Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Can you cry under water?

A. I have never tried. I have cried in the shower. That's sort of under water.

2. What is the fattest thing you’ve ever done?

A. I am afraid I don't understand the question. You mean like eat two candy bars in a row?

3. If you’re going to be arrested what do you want your crime to be?

A. Murder in the first degree. If I'm going to go, may as well go all in.

4. When they say dog food is “new and improved” who tastes it?

A. I imagine they try it on dogs.

5. What’s the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen?

A. Snot.

6. Why doesn’t glue stick to its bottle?

A. I have no idea. I suspect it has something to do with the lack of air in the bottle, because if you leave a bottle open long enough, it will dry up and one could consider it to be stuck to the bottle.

7. What historical event do you wish you’d witnessed?

A. The inauguration of the first woman president of the United States of America. Oh wait. That hasn't happened yet.

8. Who has had the best influence on your life?

A. My husband, followed by books.

9. Would you rather go into space or to Antarctica?

A. Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship: Enterprise. Her five year mission to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!

10. Would you rather sleep with no pillow or no blankets?

A. No pillow. I can always wad a blanket up into a pillow.

11. What's your favorite rain memory?

A. One day a very long time ago (1990), I walked through the city in the rain. It smelled of dampness and piss - the homeless population in the city has always been awful - and wet concrete, tires, and car exhaust. It was summer, and the grayness matched my mood. I wandered into Woolworth's where I became caught up in the sight of so much stuff - just everywhere, stuff - that I forgot what I was doing and was two hours late going back to work from lunch.

12. If you were elected president, what is the first thing you would do?

A. Such a loaded question in these perilous times. But I would ask Congress to make it so that the Equal Rights Amendment, which has now been passed by the appropriate amount of states but not within the required timeframe, became an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Then I would create a commission to study the U.S. Constitution, because frankly, I think it needs an update. It may have been a masterpiece in its time, but times change. Simply changing "men" to "humanity" would be an improvement.

13. If you had $3 to spend in the dollar store, what would you buy?

A. Chocolate.

14. What’s the most annoying sound in the world?

A. A loud cricket in the house.

15. What natural disaster scares you the most?

A. I have been in floods and they are terrifying. I am also not a fan of high winds, so hurricanes and tornadoes rank up there as well.

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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 #355

Sunday Stealing

1. If you could use a time machine to go back in time to fix one thing or go to the future to see what it would be like, which would you do?

A. I would go to the future. Fixing things in another time can have unintentional and unforeseen consequences. Best to leave that alone, even if things are chaotic at the moment.

2. If suddenly there was a Depression or there were no stores to buy food, clothing, etc., how would you manage?

A. Aren't we living that now? I live on a farm. I would use the clothing I already own, have a vegetable garden (did that this summer), and we have wild animals we can kill if we need to. (I'm assuming the Internet is unavailable, too. If it's not, then hey, there's always Amazon.)

3. Are you concerned with what other people think about you?

A. Obviously I am, because these capital letters in the statements as originally put out are driving me nuts and I don't want that kind of grammatical funk in my blog. So I am rewriting every single question.

4. How do you handle people you don't like?

A. Avoidance.

5. What do you think of garden gnomes?

A. I have two in my garden, but I don't think about them often.

6. You’ve been given an elephant. You can't give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?

A. Put it out to pasture with the cows.

7. How would you design a spice rack for the blind?

A. I wouldn't. I am not into woodworking.

8. How lucky are you and why?

A. I am fortunate, which is not the same as lucky. I am fortunate in that I made a good marriage and we have enough, which is all I've ever asked for. Luck is something else entirely - that's winning the lottery or finding cash in a box by the side of the road. Those types of things seldom happen to me.

9. What’s your biggest kitchen fail?

A. I recently have been undercooking meat, but we determined that the stove isn't heating properly. We have ordered a new thermostat for it. If that ever arrives, then perhaps my "fail" will resolve itself.

