Herbalsheila

"As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself."

Logo for Star Trek Freedom

-Adelle Davis

"(Medicine is) a collection of uncertain prescriptions the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind." -Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821

Warmest Greetings and Salutations!

About Sheila

I am known on Star Trek: Freedom forum boards as herbalsheila, but of course my real name is Sheila. I am married to the most wonderful man in the world named Jim. I run and own a brick and mortar natural health store called Herb-n-Oils [[1]] here in St. Joseph, Missouri USA where I live with my husband and our three cats. Micelle is one of three cats, the others being a black female cat with golden eyes named Thomasina, and a larger, younger, long haired teenage kitten with boundless energy named Rascal. None of them go outside and so will live for a very long time.

I formulate, market and create handcrafted Hearth Crafts bar soap. I handspin and weave wool, flax, silk, cotton and various other fibers whenever I have the chance, which isn't as often as I'd like.

I am an hysterical/historical reenactor and I have been a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism [[2]] for a little over twenty years. My arms for the Society are pictured below. In the Society, I am known as Her Ladyship Gwennan nic Ailpein na Loch Shiel. I have also been part of the Civil War Missouri Irish Brigade Ladies Auxiliary [[3]] as a sutler, soapmaker and entertainer for about 3 years now.

I enjoy ballads, including madrigals, black gospel, rounds, and sacred choral music. I have sung for many years in church choirs as a soprano and second soprano and lately as a tenor. I love music from the eighties and early nineties and I have a soft spot for a lot of music from the fifties and sixties that came out of Motown. I love all different types of folk and ethnic music, but my favorite genre has to be Celtic, both historical and modern. I am still arguing in English and not Gaelic with 'Bheag an Bheag', an online tutorial series published on the internet to teach Gaelic.

I want to learn how to play my mint condition mandolin that I purchased for $50.00 at a garage sale, but since I have no teacher, I purchased a teaching DVD and some beginning music. In only two days, not only were my fingertips on my left hand very sore but I can play a G scale with some confidence. I am going through a lot of bandaids.

I keep fighting with my weight and do my own modified version of Tae Bo. I have long outgrown Kathy Smith and Richard Simmons' low impact areobic workouts. I stick to low/no impact areobic workouts due to my medical difficulties.

After getting involved with Star Trek Freedom, to my astonishment, I have discovered I have a penchant for writing. Who'd a thunk it?! After I picked my jaw up off the floor upon seeing people's reactions to my posts, especially my characters' introductory posts, I am seriously considering writing a Star Trek novel to submit to Simon and Schuster who work with CBS Paramount to print them. My husband is particularly proud of me and is thrilled that I write so poignantly. I am still astounded that I wrote this stuff!

Shayhiloosh's first post ended up being a little story all its own and getting hir onto the ship had to be done in two posts since I was attempting to allow the other players the chance to get to know hir a little better. Shayhiloosh is more reserved, but Maraht is more humorous; he waves his main phalange about to indicate laughter and has done so on numerous occassions, to the delight of the crew of the Hades and its players.

If you would like to read some of Maraht's or Shayhiloosh's posts, feel free to do so on thier character pages. I have put the posts that I thought best describes their individual personalities and how I play them on their pages.

Maraht the Horta

This player has a character stationed aboard USS Hades!

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place." -Mark Twain

Ensign Maraht on the USS Hades

My primary character or PC, Maraht the Horta, passed his final exam at the Starfleet Academy on Holodeck 8 with his instructor Lt.Standorval Thrall with flying pebbles June 2006. Ensign Maraht (sg) had been assigned to the USS Mystique(NCC-68125-C) which had been mapping space in the unexplored beta sector. But now the crew has moved to USS Hades (NX-60637) and has been exploring Beta Seranis III. After reboarding thier vessel, they have run into the Myrenu, a fantical war-like race, bent on conquering the galaxy using genocide with the threat of terraforming planets and its existing inhabitants using thier version of the Genesis device.

Recently in a battle on board the Phlegathon portion of the Hades, Maraht engaged in combat with a boarding party of Myenru, bent on stealing crew for slaves and technology. Maraht lost all sense of humor and decorum and fought to keep them from taking over engineering and gaining control of the Phlegathon. In the process his vox was shattered and then he was flung violently into a bulk head by a graviton bomb which cracked some pieces off of his carapace. Right now he is in agonizing pain and needs medical care.

For more information about Hortas please see The Horta Report. For more information about Maraht, please see Maraht the Horta.

I guess this by default makes me the unofficial Horta Reporta! LOL!

Shayhiloosh the Arborian

This player has a character stationed aboard USS Nimitz!

Trees are the kindest things I know

They do no harm, they simply grow

And spread a shade for sleepy cows,

And gather birds among their boughs. -Author Unknown

I now have a character, or SPC, called Ensign Shayhiloosh (jg) on the USS Boudicca as a Botanist as of October 2006. Hir is one of the species called the Arborians, a species I made up all by myself, with lots of encouragement from my dear spousal unit, Jim and my friend Connie who plays Brianna Frazier on the USS Champlain. Please feel free to read the articles and leave your comments under the discussion tabs.

Playing hir is lots of fun since hir has three eyes on long vine-like stalks and it's pretty cool to swivel those eyestalks around in a post. S/He has some minor telepathic abilities and has discovered the Boudicca's Dreamplane, but hir abilities have become augmented with contact with a scruffy little creature, a Pelluvian Howler named Winston. Winston is considered a pet and he belongs to the ACSO Ensign Jonathon Linskens.

Shayhiloosh had seen hir first battle up close and personal with some of Admiral Doenitz's Marines from the USS Exeter. Hir had gotten badly injured and was eventually sent to Cait to recuperate in a natural planetary environment. Shayhiloosh will be joining the crew of the Nimitz soon in connection with thier upcoming mission.

Valek

This player has a character instructing at the Starfleet Academy!

I recently began playing an instructor as of January 2007. Rather than confuse or discombobulate newer players, I opted to go with a humanoid character and chose a Vulcan.

Lt. Valek (jg) is a dark skinned Vulcan who is known for being demanding on his cadets, but is willing to go the extra mile when he sees the cadet is doing thier best.

Micelle

This player has a character stationed aboard USS Hades!

I play Micelle, an NPC first on the USS Boudicca and now the USS Hades, is based on my real life Calico friend of 16 human years who lives with me and my husband at our home. She is one of our three cats.

T'Kron

This player has a character stationed aboard USS Nimitz!

Ensign Vulcan NPC T'Kron is an Engineer on board the USS Nimitz.

Durston Croft

This player has a character stationed aboard USS Hades!

Engineer Durston Croft is on the USS Hades as an NPC. He is full of Scottish brougue with Geordie influences in his delightful and colorful manner of speaking.

In Conclusion

At left, Sheila, with a friend, wet spinning line flax at an American Civil War reenactment. At right, Sheila and Connie at the Fortescue Civil War Reenactment, 2005

Gwennan's Arms: Vert, a flax distaff, dressed and tied, between two flaunches, or.

If you desperately desire to be the father of my children...we'll talk.