September 14 update: my father found peace on September 3d, after a long week of battling for his soul to be released from his body. If you have been through this with a loved one, you know what it takes to travel this road. If you have this in your future, do not be afraid - just do your best. My dad found the faith to comfort us and left in the light of Love. Raymond Miles: May 6, 1920 -September 3, 2013. All is well.

April 22 update: the time has come for me to help my father Home to Heaven... Hospice services started in our house last week. he is actually reconciled to passing away, but not to the administrative intrusion and procedures involved! Dying by regs is no fun, and we are doing all we can to keep his dignity. Pray for us, and if you are blessed to have older folks in your lives, remember they are young inside and want to be treated the same way you would. My father's name is Raymond and he is very, very brave. I have been his daughter, his boss, his lawyer, and his caregiver - and now I must be his advocate against a system which would dehumanize him. Wish me strength and endurance to run this last race with him.

Please note: I have been told that there is someone (or more than one) from the Wishlist group to whom I failed to send a wish when I requested their name. I have no way of discovering who this is, but my reputation is very important to me, so if you would like me to send you something to make this right, please let me know!

I may pass this way but once. Therefore, if there is some good that I can do, let me do it now, for I may not pass this way again.

I am returning toSwap-bot after an absence of over a year, and I am streamlining my profile. I have become the caregiver of my 92 year old father. If you have done this, no explanation is needed. If you have not, no explanation is possible.

Married, 3 kids and 2 grandkids. Both daughters adopted, one with fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD and a sensory integrative disorder. "Homemade" son with Aspergers. All 3 in college, which means I live with miracles and am always doing laundry!

My break from Swap-bot coincided with the start of a series of hospitalization a for my dad; sadly, a family feud flared while he was in the hospital and my stepsister moved his wife out of their home; she has Alzheimer's and became convinced he abandoned her. Courtroom battles, pain a and $40,000 in fees later, he grieves but refuses to lay blame. I lost my 5.0 rating because partners had the right to rate for the late sends and one no-send while we clawed out of Hell. If I have ever failed to understand when life's challenges made you late, I am so sorry.

Please, friends, take the opportunity this year to let people know they are special. You don't have to apologize or admit you were wrong; make a loving gesture and give someone the chance to accept it. How I wish the gestures I am have tried to make would be accepted by people in our extended family -- my father's time grows short and he needs peace between the two families in his life.

Thought for the day: Life is too short to spend with people who suck all the happiness out of you.

I used to have a very different profile, but I have chosen to have one explaining why I swap. I took a break from swapping to think about swap-bot, and now hope I am a more thoughtful swapper. I got "burned out" when swappers posted things on their profile like "only send me Etsy quality items," or rated me a "1" because the swap was not wrapped in their favorite color tissue (not kidding!).

As someone who lives with a disability and chronic pain, I've had to evaluate my life and my abilities in new ways. Some days there isn't much energy, and I am learning my limits. I would like to be like Beth in Little Women, who made her gifts and gave them with joy because she still had the ability to give. So thank you, for whatever you give me, and thank you for giving me a way to share and be part of the larger world.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope I have not a single bit of talent left and I could say "I used everything you gave me." - Erma Bombeck.

I joined the site in January 2009.

My icon is a photo of our 'camp' in Vermont, where we escape from Florida's hot summers to pre-electricity paradise -- and where I hope to retire one day.

I promise to do my best to think of things which will brighten your day. And I promise to find something good in everyone. Rather than rate low, I'll always contact you to see what's up - I hope you'll do the same.

I enjoy the mysteries of PD James and Ellis Peters; biographies of all sorts; and collect old cook books (especially with historical recipes). And old children's books - the older the better, for both the beautiful language and the illustrations. Books on tape are a marvel for those long nights when I can't sleep.

To watch alone: Gone With the Wind To watch when I need a laugh: My Cousin Vinny. To watch with my family: To Kill A Mockingbird. And there is always something good coming out next week. Love silent movies too.

I like to work with stained glass; I have an embroidery machine which is presently collecting dust and just got the Singer 160 anniversary machine. I love to cook and imagine that I can garden on the days when I can walk a bit.

I love to recycle old glassware and beads to make new things. I am a thrift store junkie as a lifestyle - new isn't necessary much of the time.

I'm a veteran card maker but newer to scrapbooking. Love to make candles and hope to master cold process soap (not yet!). Getting better at jewelry.

Basically, I have Crafter's Focus Syndrome - can't pick just one.

Masterpiece Theatre; anything BBC or Python; Monk (who has Asperger's and OCD); Psych; NCIS; Law & Order SVU; cooking shows!

I have gotten some wonderful things from swappers: a lap quilt; handknitted washcloths; handmade books; books with handwritten recipes. If you give me the gift of your time I will love it.

Favorite color - all shades of green, and deep jewel tones in the colors of Fall.

Favorite animals (required for a few swaps) - loons: they have been here since the age of the dinosaurs; mate for life; return to the place where they were hatched for family reunions; and are not supposed to be able to fly but do so anyway hummingbirds - they eat all day and never gain weight; they inspired the design of the helicopter; they are proof that God cares for the tiniest of us.

Dislikes - not thrilled about modern art, and please keep kawaii for someone who adores it.