10. What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in school?

A. I threw my retainer in the trash can. I went dumpster diving to fish it out, which was quite gross.

11. If you could kill off any character from a current television show, who would it be?

A. No clue.

12. If you could make a rule for a day and everyone had to follow it, what would it be?

A. For 24 hours, everyone would have to be polite and could not be mean and nasty.

13. Would you rather be a hobbit or an elf for 24 hours?

A. I'd rather be an elf. They are skinny, for one thing, and quick on their feet, with keen hearing. Apparently they can also drink all the alcohol they want and never get a buzz.

14. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

A. That's probably a tie between going up in a hot air balloon and taking a single-engine plane ride around the county with a known drunk.

15. Would your rather shoot spaghetti out of your fingers or sneeze meatballs?

A. Shoot spaghetti out of my fingers. I'd just as soon not sneeze anything.

________________
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

Sunday Stealing

1. What is something someone told you about yourself that you have never forgotten?

A. My teachers told me I could write.

2. What are your top three pet peeves?

A. (1) Potato chips in a bag, because ultimately you end up with crumbs at the end. (2) People who don't know the difference between they're, their, and there. (3) Twitter.

3. List five places you want to visit.

A. Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Machu Picchu, the Pyramids in Egypt, and the Amazon rain forest.

4. Share something you struggle with.

A. Self-esteem.

5. Post words of wisdom that speak to you.

A. I have this on my Facebook page right now: "Even dragons have their ending." It's a quote by J.R.R. Tolkien and it reminds me that everything ends, even if it seems like an eternity.

6. What is something you always think “what if . . . ?” about?

A. What if I'd never been born?

7. Name five blessings in your life.

A. My husband, my brother, my friends, my house, my food.

8. Talk about something that you miss.

A. I miss being able to stay up late and read a book.

9. Post about your zodiac sign and whether or not it fits you.

A. I am a Gemini. This is from horoscope.com: "Smart, passionate, and dynamic, Gemini is characterized by the Twins, Castor and Pollux, and is known for having two different sides they can display to the world. Expert communicators, Gemini is the chameleon of the Zodiac, adept at blending into different groups based on the vibe and energy they perceive. While they're also amazing at showcasing surface traits, the Gemini well runs deep, which is why the Twins are one of the Zodiac's most emotionally intelligent signs."

Sounds good. I'll take it. And yes, I think it does fit.

10. Think of a word. Search for it on Google images.  Write something inspired by the 11th image.

A. I chose the word serendipity. Apparently there is a movie named that. The 11th image was the definition with an ocean.

I think of you now.

Along the beach you stroll here.

My heart cries with joy.

(That's a haiku.)

11. Write about an area of your life that you’d like to improve.

A. I would like to feel like I am doing something constructive. I do many things - I write articles, still, I do the laundry, I keep the house clean, I fix meals, blah blah. But none of it feels like it has a purpose.

12. What made you laugh out loud today?

A. Nothing so far. 'Tis rather gloomy around here today.

13. What are your goals for the next 30 days?

A. It's a time of pandemic. My goals are: get to the dentist without getting sick. See my doctor without getting sick. Go to the grocery store without getting sick. Watch an online 2-hour Melissa Etheridge concert on October 11 since it doesn't look like I will ever see her in person. Learn a new song. Put new strings on my guitar.

14. What were your highs and lows for the month?

A. I had a haircut and I was home a lot. You can decide which is which.

15. Name some favorite movies that you never get tired of watching.

A. Under the Tuscan Sun, Dirty Dancing, The Lord of the Rings (entire trilogy), The Hobbit (entire trilogy), The Blind Side, Practical Magic, Grease.

16. Names some books you have read more than once.

A. The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Wind in the Willows.

17. Talk about something about which you feel strongly.

A. I feel strongly that our democracy is under attack by power-hungry corporate raiders.

18. List five things that make you happy.

A. Seeing the first rose of spring, watching my husband do pretty much anything, playing the guitar, writing well, and a good book.

