1. What is your age range?

Mid-50s, but young for my age

2. Gender?

Girl-bear (but getting ever so much less bear-shaped as time goes by)

3. Do you have a favorite color?

Orange, tangerine, red, brown, warm and yellow greens (grass, lime, citron), salmon, black...

4. Favorite authors/type of book?

Music collections, old poetry, really top-notch fantasy and sci-fi, arts and crafts period art

5. What books have you really been wanting?

Something you want me to have

6. What type of music do you like?

English trad to folk-rock, June Tabor, Malicorne, Galician, maritime, baroque...I'm very eclectic. surprise me! Just lost all my music in a house fire, so I would be delighted with just about anything.

7. What CDs have you really been wanting?

Yours, or something you love

8. What movies have you been wanting? (specify VHS if you don't have a DVD player)

Ooh, just hit me that we lost all those too. Damn! Anything you like. My son and I both enjoy fantasy, so something in that genre at about the "young adult" maturity level is always a good bet. No pointless violence, please.

9. What is your t-shirt size?

XL but I don't wear them. Sweatshirts are a possibility, though.

10. Do you collect anything? if so, what?

Rocks or shells from your favorite shore or stream, leaves, stories, songs...

11. What are some of your other hobbies?

Drawing with pen and ink, water color, collage with beautiful rice paper, letter-writing, cooking with wonderful ingredients and spices...

12. Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry?

Silver, but I'm afraid it would have to be real because my skin is sensitive to metals.

13. Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your Secret Santa know what you would like...

Here are a few more hints:
--I like old things better than new; thrift store items are absolutely fine.
--I may have very limited space for the next few months or years, so small is good!
--I have almost no clothing that doesn't smell of fire. I can take care of my basic needs, but if you see some lovely and inexpensive accent piece that I might not buy for myself (a scarf, for example), you would probably bring me great pleasure.

14. Remember that "negative hints" such as allergies might also be helpful.

I dislike the color blue and am not especially partial to purple. Oh, and I don't eat chocolate.