Hi, I'm Soozcat. I like to write, doodle and make things. I'm occasionally capricious and whimsical. Life often delights me.

I'm the oldest of six children. Being the oldest is a challenge; your parents, being new to parenting, try out all their child-rearing theories on you, and when you're the oldest daughter in a large family it means you're often forced into the role of Junior Mom. While my parents did the best they could and were stellar in so many ways, they also made a few mistakes, as all parents do.

I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and it's helped make sense of a lot of things I dealt with constantly growing up. ("Intelligent but not working to her full potential" on every single report card? Check.) A few years ago I discovered bullet journals and they've revolutionized my life. I've often described my executive-function-deficient ideas and thought processes as a grand stage production with plenty of talented actors -- and no director. Bullet journals and other workarounds help create a "director" of sorts, so I can get my ideas sorted, remember what I've done and keep track of what I still need to do. I've seen some amazing bullet journals that are miniature works of art and while I greatly admire them, my own bullet journal is pretty spartan. Embellishing my BuJo would be too much of a distraction for my already highly distractible brain. Some things need to be kept simple if I'm going to stick with them.

Speaking of distractions, I enjoy several crafts, although I've had to prune back some interests because I'm a dilettante (discover a craft, get obsessive about it for a while, move on to the next thing). Crafts that I've stuck with for many years include knitting and crocheting, the occasional cross-stitch or blackwork project, calligraphy, origami, handmade cards (often with found images or collage elements) and patchwork. I can sew clothes, but prefer not to -- which is kind of funny, because my niece (I've raised her since she was 10 and think of her as a daughter) loves clothing construction and went into costuming and tailoring as a profession.

I also cook and bake, but that isn't so much a craft as a basic life skill. (You need to eat every day, so you might as well learn to make food to your own liking, ne?) My extended family is Swedish and Dutch, so I grew up cooking and baking a lot of recipes from Scandinavia and the Low Countries, but I've branched out. Just recently I've been watching "Midnight Diner" on Netflix and making dishes from the show. (Mmmm, tonjiru.) I like most Japanese home cooking, as well as Korean, Indian and Thai food. Ethnic grocery stores are one of my personal joys.

I write. A lot. Does it show? :) In addition to writing fiction and personal essays and such, I also enjoy writing letters and postcards. It keeps my penmanship in good condition, plus it's fun to send snail mail. I've had a few pen pals over the years and I occasionally send postcards to friends out of the blue. (Yes, I am on Postcrossing.) I'm a word nerd who's fascinated by etymology and the history of common phrases.

I also read a lot. It goes with the territory. Growing up I read all the fantasy I could get my hands on, a lot of classic literature and short stories, and the occasional science fiction. My interest in SF further blossomed when I met a boyishly cute guy who started lending me paperbacks from his collection. We were married in September 1993 and have been reading to each other ever since. In the last decade or so, I've been drawn to more nonfiction -- biographies, personal essays, and creatively written histories like "The Professor and the Madman" and "The Disappearing Spoon." The last book I read that deeply affected me was "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner. Not only is it beautifully written, but it presents an honest portrayal of the emotional minefield of grief associated with the death of a parent. My mom died suddenly in August 2020 and I'm still processing that, and this was the right book at the right time.

If you'd really like to know more about me, there's a lot to be learned from my blog, Confessions of a Laundry Faerie. But for those who just want a quick rundown, here you go:

Things I love

• Locally produced chocolate (please don't send a lot, since as a Type 2 diabetic I have to be very careful how much I eat). The darker the better.
• Beautiful papers (chiyogami, handmade papers, etc.)
• Sock yarn in beautiful colors.
• Postcard books. I love Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Alfons Mucha, William Morris, and similar design styles. I also love Asian art and anything by Michelangelo.
• Fun stuff from any of my fandoms: Harry Potter (I'm a Ravenclaw), Firefly, Studio Ghibli animated films, Tomm Moore animated films, The Pirates of Penzance.
• Something unique from your part of the world.

Please don't send

• Anything featuring alcohol, tobacco, coffee, or black/green/white tea (though herbal-only tisanes are much loved and greatly encouraged).
• No offensive materials, please. (In other words, no porn, profanity, or gore.)
• No politics. Please, just don't.
• Any high-carb edibles. Low blood sugar equals a longer and healthier life for diabetics, and I plan on living a long time!

NOTE: I don't join lots of swaps, so I can concentrate on properly fulfilling the ones I do join. If I show up as your swap partner and you haven't yet received anything from me, PLEASE CONTACT ME and I'll do what I can to make it right. The USPS hasn't been highly reliable in the last few years and sometimes items go missing. If a swap has gone astray in the mail, I'll double-check your address and send a replacement, via some other mail/parcel carrier if necessary.