About me, hmm...I am a giver. I like doing things that help animals, people and make the world a bit nicer.

My husband of almost 36 yrs and I tried unsuccessfully to have children. We failed dismally, lol. Back in the day, drs didn't know very much about endocrine disorders, not like they do now. I got up to 293 pounds. I have lost over 100+ pounds, finally got on some meds that balanced me. Anyway, our children became our Afghan Hounds and Arabian horses, then our nieces, now we're back to the animals cause they (the nieces, not horses, lol) grew up and moved to Belgium or got married!

I do so enjoying meeting people and hearing their stories. It makes the world a little smaller the more people you know. I think I am pretty open minded, not conservative thinking at all. Some of my fav internet sites are 'I F#%^*%#g Love Science,' 'Move On,' progressive thinking sites, although I will read some Republican sites to see what idiocies they've cooked up. I get a laugh, but it's scary, very scary, to see the US gov being bought and sold. I have multiple sclerosis, a non-contagious auto-immune disease so I take quite a few meds to keep me going!

Speaking of those wiley Afghan Hounds, our litter of puppies of which we kept three, have become lovable, loving clowns and quite the show dogs! Yep, animals vs gaming: live always wins.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I can't wait to meet new people! Besides, I am on a very tight budget this trip and many have recommended Couchsurfing as being safe and economical. That is another factor in joining couchsurfing. But we're looking forward to host people probably in 2017. We can't now because we are remodeling/rebuilding our 1890 farm house: we have couches but living in a construction zone isn't fun!

Interests

Afghan Hounds, Arabian horses, Oberhasli dairy goats, endangered species, Mother Earth, politics; equestrian, canine, feline and caprine events. Drawing, painting, sculpture, photography. Architecture! Art museums! Our nieces!

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• horses
• chickens
• arts
• architecture
• photography
• cooking
• beer
• bbq
• politics
• socializing
• painting
• drawing
• equestrian
• science
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Reading: historical fiction, biographies, how to books, the Classics (Shakespeare, Austens, Twain, Forrester, Dumas, etc).

I love music: Beatles, Led Zep, Robt Plant on his own, Lady Gaga, McLemore, Gershwin, Mancini, Stones, Howling Wolf, Chuck Berry (he lives about 30 min away), Jethro Tull; very eclectic!

Fav movies/directors: all of George Cukor's, Blake Edwards', Martin Ritt's, Tim Burton's and David Lean's movies. The Bourne movies, H Potter, too! Half of Scorsese's, all of Ron Howard's. Eclectic here as well.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was an Animal Control Officer decades ago, whilst patrolling, I came upon a trash truck with the driver at an odd position in back. I asked if he needed help. Anyway, I held a trash man up: he had gotten his glove caught on the crushing device. It laid his forearm open to the bone, his hand was on the other side. He was in shock, had lost blood and was passing out. If he had, he would have really bad. I started screaming for help. An elderly man came out of his house to see what was up. He called 911 (US emergency number). It seemed forever until we heard the sirens, at least 10 min. Then the paramedics took over. Then I went into shock, lol!

Teach, Learn, Share

A peaceful respite from over populated cities. We have a 25 acre farm outside of St Louis, Mo, with Arabian horse breeding stock, Afghan Hounds (what clowns), an Oberhasli dairy goat, chickens and barn cats.

Yet we are close to 6 Flags Over St Louis (an amusement n water park), Meramec Caverns and River rafting, and a 45 min drive into St Louis gets you to our wonderful Zoo (admission is free), Art Museum, the Arch, the mighty Mississippi River, Busch Farm (the home of the beer family and President Grant's cabin), the Missouri River, where the 2 rivers converge and the Illinois River comes in, the Cahokia Mounds left by Native Americans, casinos, St Charles the first capital of Missouri, Ferguson and lots of vineyards.

And I love to BBQ. We have fresh, free range, organic eggs from our hens daily. And in April, 2015, we will have fresh goat milk, butter and cheeses.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My knowledge of animals, grooming dogs (I groom occasionally), good conversation, help round the house/apt. I cook and can clean well.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States