Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Has anyone ever made fun of your taste in music?

A. Not really. My father occasionally makes reference to "that stuff you like" as opposed to his country music, but I ignore him.

2. Do you have Pop-tarts in your house right now?

A. Yes, I think there are plain blueberry ones in the closet. They may be out of date, though.

3. Does someone owe you over twenty dollars?

A. No.

4. When was the last time you burned any part of your body?

A. I burned my finger a while back, but it has been a long time since I had any kind of serious burn.

5. What kind of booze did you last take shots of?

A. I don't drink. The last alcohol I had was in 2012, when I drank some wine to celebrate my graduation for my masters degree.

6. If you could see any musician live, front row, who would you choose?

A. Melissa Etheridge. I was supposed to see her before Covid, and the show was cancelled several times, and they refunded my money. She's rescheduled but it's for September and I am not going into a small crowded venue right now, so I didn't re-purchase tickets.

7. If I gave you ten dollars, what would you spend it on?

A. A book.

8. Does / did either of your parents serve in the military?

A. My father was in the Army.

9. Do you like sour candy?

A. Not particularly.

10. What do you do to stay awake when you’re tired?

A. Get up and move around.

11. Do you wear your shoes around the house?

A. I always wear shoes of some kind. I hate going barefoot.

12. Is there ever a time that you enjoy cold showers?

A. I almost always turn the hot water to cold and try to stay under it for over 30 seconds when I shower. I read that cold water helped build your immune system. I didn't see where it would hurt anything to give it a try.

13. Are you good at filling silence in awkward situations?

A. I like to let the silence build until it explodes. I always got the best quotes that way when I was doing interviews.

14. Any TV shows you sit down weekly to watch?

A. At the moment, we've been watching Deadliest Catch. Supergirl comes back on this week. TV really doesn't hold my attention much.

15. Are you one to sneak food into movie theaters?

A. I have been known to take a bottle of water and a candy bar into the theater, yes. They charge astronomical prices for stuff in there.

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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: Woman In Love

Saturday 9: Woman in Love (1980)

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

1) In this song, Barbra dreams of love. What's something you've been dreaming of, or wishing for, lately? (It doesn't have to be romantic.)

A. I'd like to remodel my office. Mostly the floor needs to be replaced. It is parquet wood that we put down over 20 years ago, and it is coming apart. But it would be quite a chore since my office is full of books, bookcases, musical instruments, filing cabinets, and a massive desk. I don't expect it will happen soon, if ever. Maybe a good throw rug . . .

2) She sings that she and her lover are oceans apart. Tell us about someone who is far away, and that you wish was nearer this Saturday morning.

A. I have someone who is actually not that far away from me physically but who is lost to me in other ways. I'd like to have that person back.

 

3) This was a #1 hit for Streisand, so popular it knocked Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" out of the top spot on the charts. Are you a Freddie Mercury/Queen fan?

A. I like some Queen songs but I am not a die-hard fan. I like their hits but I haven't heard every song on their albums. Some album cuts that I have heard I've not been particularly impressed by.

4) This song was written specifically for Barbra by Barry and Robin Gibb of the BeeGees. During the late 1970s, when the BeeGees were riding high on the success of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, she let them know she was a fan and would love to record one of their songs. The collaboration went so well that they ended up writing not one but nearly a dozen songs for her. Tell us about something that went way better for you than you predicted it would.

A. When I decided to go back to college, I was 22 years old. It took me eight years to get my 4-year degree because I was working mostly full time and/or sick a lot of the time. I had to drop out several times because of major surgeries. There were times I despaired of ever finishing, but I did just before I turned 30. Later, I went back and finished up my masters degree before I turned 50. Maybe I'll have my Ph.D. by the time I'm 70. Ha.

5) Barbra traveled to Miami Beach to record this song in Barry's favorite studio. Have you ever been to Miami Beach?

A. No, I have not.

 

6) Barbra went to Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. She had a mad crush on one of her classmates. That boy was Bobby Fischer, who grew up to be an international chess champion. Do you remember one of your big high school crushes? Do you know whatever became of him or her?

