Sunday Stealing: The Xmas Questions

Merry Christmas!

Sunday Stealing: The Xmas Questions of 2016

1. Do you send out Xmas cards and if so how many do you send?

A. Yes, I still send out cards. This year I sent out about 60 cards. I do not get that many back.

2. Do you write and send a holiday letter to describe your year?

A. No. I write notes in some of the cards, especially if they are people I do not see frequently or am not friends with on Facebook.

3. What do you think of photo cards?

A. I don't really like them.

4. How about the tree thing – do you have one every year? Do you prefer a real or artificial?

A. We have an artificial tree because I am allergic to the real thing. I think we have put one up every year. Some years it has been a small tree, some years a big tree.

5. Describe your typical tree (size, decorations, type). If you don’t have a tree, do you decorate and if so, tell us about it. (If you don’t decorate make up a story here…)

A. It's about 6 feet tall and it's called a pencil tree. We decorate and some years I do "themes" which are either firefighter related or Christmas mice. This year we just put decorations on the tree with no theme in mind.

6. Do you hang up stockings? Whose names are on them (and relationships)?

A. Yes, we hang up stockings, but they do not have names. I get the white one and my husband gets the red one.

7. Your favorite Xmas movie(s) are?

A. Rudolph, It's a Wonderful Life, The Santa Claus, A Christmas Carol. To be honest I really don't have a favorite.

8. Tell us about an Xmas movie you hate.

A. I don't hate any of them. I am not a big fan of Elf but I don't hate it.

9. What are your favorite Xmas Song(s)?

A. Do You Hear What I Hear? is my favorite, followed by Angels We Have Heard on High.

10. What holiday song makes you want to hurl?

A. None of them.

11. What do you prefer for your holiday meal?

A. I would rather just snack and not have a big meal.

12. When do you open your gifts?

A. My brother and I exchange presents on Christmas eve; we have done that since we were children. My husband and I exchange presents Christmas morning. We exchange presents with his family on Christmas Day afternoon.

13. Do you buy gifts for your pet?

A. Well, the cows may get a little extra sweet feed.

14. What's the worst gift you've ever gotten?

A. I think a vacuum cleaner when we first married. We needed it but it was not the ideal present.

15. Do you ever travel for the holiday?

A. Not very far.

16. Did you see Santa as a child?

A. Yes. I still see him, every time I look into the smiling face of another human being.

17. Have you ever gone caroling?

A. Yes, before I married.

18. Do you drive around and look at the Xmas lights?

A. Sometimes.

19. Have you ever had a white Christmas?

A. Yes. But they are infrequent and therefore special.

20. Do you know how to ice skate? If yes, when did you skate the last time?

A. I went ice skating when I was a child on a frozen lake. That was the first and last time I went ice skating. (FYI, lakes are really not the best for ice skating. The water doesn't freeze bump-free.)

21. Are we crazy for thinking that the holiday season is WAY too commercial?

A. No. Only a crazy person would think that it isn't.

22. Have you ever worked Xmas eve or Xmas day?

A. I have worked Christmas eve a few times.

23. What are your Xmas pet peeves?

A. People who don't show up when they say they will, people who think a plate of appetizers should be their lunch, and people who pretend to be nice because its Christmas when the rest of the time they are assholes.
 
24. What’s your favorite thing about the holidays?

A. I like giving presents to people I care about. And I like fudge.

25. Here's your chance to say something significant to our players. Go for it!

A. My dear Sunday Stealing friends and gentle readers - I have been with you for over 3 years on Sunday Stealing (and 10 years on this blog),  I have known some of you longer than people I know in real life. You are my online family and all of you are quite dear to me. I greatly appreciate those who host memes, including this one, and I hope that all of you have the best holiday you have ever had. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and my thoughts, and for allowing me to get to know you through your words and pictures. The Internet may be the bane of mankind, but it is also a blessing for those of us who have figured out how to use it to make friends and meet others. Be kind always, laugh out loud, and may the Universe care for you in all the ways you need. Be blessed.

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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.

Saturday 9: Happy Holidays!

Saturday 9: Happy Holidays! (from the archives)

1. As you can see, Sam (meme author) loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. Yet some children are reluctant to climb into Jolly Old St. Nick's lap. Did you enjoy the tradition or were you shy? Or did you by pass it altogether -- either because you wrote him a letter or because your family didn't celebrate Christmas?

