After being mostly an indoor person all my life, I spent the summer of 2007 designing new landscaping for my back and front yard and found I loved yard work and gardening far more than I thought. Every year since then has found me adding new perennial garden areas to my yard. Whenever possible, I spend some relaxing time on the little patio above that I designed and helped build.

WHEN I DECIDED THIS PAGE needed to be redone for 2008, I got to thinking about all the things I love or have a passionate interest in, and I surprised myself when I saw how long my list was getting to be. While many of us may complain about our lives at times, if we really sit down and make a list of all the things we care about, or love about our life, we might discover that we have been taking some pleasures in life for granted.

At right, you will find more about me than you probably care to know, but this is, after all, what makes me "ME." (The really nice thing about having my own Web site is that I can publish whatever I want on it, whether anyone reads it or not.)

Barbara's MP3 files related to her memoir, The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides. Download some or all of these FREE MP3 files for your listening enjoyment and sharing with friends. Includes book readings and a recording of one of Barbara's Book Club Chats.

Slices of Barbara Brabec's colorful and interesting life . . . Nostalgic memories from her lifetime collection of journals, articles, photo albums and scrapbooks.

Harry's Book Collection. Barbara explains why she decided to offer her husband's lifetime collection of books on the Amazon Marketplace.

Barbara's unique art/craft "memory projects," featuring personal photos and and nostalgic keepsakes. Years after Barbara created some of these projects for her own enjoyment, some were published in her "Making Memories" column for Crafts 'N Things magazine.

Barbara's Bengal Tiger Cross-Stitch Embroideries. See a picture here of the "tiger wall" in Barbara's office that took thousands of hours of time to finish.

Barbara's Christian Testimony and other Christian articles will now be found on Shawn Smith's Knight for Christ Ministry site. As Shawn's editor, Barbara now has an "Editor's Department" on this site, which features his books and a growing archive of articles. The article, "A New Soul for the Kingdom"—the story of how Shawn and Barbara met and the dramatic impact they’ve had on one another’s lives since then —will be an encouragement to every Christian who reads it. It proves beyond a doubt that God not only works in the lives of those who work for Him, but blesses their lives beyond all understanding.

  I love my cat, Charlee, who has made all the difference in my ability to be content as a widow. I also love dogs, wolves, Bengal tigers, polar bears, teddy bears, and the resident chipmunk in my back yard.

 Like Harry, I love carousels and circus wagons, old-time circuses, lion tamers, a parade of elephants in a circus ring, and calliope music.

 I love my work on the Web because it gives me something satisfying and meaningful to do every day, while also connecting me to both old and new friends around the world. I especially love knowing that I will never run out of things I want to write about. (And I hope I will never run out of readers, either.)

 After business hours, I love to cook and entertain friends or curl up with a good book or a movie that excites my senses, makes me cry, or gives me something to think about. I especially love the old Gene Kelly musicals and classic Westerns featuring the great stars who are long gone. (And how I treasure the personal note Jimmy Stewart sent me after I sent him a fan letter in his old age.)

I also love my digital camera. See some of my old "Photos of the Month" here.