Besides Gaelic language and song, which I love more than anything else, I like reading, writing, taking walks with Vonda, and spending time with and talking to my family and friends, among other things. I also collect porcelain dolls and especially love those by Pauline Bjoness-Jacobsen and Marie Osmond. I also love jewelry, particularly silver and gemstones. I like colors in general. If anyone is interested, I wrote a blog about the subject of color in January of 2007. Gaelic is the main focus of my life and I want to immerse myself in it completely, which is why I am so excited at the prospect of attending Sabhal Mor Ostaig. It was Gaelic song that drew me to the language and to Scotland itself. For those of you who have any interest whatsoever in Gaelic song or Scottish music in general, Fiona Mackenzie hosts a great radio show on Internet Radio called The Kitchen Ceilidh. It can be found at www.internetradio.co.uk/kitchen.html. She plays many lovely Gaelic songs as well as instrumentals and gives lots of useful information etc.
I'd like to meet anyone who is passionate about gaelic language and/or song or other Celtic music, or anyone who is interested in Scotland in general. I’d also like to meet people who share any of the interests listed on my page.
By now you will gather that I love Gaelic song more than any other type of music. My favorite singer is Fiona Mackenzie, and other favorites are Mairi MacInnes, Mary Ann Kennedy (who is also in the group Cliar, which is my favorite group), Maggie MacInnes, Julie Fowlis, Rachel Walker, Margaret Callan, Cathy-Ann MacPhee, and James Graham. There are many others, but these are some of my very favorites. My favorite instrument is the clarsach (Scottish harp), and I like other Celtic instruments such as the whistle, pipes, fiddle, and flute as well. I also like other types of Scottish and Celtic music. I enjoy other things as well such as classical, Christian, and world music. I have recently been introduced to some amazing Scandinavian and other world music artists such as Ranarim and Fribo. I have also rediscovered some groups that I heard several years ago, such as Muzsikas and Varttina. This is just a sample of all the great world music I enjoy!
I like all kinds of movies: comedy, romance, Disney (I feel no one can outgrow those!) etc. I like to watch Lifetime now and then. I may come back to this section and add more!
I have always loved the old shows, from the 50s through the 70s, starting with I Love Lucy, one of my favorites! Nick-At-Nite used to show a lot of them but they stopped ages ago. I used to watch many of them on TV Land but recently they have even taken many of my favorites away! I grew up with some of these, especially Mr. Ed, which I remember watching as a young child. I won't name them all since there are so many, but hopefully you get the idea!
I love historical fiction, romances, books about time travel, family life, fantasy/science fiction etc. I like lots of things and it's hard to put them all into categories! I also like nonfiction books on all types of subjects, particularly interesting ones about Scotland and other countries and those relating to pregnancy and birth in some way - in college in English I wrote lots of papers that had something to do with this subject in one form or another!
My greatest influence is my friend fiona Mackenzie. I hope that many of you will visit her page. Fiona was my first Gaelic song contact and is still my most important contact. She answers my frequent questions, gives advice, and often encourages me. Another great influence is Mary Ann Kennedy. I first met her in person in the summer of 2005 in North Carolina at the Gaelic Song and Language Week. She was what you might call my first "live" teacher, and I learned many songs from her and Mairi Sine Chaimbeul, the other teacher that year, and enjoyed it immensely. Fiona Mackenzie and Kenna Campbell were the teachers at the Gaelic Week in the summer of 2006, and I enjoyed that a good deal as well. It was wonderful to finally meet Fiona in person also, since we had been corresponding for about two years through email. All of these people I just mentioned are superb teachers! I am also greatly influenced by Mairi MacInnes, though I have had little personal contact with her. I have learned many things from my teachers at school as well. I'm sure I could think of many other influences in various parts of my life, but it would take ages to write so I will just stop here.