MuddyPuddle

6/6/18 ALERT! Holy Shmoley, I just returned from a fast and furious two-week life-interruption. My newly widowed sister had some emergency heart stuff - and I threw things into the car and took off to Boston without thinking about anything, leaving all my swap-bot stuff done, half-done, and undone. While I was there my aunt died (she was 94, so it was her time) BUT I was able to help out and spend the time with family that I wouldn't usually have been able to. My job has been wonderful to me, letting me take the time I needed. I just returned to a huge pile of new mail, undone "stuff," and a horrible feeling about where I need to begin. Please bear with me as I work extra hours at work and weed through all my stuff. Usually this is SO MUCH fun, but I'm dreading the next few days (and hoping my sister stays in her stable state!)

I am a retired teacher, now working as a part-time youth services librarian in the local public library. I love it! I love to read - Adult murder mysteries and YA/Teen novels, especially. I'm not a lover of nonfiction. More about my reading life below.

I am an avid letterboxer.

I am a quilter. I love to make scrap quilts. I'm currently working on an English paper pieced grandmother's flower garden and I'm almost done! Also love crazy quilting. I gather 2.5-inch squares of fabric wherever I can. I love, collect, and make pincushions.

I also knit, crochet, mosaic, alter books, create ATCs and LTCs...I love to have my hands busy. I keep a blog of all my book and movie reviews.

I belong to Postcrossing and love to exchange and receive postcards.

I collect playing cards! I especially love the Queen of Diamonds and Jokers, but any and all with interesting pictures on the back (or front!) will make me happy!

I'm a mom of two, grandmother of four.

I lived, raised my family, and taught fifth grade on the coast of Maine for 30 years (my son and his family still live there), then LOVED the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona for the next fourteen years. I am now adjusting to the gorgeous green rolling farmlands of the Pennsylvania countryside (where I now live, 20-minutes away from my daughter and her family). LIFE IS GOOD.

Some of the motifs and themes that I enjoy:

Day of the Dead

Cemeteries, gravestones and the like (I love history and primary sources!)

Mailboxes

Artwork that includes books and/or reading (not so much photos, but if unique and quirky I love 'em)

anything with old ladies (there are some great Finnish, Russian, and American artists that have so much fun with old ladies!)

penguins are pretty cool...

and jackalopes are pretty cool, too.

the artwork of Keith Haring and Wassily Kandinsky

National Parks

cool doors and windows and unique/quirky houses

maps of countries and states

Turkey (the country), Iceland, Sweden, England, Africa, Mexico

SMALL STUFF: gel pens, cool pens and markers, black markers for zentangling, Stickles/glitter glue, postage stamps (of course!), stamp pads, "pink stuff" (Speedball carving block), embossing powder, Fiskars triple track blades, baby wipes, stencils for backgrounds, watercolor paper postcards, anything Day of the Dead, handmade boxes and bowls, dice (I have a dice collection), playing cards,

I'm not so fond of (sorry!):

(no) anything religious (please no Bible verses)

(no) "cute" - like kittens or puppies

(no) anime

(no) random scrapbooking or ATC embellishments - I really don't need 'em or use them.

I only drink Diet Coke and water, nothing hot, no tea or coffee,

I'll keep thinking and add to this as unexpected thoughts come into my brain. I LOVE it when this happens!!!

I've joined a book swap recently, so thought I'd share my thoughts about reading.

I love mysteries - - police and PI procedurals, especially, for some reason. All over the world, not just in the US. The cozies just haven't been...well....intense enough for me. I listen to a lot of them, and read just as many. I've read the beginning of many series, and am picking away at many since I like to read them in order. However, I don't like to read about the same protagonist one story after another. Picky? Probably. I love Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, John Sandford's Virgil Flowers, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, Robert Galbraith's Comoran Strike, and Angela Marson's Kim Stone to name a very few. I LOVED to find new series1

I also read a lot of young adult. I'm not so crazy about the CRF romances, but I love the out-or-the-ordinary CRF and especially YA Dystopian novels. I've read a few of the series out there - love some and don't love some, but I'm willing to try.

I also read middle grade novels. I've been a 4th/5th grade teacher forever and am now a youth services librarian assistant, so I love all the newer stuff...I've read a good deal of the older stuff.

Just can't get into nonfiction. I've tried. I have read a memoir once in awhile, and most have kept me interested unless they're poorly written. Guess I'm a snob in that way.

I do enjoy nonfiction books about quilting, including essays and short stories....

I started a blog in 2008 to keep track of my reading. I don't publicize it, it's only for my own reference and memory. I've put the website above in case anyone is interested in checking out what I've read in the last ten years.