Sunday Stealing

Let's Do Our ABCs

A. Auto - Toyota Camry

B. Bed size - Queen

C. Cats - Allergic

D. Dogs - Allergic

E. Essential start to your day - A shower

F. Favorite color - Blue

G. Gold or silver - Silver

H. Hand you favor (righty or lefty) - Right

I. Instruments you play - Guitar and I can manage to get a tune out on many others

J. Job title - Retired

K. Kids - None

L. Live (rural, suburb, city) - Rural

M. Meal plans - People plan those things?

N. Nicknames - Sweetie Pie

O. Overnight hospital stays - Multiple

P. Pet peeves - People who whine on Facebook.

Q. Quote from a movie - You shall not pass! (From Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings)

R. Regrets - I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.

S. Siblings - 1

U. Underwear - I wear it.

V. Vegetable you love - Broccoli

W. What makes you run late - Oversleeping

X. X-rays you’ve had - Loads. I probably glow in the dark.

Y. Yummy food - Chocolate

Z. Zoo animal - Panda

 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week. 

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Sunday Stealing

 

About Blogging

1. When are you at your blogging best – a.m. or p.m.?

A. I don't know. I blog at all hours.

2. How many blogs do you have? Please include the links in your answer.

A. Just this one.

3. Do you prefer silence when you compose your posts and write your comments?

A. I either want it silent, or I want music in the background.

4. What's the grossest thing you've ever spilled on your keyboard?

A. Just water.

5. Ever posted while intoxicated?

A. I have not posted while intoxicated. I don't drink.

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Sunday Stealing

Living in the World, Not on It

1) You're on a trip taking a tour through the jungle. You have a backpack with some food, first aid supplies, a pocketknife, a flashlight and a couple bottles of water. Somehow, you get separated from your group. By night fall you haven't found your group and haven't heard them looking for you. How long do you think you would be able to survive on your own?

A. As long as the water lasts, and hopefully there's rain to make it last longer.

 

2) Do you think it's okay to lie to spare someone's feelings? Why? 

A. I think it is ok to give little white lies, like "Oh yes, that dress looks lovely on you" when it kind of doesn't. Those are lies that keep someone from feeling bad about themselves. Otherwise, it really depends on the situation. 

3) If a talking doll were made to resemble you, what 3 phrases would it say?

A. "That's interesting." "I love you." "You are beautiful to me."

4) If the superpower to be able to read minds at will was possible, do you think it would be... cool and helpful, intrusive and wrong, manipulative or maddening?

A. I think it would be intrusive and wrong, as well as manipulative and maddening. I don't think it would be a good power to have.

5) Are drunk confessions things people can't bring themselves to say sober or just the crazy ramblings of an influenced and intoxicated mind? 

A. I think they can be both.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

 

Stolen from Follow That Dream

1. My bestie and I once ... fooled the checkout clerk at the grocery store into thinking we were sisters.

2. When I'm nervous ... I eat.

3. My hair ... is turning gray.

4. When I turn to the left, I see ... a bookshelf with books and cameras on it, my guitars, two clocks, a picture of Gandolf from Lord of the Rings, and other stuff.

5. My favorite aunt ... seldom calls me.

6. I have a hard time understanding ... what is going on in the world.

7. You know I like you if ... I talk to you.

8. When I was 5 years old ... I told my mother my brother had swallowed a bottle of aspirin and saved his life.

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__________

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Sunday Stealing

Spill It!

1. If money wasn't an issue, would you move to a new home?

A. No. I might add a room to the one I'm in, but I wouldn't move. (Unless my husband had passed away, in which case I might consider finding an independent living community.)

2. Do you listen to different music when you're happy than when you're sad?

A. Yes.

3. What's your favorite way to unwind after a tough day?

A. Read a book or watch TV.

4. What's the first book you remember from childhood?

A. Green Eggs & Ham, by Dr. Suess.

5. What made you smile today?

A. Reading Rosie O'Donnell's response to someone in power who threatened her. King Joffrey with a tangerine tan indeed!

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Since it's the 4th of July weekend, we're going to keep this simple. We stole this from a blogger named Idzie, who called this the F.A.B. (film, audio, book) meme.

F.A.B.

F. Film: What movie or tv show are you watching?

A. We've been watching M*A*S*H* on DVD. 

A. Audio: What are you listening to?

A. At the moment, I am listening to nothing but the hum of the air purifiers.

B. Book: What are you reading?

A. I am listening to a memoir called Ordinary Time, by Annie B. Jones and up next is The Rulebreaker by Susan Page. I am not reading a book at the moment; I am reading The Atlantic.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Just Another Manic Monday

1. What is something you should throw away, but just can't bring yourself to part with?

A. My books. I have a lot of books on writing that I need to toss out. I haven't anywhere to put them except into the recycling bin, and I just can't bring myself to do that yet.

