monsbrick

Hi, every now and then I rewrite my whole profile. Today is one of those days.

Handmade anything.

Postcards: handmade, collage, tourist, art, any upcycled or reused or reformed "art", illustrated, inspirational, humor, photography, and feel free to send anything, I will appreciate all you send to me.

Lately I've been experimenting with big postcards. Chatting with my post office, I can send bigger postcards then I had originally understood and that notion inspires me!

Tell me who is your favorite artist or inspiring person and tell me how or why they inspire you!

Thank you for all the die cut creations since it’s one craft I don't do.

Dabbling in drawing, doodling, some variation of zentangles, watercolor, gel plate printing, stamping, collage, acrylics, sewing, painting, coloring, knitting, and other fiber arts...

Penpal writing and journal writing are some of my favorite pastimes.

Here are some of the YouTube people I subscribe to: Maremi Smallarts, Nik the Booksmith, Mystele, Ana Bondu, Susanne Rose Art, The Paper Outpost, Creationsceecee, My Arty Heart, Lisa Oxley, Joie de fi, Gel Press, and Gelli Arts.

I love all kinds of music. Right now I've been listening to a lot of Nils Frahm, but I can go through all the genres and enjoy them. I also listen to Soundcloud, electronic music.

Here are a few of my favorite authors: Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Jon Steele, Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro, Francesca Lia Block, Paul Theroux, Oliver Sacks, Anne Rice, Jeffrey Toobin, Angela Duckworth, Malcolm Gladwell, Neil Gaiman, Anáis Nin, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Marguerite Duras, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau Stephen Dubner, Steve Levitt, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Lon Milo Duquette, Danielle Steel, George R.R. Martin, Haruki Murakami, Erin Morgenstern, Robert B. Parker, Edgar Allen Poe, JD Salinger

I'm a big fan of Little Free Libraries and we have over 66 i my town that I've listed that I patronize or visit just here in my town! There are even more when you count Berkeley or San Francisco which are about 20-30 minutes away so not far for me. It's like treasure hunting! They are each like treasure chests and I love to add my extra books to the flow of books, maps, magazines, even stationery or videos.

I do love poetry. Go to a poetry reading. If you come to San Francisco go to a poetry reading here at City Lights bookstore. It is a mecca. Write your own poetry. It's good for you.

Here at Swap-Bot I've joint the TBR (To Be Read Group). Being a part of the group and participating in the monthly group swaps helps me to stay focused on my reading list. I pick up books everywhere and I was chaotic and random before. Now, I'm more methodical and the group doesn't require that we read a certain amount but I do set my own reading goals. We share how we are doing each month against our goal or goals.

We watch Vikings, Game of Thrones, Ray Donovan, Make It Artsy, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home show, America's Test Kitchen, Mr. Robot, Barefoot Contessa, Queen of the South, Counterpart, Rook, Fixer Upper, various animal, space, and science shows, and the news.

I record Bloomberg Technology shows such as David Rubenstein, Businessweek, ETF IQ, I don’t know what ETFs are but I’m trying to learn. I geek out on this stuff.

Then I also watch Z Living TV like yoga shoes back to pack and oh man Vice TV! Shows like Suppertime! That guy is crazy.

News, I watch oodles of news I like to sweep across all the channels including international and business and weather news. I like to watch conservative and liberal and everything in the world. I like watching other country’s news to see other perspectives.

Podcasts are another favorite for me. I listen to Freakonomics from public radio in NY. And Terry Gross' Fresh Air from Public Radio too.

Oh yeah, one of my all time favorite books is by JD Salinger, it's a short story called "Franny & Zooey" where Franny starts mouthing and chanting and praying ceaselessly. I get her. Even though I don't think I could explain or teach it to anyone else.

Mostly now, I Swim and Walk my dog daily. With bits of yoga tossed in.

Send me any tea! I drink tea every afternoon and evening. Black tea, white tea, tisanes, herb teas. My favorites are David's Teas which are loose and I prefer his berry flavored teas. I love mint teas. I make teas from the herbs in my garden.

Crystals & Rocks & Precious Metals: I used to think hippies were crazy for being into these things. I didn't get it. I still do not really understand the metaphysical aspects but I just love crystals and rocks and metals. I haven't tried making them into elixirs though I suppose that is next. I cannot believe how much money stores charge for these crystal infused waters. Rock crystal or clear crystal, rose quartz, are a few for the bath sprinkled with rose buds fresh or dried and rose hips. Yumm mm

Artist Trading Cards or ATC and other arts and crafts creations. Recently I started really trading artist cards and that is super fun. I'm enjoying swapping these cards, other peoples' beautiful, fantastic, creations!