A. I went to the prom with a boy named Mike. He went into the Army. I did not hear from him or of him for a very long time, and then in 2012 I learned that he had been injured in a wreck in a fire truck in the Richmond area. I never did learn how he fared after the accident. I was surprised he was a firefighter. Apparently I was destined to date guys who wanted to be firemen.

7) Barbra is responsible for the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai. It's dedicated to the study of heart disease, its impact on women, and the search for more effective treatment. If you could fund a not-for-profit, as Barbra has done, what cause would you champion?

A. I would build a big library and have an entire section set aside for feminist literature to help women grow and become the humans they are meant to be. And then I'd have another section to promote literacy, and employee teachers to help folks learn to read and write. Something like 14% of the population cannot read. I'd like to knock that number down to zero.

 

8) In 1980, when "Woman in Love" was popular, Macaulay Culkin was born. He's best known for the Home Alone movies. Have you seen them? If yes, did you enjoy them?

A. I have seen them. I can't say I enjoyed them. 

9) Random question: On social media, people keystroke LOL all the time. When is the last time you literally laughed out loud?

A. I have friends I talk to on the phone during the week. We always laugh a lot.

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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. 

August 20 Happiness Challenge

I ate Chinese food! I haven't had anything but a bland diet since Thanksgiving, but tonight I decided to try some Chinese. It wasn't the best Chinese, but it was sweet and sour chicken and an egg roll, which means fried stuff and grease.

Two tablespoons of Gavascon preceded the meal, but hey. You do what you gotta do. If this doesn't cause me any issues, I'll know I'm finally on the mend from that ulcer!

Being able to eat something besides bland food makes me very happy!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Thursday Thirteen

My beautiful county of Botetourt in Virginia is home to more than 90 summits, ridges, and trails. The county is an outdoors person's paradise. Our views are spectacular. Want meadows? We have them. Want sunflowers? We have those, too. Want woods? They're everywhere.

Here is a list of 13 mountains that are in Botetourt (some just partially), in alphabetical order.

1. Back Creek Mountain

2. Broad Run Mountain

3. Brushy Mountain

4. Caldwell Mountain

5. Coyner Mountain

6. North Mountain

7. Purgatory Mountain

8. Rathole Mountain

9. Read Mountain

10. Scurff Mountain

11. Sheets Mountain

12. Timber Ridge

13. Tinker Mountain

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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 719th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Backside of the Barn

 

August 18 Happiness Challenge

My house is clean! Not clean like I keep it clean, but sparkling. It's really clean.

I have a young woman who comes in about every 5 weeks to do the mopping and heavy cleaning that I'm no longer able to due thanks to the f*cked up surgery I had in my abdominal area over eight years ago. While it sucks to not have the strength to mop and crawl around under the bed cleaning up spider webs, I'm very happy that we can afford to have this young woman come in and help me every so often. With the heavy cleaning under control, I can manage to dust occasionally and run the vacuum to keep the dirt down.

Today was cleaning day. I'm very thankful that this young woman is available to help me out.

And very happy to have the spider webs gone.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

No One's Child

This is a song I have been working on for a while. The chorus came to me first, and the rest of it eventually fell into place.

This is a ballad (I guess). I am using an electrified acoustic guitar along with a Boss loop station. A loop station (also called a looper) allows me to add stuff to the song like lead guitar playing while strumming. You will see it toward the end.

I only got the looper this weekend so I'm still learning how to use it, and I think I go flat on the first line because I'm still sniffling a bit with my sinuses, but I needed to get this recorded before I forgot the tune.

So here is No One's Child.

Here are the words to the song:

No One’s Child

By Anita Firebaugh

My momma she was a broken tree upon a rocky shore.

My daddy was a drunken sea, a storm when I was born.

Between the waves and the killing tree

There was never hope for me.

There was never hope for me.

And I am no one’s child. I run eager, free, and wild.

And I drift along like deadwood in a stream.

I was born to bleed

To always have this ache and need.

With nightmares in my sleep, I do not dream.