A. Apparently when I was a toddler I was not a Santa fan, but that changed as I grew older. However, I discovered who Santa was when I was quite young, so that may have made a difference.

2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there?

A. I hope I am on the Nice list. I haven't done anything special except work hard to improve my health and keep the household running under trying conditions. But maybe that is enough.

3. Did you ship any gifts to friends and family this year? If so, which one traveled the farthest?

A. I sent cards to California, but no gifts.

4. Did you buy yourself a gift this year?

A. I bought a few pieces of clothing when I was making other purchases, sometimes because it was cheaper to buy myself something than pay the shipping, if it moved the purchase up to the "free shipping" category.

5. What's your favorite holiday-themed movie?

A. If you count Rudolph in clay animation, then that one. If it has to be a longer movie, then probably It's a Wonderful Life, although I really don't go out of my way to watch any holiday movies.

6. Thinking of movies, Christmas is lucrative for Hollywood. Have you ever gone to a movie theater on Christmas Day?

A. I don't think so.

7. Have you ever suffered an embarrassing moment at the company Christmas party?

A. Fortunately, for the last 20+ years I have worked from home. However, a few years ago I went to the office party of one of the publications I frequently wrote for, and they were playing Bad Santa. When it came time to go get my "gift" which someone could then steal from me, I picked up an unopened bottle of wine from the table and said, "May I have this?" The owner laughed and waved me away with it. Of course it was stolen from me and everyone who took it. I ended up with a coffee mug.

8. What's your favorite beverage in cold weather?

A. Hot chocolate.

 9. Share a memory from last Christmas.

A. Last year we were surprised when my 26-year-old nephew came home from Florida. He had told us he had to work but he caught a red-eye (or whatever they are called) and flew in. We were very happy to see him.

Merry Christmas from Blue Country Magic!

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.  

Little Christmas Eve

So here we are, counting down to the big day of December 25, the most wonderful consumer holiday of them all.

As I performed a little historical research, I discovered that gift-giving was actually illegal in many New England states, as the Puritan colonies found Christmas to be a contemptuous holiday and not one sanctioned by the Bible.

The Puritans argued that the selection of the date was an early Christian hijacking of a Roman festival, and to celebrate a December Christmas was to defile oneself by paying homage to a pagan custom. James Howard Barnett notes in The American Christmas (1984) that the Puritan view prevailed in New England for almost two centuries.

That's right. Christmas was banned and illegal until the 1850s in places like Massachusetts and Connecticut. Laws banning Christmas were repealed in 1861, but even so, many Puritan denominations refused to celebrate and acknowledge the day.

After the American Civil War, Christmas became a federal holiday (1870) as President Grant attempted to reconcile North and South. The day became a high point in the American calendar.

By 1912, commercialism of Christmas had taken a firm hold, so much so that a group of women in New York created The Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving (SPUGS). The group at one point had about 6,000 members and was formed mainly to keep working girls from giving their bosses presents in exchange for work favors.

Then World War I came along and everyone's mind turned to more serious things, and buying presents sort of melded itself into the consciousness of everyone, even those who don't celebrate for religious regions.

Heck, even Bill Maher, who calls himself America's Number One Atheist, says he says, "Merry Christmas." I don't know if he exchanges gifts, but I bet he does.

Which brings me to the question - what is Christmas, really? It has its roots in paganism, certainly. The Puritans likely were correct about that. My guess is it is a mixed-up mess of celebrations, beginning with the celebration of the winter solstice (the longest night of the year) and ending with Christianity's usurpation of the holiday to make the celebrations more in keeping with the patriarchal biblical tradition.

Both Christians and Pagans associate the holiday with the (re)birth of something central to their religion. So it really doesn't matter if you think Christmas trees are pagan - or not.

Christmas for me is a time of stress, reflection, saying hello to friends I know and everyone I meet, baking, creating, and trying to keep myself and everyone else happy. I like giving gifts, and I am not too proud to say I don't mind receiving them, either. It is particularly gratifying to receive something thoughtful.

I try to give thoughtful presents but am not always successful. As I age, it becomes harder to buy for people like my brother, who has or simply purchases everything he wants. Or my mother-in-law, who at 84 really doesn't need much of anything at all (though we bought her a new computer after hers crashed earlier in the month, so that took care of itself!). Friends, too, become more difficult to buy for, especially if you don't see them as often as you once did. Thank goodness for those who collect things, and for books. You can always give someone a book or an addition to a collection.