19. What are you excited about?

A. Not much of anything at the moment.

20. Name three celebrity crushes.

A. I don't have celebrity crushes anymore. I do think that Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn is sexy, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas is sexy (both in The Lord of the Rings), but they aren't so sexy outside of those characters. I also thought Patrick Swayze was sexy in Dirty Dancing, but I didn't really care for him in other things, except Ghost. But he wasn't really sexy in Ghost, just appealing.

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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

Sunday Stealing

1. Name a person you're glad to have in your life.

A. All of my blogging buddies. They give me a sense of community in "these unsettled times."

2. What is something you find comfort in?

A. Playing music.

Me when I was a young
 bad-ass guitar player

3. What is your favorite part of the morning?

A. When I sit down to eat breakfast and read the newspaper. (Yes, I still take a print edition of a newspaper.)

4. What is your favorite memory?

A. It is a rather bittersweet memory. I was about 11 years old, and I asked my brother, in all seriousness (a seriousness born of depression even at that young age), what he would have done if I hadn't been born or if I died. His response was, "I would cry until I died." I have never forgotten that. Sometimes when I am feeling really low I remember that he said that and it makes me feel better, because I never want to make my brother cry.

5. Name an accomplishment of which you are proud.

A. I have three college degrees. I am proud of all of them because I worked hard for them. I am also proud of my writing awards from the Virginia Press Association.

6. What is an opportunity for which you are grateful?

A. I am glad I had the opportunity to be a freelance writer and write for many local and state publications. Over my lifetime, I've written and published nearly 5,000 articles and at least 1,000 photos. It did not make me wealthy, but it made me rich in knowledge, connections, and in spirit.

7. What is your favorite song (and why)?

A. I don't have a favorite song. I know probably a 1000 songs or more and sometimes I would rather hear one song over another, depending on my moods, but I don't have a favorite song. That said, I do like to listen to Bread when I need to be calmed.

8. What is a future event that you are excited about?

A. I don't have any future events planned. We are not going on vacation because of Covid, I'm not sure we will have any holidays with anyone, and things look bleak at the moment. I am not excited about the upcoming election because I believe that regardless of outcome, things will not be good. I'm just keeping my head down and hoping that one day I will feel safe going to the bookstore. I am not holding my breath.

9. What is the favorite area in your home?

A. My office. This is where all my creative stuff is. I keep two guitars in here, cameras, my computer, loads of notebooks, coloring books, and other things that I require to keep going.

A little corner of my room of creativity.

10. Name something beautiful you saw today.

A. I saw a doe and her two fawns.

11. What is your guilty pleasure?

A. Eating chocolate, but I no longer feel guilty about it. If I am going to die, I'd just as soon have death by chocolate as death by Covid.

12. What is something you love about a family member?

A. My husband is gentle and loyal. He is a good man.

13. Write about a compliment that made you feel good.

A. I think being asked to write and edit my county's 250th anniversary magazine was a huge compliment to my work and my work ethic. It's really a nice magazine even if I do say so myself. Too bad it has mostly sat in the county administration office because all of the events celebrating my county's 250th birthday were cancelled. But we will try again next year.

14. What is the item that you treasure the most?

A. My wedding ring.

15. Write about your favorite part of nature.

A. I love all of nature - the smell of it, like compost when you kick at the leaves, the taste of salt from the ocean waves, the brilliance of the Blue Ridge Mountains where I live, which at times look like a deep blue ocean going on and on and in Autumn they shine with a million different hues of yellows, reds, oranges, and greens, the animals that move about without worrying about things like politics, and the freedom of no walls.

16. What is a book that you loved reading?

A. I enjoy reading every book I finished. I don't finish them if I don't like them. My favorite book as a child was called Miss Osborne the Mop. I like The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I enjoyed Deborah Harkness's Discovery of Witches books. I enjoyed the Annie books by L. M. Montgomery. I have fun with Jane Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. I loved Sue Grafton's ABC mystery series.

17. Name a freedom for which you are grateful.

A. I now live in an authoritarian state that has dismissed the rights of its citizens even to life, much less anything else. I am still free to think what I want, though, including the foregoing sentence, and for now, at least, free to write it. Eventually, that will be gone. Maybe I'll be to old to notice when it happens.

