Brand New Here: Joan's Intro and Survey FYI

Hey all!

Just thought I'd introduce myself since I'm new here.

I'm "Joan"or "joanesh" (as I'm variously known on-line), and I live in southeastern PA. I'm a wife (of 25 years) to my best friend (DH), mom to three terrific college-age kids, and "mom" to four Labrador retrievers (yes, four).

I'm also a full-time writer, author of 24 published books (non-fiction), and the 30-hour-per-week Senior Writer for a non-profit organization specializing in life coaching, life-skill development, and mental-health awareness and education.

I enjoy blogging (my most popular blog is LabTails, which captures the lessons I learned from living life with four Labs), and I found this exchange when one of you sweet gals (Jill) posted a comment at LabTails.

I'm delighted to be here and look forward to swapping with you! :o)

So here's my survey (I hope it helps!):

1. What genre of books do you enjoy most? (i.e. mystery, romance, horror, historical, biographies, autobiographies, fantasy, sci-fi, etc) I love (listed in no particular order) a good mystery, an average-person-readable (as opposed to technical) history of a fascinating event (I just finished books on the Great Influenza of 1918 and the Great Mississippi flood -- both of which kept me up late reading), and biographies. Those are the genres I read most. I also enjoy true stories of recent events (like accounts of hiking Mt. Everest, or Bill Bryson's Walk in the Woods about his adventures on the Appalachian Trail), especially anything related to the outdoors.

2. What sort of bookmarks do you like best? (long, short, lacy/elegant, fun/cute, corner, tasselled, etc) Gosh... anything handmade is fun (I really appreciate and value handwork; and I love to see what other people do), or anything "artsy" looking. Shorter in length works better for me since I read so many books at the same time, and long ones tend to get tangled with each other in my book stacks. Anything related to nature is a home-run for me. I'm definitely not a lacy/delicate gal, BUT I love cross-stitch and quilting, especially since I can't do either anymore.

3. What are your favorite colors? Green is my favorite color, but anything with earth tones (rich, deep greens, browns/tans), burgundies (not reds), teals, darker blues (navy) or autumn/harvest colors are just as enjoyable for me.

4. Are there any colors you don't like? purple, pink, red or anything pastel.

5. What sort of "theme'' would you like your bookmark to be? Surprise me! (but here are a few ideas to get you thinking: nature, anything outdoorsy, wildflowers, moose, wild birds, Labrador retrievers, coffee/tea, pottery, writing/reading/book-related, medieval castles, or quotes)

6. Are there any "themes'' that you wouldn't like?? Loud, obnoxious, rude, crass, violent, or offensive (but no one here would do that anyway), cooking or kitchen-related (I'm not a cook!), sports, sports teams, nascar (sorry, just not a fan).

7. Can you send internationally? Absolutely! No problemo. :o)

8. If your partner wants to send along extra goodies (like tea, candy, cocoa, etc), what do you enjoy? And is there anything you don't like/can't have?? I really enjoy a steaming cup of coffee or tea (love 'em both). I am prediabetic, so if sweets are included, they should be sugar free. I love chocolate and am allowed either dark (at least 60% cacao) or sugar free and can indulge a small piece every now and then. I also love almonds. :o)

9. What crafts are you going to use to make your bookmarks? Is there a particular craft type you would like to receive? (knitted bookmarks, plastic canvas, etc) I'll probably be beading or combining beading with macrame (using leather strands). Or, I'll be doing some creative things with photography and laminating the outcomes. :o) My hands just can't do needlework any more (and I work on a computer for my living, so I protect my hands as much as I can).

10. Do you have any allergies??? Perfumes (body fragrances only; candle scents are fine) and cigarette smoke.

11. Do you smoke, have cats/dogs, or anything that other members might be allergic to?? I live and work in a smoke-free environment. We do have one cat and four Labrador retrievers, but none of them hang out in or go near the room where I work.