CURRENT MISSION

To get out of the house more.

ABOUT ME

Shy but friendly. Awkward but game. Skeptical but idealistic. Pretty ordinary but kind of weird.

Polite. Competent. Thrifty. Food-motivated. Reliable. Bookish.

Good with kids. Good with pets. Good with punctuation. Good with organizing things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Not a tremendous amount, because I don't travel extensively, and not many people come to Macomb, Illinois. We've had a few guests, though, and they've been a pleasure. Besides, this isn't about keeping score, is it?

Interests

Besides books? That's covered below, so...

Children: I don't have kids, but part of deciding not to have my own was choosing to make a life that has children in it. So I babysit. Because, really, given the choice between writing peer-reviewed library science journal articles and building Lego houses, it's no contest, is it?

Animals: I've had dogs and cats all my adult life, and I'm a sucker for any animal with "special needs." Current count is one aging pit bull mix and two cats.

Houses: Not decorating, or even architecture, per se. I'm just fascinated by the spaces that people live in, and how the space affects the way they live (and vice versa.) One of my hobbies is collecting floor plans. I dream of one day living in a space that was not designed to be a house (a church, a barn, a hair salon, etc.) And I actually kind of like moving.

Well, okay, sort of back to books: I co-chair the local public library book sale fundraisers, and I absolutely adore it. (And not just because sometimes I bring home books and read them between sales.) We sort, price, and box donations, and haul them out for two big sales and several small ones each year. It's a massive organizational puzzle, and strangely addictive. It's also taught me to be pretty unsentimental about tossing them into the recycling bin.

• animals
• pets
• cats
• dogs
• writing
• books
• architecture
• dining
• breakfast
• drinking
• traveling

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I'm not the most musically literate person, but I have driven ridiculously long distances to see Frank Turner, Skinny Lister, and Beans on Toast (together and separately.)

Movies: I haven't seen a movie in years. I have nothing against them on principle, but I find that they take time away from reading.

Books: Now we're getting somewhere. Let's sub-categorize.
*Children's Books: especially middle-grades fantasy series and historical novels about plucky orphans
*Cookbooks: vegetarian and historical cookbooks, and vintage pamphlets that came with early electric appliances
*Social Science: social history and pop sociology
*Books About Stuff: organizing, repurposing, simplicity
*Authors I Will Read Across All Genres (and I have been known to read books just because they provided an introduction, or a blurb on the dust jacket): Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, Bill Bryson, Terry Pratchett

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've spent the COVID year as a full-time babysitter for a two-family "bubble," homeschooling two kindergarteners and herding four 2-year-olds (one family has triplets.) Every day is a new adventure.

Teach, Learn, Share

What I'd like to learn is simply what daily life is like for you. I'm interested in the things we all take for granted that turn out to be completely alien to people in other places (often within the same country.)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Breakfast and/or dinner and/or drinks

A tendency to tidy up that keeps my stuff out of your way as much as possible

Conversation, idle or serious (your choice)

My deepest appreciation and gratitude for opening your home to a total, albeit harmless, stranger

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, England, Germany, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States