18. What is your favorite part of the evening?

A. When I am reading a book while my husband watches TV, unless I happen to tune in to a Melissa Etheridge online concert, in which case that particular event would be my favorite part of that evening.

19. Name one good thing that happened today.

A. I watched a Melissa Etheridge online concert (that was Saturday night).

I am envious of her guitar and her skill
in playing it. Yowza.

20. How do you show gratitude to/for your friends?

A. I help them when they need help, and check in on them. I buy them presents sometimes, if I see something that looks like something they'd be interested in.

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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

Sunday Stealing

1. Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.

A. Well, let's see. We're still under a lockdown with the pandemic. However, I'm sure the deer, turkey, and bear will have a blast out by the garbage cans one night soon. Should be a great party! I'll have to remember to leave a little alcohol out for them so the foxes can get sloshed.

2. "Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there."~Thomas Fuller  What does this quote mean to you?

A. Weeds.

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?

A. Universe.

4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

A. If I chew my nails, I suppose, although I have about stopped doing that thanks to the pandemic. So far it's the only good thing to come out of the pandemic - I try to keep my fingers out of my mouth.

5. Do you like the color yellow? Would I find any in your home or wardrobe?

A. You won't find much of it.

6. Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black-eyed Susan...which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?

A. Sunflowers. 

7. Flip flops or bare feet?

A. Sneakers.

8. Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, fish or cut bait...which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?

A. I think most of us feel like we're living in a fishbowl or something these days.

9. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven't been fishing is that something you'd like to try?

A. I have been fishing and I have caught fish. I bait my own hook with live worms, too. Mostly, the fish are thrown back, but I caught trout and eaten them. My father taught me to fish. We used to go to a fishing rodeo when I was small. One year I caught a catfish and won a bag of potato chips for catching something that wasn't supposed to be in the pond.

10. What's something you're always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

A. That little card that you have to have at the grocery store to get the discounts.

11. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

A. Finding Nemo.

12. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

A. I am twilight, that time when the veil between darkness and light thins and things whisper softly and gently into the ears of those who will listen. Only a few hear.

13. What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

A. I have no idea. Probably a bra. Most of my clothes are at least a year old - I generally go shopping once or twice a year and I missed last fall's shopping trip because of my husband's ankle surgery and I missed the spring shopping trip because of the pandemic. It looks like I will miss this fall's shopping trip for the same reason.

14. What's been the best and worst part of your summer so far?

A. The best part has been reading. The worst part has been not being able to simply get up and go wherever I want. We used to take day trips but haven't this summer because we don't want to use public restrooms.

15. Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what's your favorite JB tune?

A. Margaritaville. It's really the only one I know, as I am not a fan.

________________
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

 Sunday Stealing

1. Name a person you like and why you like them.

A. I like (love) my husband. He is strong, compassionate, kind, and gentle.  he believes in hard work and living his life to the fullest. He is intelligent, interesting, and has a giggle instead of a laugh, which is totally endearing. He is brave, truthful, generous, and loyal. He can think fast on his feet. He is not a bully, he doesn't make fun of people, and he doesn't whine. He is not a fair weather friend (only your friend when you agree with him and otherwise ready to cut you out of your life if you don't). 

2. Name a famous person with whom you've been compared.

A. I cannot think of anyone.

3. What is the best thing that happened to you this week?

A. I had an eye exam and did not need a prescription change, so I don't have to spend $500 on new lenses.

4. List weird things you do when you're alone.

A. I talk to myself, I dance, I do puzzles on the computer, and I eat chocolate. None of that is particularly weird, though.

5. How would you spend $10,000?

A. I would purchase a new computer and may a looper for my guitar. (A looper allows you to essentially create an electronic band behind you.)

6. Tell about last night out in detail.

A. My husband came in late from the hayfield. We ate a dinner of chicken, peas, and a roll. He also had peach cobbler with ice cream. I set my video game for a night time set, took a shower, and read a book until we went to bed. Husband also read a book.

