Reading

I love to read and always have. I like to get away in my reading so I read mostly historical romance/suspence, mysteries, thrillers, and some spy novels. Every once in a while I'll throw in a "nice" book or a biography. My favorite authors are Catherine Coulter,Julie Garwood, Nora Roberts, Paricia Cornwell, Sandra Brown, and Tami Hoag. I enjoy Leon Uris and I particularly liked May Stewart's Merlin trilogy. There are so many good books and old favorites that I can always find something to read.

Nature Walks

Well, short nature walks. I've never been into hiking but I do like to follow trails and walk in the woods and along the shore. It's relaxing to watch for wildflowers that are blooming and all the little animals. I think chipmunks are so cute. Any season will do. They all have their own features but I like spring and fall the best. They're all beautiful and have something to offer. The state and federal parks and campgrounds are wonderful for relaxing and getting away.

Bird Watching

All my bird watching is done from my kitchen alcove table and centers on my bird feeders. There are so many different kinds that come. I had a couple pigeons and a duck this past winter. How they got here I don't know. I'm not that close to the river. I bought a pair of binoculars this year so I could study them better. They are a very interesting pastime.The Dayton Chapter of the National Audubon Society offers many activies for bird watching as I'm sure your local chapter would.

Conservation & Environment

There is so much we need to keep safe and clean. I support as many of our conservation and environmental groups as I can. I haven't always been able to keep up my memberships in the societies but I have backed them for years in their efforts. There are so many good groups. Even some of the more extreme ones are needed because their message gets through. So from the Sierra Club to Greenpeace I support them.

Landscape/Lake Java

Gardening

Gardening is the easiest and quickest way for me to relax. For some reason when I get my hands in the dirt I relax and become very peaceful. I love flowers and like to watch them grow. Herbs are a favorite because I like to use fresh ones in my cooking. My son liked to watch the vegetables grow. When he found a little bell pepper one time he would go check it every day after school. When it got just a little bigger than a plum he couldn't stand it any more and he picked it and brought it in to eat. It was probably the best tasting pepper he ever ate. I've always done my gardening by the moon phases and signs. The few times I haven't my gardens haven't turned out very well. One of the best places to go to keep track of the phases and signs as well as to learn about it is the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Collecting

I think at times that I collect almost everything. I just like nice things. I do collect pansies and johnny-jump-ups. I have so many different things from mugs to fine china, a beautiful picture Jan gave me for Christmas a few years ago, and a pair of earrings from Pat from Winterthur Museum. I also collect santas but just little santas. Most of my santas stay out all year and are in a shadow box. The ones that are a little bigger are out at Christmas. What I am concentrating on now are snowmen. A few years back I fell in love with Belleek Parian China and Galway Crystal which is owned by Belleek. Belleek puts out a snowman every year so I'm on pins and needles till I get it. I like their shamrock pattern and this year they put out a beautiful pansy pattern called the Enchanted Garden, of which I have two, a bowl and a vase, thanks again to Jan. For more pictures of Belleck try the link in favorite links below for First Ireland Gifts.

Siderial Astrology & Tarot Cards

Mystical and new wave things have always drawn my interest and I started with Tropical Astrology. It didn't take long before I switched over to Sidereal Astrology because it worked better for me and all those I did charts for.The tropical is based on a stationary zodiac band and the sidereal is based on the actual constellations and their movement. In tropical astrology I am a Pisces, but when I was born on March 10th of 1939 the constellations had moved enough that the sun on that day was actually in the constellation Aquarius. So, in sidereal astrology I am an Aquarian. When I do my charts for the year, lunar and solar, it gives me a general idea of how the year will go and when to be more careful. To me it is very interesting.I also use the Tarot which is an ancient practice. Again this intrigues me.

Cooking

I love to cook but not in small amounts. I can't seem to make a small amount even if I want to and when I've succeeded it never seems to taste as good. Most of my cooking is Pennsylvania Dutch. I guess you could say it's my favorite. Some of my recipes came from a family friend when I was growing up and I've had to figure out amounts to include here. She would just tell me a hand full of this and a pinch of that. I've made a special page for recipes and I will be adding to it all the time until I get them all listed.

Handicapped and Women's Right

Because of Cutis my interest and advocacy of handicap rights took up a major part of his growing years. My sister Jan was his lawyer and we won all we set out to do for him. Enforcing the decisions was another story. I always felt that if nothing else we were making it easier for the parents and children that came after us. In reading the paper now it seems they are still fighting for the same rights. The federal law has no enforcement. Their only threat is to cut off funds which is not likely to happen. One gets tired of fighting and working for what should be without a question. The advacacy for Women's Rights is much the same case. It was so much easier for me when I lived so near Washington,D.C. Two organizations that I whole hearted support and admire are The American Civil Liberties Union and The National Organization for Women.

My Computer

I got my computer two years ago and I am upset with myself for not bothering to find out about it years ago. I really enjoy it. It amazes me still what one can do and where one can go. Everything I know right now I taught myself so there are some big gaps. I decided to try a web page last April and I started out with the different builders but I couldn't always do what I wanted so I decided to go with the html. HTML is a unique experience and I am learning. These pages attest to that although I'm sure I have more than one mistake. The two places that helped me the most were Athens 2090 which is listed in the file manager and the Ultimate Tutorial.