Since I don't get around as well as I once did, gift-buying has become more difficult in some ways. Online shopping helps, but one can only spend so much time looking at photos and hoping that the thing you purchase comes as advertised. I like to look and feel the texture of things, and you simply can't do that through a computer or smartphone screen.

I do think the holiday focuses too much on consumerism. The advertisements to buy and purchase are strong, the Christmas commercials sappy and they make you long for something you will likely never have, that "wonderful" holiday where everyone exclaims over the ham and raises a toast to the most wonderful time of the year (thanks Kroger). Cold weather runs people indoors where we can exchange not only gifts but colds and flu.

The holiday charmed me as a child, and as an adult it aggravates me as much as I appreciate it, but mostly, I try to appreciate it. I try to appreciate the fact that I am remembered, that I remember, and that we are able to purchase presents for others. I make donations to charities and am happy to do it. Not everyone can.
 
As this holiday weekend stretches long - four days for some - I hope that for a few moments you take the time to think about what Christmas really means to you. Regardless of your religion or your reason to celebrate, ask yourself this: are you being true to your inner self with things that you do? Have you thought about the holiday and its implications to you, or are you simply rolling along with the world?

These are questions only you can answer. They are questions I shall ponder greatly this weekend, to see what I need to change for next year.

Merry Christmas to you, however you celebrate. May you be blessed.

Thursday Thirteen

Santa will come before we next meet here for Thursday 13, so I bring to you the fronts of 13 Christmas cards that I have received. They are not handmade like Heather's over at Word Trix, but lovely all the same.

There are actually more than 13 here, but who's counting, eh?

Do you have a favorite?

Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for reading Blue Country Magic.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 479th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

A Smoky Day

We had a little rain and the county lifted the burn ban.

So someone over towards the cement plant decided today, a beautiful and clear day, with vision for miles and miles, was the day to muck up the skies with smoke and haze.

I shot these photos around 4 p.m.; it was much worse earlier in the day. Apparently it was a fairly large fire for it certainly polluted the entire area. I could even smell it in Daleville.

 

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, December 18, 2016



Sunset, December 19, 2016

Sunset, December 19, 2016

Sunset, December 19, 2016
 

Home Where He Belongs

A few weeks ago, I showed off my collection of Christmas mice, and lamented the fact that I did not have the *original* Santa Mouse, the one that is as old as I am. I had only a photo of the ornament. I feared he had been lost in my brother's clearing out process as he and wife have separated.

Last night, after an early Christmas celebration, my brother placed Santa Mouse in my hands.

I cried.

Isn't he the cutest darned little Santa Mouse ever?

He is on my tree now, where he belongs, amongst the tinsel and garland. Next year, and every year after, for as long as I celebrate the holiday, he will be the tree's topper.

An early Christmas gift of grace.

Thanks, bro.

Sunday Stealing: Here to Serve

Sunday Stealing

The Here-to-Serve 16 Questions*

1. Which is worse? Being gossiped about or being lied to?

A. I would prefer not to have either happen, but I think being lied to (not counting little white lies that are more social convention and manners than actual lying) is worse than being gossiped about. People are going to gossip anyway and at some point it will be your turn to be the topic of the day. But big liars have a special place in hell reserved for them.

2. What is your favorite "Starbucks" drink? Or if you have better taste, Dunkin’Donuts?

A. I don't go to either establishment. And Krispy Kreme is the better donut.

3. Name an embarrassing moment (Make it good).

A. I was at a funeral visitation and I went to introduce my mother-in-law to someone. "This is so-and-so," I said. The woman raised up on her heels and her face practically turned red with indignation. "I am blah-blah!" she exclaimed, and strode off.  Oops. In my defense, they do look a lot alike.

4. Is it hard for you to ask some to forgive you when you have wronged them?

A. No. I practically ooze "I'm sorry" simply for existing to everyone I meet.

5. Who do you wish you could meet?

A. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. This is a quote from her: "So now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay. And when I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the supreme court]? And I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that."

6. Best food comes from which country?

A. I am not a food connoisseur, so I am not able to answer this question.
 
7. Do you like small talk, or deep conversations?

A. It depends on the person, venue, time of day, and topic. Small talk has its place. Deep conversations belong on the table as well, and in my opinion, we need many more of them.

8. Who do you most want to encourage this year?

A. It sounds selfish, but myself most of all. I have had a hard time the last three years with health issues and I would like to reach a point of acceptance of my situation and a feeling of moving forward. I also want to encourage my husband as he heads toward retirement. And I have friends who need a prompt or two, which I will give them as I can.

9. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

A. They would tell me to write, I think. They would be correct. Doing something about it is part of the answer to #8.

10. How often do you get real sick?

A. I never get fake sick so I suppose every time I am sick I am "real" sick. But I am very sick about twice a year, if we don't count chronic pain issues.

11. Are you a person who has a whole lot of acquaintances, or just a few very close friends?

A. Mostly a few close friends. I have over 500 Facebook friends but they are acquaintances and if not for Facebook they wouldn't even know I existed, and vice versus.

12. If you could cure a disease, or heal a sickness, which one would you choose?

A. Cancer, even though that is not what is troubling me. It is, though, the thing that most needs to be cured. Unfortunately I think it will take a major change in society to create that cure, as our medical system is not set up to encourage cure or wellness. People make more money off of sick people than they do healthy ones. Curing cancer would mean changing the way we work, our stress levels, ensuring that we all have basic needs met to decrease anxiety, and that we eat well, which means, not Pop Tarts for breakfast.

13. What was your favorite book of 2016?

A. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah, followed by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.
 
14. What was one of your biggest accomplishments in 2016?

A. I have stuck with physical therapy and made improvements in my health. Nothing life changing, but still improvement.

15. If you could be guaranteed a spot on the reality show "Survivor", would you go?

A. Yes. I wouldn't last more than a day, but I would go.

16. Which is worse? Shopping for jeans or a bathing suit?

A. A bathing suit.

17. How old was your oldest living relative (still living or in the past)? [editor's note: I haven't got a clue as to what this question means either. That's why it's perfect...]

A. My great-aunt, Pearl, on my mother's side, lived to be 107. She passed away in 2007. My grandmother on my father's side is 93 and still alive. She has outlived all of her children except my father.

*There was actually 17 questions; the original post had two #4s on it. I changed mine.
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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.

Saturday 9: O Holy Night

Saturday 9: O, Holy Night (1967)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This beloved carol takes its lyrics from a French poem. What else can we thank the French for?

A. Fries? Joan of Arc. Escargot. Lots of tasty cuisine. Helping the colonists defeat the British so that we could become our own nation. (That last one should probably be first.)

2) How well do you know  "O, Holy Night?" Without looking up the lyrics, could you sing along with Ella?

A. O holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices o night, divine! O night. When Christ was born. O night! Divine!

I just sang that from memory and didn't look it up. How well did I do?

3) In order to get this record into stores in time for Christmas 1967, Ella had to record this in late July. So let's reverse that. Now that it's Christmastime, what do you miss most about summer?

A. Warmth and green colors.

4) Sam is crazy about the open toed pumps she'll be wearing to holiday parties, but that means she needs to get a pedi. Will you be at a salon between now and year-end?

A. Nope.

5) Will you be consuming any egg nog this holiday season? And if you do, will it be spiked?

A. Nope again. Might have a taste of boiled custard, but not egg nog.

6) Thinking of holiday cuisine, what's your favorite Christmas cookie?

A. A sugar cookie and gingerbread tie for first place.

7) Sam knows she will get a bottle of red wine from her boss, because that's what he gives his staff every year. Is there a gift you can count on receiving?

A. I try not to have expectations. It is easier that way.

8) What one gift would you most like to receive this year? Do you think anyone will get it for you?

A. I didn't really ask for anything this year. I wouldn't mind some thermal underwear for overweight ladies. It is mighty chilly outside.

9) This time of year is big for charitable fundraising. Here's your chance to plug a cause or organization that's near and dear to you.

A. Cancer research is very important and I like to support that. Generally I give to the American Cancer Society. My mother died of pancreatic cancer when she was 56 - just three years older than I am now.


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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.  

My Christmas Tree

This is my tree this year. It is a pencil tree. It is small, because we bought it last year when we had different furniture. That furniture was new but it broke and the furniture company replaced it after a long and arduous adventure in furnishing a living room. In any event, we ended up with smaller furniture which left more room in the living room than we had with the other furniture.

So the tree looks very tiny. It didn't look tiny last year because the furniture took up so much space in the living room, but this year it does.

That doesn't really make sense to me but perception is a strange thing.

A new tree cost a small fortune, so we kept this one and will use it until it starts shedding badly or gets dusty (all of the artificial trees do one or the other or both eventually).