2. When you make yourself a sandwich, do you cut it on the diagonal, straight up the middle, or not at all?

A. I cut it in the middle.

3. What song or sound brings back memories of childhood?

A. A Bicycle Built for Two

4. Who is the first person you call when you have good news?

A. My husband. He's also the first person I call with bad news.

5. Have you ever set out on a walk in the rain?

A. I have. It was the only time I enjoyed walking around the city. The smell of the rain diminished the stink.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

What Would You Say at This Moment to:

1) Someone you have hurt?

A. I'm sorry.

2) Someone who has hurt you?

A. I forgive you.

3) Your favorite teacher from grade school?

A. Thank you for teaching me how to read a book aloud with nuance and emotion.

4) Your most hated teacher from high school?

A. Yelling at students is not the best way to teach.

5) Your best friend from college?

A. I didn't have a best friend in college. I went to college part-time while I was married and didn't really have time to make friends. That said, I would like to thank some of my professors. They were wonderful.

6) Your favorite recording artist?

A. You can retire now.

7) Your favorite author?

A. To any author: keep writing.

8) Your first boss?

A. It never was, never has been, and never will be, all about you.

9) Your first love?

A. Thanks for the memories.

10) Your true love?

A. We'll be married for 42 years this year, old man.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Complete the Thought

1. I wish someone would ... invent a time machine.

2. When I order Chinese food ... I always get sweet and sour chicken.

3. I know it's not everyone's favorite activity, but I actually enjoy ... doing the laundry.

5. A major pet peeve of mine is ... poke butts who drive slowly.

6. I remember when my grandfather ... took me to Hills Department Store to buy a toy horse.

7. I am not fazed at all by ... what strangers think of me.

8. Long car rides ... put me to sleep.

9. I don't understand the fuss over ... any celebrity anywhere.

10. When I'm home alone ... I listen to music, dance around the house, and enjoy myself.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

10 Questions with Nigel

1. What's your life's motto?

A. "Do no harm" and "Not all who wander are lost."

2. Where were you living 13 years ago?

A. In the same place I am living now.

3. Is anyone jealous of you?

A. Probably.

4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks?

A. I was working at a law office in the county seat. The lawyer came in and said a plane had hit the Twin Towers. We turned on a small television and were watching when the second plane hit. Then we heard about the Pentagon being hit. Then the towers collapsed, and the lawyer closed the office and sent everyone home.

5. Do you consider yourself kind?

A. I try very hard to be kind. I am human so I am not always successful.

6. Can you change your car's oil?

A. I could if I had to. But fortunately, there are people I can pay to do that.

7. What's the last thing you heard about your first love?

A. My "boyfriend" from elementary school passed away some months ago. I'm not sure if one would consider him a first love or not.

8. Have you ever been burned by love?

A. Who hasn't?

9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

A. I bought a hanging flower basket.

10. Do you hug your friends?

A. Yes. I think hugs are terrific.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

P.S. Today is my birthday.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

This week we're stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she admitted she stole these questions from a blogging buddy named Liz. Here we don't judge. We celebrate such theft.

Questions Christina Stole from Liz

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?

A. The light bill is not my favorite. We seem to use an excessive amount of electricity for a small home. I'm sure part of the problem is the two air purifiers we run, but when it's either pay for the electricity or pay for the doctor because of my asthma, then I suppose we've chosen the best path for us.

2. Which restaurant would you recommend for a romantic dinner?

A. We only have one nice restaurant in the city. It's called Coach and Four. It's been around a long time; it's where my husband proposed to me.

3. Who was your first-grade teacher?

A. My first-grade teacher was Mrs. Zirkle. I found her to be very mean and quite harsh, and I frequently went home from school and cried. 

4. What should you be doing right now?

A. I probably should be working on making dinner instead of answering these questions, but dinner will keep.

5. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A. I wanted to be many things when I was growing up: an archeologist, a geologist, an astronaut, a college professor.

6. How did you choose the shirt you're wearing right now?

A. It was hanging in the closet and wasn't a t-shirt.

7. Gas prices! What's your first thought?

A. They are what they are. I have no control over them.

8. Do you have a teddy bear?

A. I do not have a teddy bear.

9. Do you own the last book you read, or did you get it from the library?

A. The last book I read came from the library. I try to get most of my books from the library these days.

10. Did you more recently send a text or write a Post It?

A. I sent a text.

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Sunday Stealing

These questions were inspired by a blogger named Becca. Back in 2007, Becca was asked to reveal 8 interesting things about herself. We're turning her answers into questions to learn a little more about YOU.