7. What is something that makes you sad when you think about it?

A. The state of the world.

8. Name something you're currently worrying about.

A. The state of the world.

9. Name something you do without realizing it.

A. Bite my nails.

10. Tell us a story a drunken story.

A. I don't drink. On one episode of The Big Bang Theory, I remember that Amy got drunk and Leonard and Sheldon had to go pick her up.

11. Name something you regret.

A. I left a job in 1985 that I should have stayed with.

12. Name 5 things within touching distance.

A. A coffee cup, a notebook, my computer, the landline phone, a pencil, a pair of scissors, a calendar, a camera, a stapler, a yellow notepad.

13. What is something you've lied about?

A. I don't know, I try not to lie. Probably some little white lie, like "sure you look lovely in that outfit" when someone really doesn't.

14. What are lyrics that apply to your current mood?

A. From Unwritten, by Natasha Beddingfield 

I'm just beginning

The pen's in my hand

Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words

That you could not find

15. What is your longest relationship?

A. I suppose that would have to be my relationship with my father, then my brother, not to mention aunts and uncles and cousins I am still occasionally in touch with. I have been with my husband since we started dating in 1982.

________________
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

Sunday Stealing

1. Who is the hottest celebrity you can think of?

A. I don't know. I don't keep up with things like that.

2. Do you ever get so nervous that you can't even think?

A. Yes.

3. Do you sing when there is no music?

A. Yes.

4. Who was the best political leader in history and why?

A. I don't know about best, but let's learn something today.

Aung San Suu Kyi, (June 19, 1945-) is a Burmese opposition politician, the 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the daughter of Aung San, considered to be the father of modern-day Burma. He negotiated the nation's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Since the 1980s, she has led a non-violent resistance against Burma’s repressive military regime – and as a result has spent years under house arrest. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59 percent of the national vote and 81 percent of the seats in Parliament – but Burma’s military dictators chose to ignore the elections. Although she has remained out of public sight for years, she has led a quiet democratic resistance. She received the Andre Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the government of India in 1992. One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins: "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." She also believes fear spurs many world leaders to lose sight of their purpose. "Government leaders are amazing," she once said. "So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want."

5. If you could dance with anyone in the world right now, who would it be and what song would you dance to?

A. I would dance with my husband to Longer by Dan Folgerburg.

6. Finish this sentence your own way. There are two types of people in the world...

A. Those who think first and then react, and those who react and never think.

7. What have you saved since elementary school?

A. I have a silver dollar my grandfather gave me.

8. Have you ever won an award?

A. I have won a number of awards for writing.

9. Do you feel more connected to the sun or the moon?

A. The moon.

10. Do flaws make people interesting to you?

A. Everyone is flawed. Some flaws are simply more visible than others.

11. Who is your favorite historical figure?

A. It's a three-way tie between Joan of Arc, Queen Victoria, and Mary, Queen of Scots.

12. White bread or wheat bread?

A. Whole-wheat white bread.

13. Do you usually do things fast or right?

A. I try to do them right.

14. Are you or have you ever been in a band?

A. Yes.

15. Here are 4 statements about me. Only one of them is true. Which one is it?

A. That's only two sentences and a question. I have no idea what this means.

16. Would you wear a thong bathing suit in public?

A. No. I wouldn't wear one in private, either.

17. Have you thought about death today?

A. Yes.

18. What is your favorite breakfast?

A. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and grits.

19. Are you the life of the party?

A. No.

20. If you hit an animal with your car would you get out to try and make sure it was okay?

A. That depends on the situation. If it is a tame animal, like a dog or cat, I would (and have). If it is a wild animal, generally they run off, especially the deer. I have hit several deer and sometimes they simply glance off the car, leaving a nice dent, and then vanish. I brake for squirrels and rabbits and try not hit anything.

21. When do you get your most peaceful and satisfying sleep?

A. When I'm asleep.

22. What thought gets you out of bed in the morning?

A. I have stuff to do.

23. What are you a member of?

A. The local historical society and a book club.

 
24. Name one place you refuse to ever go.

A. I would say somewhere where there is no war, but I suspect I live in a place that is constantly at war with everyone around it and within itself, so that's out.

