I'm in my mid-40's. I have been happily married for over 20 years. He's a Gemini; I'm a Pisces. He's an only child; I'm a first-born. Theoretically, it shouldn't work. But it does.

For my birthday in 2007, my husband gave me a gorgeous blue cat. She's the best cat I've ever had, and I love her. For that matter, he's the best husband I've ever had, and I love him too.

Ailurophile, oenophile, bibliophile -- that's me in a nutshell.

I'm bilingual (English-Spanish) and know a little bit of a few other languages. Y de yapa chamuyo lunfardo.

I'm a former academic who misses teaching & students but not departmental politics & administrators. I'm a philologist & geographer who has worked as an importer, tour guide, translator & interpreter, journalist, and historic preservation activist. Recently I've been a - gulp! - corporate wife, doing a lot of volunteering for charities & community projects.

Currently I'm an independent scholar researching the Jewish community in late-19th century Fort Scott. www.OurJewishPast.com

Making beaded jewelry and doing paper crafts & altered art are part hobby, part therapy.

Here you'll see photos of crafts I've made, art I collect, designs I like, the restoration of our old house, Victorian mansions in my new hometown, buildings in the downtown historic district, the local Jewish cemetery, gatherings of friends and of family. If I end up buying a slide scanner, I'll upload pictures from my many journeys.

I wish I had a nicer camera, a steadier hand, and a better eye.