I'm not generally a big movie fan, but there are a few that I have really enjoyed. My favourites are The Changeling, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Grudge, The Grudge 2, The Lion King, The Mummy, Return of the Mummy, Return of the Living Dead, and Under the Tuscan Sun. There are several more that I can't think of off the top of my head. I love old horror movies (not the gory, slasher kind), good comedies, and good animated movies.

I love a variety of music, from classical to heavy metal. There are very few types of music that I can't listen to, but country and rap (or anything of that nature) set my teeth on edge! I just can't stand listening to them. Oddly enough, I do enjoy the occasional bit of Bluegrass, though.

My favourite classical composer is Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata being my favourite piece. Some of my favourite artists are Def Leppard, X Japan, Metallica, Luba, Sweet, Collective Soul, Boz Scaggs, and Journey. There are others too numerous to mention.

I could not even begin to make a list of favourite books. I love to read, and I love a variety of subject matter - mysteries, horror, autobiographies, true crime, classics, fiction, history, humour - anything from soup to nuts!

Orange and deep purple are always favourites of mine, but I love many other colours too, so the favourite of the day tends to vary according to my mood.

My favourite foods tend to change depending on my moods, but Borscht - my Grandmother's recipe - is definitely at the top of my list! So are homemade perohe (perogies), but I admit that I never make them, as they are a lot of work.

I love to cook and experiment with new things, and I rarely use a recipe. I just toss things together, combining whatever I think sounds yummy. I do have a few recipes that I use, but I always change them to suit my own tastes. Things usually turn out quite good when I experiment, but I've had a few rather phenomenal disasters as well!

I have a wonderful Porcupine Meatball recipe - basically meatballs with rice mixed in, baked in a tomato sauce. I got the recipe from a cookbook, but I've made adjustments to it - removed some things that I don't like, added some things that I do. I also enjoy a good feed of homemade lasagne, which is an amended recipe that I got from a box of Catelli Lasagne noodles when I was a teenager. (We don't need to think about how many years ago THAT was!) I also have a scrumptious spaghetti sauce recipe that I got from my ex-husband's father. I'm not sure where he got it from, but it's definitely my favourite - kind of a sweet and sour meat and tomato sauce. Very unique, and very tasty.

I also like to do the occasional roasts - mainly pork loin. I like a good roast beef now and then, and the occasional ham, although I do find that ham is generally too salty for me. A good steak is occasionally welcomed, as is a nice bit of fish now and then.

I love desserts, but I find as I get older I can't eat as much of them, as most are too sweet for me. This is a good thing - I'm not a tiny woman to start with (not width-wise, at least - vertically I'm quite challenged!), so it's very good that I can't eat too many sweet things! However, my favourite is a cheesecake that I got a recipe out of a magazine for. It's made of two layers - one with white chocolate, one with semi-sweet chocolate. All on a chocolate cookie crust. Then the whole thing is covered with a delectable layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate. Absolutely to die for! A lot of work, though, so fortunately I don't make it very often!

I do like to try different types of food, and I love good Chinese and Japanese dishes. Unfortunately, I've found that good Chinese restaurants are hard to come by in my area - mainly because I was spoiled by having two VERY good ones in the small town I grew up in, and I've yet to come across anything that comes near to matching them. I have found a few good Japanese places in my city, though, so they are a nice occasional treat.

I love putting together a meal for family and friends, and watching them enjoy it all. I hate people trying to help me in the kitchen though - I have my own schedule, and my own rhythm with cooking and baking, so I prefer to be left to do it on my own. I don't mind someone sitting and visiting with me, but woe to the person who starts stirring or chopping if they are not asked to do so!

Hm, now this has me thinking that maybe it's time to plan a nice dinner and invite the family and some friends over!

I love to wander through cemeteries, and photograph the tombstones. It's very peaceful, and some of the old tombstones are genuine works of art.

I'm 48, and still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. For that matter, I still haven't decided if I want to grow up at all! I love doing creative things - photography, writing, music, art, and various arts and crafts. My major passion at the moment is photography, but I've also recently begun dabbling in goldsmithing, which I'm quite enjoying.

Oddly enough, I've spent most of my working life in banking, administrative areas, and accounting-related positions. I've gotten to the point now where I realize that those types of jobs tend to suck the life out of me, so I'm in the process of trying to figure out just what else I could do on a more creative level. Of course, it would have to bring in money to pay the bills, so that's a bit of an issue when considering what other directions to go in!

I find that I am at a time in my life when changes need to be made, which included recently leaving the job I had for the last seven years. It's a bit of scary time, in some ways, but quite exciting in others. That's the good thing that I've discovered about growing older - I can see some of the things that aren't good for me, including in my work life, and I am a bit more confident about making changes.

There are many good things about growing older, discounting some of the physical glitches! I have less patience for things that really aren't important, and more confidence and trust in myself to try out things that appeal to me and that make a difference in my life. I don't worry as much about what other people think, or about what they want and expect of me. I will always be one who worries, doesn't like to hurt others, and who tends to worry about other people before myself, but I find that I am a bit more concerned about myself than I used to be, and that's a good thing. Especially since I have fibromyalgia, and I really do need to start focusing more on what is best for me, rather than what is best for everyone else. I also find that I am able to laugh at myself a lot more these days, and not take myself so seriously. I can provide a great deal of amusement for myself, let me tell you!

Over the last 10 years or so I've been discovering that two of the most important things to me are my spirituality and nurturing my creative side. I found it very easy to work with my spirituality, but nurturing the creative side has been quite a stretch. It was ingrained in me from a young age that creative endeavours were just hobbies, and that one had to be more practical in everyday life. I now realize that this isn't true, so I've been trying to focus more lately on dusting off my "hobbies" and making them a more prominent part of my life. I still have a lot of work to do with that, but at least I'm getting started! For me, the creative side and spirituality go hand in hand, so I am going to begin working more consciously at putting both of them together. I am a very eclectic pagan, so that in itself can be a major outlet for creativity, and can certainly open up opportunities in creative expression.

I've been looking at some of the groups on here, and am thinking that it might be quite fun and productive to join in the digital photography group. I tend to be very shy about sharing my creative output, so I'm thinking that would be a good place to start!

I was quite intrigued when this site came about, and although I haven't participated much since joining, I am hoping to be more active here now that I've moved on from my job. From what I've seen, there are so many members here with wonderful attitudes towards life, and it seems like a fun and inspiring place to hang out. I am looking forward to getting to know other members, and to participating in a more mature site that isn't full of chat speak!

I think I've babbled on more than long enough! I never know what to say in these "about me" sections, but hopefully I've given a bit of an idea of who I am, and haven't bored anyone to tears. Take care, everyone!

Rain, cloudy days, cool sunny days, autumn, Hallowe'en/Samhain, my dogs, family, friends, honest people, cooking, baking, my computer, taking photographs, especially of cemeteries.

People who are dishonest, shallow, vain, inconsiderate, or cruel. I find I can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats other people and animals. I don't like large crowds. I don't like being around people who are drunk.

Reading, writing, photography, music, painting (art, not walls!), collecting (and using) tarot and divination decks, cooking, baking, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, computer graphics, basic website design, candlemaking, sewing, dabble in jewlery making and just started getting into goldsmithing.