We are fortunate and I am grateful we even have a tree, as I know many people cannot afford one. We have always donated our old trees to Goodwill instead of throwing them out in hopes someone can still get some use out of them. Usually once they get dusty we must purchase another because of my asthma and so there is life left in them if a person doesn't have that kind of health concern.

Of course we cannot have a real tree because of my allergies. Real trees are beautiful but they certainly do make me sick.

Thursday Thirteen

Yesterday I lost a friend and mentor to a freak accident. She was a writer and someone I greatly admired and respected.

I am not naming her out of respect for her family, but I will definitely miss her.

Twenty years ago, before email ate up our correspondence, we were pen pals. Here are few words of wisdom about writing from some of those long-ago letters.

1. “There’s nothing like having real readers out there waiting for you, even if they’re largely silent.”

2. “Writing’s not easy no matter what happens in your life. You could be independently wealthy and writing would still be a bitch.”

3. “Real writers keep their eyes on the right goal, and that isn’t money or publication or fame. It’s just good writing and nothing more.”

4. “Anyway, one of the things I wanted to suggest you think about re: your writing: Are you really writing what you want to write, or are you writing what you think you ought to want to write?”

5. “Any writing feeds all the writing.”

6. “The SOBs at Sewanee Review, though, just sent back my mss., without even so much as a pre-printed card. The SOBs! The jerks! The cutthroat duffus idiots! (I’ve decided to call editors names whenever I can, because it makes me feel more in control of the situation. Which, of course, there’s no control over at all.)"

7. “I keep notes (even if they’re only mental ones) on absolutely everything, just naturally assuming that it will all – all! – go in a novel someday."

8. “First drafts are always open to misinterpretation.”

9. “If they don’t like this revision, I think I’ll burn it.”

10. “I want to write – have always wanted to write – a kind of moving and spiritual prose (some would say sentimental prose) for which [mutual alma mater] has no respect.”

11. “I can’t say writing is fun, but I sure do like having written.”

12. “A good part of what makes a writer a writer is the ability to recognize a good story when she hears it. And by that I mean, the ability to recognize a story that will reverberate through her own voice, her own words, her own sense of what makes the world work. Once a writer has found such a story, she’ll steal it without a backward glance.”

13. “Go and sit in your writing place every day, just in case something comes to you. (Of course, it will.).”

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 478th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Stupid Questions

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

A. A homeopathic remedy I use to keep colds and the flu at bay. And tea.

2. Where was you profile picture taken?

A. At an art professor's house in 2012.

3. Do you play Pokemon Go?

A. No.

4. Name someone who made you laugh recently?

A. My chiropractor.

5. How late did you stay up last night?

A. I went to bed at 10 p.m.

6. If you could move somewhere else where would it be?

A. Tuscan, Italy. Someplace warm.

7. Ever been kissed under the fireworks?

A. Yes.

8. Which of your closest friends live close?

A. Several of them are all about the same distance away.

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends?

A. I think it could happen but I can't say I've actually seen it work.

10. How do you feel about Dr. Pepper?

A. It used to be the only cola I would drink, but I stopped drinking soft drinks.

11. When was the last time you cried?

A. Saturday. Today.
 
12. Who took your profile picture?

A. An art student from Hollins. I do not know her name.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture/video of?

A. My husband.

14. Was today better than yesterday?

A. Yes, in some ways.

15. Can you live a day without TV?

A. I live most days without much TV, so I think so.

16. Are you upset about anything?

A. Yes. I have a friend in the hospital. I am very concerned about her. *Update* My friend passed away.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? 

A. Humans are social creatures. Even the most introverted of us need a friendly face every now and then.

18. If you could have any job/career, which would choose?

A. I enjoyed writing and would like to continue in that field, although I suppose I will be rounded up by the incoming authoritarian government at some point.

19. Are you a bad influence?

A. That depends on who I am influencing, I think. I am basically a decent human being who tries to be kind to everyone. If you don't want to be a nice person, then I would be a bad influence.

The Influence of Mary Poppins

Saturday night we watched Mary Poppins on TV, mostly because I did not recall ever having seen it before. I probably did when I was young, but I had no memory of it.

The first thing that came to mind was Harry Potter. Here we had wizards (Mary Poppin and the chimney sweep dude) and muggles (the parental units and the hired help).

The next thing that came to mind was Nanny McPhee. Obviously both of those stories were influence to some extent by Mary Poppins.

I could write a good paper comparing those two items with Mary Poppins, I suspect. Throw in the history of witches and warlocks, good and bad, parenting versus actually raising a child, and one could write an entire book about this movie with comparison to today's literature.

