QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I found this on Literary Feline's blog and I decided it would make a nice change of pace.

What kind of soap is in your shower right now? Irish Spring, Violet and a bottle of something from Bath & Body Works.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? I wish.

What would you change about your living room? New wall color.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean.

What is in your fridge? Tons of things - lots of condiments, milk, cream, celery, carrots, apples, oranges, soda, etc.

White or wheat bread? White.

What is on top of your refrigerator? A cabinet.

What color or design is on your shower curtain? One bathroom has palm trees, another has beige, another has a door.

How many plants are in your home? None. The cats eat them.

Is your bed made right now? Yes.

Comet or Soft Scrub? Comet.

Is your closet organized? Slightly.

Can you describe your flashlight? The one that works is black.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? Not right now.

Curtains or blinds? Depends on the room.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No.

How often do you vacuum? Whenever necessary. Don't want to overdo it.

Standard toothbrush or electric? Electric.

What color is your toothbrush? White.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? A mat without the welcome.

What is in your oven right now? A pizza stone.

Is there anything under your bed? Not in the master bedroom.

Chore you hate doing the most? Anything related to laundry.

What retro items are in your home? Lots of old things. Retro? An old non-working radio from the 40's. Some old cameras from the 30's and 40's.

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Yes.

How many mirrors are in your home? Twelve, counting closet doors in one room, hand mirrors, wall mirrors, bathroom mirrors, dresser mirrors.

What color are your walls? Yellow, beige, green, ivory, light brown.

What does your home smell like right now? Hopefully, not cats. Maybe like the scented reeds by my front door.

Favorite candle scent? I like lots of scents, but I especially like cedar or pine.

What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Dill and sweet.

What color is your favorite Bible? Black.

Ever been on your roof? No.

Do you own a stereo? Yes, but it isn't working well right now.

How many TVs do you have? Three.

How many house phones? One cordless.

Do you have a housekeeper? I have a woman who cleans every few weeks.

What style do you decorate in? Eclectic.

Do you like solid colors or prints in furniture? Both.

Is there a smoke detector in your home? Yes, there is.

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? Given that my husband and the animals are safe, I would probably take my little box that has my good jewelry in it. I once lived in an apartment building that had a fire and I tried to escape with all my cats (one had just had kittens). One of the kittens hid and did not make it, unfortunately. I am known in my family as the one who collects the family memorabilia. Some of it is in an antique china cabinet. That would be too heavy to carry out and I would be hysterical over it.

WAITING FOR SPRING!

Boy, I will tell you this -- these days are the doldrums of winter. There is no more boring time than January and February. Too far from the holidays to still feel that thrill. Too far from Spring and Summer to feel that tingle. Boring, boring, boring. I guess it is a good idea to take a long vacation at this time of year. Unfortunately, I am not.

As you can see, I don't even have anything decent to write about. Politics? No. Religion? No. Cooking? No. Books? Well, maybe. I just finished "Turtle Moon" by Alice Hoffman. This is the first book by this author that I have read and I truly enjoyed it. Intense characters and interesting plot with a good ending. I just started "Then We Came To The End" by Joshua Ferris. This was reviewed by kookiejar and seems pretty good.

Waiting for Spring!

I am working today and it is very quiet here in the office. My daughter and her family are coming to visit on Friday for the weekend. Definitely I look forward to that. Those two little guys will perk me up!

Happy Winter (ha, ha) to all of you.

LINK LOVING 2008

This came from Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of The World.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!) It’s real easy!

Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially.

The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community- Make new friends!

Add your blog url here...The Strategist Notebook/Link Addiction/Ardour of the Heart/ When Life Becomes a Book/The Malaysian Life/ Yogatta.com/What goes under the sun/ Roshidan’s Cyber Station/Sasha says/Arts of Physics/And the legend lives/My View, My Life/ A Simple Life/What Women REALLY Think/Not Much More Than This/Jayedee/Jenn/Beth/ Christie/Marla/Cailin/Simone/FlipFlopMom/Katrina/Gill's Jottings/Work of the Poet/ Wakela/Modern Day Goddess/Livin With Me/Are We There Yet??/The Erstwhile Librarian /Lynne's Little Corner of the World/Violetlady At Home/ You are next...

