~Halldancer's Hobbies & Passions~

I love my computer! and, i love what I can do with it. Lately, besides creating my web pages, I've been into creating graphics, like the image map that you clicked on to get to this page and the .bmp's found on my awards and banner exchange link page.

I also love keeping in touch with friends & family via email and you can find me "driving the bus" in the grateful dead forum on aol, chatting in the #deadheads channel on irc.dal.net, or hangin' out in #gdead on irc.dead.net.

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Camping

My '83 VW Westfalia Pop-up Vanogan makes camping fun & easy. It comes equipped with stove, refrigerater, sink with running water, various drums & instruments, & good tunes for going down the road.... Park next to a nice size bush & I've got it made! *wink*

This summer I'll be camping at some kind music festivals, on the shore, & in the Blue Ridge & Laurel Mountains. (see hippie happenin's).

Hand Drumming

Aside from dancing & twirling, I would have to say that hand drumming is one of my most favorite passions. I drum in a nearby park with a local drum circle in a round wooden building with incredible acoustics on a regular basis, and on the beach every chance I get. I also drum alone & with others for metaphysical & spiritual pursuits. And, I drum anywhere, anytime, on just about anything.

One of my favorite drums is made of clay that was turned on a wheel by my best friend Carolyn, aka 'Elemblu', (pictured at left), who then "tiedyes" the heads and fastens them on with hemp. The result is an awesome sounding drum!


I also collect drums & various percussion instruments that I use to spice up our circles.
(see link below)

Twirling

Ever since I was a little girl,
I have loved to twirl & twirl!
Round & Round & Round I would go,
My family called me "Twinkle Toe".

Years later, at a Grateful Dead show,
I saw lots of hippies spinnin' to and fro.
OH MY I thought, I can do that too!
Just gimme a chance to take off these shoes.

So round and round and round I twirled,
As my dress & tresses also turned and whirled.
Who needs smoke, liquor, and 'cid?
I took my journey spinnin', and got high I did!

© halldancer~
4-3-99


A friend snapped this pic of me in mid-twirl on a VERY hot day in the pocono mountains at the gathering on the mountain festival... with hair shoved up in my hat and sunglasses on...I was in never, never land :)

Critters

I am lovingly owned
by two kitties,
Candlewick & Stellablu;
and I'm Mama to Murphy,
an irish border collie.

*10/23/99 update: My beloved Stellablu is missing. My heart is hurtin' and I pray she returns safely home soon. Since then, I have rescued 2 kittens from the local animal nazi's and have dubbed them 'Jerri' and 'Hookah'.


I also like to use my binoculars to get a better look at the really cool birds & critters that live in my backyard, which has a little lake & a wooded area that I view from either my bedroom windows or my patio doors that go out onto my balcony with the lake below it.

We have flocks of Geese & Ducks.
The albino mallard duck recently had 7 ducklings, and one pair of Canadian Geese had 4 goslings.


In the dawn & dusk hours of the day, I often see "Kramer", a Great Blue Heron (left) wading around & catching fishes from the lake. Named Kramer the Crane by me because I thought he was a crane & later learned his true identity, he is over 4 feet tall with a 6 foot wing span.

With the arrival of spring, I've also noticed the return of a pair of green heron (right) and one of their offspring. These waders are smaller, but have more colorful hues of blue-green with some red.

The most exciting bird in my yard to watch is the Belted Kingfisher. It perches or hovers over the water, then dramatically dives head first into the lake to catch a fish. After taking its prey to a tree limb, it beats it senseless before swallowing it head first. It's so fast that sometimes all I see is a big, sudden SPLASH! and then the kingfisher flys out of the water to a nearby tree.

In addition to these wonderful critters, our yard & lake is also home to a pair of otters, falcon & hawks, snakes, and numerous turtles. One turtle is over 2 1/2 feet long and I call him Grandpa Terrapin :)

Work

Well, if you're still with me here after all that... another one of my passions is my work.

On any given day, I am a social worker & counselor, a team leader in charge, a teacher, a problem-solver & trouble-shooter, an emergency worker, a housekeeper, a waitress, a committee member, a miracle worker, a peacemaker, and a healer of mind, body, and spirit.

That's what I do as a

Registered Nurse

I work full time in a local hospital on a cardiac and respiratory telemetry unit, where our patients are on heart moniters. I am ACLS certified (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), and I plan to obtain my CCRN certification in the near future.

I am a member of the National League for Nurses & the American Nurses Association & a Red Cross Volunteer.

Collections

Some of my collections started accidently. Like the first several bootleg tapes I got from taper friends, which mushroomed into a collection I'm fairly proud of today.

To see what I like to collect...

Perhaps we can set up a tape trade... or you might be interested in my percussion instrument collection.

Metaphysical & Spiritual Pursuits

I am a student and practitioner of an ancient, pre-Christian religion which focuses on the powers of the Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water elements and the powers of the Lunar, Solar, & Planetary Systems.

The symbols above represent the planet Venus (top), the Moon (left), the Sun (right), and the points of the Pentagram represent the Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, & the Spirit of Self.

For a better representation of this, click here.

Well kids, that's about it for now. I have many more passions and interests that I'll add later on. I hope you enjoyed your visit here.
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