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Imagine a New Orleans swamp dweller transplanted to the mountains of Tennessee. My name is Ditty Nicolaides, but you can call me Doowahditty.  My most recent news is the most wonderful thing to have happened to me since the birth of my son, Kurt... Yes, I speak of my beautiful grandson Milo!

On April 27, 2002, I married the man I think I'd waited for all my life, Ernie Jurick, with whom I've been collaborating for two years on the Dear Aunt Nettie,  Museum of Depressionist Art and Gallery of the Unidentifiable web sites.

I have a wonderful son, Kurt, who is a musician in Chapel Hill, NC, and who also is a registered nurse. He recently was married to the lovely Amy Leigh and they have made me the happiest mom in the whole world!  Now that Amy and Kurt have blessed me with a grandson, Milo, I don't think I could possibly be happier.  My equally wonderful brother, Tom, is a rocket scientist with NASA and my personal cyber-instructor, although I take full blame for this site. All of us owe everything to Dot and Nic, two very special people.

I am a retired(!) Research Specialist/Lab Supervisor in the Toxicology Lab of Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. They perform toxicology studies for hospitals, clinics, treatment programs and the forensic program. (Free unauthorized pics of my boss!)  They also teach graduate students and residents, and conduct several research projects in the lab and with other investigators. This was my left brain thing. 

My right brain is exercised by my love of modern dance. I'm a founding member, dancer and choreographer for Mountain Movers Dance Company. I also keep a few odd projects going...asking folks innocent questions and making poetry of their answers (What Do Women Want? and What Do Men Want?), collecting bizarre newspaper clips and postcards...and working as a creative consultant for a really wild, hilarious and talented friend, Kat Caverly, who creates greeting cards, characters, and comedy events in the Big Apple (which is why she uses a Mac). Please be sure to visit her web site!

Much to the improvement of my computer and All-Things-Internet skills, I am a member of a really special organization, the Women of WorldNet.  Without them, I am simply another blip on the radar screen of Web Site Casualties.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, my life is controlled completely by my four cats and singular bird:
Aretha, the Queen of Soul; Millie, the Mistress of Zen; Tara, the Six Pound Lioness; Rudy, the Purrfect Omega Boy; and Killer, the Chartreuse Chanteuse with a taste for human flesh. A fifth feline, Newton, arrived when Ernie (my husband) moved here from Seattle.  You can visit him here.  And if you have a VERY strong stomach, you can see a shocking photo of a HARDCORE DRUG ADDICT!!