Not sure I could manage to match it with Tolkien, though. I would have to give that one some thought.

Mary Poppins, in case like me you were not aware, sat amongst the clouds waiting for the winds to blow. She magically appeared to become a nanny to two mischievous children (though their mischief was mild compared to today) and to retrain the family. Doesn't that sound like Nanny McPhee?

The chimney sweep, Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke, performed all kinds of feats and was rather a jack-of-all-trades sort of fellow, for he also was a one-man band and served as a sort of narrator to the audience.

Later in the film there was something about laughing and how it kept your feet from the floor, which seemed a rather good lesson for these trying times.

I knew most of the songs but I think that came from having the album or perhaps a toy jukebox I once had that played many Disney tunes. And then there was that wonderful word: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It means "exceptional" or "wonderful" but also, according to Wikipedia, "Atoning for educability through delicate beauty."

That in and of itself probably requires explaining, and looking at that particular definition gives me a headache! Dum diddle diddle!

Julie Andrews did not look at all like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, for Mary Poppins (she goes by her entire name all the time) has black hair and the change in features is magical, truly. I had no idea Dick Van Dyke was so talented, either.

The film was produced in 1964 and is loosely based on a book series, Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers (something I shall have to add to my reading list, I suppose).

Sunday Stealing: The Bearded Questions

Sunday Stealing: The Bearded Questions


1. Do you like guys with beards?

A. Well, Mr. Sunday Stealing, you look good in your beard. I am not fond of my husband's beard efforts, but then he always have to shave before it can become soft and not so scratchy (firefighters can't have beards because it interferes with breathing apparatus).

2. What is some of your favorite music?

A. Eagles, Carly Simon, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Disco (yeah, yeah), The Carpenters, The Pretenders, Heart, etc.

3. List your three favorite scents.

A. Vanilla and the smell of my husband after he's had a bath, and that's about it. I am allergic to most scents so don't have them around.

4. How do you ground yourself or recharge?

A. Read a book, take a nap, play a video game, or play the guitar.
 
5. Any ways you treat or spoil yourself?

A. Buying books.
 
6. Besides your blog, do you have a creative past-time?

A. I have been learning to knit, and I like to color. I also keep a journal. I am also a photographer.
 
7. Share something difficult you've been through.

A. I spent six very difficult years trying to have children. I had a surgery each of those years because I had endometriosis and had large cysts that formed on my ovaries, which would then become infected, sort of like an appendix, and that would require emergency surgery. We never were able to have children, and today I am dealing with the aftermath of this issue because of scar tissue in my abdomen. The scar tissue has "captured" my organs, causing friction and pain with movement.
 
8. What helps you fall asleep?

A. Counting backwards and drugs.

9. What is one strength and one weakness of yours?

A. Strength - I'm a good writer and can express concepts in a way others can understand (usually). Weakness - I have a temper and if I don't spit it out then I internalize it.

10. Have you ever received a letter or written one to someone else?

A. I just dumped 60 Christmas cards in the mail. I used to correspond regularly with a cousin and my grandfather. So yes.

11. What makes you feel powerful, what breathes life into you?

A. Writing a good story can do that, but it hasn't happened in a long while.

12. What's your favorite thing to do at night?

A. Sleep.

13. If you could go back to any era, what would it be?

A.  If there was ever a time and place where there was a truly matriarchal society, that is where I would like to go.

14. Your favorite things to wear at home?

A. Jeans, a t-shirt, and my blue thing, which is a fleece jacket of sorts.

15. If you could be immortal or have an extremely long life span which would you pick and why?

A. It would depend. Am I immortal and growing older all the time, or immortal at the age of 20? If the latter, then I choose that one. I would like to see how much longer humanity has before we wipe ourselves from the planet. But growing old, with your skin getting thin and your hair falling out, and all of the illnesses and such - that is no fun.

16. Tell us about something positive you have done for yourself or someone recently.

A. I purchased one of those $5 food donations at the grocery store. I signed it "From Hillary Clinton." I also stuck $10 in the Salvation Army bin just last night.

17. One thing you like about your appearance?

A. I have interesting eyes.

18. Something that makes you feel better after a hard day?

A. Going to bed.

19. If you have one, name a favorite book & movie.

A. Book: Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching: A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way, a New English Version by Ursula K. Le Guin. Movie: The Return of the King in the Lord of the Rings series.