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 I live in the American midwest, amongst the rolling wooded hills
and valleys of southwestern Wisconsin. It is a pretty area, and on a drive through the
countryside I can spot enough wildlife to keep things interesting: deer, hawks, wild
turkey, coyotes, owl, fox, great blue heron, and bald eagles. I even spotted a flock of
very lost seagulls once. They might have been on their way to the Mississippi River, which
forms the western border of our state. Since Wisconsin is one of the leading producers of
dairy products in the USA I also see a lot of Holstein cattle ("pinto cows", my
brother once joked), but there are also sheep, hogs and cropland. One ambitious farmer
near-by is also raising emus along with his draft horses and Shetland pony. There are a
lot of horses around, which is fine since I love equines of all types.
I particularly love Thoroughbred racehorses. I've been a member of the Thoroughbred Owners
and Breeders Association. One of my biggest thrills was patting Triple Crown champion
Secretariat. The legendary Man o'War has been a passion of mine since childhood. Two
online pedigree sites have used my information on Man o'War offspring and I
recently
created my own website on the famous racehorse.
 I've had three cats in my life, two of them currently. I don't have children, so
I'm counting the cats as my kids. They certainly act like siblings! Spatz and Minx may
bicker occasionally, but they are a joy. Their different personalities are fun and
fascinating to observe. Even my ailurophobic friends want to know the latest amusing
escapade.
Can you tell that I love animals?
 My interests are varied, centering around the arts and history. I enjoy drawing,
writing, photography, desktop publishing, traveling and playing around on the computer. I
collect Easter Eggs from different countries. These two on the right are from Mexico and
India.
Music of many forms give me
pleasure; classical, a capella, folk (Irish, American, English, etc. including madrigals,
spirituals, jigs, ballads, gospel, et al), classic and hard rock, British Invasion rock,
rhythm and blues, and new age twists to all of these.
My favorite painter is English
pre-impressionist JMW Turner, born in 1775. His paintings have a radiance, like a sunset.
The picture to your left is 'Rockets and Blue Lights', which graces one of my walls.
Camouflage artist Bev Doolittle
is another favorite. I never get tired of her intricate work and I'm always discovering
something new every time I look.
Types of books I enjoy reading
are biography, history, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, and the classics. I'm
captivated by well-illustrated children's books. There is a sizable collection of editions
of 'A Visit From St. Nicholas' (also known as 'The Night Before Christmas') on my
bookshelves.
I've done quite a bit of amateur
acting with various community theatre groups, both comedy and drama. Highlights include
Aunt Martha in 'Arsenic and Old Lace' and Mrs. Gibbs in 'Our Town'. I have played roles in
Wisconsin (including the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival), Iowa, and Illinois. I was a
member of the cast that won first place in the midwest regional American Association of
Community Theatre play competition with 'Who Said Life Was Fair?', written by friend Mike
Willis. This is a scene from John Pielmeier's 'Agnes of God'. I'm playing the Mother
Superior.
 I enjoy traveling. My
favorite trips so far were two trips to the UK, once with my friend Cindy, and then again
recently with two additional friends, Kevin and LeAnne. Between the two trips, I had an
absolutely wonderful time, touring London, making treks to Hampton Court, Bath, Salisbury,
Cornwall, Liverpool, to Paris via the chunnel, and swinging north through Scotland.
For a travelogue on my last trip, click on the link. There are a
number of pictures.
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A sample of my books!
Please check out the rest on 
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