Barbara at The Clark Homestead

Kookiejar at Fraternity of Dreamers
Willow at Willow's Cottage

Jo and JD at Bits and Pieces

Mary at Mary's Writing Nook

NOW TAG/ADD 5 OF YOUR FRIENDS' BLOGS.

"MY FRENCH WHORE" by Gene Wilder

Despite the rather racy title, this is an elegant, finely written little book. A mere 178 pages, it is a book that can be quickly read, but easily remembered. The story takes place during the end period of World War I. The protagonist is Paul Peachy, who enlists and leaves his wife and job in Milwaukee to join the forces in France. He is captured by the Germans and the story that ensues is funny, adventurous and pure love story.

You cannot help but be charmed by this treasure of a novel.

MONDAY'S FAVORITES

Back to Monday's Favorites --- my FAVORITE footwear.

BACK TO BOOKS AND BLOGGING

I have just finished two books. No, that is not the reason I have been out of touch lately. I attribute my bloglessness to just plain laziness.


One book, "Lottery" by Patricia Wood was on kookiejar's reading list. It is on my Fall Reading Challenge which I never really finished. I loved this book. It offers an insight into the lives and outlook of people in our society whom are so often ignored. As Perry says, "I am not retarded." Perry has an IQ of 76 which is one point over the mentally handicapped line. While the people in Perry's life are often cruel, there are stars among the darkness. Often funny, often sad, the characters are unforgettable, especially Perry. The author herself is a specialist in the field of mental disabilities and this first novel is outstanding. Oh, yes, the highlight of Perry's story is that he wins the lottery - $12 million. Please read this book. It is excellent!





The second book, "Home To Holly Springs" by Jan Karon, was a gift to me from my dear friend Lynne. (She even had it autographed for me!) For those of us who have joyfully followed Father Tim and the town of Mitford and its citizens, this is the beginning of a new series. I was afraid after the last book of the Mitford series that we would not see Father Tim again, but, happily, he continues with new adventures. Jan Karon surely would not let us down. I missed the old characters, but we do learn Father Tim's history and we find the author is paving the way for new friends, family and adventures. I enjoyed this book although I think the ones following this will be better. The author has to start somewhere to start to build the stories and this book is the foundation. I look forward to reading the future books in the new Father Tim series.

I think I am back in the groove, dear bloggers. I will be catching up on your blogs tomorrow.

I'M STILL HERE!

THIS IS THE FORGET-ME-NOT FLOWER. SINCE I HAVEN'T POSTED FOR AWHILE I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.

I just wanted to let you all know that I am still here -- well and happy. I will be posting something any day now....I promise.

OLD CUSTOMS IN A NEW DAY AND A NEW YEAR

Happy New Years everyone!

As I was growing up, it was the custom for Mom and Dad to have champagne and caviar on New Years Eve. They didn't usually go out to celebrate. Linda and I were allowed a taste and then drank our ginger ale to toast in the New Year. I grew up loving caviar. Needless to say, it wasn't Beluga, just the local grocery store variety. It has become my custom to always have champagne and caviar on New Years Eve. Ken doesn't like either, but I manage a glass on my own and I eat the entire jar of caviar. Yesterday I was later than usual in stocking up on a bottle of champagne and the caviar. I went to three stores and could find no caviar! What a disappointment. Well, Ken fell asleep early and I stayed up to see the ball drop. I can't open a champagne bottle myself and didn't want to wake him up, so I had NO caviar and NO champagne. What a different New Years Eve.

Another custom in my family was that when we grew up and left home we would always call home on New Years Eve or Mom and Dad would call us. It was always important for me to never forget to wish them a Happy New Years Eve at the stroke of midnight. I miss doing that. I did talk to Linda last night and my daughter, too, using the new web camera.

Something else done when I was growing up was that Dad would blow his old Boy Scout bugle out the front door at midnight and we would beat pots and pans. Sometimes I would get a broom and "sweep" the old year out the door.

Today was a lazy day. I made the traditional Hoppin' John, which my mother always did. Do any of you make it? The story is that if you make it on New Years Day you will have a year of good luck. If you don't know what Hoppin' John is, it is basically black-eyed peas. I cook them with onion and green pepper and some bacon and serve it with rice. Yum! I hope we all have a year of good luck!