With nightmares in my sleep I do not dream.

My sister was the silver moon, she fed me fruit and grain

My brother was a thunder boom, he brought me wind and rain.

Between the thunder and the moon

I grew up too soon.

Yes I grew up too soon.

And I am no one’s child. I run eager, free, and wild

And I drift along like deadwood in a stream.

I was born to bleed, To always have this ache and need.

With nightmares in my sleep, I do not dream.

With nightmares in my sleep, I do not dream.

(Guitar solo)

Whispered: No one’s child.  I am no one’s child.  No one’s child. Etc.

August 16 Happiness Challenge

It rained some more! The fields are a lovely green now. The cattle are looking quite content and everything has lost the coating of dust and grime that had settled on the tree leaves and grass.

We are expecting more rain which could end up with flooding, but after having this months-long drought, I am not going to complain.

See how green?

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Barn Swallows

 

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What subjects lead you down a Wikipedia rabbit hole?

A. Most anything I have any interest in can do that. Religions, other cultures, mythology, music history, magic - whatever I look up.

2. How do you like to spend your birthdays?

A. With my husband doing something fun. This rarely happens.

3. Something you might take a little too seriously?

A. Myself.

 

4. Describe a time you made a good decision for yourself.

A. I took work at a job that I absolutely hated and I quit it to go back to college.

 

5. Something you’ve improved/gotten better at.

A. Hopefully just doing this thing called life.

 

6. What dish would you bring to a summer potluck?

A. I'd bring a thing of chicken parts from Kroger, soft drinks, and chips. Yes, I am that person who doesn't cook up the great potato salad or whatever.

7. What do you miss about Winter?

A. Not much. Snow is good occasionally but the older I get the less I like it.

8. Share a summer memory.

A. Summer lovin', had me a blast! Summer lovin', happened so fast! Met a girl, crazy for me! Met a boy, cute as could be! Summer days, driftin' away, but oh! those summer nights! . . . Sorry, channeling Grease there for a minute. A summer memory of my own? One year we went to Myrtle Beach and had a grand time. No hurricane! We had cash for once and could do things besides pay for the room, so we raced cars, shopped, rode rides at the Pavilion, went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. It was probably our best time down there.

9. What words do you misspell or misuse the most?

A. I have to look up the lie/lay thing.

 

10. Name things you love to do that can only happen in summer.

A. Go fishing in the pond.

 

11. How would you describe your sense of humor?

A. Sarcastic and over rated.

 

12. Have you ever quit a job or career?

A. Yes.

13. What are your favorite features of your cell phone?

A. Texting.

14. What scents always make you hungry?

A. Cookies baking.

15. What are you working on right now?

A. Answering these questions. I'm also thinking about what to fix for dinner.

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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.

August 14 Happiness Challenge

Today I am happy that it rained last night. We are so dry. Everything is much greener today, but the rain forecast for today hasn't materialized. So I will be grateful for yesterday's rain.

I am also happy I live in a small home with air conditioning, because it is well over 90 degrees outside with high humidity. I would be toast without the A/C and probably having an asthmatic fit from the air.

I am also happy that my sinus infection seems to be easing. Whew!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Saturday 9: Smelly Cat

Saturday 9: Smelly Cat (1995)

Unfamiliar with this song? Hear it here.

 

1) Poor Smelly Cat lives with negligent humans who refuse to take it to the vet. Who is the last doctor you spoke to (vet, MD, dentist, PhD . . . )?

A. I had a teledoc with my doctor's PA on Monday.

 

2) This song was introduced during the second season of Friends. Were you a fan of the show?

A. I don't think I ever watched an episode of it.

3) On the show, the song was performed by Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), an amateur folk singer and a professional masseuse. There  was a debate on Reddit about massages -- some loved them because they are relaxing and therapeutic, others think it's "creepy to be undressed and handled by a stranger." How about you? Do you enjoy massages?

A. I do enjoy a good massage, but I haven't had one in quite a long time.

 

4) During the run of Friends, Phoebe was roommates first with Monica and then with Rachel and finally with her true love, Mike. Tell us about one of your roommates.

