MY PERSONAL PAGE

My name's Rosemary and I live in a small village near Carmarthen in South West Wales.
I have recently retired from working as an occupational therapist in the local hospital. I had become totally burnt out by the pressure of work. I had been in this line of work since 1988 - I was a librarian before that but had a sudden rush of blood to the head at the age of 40 and decided that I'd had enough of being a librarian - I wasn't doing anything or going anywhere and I saw a couple of my colleagues who were about my age having to retire on health grounds and I had no intention of being the next one to suffer that particular fate. However, 16 years later I've found myself retiring on health grounds which is ironic.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

I am definitely an embroidery addict, as anyone who knows me will confirm. I usually have several projects on the go at any one time and there are several, half-done but not forgotten, lurking in the depths of the drawer in the living room where I keep my embroidery materials. I enjoy designing my own patterns and seeing how the design in my head translates firstly to a chart and then to the linen.
I've recently taken up patchwork and quilting. It was one of the things I wanted to do when I retired - I've just started a couple of years early. I'm still very slow as I'm learning the basics but it's a fascinating craft.
I've also taken up swimming and aqua aerobics to keep me active physically. I did start running but injury put paid to that. I'm a very slow swimmer but I do enjoy it and aqua aerobics is a hoot!!
My other big passion is the Welsh language - my samplers are almost all in Welsh or, if they're adaptations, get adapted into Welsh. I feel that it's so important for us to maintain our heritage and not succumb to the Anglo-American culture which is all-pervasive these days. As a result, I'm a member of our local branch of Plaid Cymru - the Party of Wales, a long-standing member and currently press officer of our local branch of Merched y Wawr, a women's movement where all the business is carried on through the medium of Welsh, I attend a Welsh-speaking chapel and try to support as many cultural activities locally and nationally as I can. Last year I joined a new choir where most of our music is Welsh. I lurk happily in the nether regions of the second altos and thoroughly enjoy myself.
I've also started teaching Welsh to adult learners once a week. This is quite a challenge for me and for them as well but we manage to have some fun along the way.

JOYS AND SORROWS

I've had my share of these over the years. I grew up with disabled parents. My father was diagnosed with MS at the age of 40 and me only 18 months old. However, he managed to live a fairly full life up to the end - he died in 1986 at the age of 77 - and went abroad for the first time when he was in his 70s. My mother had mental health problems after having me and never really recovered. She contracted leukaemia when she was 66 and died in 1974 at the age of 69.

I lost my partner very suddenly at the end of 1993 from heart disease and it took me a very long time to recover from the shock of that. We'd waited a long time to meet each other- both of us were in our 40s - and we only had not quite 2 years together. Huw was very special and I still miss him. However, as a result of that tragedy I did meet people who became my friends then and are friends still and I was grateful for their support then and treasure their friendship now.

One thing that did keep me going through the darkest days was my faith - I knew that if no one else was around, God was with me and still is. I truly don't know how people who have no faith cope when tragedy and sorrow strike. I know I would have been in an even worse state than I was. I take my turn at playing the organ in chapel - I think sometimes that my choice of hymns is so predictable - love and the reassurance that faith brings - but then I think that if they say something to me perhaps they'll touch someone else too.

Since I've been using the Internet I have "met" many new friends though various groups. The main ones are Heart-N-Soul, a site competition which is much more, Coffee House Nuts, where being nutty is totally acceptable and the norm, and A Noble Needle, a group of stitching addicts. I have been fortunate enough to meet 3 members of A Noble Needle in real life and they are all wonderful people whose friendship I value very much.

Finally in the joys - silly as it may sound - I have to mention my budgies. The present crew are followers of several I've had over the years and watching them play and playing with them gives me great pleasure - something to do with unconditional love, I think. They've heard all sorts of tales of woe and tales of happiness as well and have responded with their usual raucous yells!!

I hope you know a little more about me now and enjoy your trip around my site in the light of that knowledge.