People I adore have told me I need a more "doable" list for things which can be sent. I had actually cut out most items, not wanting to appear avaricious, but that is not helpful when swappers want to put something in an envelope and send it along!

So here is a list to avoid annoying other swappers, with apologies for anyone who has already been annoyed:

Anything handmade; AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh; acorn tops (I felt the bottoms); antique notions.

Beads, especially glass, metal, or ceramic; anything Beatrix Potter; buttons; bud vases ( the tall skinny dollar kind)

Cards - plain ones I can use for crafting; cups and saucers; cocoa

Doilies, fabric or paper; denim pieces

Envelopes, made by you or otherwise

Felting stuff - wooly bits or felting ideas, and Flower Fairies; Formica chip samples

Glass prisms or anything which can go into stained glass projects, like little charms or odd earrings; graphic 45 anything

Hankies, new or old

Ink pads

Jewelry supplies and jeans or jean pockets

Kitchen gadgets, cookie e cutter, cupcake papers, and knobs from drawers and cabinets

Linens, like old table runners, torn or stained is still great

Magazines, older the better, especially old Women's Day Magazines (my son loves the funny menus from decades past); movie -themed items for him as well

Notions for sewing

Old just about anything

Patterns for new projects; purse parts

Queer bits of wood, quilt scraps

Recipes for breads, baked goods, and old cookbooks; rubber stamps, of course

Scrapbook layout ideas, but I do not need papers, thanks; scrabble tiles; sweaters to take apart

Tatted items - always wanted to learn this! Tea and teacups; tins

Useful things like return address labels and swap cards; umbrellas from the thrift store (five them to the homeless at intersections!)

Vintage objects and graphics from old books; vintage sheet music; vintage linens; vintage kitchen gadgets

Wood boxes: these are a guilty pleasure

X - for treasure, I suppose. Tiny things are treasures to me, but handmade things are the best treasures.

Yourself, shared in what you put into a swap.

Zoo items for my grandson and loves anything to do with animals.

... a cure for autism.

Please do not think these must be costly. Hardware stores have cool cabinet knobs (and I am addicted to those Formica samples for crafting!). Thrift stores have great old kids books, which I adore. And if it is best to send flat items, tea and cocoa are very welcome. If you send me anything handmade I will love it. Time is the biggest gift.

My son Stephen loves Tim Burton's films; Sherlock Holmes; small notebooks for writing his genius ideas; Monty Python; Fawlty Towers; the American Revolution (US History in general); Axe travel size products; gum and breath mints; and puns and good clean jokes and age appropriate music with clean lyrics. He is a college student with high grades and an altar server. He's also handsome, funny and a gourmet cook. Potential daughters in law should have a good supply of bad knock knock jokes.

My grandson Daniel, born December 2008, is also a subject of kid swaps. Daniel likes balls. Size 5T in a T shirt; loves to hug stuffed animals, and loves to hug me.

Granddaughter Hailey turned 1 in Feb. 2013. She loves puppets and anything that makes noise.

Life is wonderful; life with grandchildren is a preview of Paradise. Dickens said "It is no small thing that they, who are so fresh from God, love us."

... anything from a smoking home without warning me first! We are not zealots - our son has asthma. If your item is small, you can put it in a sealed plasatic bag and I can take if from there. If it won't fit in a bag, just PM me that a potential smoky item is coming and I will use my special magic to de-smokify it. I respect your free will, but still please try to quit - our kids lost a beloved grandfather to a prolonged, oxygen-dependent illness which was the legacy of smoking in his younger days- we all deserved more time with him. Let me konw you are trying and I'll pray without ceasing for you! ... dollar store items. I've probably already bought it! ... images clipped from magazines. I've got plenty! ... after May 1st it's impossible to send chocolate to Florida. When you send, I suggest you put the chocolate in a plastic bag just in case!

Stephen and I are collecting material for a web site to help preteens through adults understand how to be a friend to someone on the autism spectrum. The friends our son has made have been the miracles in his life, and made a difference we can't begin to describe. My web site will explain how an autism spectrum individual thinks and interprets the world, so it won't be so scary for people to try to be friends with someone with autism; to have them as a coworker; to be their college room mate. If you know someone on the autism spectrum (including Asperger's Syndrome), please send me a 'profile' of them, describing them, behaviors, and how they are both different and similar to a neurotypical person. No names are needed - I'm trying to include a wide range of personalities so every kind of person can be represented. Bless you for helping. If you know someone with autism or Asperger's, and reach out to them, believe me when I say that you are making a powerful difference. We know!

Bless you, today and always, just for being you!

Flaker is another word for crook. Shame, shame, shame! If you can't make a swap on time, no worries - a message would be the thing to do. If you have personal problems, like illness or family matters, I also understand and sympathize. I may need your understanding from time to time. However, if you join the site to look around, sign up for a bunch of swaps, and just drop out because you find something better to do, you are -- frankly -- a thief. Karma will out.

Please, if you host, at least help contact flakers or do something - even saying you are sorry helps!!

Lately a new challenge has arisen - swappers who are reluctant to resend when a parcel has not arrived. Folks, if resending is a money or time issue, let me know and it will be fine. But please, let me assure you that my life has enough stuff in it that I would not pretend I did not get your swap in order to get you to send yet more stuff my way.