I like....
Heaps of different old things, like antique 
crockery and glassware, old photographs and paintings, 
old lace, tapestry and lush materials and embroidery.
I also like old things that are not so fine, like old 
bottles, lamps, tools and machinery.

As you can see by lots of my pages, I like mediaeval 
designs and ancient music. I really love mythological 
paintings and artefacts, not from any one culture, but  from as 
diverse a range as Australian Aboriginal, Celtic, Roman, 
Mexican, Chinese, Norse, African and Middle Eastern.

On my walls at home, I have portraits of my ancestors and 
my offspring, prints by El Greco, Vermeer, Waterhouse, a 
( non-cubist ) Picasso, a French cave painting, a number of arcane 
and religious portraits by unknown artists and a lot of paintings 
and Chinese wall hangings of birds. There are also a few 
environmental posters and a large framed photograph of St. Basil's 
cathedral in Moscow taken by my father. I have a huge 
Japanese painting of flowers done in the Edo period. My 
absolute favourite is a big reproduction of Diego Rivera's 'Girl 
with Calla Lilies' that I bought as a reward for myself for 
finishing university. (It's in my art pages if you want to see it) 
Certainly an eclectic collection.

Musically, I'm just as diverse. I love almost everything 
from the Verve to Vivaldi. I don't much like droning country 
and western, but I do like heavy metal, rock, sitar, gamelon, 
ancient celtic, pan pipes, bagpipes, classics, opera, some folk, 
forties big band swing, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
 I've got a big,  great collection of seventies rock albums. 
My favourite modern music's by U2, The Verve, Paul 
Kelly and Midnight Oil. 

I am an Aquarian (which shows) I was born in the year of 
the Rooster (which also shows) I believe in the I Ching and throw
the coins to do a reading for myself often. My favourite colour, 
if you can call it that, is mother-of-pearl. I  love soft mauve and blue 
and pink, and colours that go well on black backgrounds like this 
one does!

In my time, I've been an unsuccessful practising drug addict,
but a very successful recovering one. I've been in recovery for 17 
years now, and clean and sober for 11. I've worked in jobs that 
didn't require much, or any, expertise and have also done a few 
that required a lot of knowledge, such as being a lab technician 
in a tissue culture laboratory, which I found boring and decided 
to retrain rather than do it again. I cooked for a while, including 
a couple of years in a drug and alcohol treatment centre. I worked
as a child protection worker in a Christmas holiday break from 
uni. Now that's one emotionally hard job - I wouldn't like to do 
that for ever more and was happy to leave when I did.

University was doing a Social Welfare / Arts double degree. I did 
welfare and sociology majors and a Koorie Studies minor.(Koories 
are the indigenous race of Southern and Eastern Australia.) I've 
been back in the drug and alcohol recovery field full-time for 
two years and intend to make a career of it now I've got 
suitable qualifications. I'm doing Honours in sociology part-time
as well. I've got a thirst for knowledge, if I don't know something, 
I have to go and find out. (Love that internet!)

I adore my two kids, and I think that they also adore me, which is 
a great way to have it! The sun shines very clearly out of my 
little grandchildren's eyes (you thought I was going to say something 
else didn't you?) I was privileged to be present at both of their births 
and have been around for much of their lives. Nathan has autism, 
so is a very special little boy. Tarra is also a very special little girl, 
because she is Tarra. I heard recently that grandchildren are your 
rewards for being a parent - very true!

I live an 'alternate lifestyle' in many ways. I do not belong to any 
religious groups, I am a lesbian, but not in a relationship, which
doesn't  bother me much because I'm not sure where a partner
would fit right now. When there's room for one, I imagine one'll turn
up. I hold strong political beliefs, I am a pacifist-greenie-feminist,
 and believe the worlds resources should be going to the people
rather than lining the bank accounts of multi-national conglomerates.

I'm a good cook, I love Chinese, Italian and French food, I love 
the way that Australia has a wonderful multi-cultural 
appetite now, and I  can go out for almost any food imaginable
in Sydney.

I love genealogy and have compiled huge family trees for all
branches of my own and my children's' families. I've thought 
of putting it on a web page but it's too big! I've got a program 
on the computer for it that takes up 23 floppy discs to back it up. 
I haven't spent much time on this recently though. Not enough 
hours in the day!

I am a little addicted to computers, particularly web page design! 
I also have trouble putting down a good book. "Good' books are by 
authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katharine Kerr, Raymond
E. Feist, Jean M. Auel, Tolkien. I also like lots of mediaeval 
romances and 'whodunnits' such as Brother Cadfael and Sister Fidelma.
 

I love beaches, mountains, cats, dogs, elephants, birds, tree ferns,
daphne and freesias, orchids and fuschias. The list could go on.
I love looking at  growing green things and beautiful flowers and 
beautiful animals, birds and insects.
 
 

hhmmmmmmmm..... this will be added to as things change or as
I get the inspiration. I look forward to you visiting again.

Please feel free to talk to me anytime by either
 

or 
 

I use this set with gratitude, I love all of the backgrounds
I've used, but I love this one the best.
Background Music is "Marbhna na Luimneach"
You can find out more about it on my 'Ancient Irish Music" page.