I'm an administrator - or rather, that's the thing that pays the bills.

What I am is a dreamer, a potterer, a lover of shiny things and rainbows, a would-be poet, artist, creator.

I spent my youth being convinced that I had no ability at all in the visual arts, and have only recently allowed myself to experiment with paint and Fimo, with paper and glue and glitter and fabrics. Guess what? I enjoy it :) And some of the things I've made have brought pleasure to other people too, which is an unexpected bonus.

I have written (mostly poetry) since I was seven, but there was a long, long period when I wrote almost nothing. I've started writing again, and some of my writing (and artwork) is posted to the ArtSpark community on LiveJournal.

I am learning to take photographs, and some of my efforts can be seen on my Flickr pages - I'm constantweader there, as I am on BookCrossing.

As a tiny bit of glamour-bombing, I can regularly be seen blowing bubbles in public places.

Favourite things:

Colours - purple, purple and more purple! I do like other colours though - deep, rich reds, blues and greens, with black and silver for counterpoint. I don't wear yellow or orange much - they really don't suit my complexion - but as long as they aren't too glaring they're fine to have around. Deep pinks are fine, girly pink is not really me :)

Flower - Crocus, lavender flowers, those ones which look like tiny snapdragons, most wildflowers and 'weeds':)

Scent - so many - I'm a scent junkie, but dislike most alcohol based perfumes. Favourite oil scents include frankincense, patchouli (a hangover from a hippyish youth), ylang-ylang, cedarwood, neroli, anything herby. I love the smell of freshly ground coffee. LUSH soaps and shower gels make me feel good - Demon in the Dark soap is an excellent waker-upper.

Season - Spring and autumn. Buds opening or the gentle fall of leaves - both delight in different ways.

Animal - Cats and rhinos, but since my flat is too small for a rhino I am owned by a cat.

Flavour - Fruity but tart flavours - slighty underripe blackberries, lightly sugared rhubarb, apple sauce made with Bramley apples. (But I also relish sugary candy, the more childish the better!)Good dark chocolate - though good milk chocolate is comforting and a pleasure too. Exotically flavoured chocolate bars are a special treat. In savouries, good cheeses are my weakness. Beverage - Coffee, as strong as possible. A nice cup of tea. Linden flower tea and other herbals. Fruit juice with sparkling water. Miscellaneous - I love teeny things - miniature anything will make me squee. Bookmarks are always welcome, as are silly toys and fun stationery.

I have eclectic tastes in music, covering four (maybe five) decades and a range of genres. Favourite artists include Leonard Cohen, k d lang, Dixie Chicks, Joni Mitchell, Meatloaf, Patti Smith, Snow Patrol, The Jam, The Scorpions... (Oh, and there's quite a lot of classical stuff I enjoy too. I have a weakness for Wagner - love all that high drama!)

Where do I start? I have a flat full of books, despite trying to pass some on through BookCrossing, and I am a compulsive reader. Favourite genres are fantasy and science fiction, and some of the authors I like best are: Mercedes Lackey, Philip Pullman, Sheri S Tepper, Robert Heinlein, Vonda McIntyre, Octavia Butler and Harlan Ellison. I will, however, read almost anything.

Right now I'm spending a lot of time glass-painting. I love the effect of light through the painted glass. I also enjoy making little creatures out of Fimo - mostly cats and penguins.
I am looking for some creative things to do with a laminator, as long as they don't involve gold acrylic paint... I enjoy painting with acrylics, but they don't do the laminator any good.

I'm not much of a movie watcher - I have the attention span of a butterfly most days, and don't enjoy watching a whole film in one sitting. I do, however, love Dark Star , which has got to be one of the funniest (in a dark way) sci-fi films ever made, and Silent Running, in which the little robots (Huey, Louey and Dewey) are so funny and yet so touchingly pathetic. I'm fairly fond of any old-fashioned horror filme, especially the really corny Hammer ones. Oh, and The Wicker Man - the original one with Edward Woodward, not the remake.

I am, I am ashamed to say, a soap addict - Coronation Street and Eastenders. Not Emmerdale or Hollyoaks though, or any of the Australian soaps. I love watching quiz programmes, sitting there shouting things like "You blithering idiot, it's obviously a palindrome" at the screen. I enjoy comedy, especially if it is slightly off-the-wall comedy like Little Britain or League of Gentlemen.

If you've sent me a swap and I haven't rated it, I almost certainly haven't received it. I give ratings for swaps the day I receive them so that I won't forget. I won't give a 1 rating without trying to contact you, more than once if necessary. I will only give a 3 if your swap is noticeably late and you haven't contacted me, or if it can by no stretch of the imagination be said to fit the swap description. (As you may gather, I *really * don't want to give 1s or 3s. I will if I have to, but only as a last resort.) I like giving hearts, so anything which makes a swap that little bit special will incline me to give one. It doesn't have to be 'extras' - if you show that you've read my profile, or I can see that you've put a lot of work into a swap, that's more likely to get a heart from me than a random 'extra' in the package. (Though cute extras are fun too!)