Bridget

I am a 53 year old wife and mother. I've been married once for 37 years and our children are 21, 28 and 32. With all of my children grown I am a recent empty-nester.

I was a stay-at-home wife/mom and spent a lot of time doing arts/crafts. I scrapbook--I am a recent Tim Holtz addict. I've created around 35 actual photo albums and love to make "tag albums". But, I confess, I've recently discovered professional coffee table books where you create your albums on-line and they send them to you in a hard-bound book. I gotta tell you, there's nothing like them.

I've been quilting since I was about 8. I love most to make memory quilts. When my daughter got her BA I made her a quilt from her baby dresses and clothes I had saved through her High School Band Uniform alternated with photos of her wearing them. I made my son a similar one from his dress shirts and ties.

I love to make beaded jewelry with lots and lots of small to medium beads and I do decorative as well as canvas painting.

I am always open to learning something new and I would love to learn to knit!! My sister works for an airline so in the past three years I have been able to travel a little. I have been to DC, Pittsburgh, NY, Las Vegas, London, Paris, LA, Denver and Alaska. It has also enabled me to have out-of-town friends visit me.

I live in a tiny farming town in SE WA state and have lived in the same home for 27 years.

I love to kick around thrift shops, yard sale and spend time with friends. I hang out with my husband on the weekends.

I start shopping/crafting for Christmas in October and always over-do.

I am a huge advocate for mental illness and the homeless.

I keep myself in check for fear I'll end up on "Hoarders", the television show. Nearly everything in my home is hand-made, remade or a gift. I LOVE books, preferably hard backs, but always in mint condition. With my children grown I turned my fourth bedroom into a library and have 6 book cases full.

I love Wally Lamb, Mary Higgins Clark, Ann Rule, Jacqueline Suzanne & John Saul. Stephen King wrote a non-fiction titled On Writing that was just awesome. I actually listened to that on tape and he read it himself. I also collect autographed children's books and have a large collection.

I'm a good cook and have a few awesome recipes but I usually save them for special occasions. I don't own a microwave.

I love all colors. The only color I don't like is peach. And I love bling, glitter and shine.

I rarely watch TV. If I lived alone I wouldn't own one. When I do watch TV, I like Nate Burkus, Judge Judy and re-runs of King of Queens, Mash, Waltons and The New Old Christine. I hate sports.

I shop almost exclusively at thrift shops and on-line. I hate the mall.

My greatest thrift find is a genuine yellow ostrich Prada Purse that I snagged for $10. She wanted $13 but I haggled it down. I saw one on-line for nearly $6000!!!!!

I love to laugh out loud, stay up late, lunch with friends, teach others how to do things and spend hours dreaming up new ideas.

My two life-long dreams came true when my oldest daughter took me to New York before she moved to Europe and brought me to Paris after her move.

I love to write and have been working on two books for a while. I also belong to an international postcard swapping group known as Postcrossing. It is very fun, free to join and includes 219 countries.

I also write to prisoners and find it very gratifying. I found three very different people who were all very suited to me on Prison Penpals on-line. I read the newspaper account of their crime as well as their appeal, any trial information available and what they have to say. It isn't hard to decide, they always speak to my heart-- or not. I probably get more from it than they do but I like being able to bring a little joy into their very sad lives.