8 Questions

1. What habit do you wish you could break?

A. At the moment, I am trying to stop cursing. It is a difficult habit to break.

2. Where is your favorite vacation spot?

A. I'm not sure I have one anymore. I used to love Myrtle Beach, but it has changed so much that I no longer recognize it as the place I used to enjoy. I like Williamsburg but it's not somewhere I want to go all the time.

3. How many years of formal education have you completed?

A. I have completed my master's degree.

4. Have you ever had a job that required you be certified or licensed?

A. I have never had a job that had certification or licensing requirements.

5. Do you enjoy camping?

A. No. I like hotel rooms and room service.

6. Tell us about a time you got away with something.

A. When I was younger, my foot was much heavier on the gas pedal than it is now. Somehow, I never received a speeding ticket, though.

7. Where have you lived the longest, and what do/did you like best about it?

A. I have lived the longest in the house I am in now. I love it because it belongs to me and my husband, we built it ourselves with help from friends and family, and it is small.

8. When you were a kid, were more of your playmates boys or girls?

A. Most of my young playmates were boys. I had two young uncles and my brother as my companions most of the summer.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Last week we shared questions that centered around your bathroom. This week, with questions stolen from Manic Monday, we're moving to the bedroom.

Back to Bed

1. Let's say your alarm wakes you up with music. What would be the worst song to hear first thing in the morning?

A. A funeral dirge.

2. How many pillows do you sleep with?

A. I sleep on a big wedge pillow with a round pillow under my neck, and two pillows under my knees and feet.

3. What size mattress do you sleep on?

A. We sleep on a queen-sized mattress.

4. Do you always sleep on the same side of the bed?

A. I always sleep on the same side of the bed.

5. Do you make your bed every day?

A. I make my bed every day.

6. Do you keep water on your bedside table?

A. I keep water on the bedside table. We like the little 8 oz water bottles for that. They have a lid and so you can't spill them all over the bed, unless you can't get the lid back on.

7. How often do you change your sheets?

A. I change my sheets once a week unless one of us becomes sick. Then I might change them daily or as required.

8. What's under your bed?

A. I imagine there is a little dust under there, but that's all. And there shouldn't be much of that.

9. Do you sleep in total darkness or do you like to have a light on?

A. It is not totally dark in my bedroom because of light from the alarm clocks, but I do not sleep with a light on.

10. What do you remember about your childhood bedroom?

A. My childhood bedroom had white furniture with a canopy twin bed. It looked a little like this, but not exactly:

Stolen from Pinterest

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

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Sunday Stealing

The Bathroom Meme

1. Do you shampoo once or lather, rinse and repeat?

A. I shampoo once.

2. Do you use conditioner a) daily, b) when you need it, c) never?

A. I use conditioner daily.

3. What's your shaving cream preference: foam or gel?

A. I use soap.

4. Is your toothbrush manual or electric?

A. It's battery powered. I am considering the purchase of an electric one.

5. Dental floss, soft picks, neither or both? 

A. I use both.

6. Do you use mouthwash a) daily, b) when you need it, c) never?

A. I use it daily.

7. Are there magazines in your bathroom?

A. There are magazines in one bathroom, none in the other.

8. Is there bar soap or liquid soap on your bathroom sink? 

A. Bar soap in one bathroom, liquid soap in the other.

9. What kind of soap is in your shower?

A. Bar soap and body wash.

10. Now for the most important question: does the toilet paper drape over or under?

A. It drapes over when I install it. My husband tends to put it without concern for the direction.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

I can't trace back where these were stolen from. So sue me.

Time Travel

What were you doing . . . 

1. Twenty years ago?

A. Twenty years ago, in 2005, I would have been writing for the local newspaper and having a fine time of it, too. I so enjoyed that work. I loved dealing with all of the people, I liked investigating things, I enjoyed writing historical pieces and learning about how things used to be. I liked deadlines! I liked seeing my byline in the paper. I liked feeling like I was contributing to my community by ensuring folks knew what was going on around them. It was like teaching but without the pain of students and grades.

2. Ten years ago? 

A. Almost to the day, I was working on an involved article that made me miss the work I was doing in 2005, because by then the work had slowed down considerably with the influx of more internet and print editions of newspapers were dying.

3. Five years ago?

A. Five years ago, we were in lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic, still. Thanks to this blog, I know that I was home, and my husband came home early and scared me so much that I threw a piece of bologna at him (apparently, I was in the midst of making a sandwich).

