Greetings! My user name is ChesPal. My first name is Debra. I am married to Wikipedia contributor Cullen328. My main interests at this time are food and craft-related. I consider myself to be an excellent amateur chef, and I have a cookbook collection which is probably close to 400 volumes. My "favorite cuisine" depends on the season and what is available at the market. My main influences in cooking are Jacques Pepin and the late Julia Child. I would truly love to meet Jacques (I can dream, can't I?). On the more active front, I love hiking and backpacking. I climbed to the summit of Mount Whitney in September 2009 for our 28th anniversary. Given the fact I have arthritis, I am very proud to say I reached the summit of the tallest peak in the lower 48 states. I work with my husband in a small family-owned business as the office manager (e.g. chief cook and bottle-washer). I honestly love what I do and have been very happy to learn that I have a natural aptitude for our business and enjoy interacting with customers. My favorite activity is to meet customers and then get the job. What I love most about bookkeeping is that the numbers are concrete figures and I enjoy the detailed work. We have our two adult sons. Our younger son is developmentally challenged. Our elder son is involved in our family business. He is also a talented musician and is part of a heavy-metal band. We also share our home with 1 cat and a Boston Terrier.
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Dexter, our Boston Terrier -
Sylvie
I've been a political activist, focusing mostly on rights of the disabled, for much of my life. I am severely hearing-impaired and have been very grateful for the huge advancements in technology over the past 30+ years. For the past several years I've been very active in our local politics, and in 2010 I volunteered many hours to campaigning on a grassroots level which I found to be most gratifying. I understand the NPOV related to Wikipedia and will strive to do my very best with fact-checking and providing a well-rounded perspective to the issue being discussed.
I love books and had quite a collection before I was married. I suppose my late mother being a teacher and then a librarian had something to do with this. It's pretty hard for my husband and I to pass by a bookstore, especially a used bookstore, without going in to browse. Browsing is fine, it's the buying that makes a difference, but we certainly get ideas for what we might like to purchase in the future. Antiquing is also a favorite hobby and we have covered much of Northern California browsing for antiques -- mostly old books and green pottery influenced by the style of the Arts and Crafts movement.
I am a native-born San Franciscan, and I have lived in the Bay Area all of my life, except for when I went to college. San Francisco is still my number 1 favorite city, closely followed by New York and Chicago. On the more local front, the Napa Valley, where I live, certainly caters to my love of fine food and wine.