Pages

Sunday, August 15, 2021

sunday questions

 


1. What subjects lead you down a Wikipedia rabbit hole? maybe historical info? none really.

2. How do you like to spend your birthdays?

in the old days, before I found illness and danger at every turn, I always wanted to go some place new for a birthday weekend. I want to feel pampered, eat good food, see new places, shop, wander

3. Something you might take a little too seriously?
 can you take climate changes too seriously? or Americans who think it's patriotic to tear down the government while begging for help from the government? Can you take a trend to greed and entitlement too seriously?

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

I have a hard time making decisions. I think of all the alternatives, do research, etc. I guess the best decision I've made is to marry my husband. I was older than most brides, and had said no to at least 5 proposals, and yet when I met him, it made sense and felt right. I asked him what marriage meant to him, and thought about it for just a day before letting myself say yes and knowing it was right!


5. Something you’ve improved/gotten better at

slightly better at not letting what people say hurt me... as much. I still care but with each passing year I care less. I always did what I believed in despite people's reactions but it kind of bothered me if they misjudged me. I always felt the way I did even if family members ran me down for it, but now I just don't listen to them.


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

thank you for a simpler question!!  I do not enjoy mass potlucks since I worry people aren't as clean with their food as they should be... I've gotten intestinal distress from these parties before. And I have food allergies to common items that could be included. I'd take something easy to eat, like finger sandwiches. Or something that won't spoil in heat. Fruit salad, or watermelon chunks maybe. Relish tray with interesting cheeses and pickles. 


7. What do you miss about Winter?

I love winter. I love being cool and hate being hot. I hate being hot (so much I said it twice) after all one can put on more clothes if they are cold.

8. Share a summer memory

growing up I would spend a month with my married sister's family each summer. It was always like a party, she lived up North (from Florida) and it was cooler, we ate grilled dinners, we played cards and games. I loved when she lived in Washington Indiana, so different from florida with cute homes and soft grass and bike riding.

9. Words you misspell or misuse the most

Mostly I've lost my southern accent but I remember someone once asking what a "fang-er" was (finger) and being trotted out like a party favor when I lived in Canada... "LeeAnna... (listen to this) say Argo!" or whatever. Mispronouncing isn't usually my problem, these days it's recall of just the right word!

When I started working in social work my unit had a secretary and when I handwrote court reports she would often come to my desk and say, Miss X, did you MEAN to spell this word like that? Oy! No ! please correct it!

10. Things you love to do, that can only happen in summer

growing vegetables in the back yard, watching flowers grow, sitting on the back porch in evenings with fairy lights along the roofline, drinking a glass of wine. I can do this in spring and fall too although we now live in harsh Colorado weather that is too hot or too cold


11. How would you describe your sense of humor?

the unexpected makes me laugh, irreverance to something in a lighthearted way, sarcastic, everyday. Kind of Jerry Seinfeld ish . DH and I make each other laugh filling in the dog's thought bubble. Going to comedy shops used to bring me joy.


12. Have you ever quit a job or career?

I have done work for a season many times. It was a happy day indeed to marry, move and have to quit social work for good. I worked as a nanny as an adult in order to live in Canada with a boyfriend for a couple years then quit to return to the states to recover from meningitis. I worked for a time at Berlitz language school teaching english to businessmen and their families but for some reason stopped. I tried working at a travel agency but never got the hang of computerized airline reservations! Then it all went do it yourself anyway.

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

I am the only one on earth who isn't tied to a little tyrant of a computer/cell phone. I guess the thing I like about mine is speakers so I don't have to hold it to my ear that rings all the time. I also like the portable nature of it although it's old and the battery runs out so quickly now that I am often tethered to the cord anyway.

I'm old enough to remember house phones, sitting down to chat, playing with the spiral phone chord absentmindedly while I talked to friends. I remember not having answering machines, so if I was avoiding someone I told friends to call let it ring twice hang up and call again so I knew it was safe to answer!!

14. What scents always make you hungry?

frying onions, baked garlic bread, simmering chicken soup, freshly baked cinnamon buns

 


15. What are you working on right now?

not being in a pure panic about  the increasing effects from our pollution to the water and air supplies and weather heating up so much, the way some Americans ignore crime against the country, covid not ever being under control making me vulnerable as someone with severe reactions to the vaccine. 


Oh you mean productively?

 I am a writer and an artist now... I am working on creative pursuits. I paint and draw, I make art quilts, I write stories. I am working on learning to live in isolation for physical safety. I am working on making non boring food to eat since we don't eat out nowadays. I am trying to grow tomatoes but it's too hot for them here in our area. I'm working on sorting through possessions I've dragged around through 5 moves so the next move will be easier. I'm working on finding a way to clean wood floors... can't use the hard water here as it binds with detergents and leaves a film on them, and bona doesn't clean well enough.

working on how to exercise when the people around us are so angry that we wear masks in public. I gave up my lovely daily walks as it's too dangerous feeling to be on the sidewalks. I'm working on coping with changing technology that seems beyond my ken.