4. One year ago?

A. We saw the Northern Lights! They came all the way as far south as we are and then some. They weren't vibrant green, but they were red, and they were splendid.

5. Yesterday?

A.  We went to the farmers' market and bought a hanging basket. Then we watched it rain. Since we are in a drought, that was a happy occasion.

Bonus! What will you do tomorrow?

A. I'm taking a relative to have blood work done.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

The Gale Interview Questions

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done? Did it take physical or emotional courage?

A. I went up in a hot air balloon and flew over my county. I also went up in a small airplane and flew over my county. The former took courage, the latter was just not thinking.

2. Where did you meet the love of your life?

A. We met a high school football game, although I had known him since elementary school. We rode the same bus. However, he was four years older than I and paid no attention to me, or I to him, really, except I remember him, but he doesn't remember me.

3. What brand/flavor of coffee are you drinking these days?

A. I do not drink coffee.

4. What's the coolest place you've ever visited and how did you get there (car, plane, motorcycle, etc.)?

A. The coolest place I've ever visited New York City. I got there by car once and by plane another time.

5. What's the best concert you ever attended?

A. We went to an Elton John concert in 1999 when it was just him and his piano, no band. It was sensational.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Since it's Easter weekend, we're going to keep this simple. We stole this from a blogger named Idzie, who called this the F.A.B. (film, audio, book) meme.

F.A.B.

F. Film: What movie or tv show are you watching?

A. I am watching The Bionic Woman when I walk on the treadmill. I am in season 2. I haven't seen the show since the 1970s and I remember very little of it, so it's mostly new to me. It has been somewhat eye-opening to see topics that are still current today. For example, there has been mention of fluoride in the water being bad, the price of oil, and unrest in the Middle East. Aside from the use of two-way radios instead of cellphones, and of course the 1970s vehicles, the show holds up much better than I thought it would. 

A. Audio: What are you listening to?

A. I am listening to Alexa play Bread's Lost Without Your Love on Amazon Music. 

B. Book: What are you reading?

A. I am listening to an audiobook called Once & Future by Cory McCarthy et al. It's a King Arthur retelling, set in the very far future.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

Odd Little Meme

1. Do you own a pair of cargo pants?

A. I do not own a pair of cargo pants.

2. Which of these gifts from a romantic partner would please you most: a) jewelry, b) wine, c) a book, d) something grown in his/her garden?

A. The answer is (c) a book.

3. Who was the last person to toss a harsh word or phrase your way? Do you think that maybe you had it coming?

A. That likely would have been something my husband said, and I probably deserved it, whatever it was. It must not have been too much of anything since I can't recall anything specific.

4. Did you appear in any plays back when you were in school? If yes, what role(s) did you play? Earn extra, non-existent points for sharing any of your dialog.

A. I did not appear in any plays when I was in school.

5. Which Osmond do you like better: Donny or Marie?

A. I don't care for either Osmond.

6. Who is your favorite radio host or podcaster?

A. I don't have one.

7. Is your personal workspace filled with fluffy, plastic wind-up, rubbery or edible items? Or are you all business and clutter free?

A. My personal workspace has a lot of clutter, but it is mostly paper such as books, mail, notebooks, research items. 

I didn't do so well with these questions today.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Sunday Stealing

1) What's the longest you've gone without sleep?

A. About 24 hours. This has happened twice - once in 2010 when my husband and I drove to Myrtle Beach and back in the same day, and again in 2014 when my husband caught his hand in the hay baler and had surgery until late into the night.

2) What was the highlight of your last week?

A. It wasn't a nice highlight, but I lost a cousin/friend in a motorcycle accident.

3) You have to give a 10-minute speech to a group of high school students. What's your topic?

A. I would talk about writing and communication.

4) What is the single best decision you've ever made in your life?

A. The best decision I ever made was to marry my husband. 

5) If you could ask a coworker, friend or family member a question and be guaranteed an honest answer, who would you choose and what would you ask?

A. I would talk to my father, but I will not reveal what I would ask.

6) Do you cook for yourself when you're home alone?

A. When I am home alone, I generally do not cook for myself and make do with whatever is handy. Sometimes when I am alone, I forget to eat. This was especially true when I was freelancing full time. I would get so into my work that I would lose track of time.

7) Do you most often access the internet from your computer, your phone, or your smart watch?

A. I access the internet mostly from a desktop computer. The phone also connects to the wifi but I am on the computer more.

8) Do you have more email addresses or phone numbers?

A. I have more email addresses than phone numbers. I have at least 9 email accounts.

9) What's the biggest source of anger in your life right now?

A. Myself.

10) Mondays make me feel like it's a chance to start anew.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.