A. I never had a roommate. I have a husband. Is he a roommate? I guess so. He's a retired fireman, very loyal and sweet fellow (at least to me). He likes me.

 

5) Phoebe often performed for tips on street corners or at her favorite coffee shop, Central Perk. Where is your favorite place to go for a cup of joe?

A. I don't drink coffee.

6) This song was originally called "Smelly Dog," inspired by a pooch named Gouda. The childhood pet of Friends writer Betsy Borns, poor Gouda could have smelled better. Is there an odor you'd prefer to never smell again?

A. Skunk and nursing home smell. I could do without smelling either of those ever again.

 

7) 35% of American households include a cat. Are there any pets at your house?

A. I have a herd of cattle. They aren't at the house, they're out in the pasture.

8) In 1995, the year Phoebe first performed "Smelly Cat," Steve Fossett became the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific in a hot air balloon. Have you ever ridden in a balloon?

A. I have! It was in 1986 or 1987. I wrote an article about it for the local newspaper and won a Virginia Press Association Award for it. I think it was one of the first ones I won.

 

9) Random question: Looking over your romantic history, have you broken more hearts, or had your heart broken more often?

A. I expect it's about even.

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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. 

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

My first bicycle was a present from Santa when I was five years old. It was baby blue, and Batgirl was sitting on the bike seat when I woke up Christmas morning.

It had training wheels at first, but by summer's end, my father took them off and, holding on to me, or so I thought, sent me off down the road. By the time I realized he was no longer holding on, I'd gone a long way on my own. I didn't need the training wheels anymore.

Generally speaking, I did not ride my bike at home as much as I rode a bicycle at my grandmother's house. By the time I was 8 or 9, we were all riding bikes, even my brother who would have only been 5 or 6. I guess the bikes belonged to my departed uncles and aunt, maybe even my mother, I can't remember.

In any event, when we stayed with Grandma over the summer, she shooed us out the door, and inevitably, we'd take a bike ride.

Here is our route, as seen today from Google Earth with mark-ups:

The green line is the bike route. We'd start off from Grandma's house, go to the right from this picture, and ride around that circle. The squiggly lines on the left-hand side indicate the maze of a path we created in the pine trees that the Forestry Department had planted behind their building. All of us kids around there rode our bikes through the pine trees, sometimes for hours as our bikes turned into steeds and we chased after one another.

This is where we were supposed to ride, in that circle. Sometimes we'd dare one another to ride up to the green line on the right, where there was a rickety old empty house. We called it the haunted house, so riding up to it was an important dare.

As we got older, we rode around the big building labeled "Mom's Office" down in the lower part of the picture. We weren't supposed to do that because we might run into a vehicle or have a car back into us or whatever reason the adults could find, but we would do it occasionally anyway, whizzing past my mother in her front office in hopes she didn't see us. Mostly she didn't. Sometimes she did. Oops.

When we were even older, say 10, we could take our bikes across Apperson Drive to the Orange Market so long as we used the stoplight. And on Fridays, we could ride our bikes beside Grandma while she walked up to Aunt Neva's to do her hair. That was always hard because we weren't supposed to cross Apperson at that location (no stoplight) unless Grandma was watching and of course she was walking so we had to ride up and down and up and down and do circles around her until we reached a safer area.

The yellow squares I added are where there were once houses or buildings. The remaining house on the right hand end of the block belonged to my grandmother's brother, Uncle Curt, and his wife, Aunt Elsie. My two cousins, Tim and Pam, lived there and sometimes they played with us but Aunt Elsie didn't let them out very much. Other kids - mostly boys - lived around the block, too, and we'd all ride around together at various times. I remember a Journell boy and I think a boy named Dennis (?) lived behind my grandmother's house. I'm not sure that's right. My brother might remember.

The river back then was lined with trees all the way up to the road. That was a tangled jungle we were also supposed to stay away from, but somehow there were paths that led down to the water for fishing or wading. I can't imagine how they got there.

