I'm an artist, a labyrinth facilitator, meditative / contemplative art teacher and a web designer from Vermont, USA, where I live with my partner, two cats and a retired greyhound.
I'm a Quaker, I love folk and fiddle music, international films and meeting people from diverse cultures and places. I'm a lapsed fiddle learner and love Quebecois, Cape Breton and Scottish tunes in particular.

I LOVE languages... years ago I studied Russian, Spanish, German and a few others, though my Russian and Spanish fluency is long gone. I'm currently learning Irish with a local and enthusiastic group of folks in Brattleboro, VT and hope to also learn some Scottish Gaelic.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I first heard about CS a few years ago from a member/friend. I love the concept, and have always preferred to stay in people's homes when traveling rather than places built for tourists. I like getting to know the locals where I visit, it makes travel so much richer.
We also like to host visitors here in Vermont when our schedules allow, assuming they're ok with a female couple and animal hair. :-)

Interests

Pets, People, Traveling, many art pursuits: sketching/drawing, Celtic art and knotwork, Zentangle, watercolor, art journaling, bookmaking, weaving/spinning, knitting, jewelry making.
Hiking/walking, folk music, folk festivals, fiddle music, ceilidhs, language learning, folk dancing, international and Bollywood films, supporting greyhound adoption, anything labyrinth related, spiritual pursuits, books, traveling, being near water or mountains.

• animals
• pets
• cats
• dogs
• arts
• books
• design
• sketching
• festivals
• dancing
• folk dancing
• cooking
• walking
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• knitting
• drawing
• music
• folk music
• opera
• hiking
• communications
• teaching
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• forests
• mindfulness
• quakers
• fiddle
• bollywood
• irish
• celtic culture
• celtic knotwork

Music, Movies, and Books

My musical tastes are constantly evolving, often involve alot of mixed folk music, French Canadian folk & fiddle music, Cape Breton fiddle music, Scottish folk music, acapella music, American traditional folk, Gypsy Jazz, plus a bit of funk, Motown and eclectic stuff : La Bottine Souriante, Le Vent du Nord, Mary Jane Lamond, Natalie McMaster, Alisdair Fraser, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, Manu Chao, Balkan Beat Box, Prince and a bit of James Brown. :-)

Books: interests range from fiction to non-fiction, travelogues, spiritual, some mysteries, pretty wide range. Currently reading alot of John O'Donohue.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Very hard to pick one - I've had a few adventures in this life so far:
- Raising the most awesome son in the world into adulthood is at the top,
- Hiking from the Myrdal station on the glacier down to the Aurland fjord in Norway and getting accosted by 100 goats (funny and beautiful!),
- Getting lost w a friend off a tour bus in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Russia and going to the Kirov Opera, then taking bus, train and hitching a ride in a bread truck in the dark till 6AM to find our way back to our housing.
- Walking in early morning hours from the north end of Iona to the village, and just being one with the landscape.
- Hiking on the Isle of Skye

Teach, Learn, Share

Drawing, art, crafts, language related, travel, cooking local dishes.
I love learning and sharing music and dance as well, though my fiddle playing is completely rusty.
I would LOVE to learn some songs in Gaelic and get to a ceilidh or two.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Knitting/spinning help,
Labyrinth building / walking /drawing
a private meditative drawing lesson,
Travel tips in New England USA, parts of Canada and a few other places.
Some of the beautiful hiking spots near where I live here in southeastern VT.
Dog, cat and pet help and spoiling happily given - I'm very good at clipping cat claws. :-)
I'm an easy and flexible guest and host.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, United States