Sunday Stealing: The Kathy Aay Questions

Sunday Stealing: The Kathy Aay Questions

1. What is the meaning of your blog’s name?

A. Blue - my favorite color. Country - where I live. Magic - I love the idea of magic and believe that life can be magical. If you look out of the corner of your eye you will sometimes see that a leprechaun in watching you.

2. Why did you start your blogging?

A. I initially started blogging in 2003 as a reaction to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which I opposed on the grounds that the terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. As a news reporter in a very red area I couldn't speak out about it and maintain my objectivity, so I needed some other way to express my frustration. I got it out of my system and then switched over to AOl Journals. I turned that into a creative outlet because writing stories about local government was making me weary. After AOL decided to close its journal product, this blog came about.

3. What’s your usual bedtime?

A. Anywhere from 9:30 to midnight.

4. Are you lazy?

A. I don't think so, but I do think that being unwell has made me less enthusiastic about doing things than I once was. I don't think it's laziness so much as being zapped of energy by pain and medication.

5. Do you miss anyone right now?

A. Not at the moment, no.

6. How would you describe your fashion sense?

A. Terrible.

7. What are your nicknames?

A. My husband calls me Baby, Pookie, and Sweetie Pie. I also answer to "Hey, you!"
 
8. Are you a patient person?

A. Generally speaking. It depends on the situation and who is involved.

9. Are you tight-fisted or frivolous?

A. Tight-fisted.

10. What magazines do you read?

A. Reader's Digest and O! in print form. I sometimes pick up Progressive Farmer and Beef Today flip through them. I read the New York Times online and the local daily in print form every day, and the weekly paper in print form when it comes out. I also read articles from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, Salon, Vox, and whatever else of interest crosses my path.
 
11. Are you stubborn?

A. I can be. But not as stubborn as my husband.

12. When is your birthday?

A. I am a Gemini girl.

13. What book are you currently reading?

A. Hold Still, by Sally Mann. It's an autobiography of a famous photographer who went to same college I did.

14. What phone do you have?

A. I have a flip phone. It's a Nokia. I have had it for about five years, maybe longer.

15. Do you have any pets?

A. We have about 45 cows (most have calves) and two bulls. They are not exactly pets but they come running when they hear the tractor start up.

16. Do you have siblings?

A. I have a brother who is three years younger than I am.

17. Any children or grandchildren?

A. None of the above. I have a niece and four nephews, though.

18. What do you order at Starbucks?

A. I don't go to Starbucks. There isn't one nearby.

19. What did you do for your last birthday?

A. I was sick last year on my birthday. I spent the morning at the doctor's office and the rest of the day in bed.

20. What’s your occupation?

A. I am currently the bookkeeper and chief bottle washer for our farm and my husband's septic tank installation business. I am a freelance writer by trade. I did that for 30 years, mostly writing for newspapers and local magazines, and made a decent living at it until the recession. After that the jobs dwindled - our area had a glut of laid-off newspaper people - and then I became ill. I might go back to writing someday. Or not. I have also worked at other jobs, including for lawyers, in retail, and in industry. I had planned to become an adjunct instructor at the community college and had just been hired to do that when I became sick. I taught two classes and then was waylaid by illness.

I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades (master of none) because I have many interests, although lately I have heard people like me called "scanners" or "curiousity seekers" or "multipotentialite."

21. Do you live in the country or the city?

A. Thank God, I'm a country girl.