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My name is Cynthia.

I'm 53 and my kids are:
A (girl): 17
J (boy): 14
My husband is 55 in case anyone cared about HIS age.

I love to bake and cook. So I'd happily receive recipes that you love to make. And, I much prefer my recipes on 8.5x11" paper as I keep a recipe binder.

I am a former farm girl who now lives in the city. But, I am still an outdoor/country girl at heart. I love to garden and can as many pickles and vegetables as I'm able. (Summer of 2021 I canned 151 jars so far. 18 different recipes. And I still have a few more to go as some tomatoes are still ripening.) We are an AVID tenting family and are proud of it.

I am not very crafty but that doesn't mean I don't LOVE to get your homemade gifts. As well, I am comPLETELY fine with second-hand stuff (as long as it's in good condition).

I LOVE one on one swaps so if you see anything that piques your interest please message me. Frankly, one one one swaps and larger package swaps are my favourite and I'm often looking for people to do them with.

PLEASE don't send me stickers or random sheets for scrapbooking or ephemara. I've been getting so many in my swaps lately and I have absolutely no use for them. If you want to put in a little extra (and I get that) I'd MUCH rather receive a bookmark or a teabag (preferably black or rooibos or mint. I don't drink fruity tea) or a unique playing card.

I love music. Much of my life is connected with a song. I often think one day I should put together a soundtrack of my life. I lean towards lyric-based folk music.
- Jann Arden
- the waifs
- Sara Groves
- Brandi Carlile
- Josh Ritter
- Jeremy Fisher
- Ryan Adams
- Indigo Girls

• Memento
• The Princess Bride
• Fight Club
• Se7en
• American Beauty
• Sliding Doors
• The Usual Suspects
• Amelie
• The Station Agent
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Before Sunrise
• Before Sunset
• Finding Neverland
• Garden State
• Jojo Rabbit
• Parasite

And also, things that I've loved from other countries that I'd love to receive again:

Kex choklad

New Energy Cashew and Hazelnut

Lotte Salted Caramels

Milka Choco Break mit Haferflocken

Ice cubes Gum - wintergreen flavour

Boston Baked Beans

Cow Tales Caramel

Toms Guld Barre

Toms Mini Saltkaramel

Anthon Berg Mini Marzipan Bars

Kanjers Original Stroopwafels

Manners wafers

Fazer Kismet chocolate wafer

Milk candy

Manners Winter edition wafers

OLW Smash! bags

Nidar God Paske

But, honestly, I just love candy and chocolate. Salted caramel, marshmallow, lemon, coconut and chocolate, nuts and chocolate, tart candies...

• Photography
• Cooking

• Colored Sharpie markers
• Dip mixes
• Map or globe items
• Typography and ampersand art
• Bath salts
• Bath bombs
• Notecards
• Block notepads
• Adult sticker books
• Writing paper
• Wine
• Silver jewelry
• Coconut
• Shot glasses
• Wine stoppers
• Reusable shopping bags / totes
• Indian food
• Thai food
• Tea (mint, rooibos, Earl Grey, English Breakfast. I do NOT like fruity tea.)
• Wrapping paper
• Potato chips
• Bubblegum
• Herbs
• Caramel
• Cooking magazines
• Cookie cutters
• Daisies
• Going to garage sales
• Food Network
• Lemon candy
• Traveling
• Bright post-it notes
• Mini glass magnets
• Musicals
• Gardening (I would be delighted to get seeds.)
• Cooking
• Canning (if you can, I would love a recipe of your favourite thing to can.)
• Chocolate
• Marshmallow candy
• Sarcasm. I loooove me some good sarcasm. You send me an Anne Taintor (or similar) magnet and I will automatically give you a heart.

• Goth
• Kawaii
• Gold jewelry
• Jelly bellies
• White chocolate
• Fruit tea
• Black licorice
• Amaretto flavor
• Lotions (Not that I don't like them but I'm quite sensitive to smells so I can't use most.)
• Chocolate and fruit combinations. (ie. I don't like pear, orange or raspberry flavored chocolate.)
• I don't do much in the way of paper crafting. I've gotten a lot of scrapbooking supplies through swapbot through the years (extras in a swap) and they're kind of wasted on me so PLEASE don't send any. I also have no real need for stickers now that my kids are older and again... I don't do paper crafts.

I am an AVID reader. Here are some recent reads that I have given a 4 or 5 star rating on Goodreads (in other words, I liked them):
- Dusk, Night Dawn by Anne Lamott
- The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
- Long Bright River by Liz Moore
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
- Know My Name by Chanel Miller

If you've read any of the above AND enjoyed them, I would be happy to receive a note of books that you've loved and recommend.

My family and I have been hosting high school students from around the world for 13 years now. So far we've hosted 20 students from the following countries:
- Hong Kong
- Thailand
- South Korea
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- China
- Colombia
- Brazil
- Vietnam
- Germany
- Spain

Some haven't been good fits for our family but by far the majority have been great kids that we've enjoyed having live with us. Currently (2021) is Ana from Brazil.