Reading, gardening, hiking, and listening to music are preferred pastimes. I've enjoyed sci fi authors Lois McMaster Bujold & Mercedes Lackey. Other favorite writers incluede Willa Cather, J.D. Salinger, & Sue Monk Kidd. Lately I read more non fiction than fiction, especially Ezra Bayda, Pema Chodron, Joko Beck, Stephen Levine, Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, etc. Some of my favorite poems are written by Mary Oliver, William Wordsworth, Dante & Robert Frost.
Recently, Bill Moyers interviewed Pema Chodron on PBS. (The full interview is online.)
I like to learn new things and challenge myself. I've been a karate student since 2000. I began with my daughter through Santee Parks and Recreation, then transferred to Traditional American Karate dojo in Santee. Persistence pays off, and I passed the dreaded black belt test in July, 2006.
Summer 2006 we had a glorious trip to Europe. England, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France in 18 days. Kind of a crazy whirlwind tour, but a great way to explore Europe for the first time. We hope to go back some day.
In summer 2004, our family toured Kauai. Wow - gorgeous! We
enjoyed snorkeling, boat trips, hikes, & drives, but I think our
favorite day was an adventure
tour with Outfitters Kauai.
Later in the summer of 2004 Jeff & I visited Sequoia National Park & Morro Bay while Katie was at camp. The hilight of the trip for me was a spectacular hike to Heather Lake, but we also had a great bike ride at Montana De Oro State Park near Morro Bay.
When I was a Girl Scout leader one of our
favorite activities was surfing, but we
also went rock climbing and camping and attended the Nutcracker ballet. 
We
made dinner for Ronald McDonald House too.
What would I do without music?? I own just about everything ever done by Pat Metheney and Nanci Griffith. Here are other favorites:
- folk (Nanci Griffith, Gillian Welch)
- jazz (Pat Metheney)
- new age (Loreena McKennitt, Acoustic Alchemy, Patrick O'Hearn, Alex De Grassi)
- country (Steve Earle, Dixie Chicks)
- pop (James Taylor, Amy Grant, Paul Simon, Sting, Shawn Colvin)
- bluegrass (Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss)
- rock/folk (U2, Rolling Stones, Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, Moody Blues, CCR, CSNY, Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Supertramp, Sheryl Crow)
- R & B (Aretha Franklin, Staple Singers)
- classical (Debussy, Rachmaninoff).
I like all kinds of music & have been going nuts with iTunes for a few years. New discoveries include Wilco, Hem, Nick Drake, Badly Drawn Boy, Amos Lee, Ben Harper, and more. And Pocasts! Audio Dharma, Zencast, NPR World Cafe, and more.
