Plinky asked, “Do you celebrate Earth Day?”
Not really. I do my best to be environmentally responsible every day, instead of saving it for one day of the year. I recycle, use mass transit, buy locally produced food as much as possible, and take other steps so that I really have a very small carbon footprint these days.
Plinky asked, “What’s the most interesting biography or memoir you’ve read?”
Dreams are necessary to life~Anais Nin
Anais Nin’s books come to mind right away, honestly. They’re so intense and sensual that they’ve stuck in my mind, although I only read them once and my copies disappeared 20 years ago.
Camryn Manheim’s autobiography was quite good, too. I don’t read many of that genre (or haven’t since childhood), so I don’t have that many books to choose from here.
Plinky asked, “Breakfast for dinner: Are you a fan?”
Absolutely! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, but I don’t usually take time for the great big meal that I remember fondly from Sunday mornings at my parents’ house. Buttermilk biscuits, sawmill gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, and grits are a “real breakfast” and that’s just too heavy for the first meal of the day most of the time. They’re great for supper, though, if there are enough people around to share!
Plinky asked, “What’s your favorite place to grab a cup of coffee?”
I’m pretty happy having coffee at home, but if I’m out and about, I’ll swing by Starbucks with the rest of the mob. It’s nice and predictable, and I’m admittedly not a coffee snob. I just want my raspberry-vanilla mocha with the whipped cream on top, and that counts as dessert treat as much as anything else.
Plinky asked, “What was the last thing you got really excited about?”
My ukulele! I wish I had a photo of her to post, but I don’t. She’s a travel tenor, which means that she’s a bit bigger than the “standard” (soprano) ukulele most people are used to seeing, but also thinner than a normal tenor. She has a lovely voice, a little deeper than a soprano uke. She isn’t a toy like the one on which I originally learned to play, either. And she’s mine all mine!
1) Fun book chat with Jeanne
2) Good workout at the Y today
3) Lovely dinner with family
Plinky asked, “What famous monument do you hope to see one day?”
I’d like to go back to Mont St. Michel some day and spend more time there. I visited the place briefly during a trip while I was in high school, and a small part of one day simply wasn’t nearly enough time to spend in the cloisters, much less the rest of the place. There’s so much history there!
I would have been happy to wander up the winding road lined with shops at a leisurely pace had we not been on such a strict schedule, but as it was I was racing to make it to the top.
Of course, all visitors are on something of a schedule, because the tide covers the road to the island every day, and I’m not certain visitors are even allowed to stay past a certain time. It might be necessary to stay nearby and spend several days exploring, concentrating on a different bit of the island each time — the cloisters one day, different stages of the cathedral construction on different days, the shops another — to truly do the place justice.
Plinky asked, “Do you have a favorite work of art?”
No, I don’t have a favorite work of art. My favorite artist is a young lady named Katie Armistead, and I couldn’t possibly choose just one of her works as a favorite.
Other than her work, I have several favorite artists, from the well-known ones like Monet to lesser-known people such as Carl Lundgren and Lucy Synk. I’ve gone into more detail about them at http://technomom.com/sff/art.shtml .
I also enjoy Susan Seddon Boulet and Susan Van Camp’s work, and Ansel Adam’s photography among others. Some of the Raphaelites also appeal to me.
Plinky said, “Pick a new pet to take home for free.”
There’s no such thing as a free pet, as any responsible pet owner knows! Beyond the costs of housing and feeding the animal, you have to provide for health care such as preventive medication for heartworms and other parasites (for dogs and cats, at least), regular vaccinations, and check-ups. That’s with a healthy, young animal! If the animal gets ill or injured, of course, there are more expenses.
However, if I had an appropriate home and could afford all the concomitant expenses, I’d love to have a big dog. I’ve never stopped missing Karli, the Great Pyrenees cross who was stolen from our family. She had a lovely temperament, and I adore large dogs in general.
Plinky asked, “About how many books do you read each year?”
Last year is the first time I ever tried to track them, and I think it was 150+ according to GoodReads. I don’t know how to see the number again, right off. That was probably about average.
I’ll probably read less this year because I’ve been stitching more, as well as spending time on the ukulele. I’m also considering trying to get my piano skills back, which will take up more leisure time. So I’ve set a goal to read just 60 books this year (GoodReads is asking people to set goals for that now) and I’m 13% ahead at the moment. That’s a fairly low goal, but I’d rather go over than not meet my goal.
My “to be read” pile is electronic these days, but it contains thousands of books and it just keeps growing, so I expect that I’ll never run out of books to read.