I am taking a creativity workshop online that is daily for 10 days, and am starting a writing/meditation workshop online tomorrow. Thank you to zoom and the leaders for this outreach and generous sharing.

We are working on how to find a better place to live after dh takes early retirement. This may include learning a new language which neither of us is very good at.

thanks for visiting me, it makes me feel less isolated to know I have a connection with others. 

the prompt came from SundayStealing and I am linking to them at https://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/

8 comments:

  1. These are some HARD questions!! I love potluck dinners, but since I don't have food allergies I have much less to fear. When it's a family potluck I always get asked to make deviled eggs. But I've been known to bring homemade cheesecake too. And I imagine that most anyone who has reached their 60s has quit a job or career, and probably more than once. I worked a few seasonal jobs as a student. And quit a job - sometimes happily - when I moved. I moved from Minneapolis, to Iowa, and then South Dakota. Quit a really good job after having my first baby because I just couldn't travel for projects like before. Quit a high school teaching job I enjoyed for a higher salary to do staff development instead. And just this spring I quit working in education completely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. YES! #5 is me also. It used to bother me so bad what other people thought of me, but I do not really care anymore. That is a good thing about aging is coming to terms with everyone is not going to like you. Loved your answers. Have a great day!

    https://lorisbusylife.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think you're doing a great job navigating all of the weirdness we have going on. Better than I am. I desperately need to figure out how to enjoy cooking, but I am wanting to do it less and less. Soon we will be down to ham sandwiches three meals a day . . .

    ReplyDelete
  4. These were interesting questions. Thank you for sharing. You are someone I admire and enjoying seeing what you are doing.
    Here are my answers.
    1. Wikipedia rabbit holes - word origins, history, addresses (old restaurant location today), authors, anything I read I don't know the meaning of...it all leads to more
    2. How do I like to spend my birthday? I like to stay home. I like to work on resolutions for the next year. I like to have a meal (takeout) with my husband and daughter. They always get me thoughtful gifts.

    3. Too seriously?
    4. Good decision?
    5. I'm much better at being sympathetic.
    6. Watermelon chunks is my go-to, if I'm feeling energetic maybe deviled eggs or potato salad.
    7. I love winter.
    8. Summer memory - When a girlfriend invited me to stay with her family in a place at Newport Beach and we went on the beach in the dark where you coudln't see the water on the sand as it was so dark and listening to the waves in bed at night. (I don't live too far from Washington, IN - I am in Sellersburg)
    9. Words you misspell or misuse the most - intersting, seperate,
    10. go out in short sleeves, go barefoot, wash my hair early or late and it gets dry (it's long), get up and not have to turn on a lamp to see,
    11. My sense of humor - i don't get sacrasm or irony very well, hate slapstick, I like to laugh at myself.
    I also like to put words in animal's mouths.
    12 Yes I've quite three jobs - one where the boss treated his wife like a slave, one where the boss made me cry and one where I was passed over for a promotion because I was trying to get pregnant. (It's been a bit).
    13. Cellphone - being able to text people. I also like to entertain myself when I have to wait somewhere by reading social media or playing games. Sending and receiving money with my daughter. Seeing photos from years ago. I listen to a sleep story every night that puts me right out. I do not like to talk on the phone.
    14. Smells that make me hungry? Grilled meat, hamburger cooking, chocolate, bakeries, donuts,
    15. Work? I just retired July 1 so I am working at creating a routine for myself so that I make the best use of the time I have left. It's not easy finding a balance.
    I am interested in learning to express myself in watercolors, sewing/quilting, crochet, asian cooking, baking and gardening. I have joined a cemetery group that includes a genealogy component as this is something I also enjoy (genealogy is a relaxing for me). I've been playing Final Fantasy 14 (online multiplayer role playing) for the past 1 1/2 years and I like other more casual games as well. I like reading a variety of books and listen to a variety of music.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting questions this week. Your answer to #12 gave me more insight into how many places you've lived and how many jobs you've had. It makes me realize even more how very isolated you are now and that makes me sad because I know what a people person you are. Being surrounding by #%$^&*^ idiots is very depressing. Keep talking to us. We love you.
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  6. #5 - I have a thick skin so I take absolutely no notice of anything nasty that people might say. It's not worth getting upset about such things.

    #9 "Fanger"? Sounds like slang for a vampire.

    #11 I've never watched Seinfeld believe it or not - but I love Curb Your Enthusiasm.

    :o)

    Cheers

    PM

    ReplyDelete
  7. visiting from link up at Sunday Stealing -- I loved reading about your summer memory!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the photo of Milo. I hope the smoke isn’t bothering you all too much… or that some rain encourages it to fall out soon.

    ReplyDelete