At home on the farm, bike riding was complicated by the dirt road and gravel. A wipe out there was actually worse than one on the asphalt at Grandma's, because the gravel would embed itself into your knees or elbows. 

My blue bike died a violent death when my father backed over it with a truck. My brother had been riding it and left it there. I received a whipping for "not taking care of my things" even though I'd been out with my mother and had no idea my brother had left it behind the truck. I'm sure I deserved many of the whippings I received, but I definitely remember the unfair ones, which that one was.

That bike was replaced by a green three-speed that I didn't ride much. I started driving when I was 13 - a beat up ol' Jeep that was manual transmission - and I guess bikes lost their allure after that.

The very last bicycle I owned was a purchase I made in the early 1990s. I had decided I should take up bike riding for my health. I rode it around the exterior of the house a few times, parked it, and asked my husband to take it back to the store. It terrified me. I was too high off the ground. I had no balance. Whatever riding a bicycle in childhood had given me, by the time I was in my 30s, it was gone.

Thursday Thirteen

Childhood games and toys! I doubt many of these are still played or played with these days.

1. Hide and seek.

2. Dodge ball.

3. Red Rover

4. Jacks (or Jax, I've sometimes seen it spelled)

5. Hop Scotch

6. Lite-Brite

7. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots

8. Silly Putty

9. Spirograph

10. Freeze Tag

11. Kick the Can

12. Mother, May I?

13. Battle Ship!

Others: Lincoln Logs, Barrel of Monkeys, Operation, Slinky

_______________________

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 718th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

August 11 Happiness Challenge

Last night we had a little shot of rain. We're in a drought, so we desperately need some of Mother Nature's tears to bring the pastures and the hayfields back to where they need to be.

I am happy it rained.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

August 10 Happiness Challenge

I have spent the day alone. Being an introvert, I like my alone time. It has been a good day for me to do relaxing things and continue to try to overcome this sinus infection.

I certainly don't want to go out in public sounding like a froggy! (Which is what I sound like now.)

Additionally, I learned that a friend who was hit by a car (!) in a parking lot is going to be ok. Very battered and bruised, but ok. I am very thankful for that.

I am also happy for my friends who called today to see how I was feeling.

Additionally, I am happy that I have a husband to call when suspicious pick up trucks decide to put in unwanted appearances.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

August 9 Happiness Challenge

 

Today, I am have spent the day doing very little because I have a sinus infection.

My doctor saw me with a teledoc call. So I am happy today that I have good health care, a caring doctor, and the time to take to heal.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Legacy - My Paternal Grandparents

My father's parents moved to California before I was a year old. They took with them my father's two older brothers and their young families, and his younger sister.

I don't know why my father stayed. Perhaps my mother didn't want to move. In any event, this meant that my paternal grandparents were not people I knew very well.

They existed for me for a long time as a voice on the phone into which I blew kisses at my mother's urging, strange Christmas presents under the tree that I generally did not play with (which in hindsight is terrible, because I suspect these presents were a bit of a hardship for them to send along to my brother and me), and people my father talked about. To me, they were like ghosts.

Finally, they visited when I was about 10 or so. I don't recall much about that visit, or even another one after that. They were here. One of my uncles came with them (I think, I may be mixing up visits) and brought his young daughters with him, so I had playmates to think of, not older folks who sat around playing guitar and talking.

My grandmother talked very fast and very loudly. She loved to cook, I do remember that. She would have dinner waiting when my mother came home from work. She was good in the kitchen.

My Grandpa Joe played the guitar and told stories.

These visits did not last long.

We drove to California in 1976 to visit my grandparents and my father's family. I don't recall much about seeing them. My cousin had run away from home, and there was much concern about her, I remember that. She was a year older than I and she was a constant source of trouble, from what I had overhead my parents say. I remember much ado about her being missing, some guitar playing, a trip to a vast flea market where my mother bought a lamp with an orange shade with fringe on it, and that's about it.

My grandparents came to visit again in 1981, around March. They came in a camper and said they would stay until my graduation in June. I was quite excited about this. But my grandmother, after about two weeks or so, said she missed her dog and they left. I had words with my grandmother about this; I remember that. When I apologized as they were leaving, she said I didn't hurt her, only her feelings.

