nickname (Rackey) because my mother said I look like a raccoon when I wake up in the morning (because of dark circles under my eyes).

I have been laid off from Corporate America three times due to downsizing.

I have an AAS degree in Legal Assisting, and I recently earned a BA degree in Communications.

In the past I have written numerous editorials in my local paper.

I like reading books about serial killers.

My favorite fictional authors are Ann Tyler and Jodi Picoult.

I love ice cream, and my favorite flavor is chocolate chip mint (or mint chocolate chip).

My favorite color is green.

My favorite season is the fall, although the older I get, the more partial I am to spring.

I adore stuffed animals, but was never into Barbie dolls. (I would have liked her much better then if she had all the dollhouse accessories she has now.)

I traveled to all 50 states, but I lived in the same house in central New Jersey all my life.

I enjoy classic rock, particularly songs from the 60s.

When I was in high school I wanted Bernie Taupin's job. He writes/wrote lyrics for Elton John, and come to think of it, I still want his job.

I am a very respectful person, but in spite of this, I once cursed in church when I dropped the collection basket, and

Believe it or not, several people, including my precious, darling, devoted niece, told me I am weird.

Oh, one more thing. I was once in a Broadway play that featured frontal nudity. - No joke.

When I was in high school, I was enrolled in a half year psychology course to begin the second half of the school year. My friend Susan was enrolled in the first half of the year, and when the teacher got tickets for the class to see Equus, she asked if I could join the group.

I was not in the class at the time, so I knew none of the details, and I was thrilled to learn when I got there that the class was going to be seated on stage. We were more or less like props, but we were supposed to be psych students, and Anthony Perkins (a.k.a. Norman Bates from Psycho) was telling us the story. His younger co-stars appeared nude in one scene. After the play, I dropped the course when I realized I didn't need the credits to graduate.

Other than these little tidbits of information, I am boring.

[DarlingMini]

Great thread! I guess it's time I told y'all a bit more about myself...

I'm Hazel, but you probably knew that already.

My favourite colour is green. I also like pastel yellow.

I absolutely adore cats, and have two of my own, one of which I like to call my little dollhouse inspector. ;)

My other hobbies, besides minis, include gardening, aquariums, and sewing.

I collect piggy banks. I currently have 11, only three of which are actually pigs.

That's it. I'm not a very interesting person.

[Debra from Olde Cape Cod]

Just the dollhouse part makes you very interesting! You sound like a wicked awesome person! (Used to live on the Cape)