My name is Maria. I am a happily-married mother of three.  Our son and eldest daughter have grown up into lovely adults that I am proud to call my friends. Our youngest daughter is a sweet, lively and entertaining eleven year old, whom we are home educating.

One of my missions in life is to have more fun.  For me, ‘more fun’ means time spent with family and friends, travelling, making art, crafting, reading, writing, photography, pottering in the garden, beach days, bush walks, and generally enjoying a simple life, appreciating all the little things that make life worthwhile.

We live in rural Waikato, New Zealand, with beautiful views of the nearby mountains.  Our house is an old farm cottage, seemingly in a constant state of renovation. We have a sheep named Katherine, chickens named Snowy Mavis, Freya, Quinn and Cuckoo and  Harry, a three-legged tabby, who is the coolest cat I have ever met.

I love to paint. I love to sing. Sometimes at the same time.

I have written one book, which I would like to publish one day.  It’s a children’s picture book about a seagull. I would like to write another.

I would love to learn to play the guitar and ride a horse….although not at the same time.

I yearn to own a camper van. I love travelling and visiting the Northern Lights is on my ‘list’. An old neighbour of ours in England once described me as a gypsy.  I did not take this as the insult that she meant it to be.

I have a phobia of mice and I am quite claustrophobic. These facts are unrelated, but to combine the two would make both situations even more unbearable.

I will never ride a rollercoaster or any other fairground attraction where I have to be spun around, turned upside down or  generally flung about.

I like variety in life, so I always have multiple crafty works-in-progress on the go. My husband likens me to a butterfly flitting from one thing to the next.

I consider my family and friends to be my greatest blessing in life.