pianoheart

I play piano, guitar and ukulele. I recently began studying the violin. When I'm not playing music, I'm usually listening to music. My favorite music to listen to is instrumental folk music. I lead group music therapy and would like to swap for any musical instruments you may want to share with my adult group members.

For visual arts, I like watercolor painting, Chinese brush painting and sketching in blank unlined journals. I'm interested in making soap, handmade paper, artistic bookbinding and making/restoring ukulele. I love working with plants - growing them and pressing them for artwork and study. I make jewelry using seeds, nuts and flowers from Hawaiian plants and trees.

I welcome pen pals who want to share friendship. I love to travel and explore new places. I am always looking for interesting places to visit next. I would love to read about your own travel experiences rather than from a travel book. I am more interested in traveling and forming friendships than accumulating stuff. I would like to find some like-minded people.

I love to cook. I experiment with adapting recipes for use with local Hawaiian ingredients. I grow many kinds of tropical fruit and like to use them in recipes. I cook mostly vegetables, fruit and whole grains. I don't cook with dairy, eggs or meat. I have too many vegetarian cookbooks, so no need to send more to me.

My husband collects retired license plates from all over the world. They don't need to be old, just no longer on a vehicle. If you would like to add to his collection, please send me a message.

I collect amazon gift cards. These electronic gift codes count as profile-related items in profile-based swaps.

MEDIUM FLAT RATE BOX SWAP OPTIONS: Postage within the US for the medium flat rate box is currently $14.35. Instead of paying the postage and sending this filled box, my partner has the option of sending an Amazon gift code electronically for zero postage. I will rate a 5 plus a heart for my partners who send a $20 electronic Amazon gift code instead of mailing the box. I use Amazon to buy my textbooks for school. If you chose this option, please let me know in a message.

Some favorites:

• the color gray and the gray scale from black to white
• nice quality below-the ankle socks
• birds
• exercise: yoga, walking, hiking
• ethnic worry dolls and worry dolls made by you
• quartz crystal balls
• handmade essential oil soap
• sage, sweet grass, lavender, orange
• magnesium bath salts
• big tree forests
• international pen pals
• musical instruments

• friendship bracelets

  Things I Use:

  • Asian bamboo paint brushes

  • animation and foreign films with English subtitles on region 1 DVD or VCD... no anime or manga

  • packets of viable (not outdated) seeds to grow cacti, bamboo and palm trees...I'm always looking for swapping pen pals in warm climates to exchange seeds.

• mala and other prayer beads, milagros

• art supplies: watercolor paint, very fine-line brushes, fine-line art pens, medium and fine grit sandpaper, colored pencils, mechanical pencils and lead for them, wood glue

  • sashiko thread (white, off-white, dark green)

  • strings!...for ukulele, guitar, dulcimer, banjo, violin

• unused USA postage stamps

• sew-on patches, especially those related to the environment

• rubber beach flip-flops, like the kind at Old Navy for 2-3 dollars or ones from where you live, size women's US 8.

• 100% cotton T-shirts from environmental agencies where you live, size women's small

• solar powered anything...flashlights, battery chargers, etc.

• large sun hats with chin straps

• small cotton drawstring bags for adding cut herbs to bath water

• X-acto knives and blades for them

I would rather receive one thoughtfully chosen inspiration of my profile or amazon/etsy wish lists than a whole box of dollar store plastic things. I miss the point of mailing something that the recipient could easily get where she or he lives. My favorite things to receive are letters from people who want to be friends and share their art or craft with me.

I live in a non-smoking, pet-free home. My land is a sanctuary for birds and the trees that provide them with food and shelter. I love to watch them and listen to them. I don't feed birds because I want them to stay wild.

******** Things I Don't Need: *****************

• glitter, stamped images, things cut from magazines, book pages, post-it notes, ephemera, feathers - I only like feathers if they are attached to a live bird :), blank recipe cards, synthetic fiber cloth, tags, used postage stamps, coloring pages, coloring cards or coloring books

• I don't make scrapbooks. I don't use scrap paper, cardboard or quotes written on paper.

• earrings (I don't have anything pierced)

• Please don't send food or drink (unless required for a swap), candles, wax, crayons...these tend to melt, get weird in the tropical heat or the gecko living in my mailbox gets to them first.

• makeup and nail polish - I don't wear them.

• Animals I can live without: dogs, cats, pigs, rodents, cattle, primates

• I have more than enough tape - deco, washi and otherwise - If you would like to swap for some, please send me a message.

• If possible, please do not send things made of plastic, unless it is part of a musical instrument, gift card, art pen or disc (CD/DVD). It is difficult to remove plastic on an island. watch this to learn more