25. When (and if) people (or animals) go to heaven, do they become angels?

A. I leave that to each individual to decide.

________________
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

Sunday Stealing

1. How old is the oldest expired thing in your refrigerator?

A. It hasn't been that long since I cleaned out the fridge, but I did notice some shriveled grapes this morning. Otherwise, the oldest thing is probably medicine for the cattle.

2. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done on a date?

A. I haven't been on a date in 37 years.

3. What animal most closely resembles your eating style?

A. Something that grazes all the time. Maybe a cow.

4. Have you ever sent someone a text you didn’t mean to?

A. Not that I recall.

5. If you could learn any language fluently, which would it be?

A. Spanish. I took Spanish in high school but it has mostly

slipped away from me. I also wouldn't mind learning French.

6. Would you rather be bald or covered head to toe with hair?

A. At the moment, since I am not having my hair cut regularly, I think I'd rather be bald.

7. Do you think you’re brave?

A. I don't, no. Other people have told me I am. When I was writing for the newspaper, I did many things that my husband thought brave, such as going up in a hot air balloon.

8. What horror fiction character scares you the most?

A. I don't read or watch horror. I find enough horror in real life.

9. What food do you crave more than any other?

A. Chocolate.

10. Which holiday would you erase from the calendars, if you could?

A. Christmas. The way it is celebrated now is too overblown.

11. What’s the most clever word you know?

A. I have no idea. Serendipity? Ubiquitous? Oligarchy? Kakistocracy? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? 

12. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

A. I already know how I will die. I just don't know when.

13. What do you collect that nobody knows about?

A. Nothing. I'm pretty much an open book (which I seem to collect).

14. Have you ever eaten only candy for dinner?

A. Yes.

15. Have you ever taken anything illegally across a border?

A. No.

16. Have you ever blown your nose in anything other than a tissue?

A. Does a handkerchief count? If so, then yes.

17. Are you a good time manager?

A. When I am on a deadline, yes. Otherwise, not so much.

18. Has life been hard on you?

A. Yes. But I think it is hard on most everyone.

19. What is the absolute worst song in the world?

A. I have no idea.

20. What is your culinary specialty?

A. I make good fudge.

________________
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

 Sunday Stealing

1. What makes it easy to talk to someone?

A. It helps if they listen. So many people are so busy thinking about the next point they want to make, they don't hear what you are saying. I learned to shut that part of my brain off when I was doing interviews for the newspaper. I had to learn to listen.

2. Have you ever had a great conversation with a complete stranger?

A. Yes, but it has been quite some time ago.

3. Do you like to argue?

A. I like to discuss. I do not like to argue. I like to hear other people's opinions and then either validate or contradict them. I consider that debating, not arguing.

4. Some people like to talk about things, and some people like to do things. Which are you?

A. I do a bit of both.

5. Who is easier to talk to – men or women?

A. It really depends on the personality.

6. What is your favorite place?

A. Home.

7. What is your favorite place in your home?

A. In my office.

8. Would you most want to live in a city, a suburb or the country?

A. I live in the country and always have. I expect to die here, too.

9. What is special about the town you live in?

A. I live in a rural community. It's beautiful. It's historic. It's bucolic.

10. How much time do you spend in nature?

A. I live on a farm. I think it's pretty much 24/7. I just watched a hen turkey leading her chicks up the ridge.

11. Do you make up a dinner plan for the coming week?

A. No.

12. Do you make up a grocery shopping list and stick to it when shopping?

A. Generally. These days I shop online and pick it up.

13. What is one thing that you always buy, but never write down on a list?

A. Chocolate.

14. Is there anything that you always think you are out of and come home with it to discover you already have a year’s supply on hand?

A. I don't know that I have a year's supply of anything on hand.

15. Do you get your groceries delivered?

A. They don't deliver out where I live. Too rural.

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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

 Sunday Stealing

1. What are your plans for August?

A. To not be where I can catch Covid, to read a lot, to reconsider a lot of various things in various contexts, and to pursue a project of some kind (as yet to be determined).

