Hello, and Thanks for your interest in me as a person, not just a buyer!  I'm from a small town in California named Angels Camp, located in Calaveras County.  If that doesn't mean anything to you, I would highly recommend you read Mark Twain's most famous short story, 'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County' which can be accessed on the web, (type  either that title, or 'Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee' into Google) or checked out from your local Library.  I'm so homesick!   Even though I've lived in Tacoma, Washington way over twice as long as I lived in Angels Camp, my heart is there, and I will always think of it as home.  I collect frogs because of this homesickness.  The Town is famous not only because of Mark Twain's story, but also for the 'Jumping Frog Jubilee' held there every third weekend in May. My collection has well over  seven Hundred frogs now, in just about every catagory but live!   Washington is also known as the 'Evergreen State'.  For the plantlife to continue  remaining green, we have many gray, cold, rainy days.  The frogs have brought a large amount of cheer and brightness to our home, making it a fun and happy invironment.  It's also helped the many visitors we have feel happy and welcome, not to mention fasinated looking at them.  I have a young neighbor who loves my collection, and a few times a month she brings a few different friends over to conduct a tour of all my frogs throughout the house, showing them not only the knick-knacks, but also what many of the stuffed animals can do, such as dancing and singing.  She's just too cute!   A perk of having such a large collection is many of my friends will pick up adorable frogs they find at garage sales, thrift stores, close-out sales, even souveniers from vacations they take.  I very seldom buy frogs anymore, unless I'm looking for something specific I want like a computer skin or shower curtain.  Friends and family keep a steady supply coming in!  I have a few absolute favorites, such as a Silver-Colored frog with 2 slices of Toast sticking up from it's back, named 'Toadster' (from the 'Fanciful Frogs' series), and a toilet seat lid, of all things, I've hanged on a wall with a large group of other frog-related bathroom accessories and pictures.  Of course there's many other pictures throughout the house, including a Diploma from 'Frog State University' which states I have an Honorary Degree as a 'Doctorate of Frogs' (found on eBay, of course).  The lid was painted for me by a dear friend who paints not only toilet seat lids but also many other types of surfaces.  Mine is a one-of -a-kind; a frog sitting on a lily pad trying to solve a Rubik's Cube!  The background is breath-taking.  It's signed, and I have his promise it's the only one he'll paint!

I have been married forever, and have 3 grown daughters I love and am very proud of. Two of them have produced 6 wonderful, apple-of-my-eye grandsons, (my youngest daughter wants her husband all to herself for some more years) and I now realize they are this Grandparent's reward for not killing their mother(s) in their teens! Another  plus is the wonderful men they married, and I'm now happy to say I finally have my sons! 

I have recently discovered I have some talent for silk plant and floral arrangements, and love to find baskets, vases, and unusual items such as plant holders made for baby showers, unusual water pitchers, whatever I stumble over, and create an arrangement that augments the beauty of the holder. It sometimes seem they have a life of their own, and I just helped them reach their potential! I am wide open for any suggestions and/or help on where to purchase nice quality silk plants and flowers, all colors and seasons, for the lowest prices possible; free is my all-time favorite!

After many, many years of struggles and disappointment's, I've finally developed a green thumb!  Only now, there's so many plants that have become so large, I cut them back often to keep some control over the jungle that's developed.  Rather than waste what I've trimmed, I stick the cuttings in water, where they grow roots, and have planted several different types together needing the same basic care.  Many of my friends are now proud owners of what I've dubbed 'Whatever Plants'.

Another new hobby I've picked up is hand-crocheting rag rugs.  they can be made from used sheets, curtains, tablecloths, or if you're specializing a rug for a loved one, special material(s) from the fabric stores.  they are absolutely beautiful!  I made a very special one for my sister, who loves the color blue, and when it was done, it was a good 5 feet in diameter!  As I finished it during a ten-day hospital stay for a crushed ankle, many people saw it.  I was even offered $200.00 for it!  Of course I turned it down; my sister is priceless to me.

I'm now permanently disabled, so the new hobbies mentioned above have helped me feel I'm still useful, able to do things that bring joy both to myself and others.  After years of hand-me-down PC's, for which I'm eternally grateful, I was able to buy a brand new Laptop I love!  It's been a real life-saver for me.  I've never had any formal training, so there's many things I still need to learn, but I'm satisfied with what I know now.  For several years I've been a member of Webshots, Which is what I feel to be the very best, and safest place to collect free and wonderful screen savers.  There's a huge section, Browse, with millions of pictures to select from by members who have uploaded thier artistic work into just about any catagory you can imagine.  They're referred to as albums, and many members have contributed many wonderful albums to explore; to pick and choose from.  I've always wanted to add something of my own to it, but never had the time.  Now I have plenty!  I tried photography, but am lousy at it, to my dismay.  There's a section named 'Jokes and Humor', so I'm working on an album chock full of clean jokes and cute pictures I've recieved from many emails, or things I've come across on different funny sites.  I have a style of doing this I haven't seen, and I've searched extensively in this category.  I'm having a lot of fun putting this together and should be done by the end of April.  I've recieved help from other members who specialize in creating Stationery or Backgrounds by giving me permission to use some of their creations, which have enhanced mine.  I'm very curious what others will think of it, as they can leave comments for you about any page, or the whole album for that matter.  All of these things combined has helped me to understand the saying "When life gives you lemons, make Lemonade'.  So, I try to always see the glass as half full, to be fine with working within my limitations. and feel as joyful now as I did before.

   I would love to hear from other Frog collectors, swap stories about our collections, and would Especially Love to hear from others who collect frogs for the same reason I do!   Any responses, though, from other collectors, flower arrangers, plant lovers, and sellers would be welcomed.

 Thanks, and Take Care!