I think she might have had some health troubles going on at the time, but I didn't know that and still that's a guess. I only felt that I had been lied to and that people I wanted to love and to love me had let me down.

The guitar that I'm playing now came to me at this time, I think. Grandpa Joe gave it to me as a sort of graduation/consolation prize, I think.

After I married, I began corresponding by mail with my grandfather. I felt a kinship with him that I did not feel with my father's other relatives. He sent me stories that he wanted preserved because he thought I would keep them (I still have them). He wrote me poems, and he tried to give me life advice, but not much, really. I guess he thought I'd learn whatever I needed to know.

They visited again about 1988, and my grandfather died a year later. They were pleased to see my house, happy with my husband, and glad that I seemed settled. 

I did not see either of them again, although my grandmother lived to be 97. She died in 2017. After I bought a cellphone, I called her, and until her hearing went, we talked monthly. But after a while she thought I was the cleaning lady or some other person who visited her, and I stopped calling. I sent her cards with notes in large print so she could see them. One of my cousins told me she kept every one of them and had them when she died.

Going out to visit her was never an option. My husband wouldn't leave the farm or his job for very long and I didn't want to go by myself. My uncles smoked and drank a lot of beer, and I didn't want to be in that kind of atmosphere without my husband to ensure my safety. They would not have hurt me, but I can't take a lot of yelling and arguing, and if there is one thing members of my father's family can do, it's yell and argue. I think to them it's conversation, but to me it's nerve wracking.

Anyway, describing these two people is difficult for me because I did not know them. I cannot paint a word picture of them like I could my maternal grandmother. All I have are scattered memories and my grandfather's words on paper.

This was my loss. Maybe it was their loss, too.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1.  What is the nearest book to you?  Your Kindle does not count.

A. Legacy Questions: 867 Prompts to Start Your Memoir. I'm using it for prompts for blog posts.

2.  When was the last time you took a "me" vacation?

A. I do not recall ever taking one.

3.  How many telephone numbers do you have?

A. Two. Three if you count my husband's.

4.  If you could fix one thing in the public school system, what is the one thing you would do immediately?

A. Mandatory civics classes? Uniforms? I don't know. I'm not in education.

5.  What's your favorite Olympic event?

A. Ice skating.

6.  Do you watch the Olympics?

A. I watch the winter Olympics more than the summer Olympics.

7.  Who is your favorite sports team player?

A. I don't watch sports. I do like Chase Elliott in NASCAR, but only because he's Bill Elliott's boy.

8.  If you could travel in a spaceship to any planet, which planet would you like to visit and why?

A. Some unknown Class M planet in the Delta quadrant, preferably uninhabited.

9.  When was the last time you sat in a church?

A. Probably about two years ago, because, you know, Covid.

10.  Are there any aspects of blogging that annoy you?

A. I don't like spam comments.

11. Have you ever gone to a party and snooped in the medicine cabinet?

A. I haven't gone to a party and done that, but I have looked in other people's medicine cabinets in the bathroom, yes. Usually I was looking for a Tylenol.

12. Do you watch reality TV?

A. I watch Survivor and Deadliest Catch, and my husband watches lots of car shows. Sometimes we watch American Pickers. We started watching The Voice last year. My husband also watches Forged in Fire and Swamp People. I am usually reading a book when these things are on.

13.  How many people can you call who have known you since you were in school?

A. Not many.

14. Who, when, and where was your first kiss?

A. I think it was in the second grade on the playground, and the boy's name was Jamie.

15. You just got thrown out of your country.  Where do you want to become a citizen?

A. Finland is rated as the happiest nation, so I will go there.

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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.

August 7 Happiness Challenge

Today, I went to the shoe store with my husband and we found him a pair of boots. (We were all masked up but other people were not. It is nerve-wracking to be in public anymore.)

I think it is very important to take care of his feet since he had his ankle fused together. If it were up to him, he'd wear his shoes out, but for once he listened to me!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.