2. Review the first half of 2020.

A. Oh dear. January - Husband still on knee scooter from ankle fusion surgery. February - Husband walking around in boot. March - Present day. Husband up and walking around, back to farming, he retired from the fire department unexpectedly (couldn't get his fire boots on with a fused ankle, who knew?), he installed a few septic tanks, too, and we learned to wear masks, wash our hands, and watched in horror as some of the most idiotic people I've ever seen turned up on youtube/twitter/etc. doing things that they should have learned not to do when they were toddlers (who throws a temper tantrum in a store when they're an adult?). I've never seen such entitled twits in all of my life. I suppose I should mention there is a pandemic?

3. A place you’d go if money were no object.

A. I always wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt. If money were no object, then I'd go in style, with people waiting on me and tending to my every whim.

4. Who was your childhood best friend?

A. I had new friends every year because I seldom had the same people in class with me. In high school, I had some friends who stuck around for a good long time - one I am still friends with though we seldom communicate - but mostly I kept to myself. 

5. Name the city or town you love most.

A. I guess that would be where I am now, although anywhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains would probably fit the bill. If I were to move, it would be to Charlottesville, VA, I think.

6. How do you spend hot days?

A. I have air conditioning, so the same way I spend other days. Inside, reading or working on the computer, or folding clothes. I do make an effort to get the weeding out of the way in the early mornings or late evenings on hot days.

7. Are you a skilled cook or baker?

A. Not particularly. I make decent fudge.

8. What is one thing you wish you could currently do?

A. Be healthier, but that takes time.

9. Name a time when you learned your lesson.

A. I can name a time when I learned *a* lesson. That was the day an adult in charge of me allowed a doctor to slap me in the face because I "backtalked" as I tried to explain to the adult and the doctor why I had constant earaches. The adult said nothing, did not defend me, did not take my side, did not walk me out there, or slap the doctor back. The adult laughed and said I deserved it. I did not, of course. I think I was 14 or so. I learned with absolute certainty who I could not count on to protect me. I also was 100% sure I wasn't the first young girl that man had slapped around in his office, and I refused to go back to see him. And years later when I read in the paper that that doctor had a motorcycle wreck and had to shut down his practice because he lost the use of his hand, I thought, "Karma is a bitch, isn't it, you asshole." 

10. What consistently makes you laugh?

A. A good joke.

11. Name routines that bring you calm and peace.

A. Tai chi helps lower my blood pressure. I also like coloring, putting together jigsaw puzzles on the computer, or snuggling with my husband.

12. Who annoys you the most?

A. The Orange Menace.

13. Describe some of your favorite household items.

A. My computer, my guitars, my books, and my frying pan.

14. What have you gotten better at?

A. I've gotten better at standing up for myself. Unfortunately, some people cannot accept that I have an opinion and find it easier to walk away from me than attempt to understand that I am my own person, too, and not his or her doormat. I am getting better at not being a doormat.

15. Share a random memory.

A. Picture it - a beautiful June day. A young girl of five plays with her dolls and a doll blanket on the stoop at her grandmother's house. Somehow, her feet become tangled in the blanket and she falls off the stoop. She breaks her front tooth off and busts her mouth. Blood pours. Her grandmother hears the screams and rushes out. The front tooth remains missing until the permanent tooth grow in. Snaggle tooth.

16. How many pairs of shoes do you have?

A. I don't know. I have several pairs of sneakers that are all alike. That is all I wear these days.

17. Who do you go to for encouragement?

A. My husband or my friends.

18. References you make that others don’t get.

A. I think most of my references about The Lord of the Rings go right over people's heads, with the exception of my brother. He gets them.

19. What are 10 things you consider essential for you?

A. That's a big number. A hair dryer, showers, deodorant, clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, unscented soap and shampoo, toilet paper, Q-tips. That's more than 10, I think.

20. Is there any accent you wish you had?

A. I would like to have no accent. I am southern and sound it. I'd like to sound like a news anchor person, with no accent.

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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.