frontiermidwife

First, let me apologize to the entire world about the person now living in the White House. He does not speak for most Americans. I never know whom he is going to offend next, but it looks like he is aiming for everyone. I do not support his views in any way.

I just moved back to my hometown in the midwest from the western mountains. Rockford is about 90 miles west of Chicago.

I practice in the Zen Buddhist tradition & have a Buddhist name, "Doshin" or "Way of the Heart." I try to live by the words of HH the Dali Lama: Be happy, be kind.

I adopted my sweet kitty, Smokey Rose, from the famous animal sanctuary, Best Friends in Kanab Utah. She was severely mistreated when a kitten & had many surgeries. Now she is doing fine. You may have seen a TV show about Best Friends called "Dogtown". It's a wonderful place in a beautiful setting just outside Zion National Park. If you go to Las Vegas, consider a side trip to Kanab one day.

I'm retired professor of nursing & midwifery. Now I am a professor emerita, still very connected to the University of Utah.

I have lived in many places in the US. I am a US Navy veteran. Now it seems like a good time in my life to go home. I have family and friends there, and I plan to be happy and active fixing up my new house and becoming active in my community.

I'm committed to living a "green" & simple lifestyle. I live a retirement full of friends, fun, learning, volunteering & some travel. I care a lot about the state of the environment especially climate change and about animal welfare.

In Rockford I plan to volunteer at several public gardens, especially the wonderful Anderson Japanese Gardens. If you travel to Chicago, it's worth the trip to come out to Rockford for a day to visit our gardens.

I LOVE to knit, & I weave & spin yarn. I wear handknit wooly socks with sandals. I'm retired after all.

I work every year at the Sundance Film Festival & do horticulture annually at the botanic garden in Utah, Red Butte Garden. I love autumn and jazz music. I do water exercise. I play the ukulele.

I am a Certified Life Cycle Celebrant. A celebrant writes & conducts personalized, secular ceremonies for people to mark any important life event. I do weddings, funerals, memorials, any kind of ceremony.

I love all things Japanese. I am a Japanese Taiko drummer. Traveling to Japan is real high on my to-do list.

I like art cards best, but any kind you have is just fine. Or maybe send a card that shows a beautiful bird from your home. I also like to have pictures of women reading/ writing or doing needlework like knitting or sewing.

To my friends in Finland, my sister lives in Turku, & I have traveled a lot there, although I don't speak Finnish. I've been to all the big cities & many small ones too. I haven't been are in the east, near the Russian border or in Karelia. I'm visiting again in May 2019.

I am very happy to meet you. I love making new friends. That's what Postcrossing is all about.