And I'm avoiding work (well actually I did some already) so have this meme I stole from
songdogmi and
hellmutt.
Who sleeps in bed next to you?
Usually my dear mate of the last 27 years, who will complain to me in the morning that I snored almost as loud as the dogs. Most of the time, there's at least one cat and often a dog on the bed, too. And the plushies, if you count them as sleeping. They seem to be awake most of the time. Several ponies, several huskies and wolves, with more piled on the floor beside my half of the bed.
What kind of magazines do you read?
Actually read cover to cover? Just a few: QST (amateur radio monthly,) Perfect Horse (horse care and training,) Handwoven (hand weaving,) and SpinOff (hand spinning.) Gary reads New Scientist from cover to cover weekly, and I skim it for the interesting bits (not always what he found interesting.) We also get Birds & Blooms (pretty color photos of birds, gardens, and butterflies, but not much actual content,) Midwest Living (mostly ads, but sometimes interesting recipes or historical stuff,) and Better Homes & Gardens (even more ads, occasional recipes and a lot of photos of impractical interiors that we laugh about, but won't be renewed.) We browse several newspapers, most of them local weeklies (Woodstock, Marengo-Union-Huntley, Boone County, southern Wisconsin areas) or major Sunday editions (Chicago, Rockford, and McHenry County.)
What was the last book you read? What are you currently reading?
Last literary book I read: A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire, third in his Wicked Years series about Baum's world of Oz. Currently I'm reading The First Book of Lapism by Phil Geusz, and nearing the end though I expect Phil will have more to add to his social commentary about a group of people in the US whose philosophical/religious ideas lead them to undergo "gengineering" to be turned into anthropomorphic rabbits. I know, it sounds weird, but I'm finding it quite brilliant, and all too sadly believable in what it says about human behaviors.
What's really creepy?
Hypocrisy, especially among politicians and their avid worshippers. Telemarketers and telephone scam artists. Evangelical proselytizers who knock on doors or accost strangers in public places. Libertarians and gun wingnuts.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Oh my. I haven't had one of those for decades. Mostly I don't even know who the celebrities are these days. When I was a teenager I had the hots for Michael Landon. Does that count? Probably not, since I didn't write fan letters or collect photos of him or anything.
Quote some lyrics that you love:
I mostly listen to instrumental music, so this is not too easy. Reaching back a bit, how about this?
Its a still life water color,
Of a now late afternoon,
As the sun shines through the curtained lace
And shadows wash the room.
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference,
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.
And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what weve lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.
(Paul Simon, of course, for those too young to remember.)
What are you listening to right now?
I never listen to anything while writing. Too distracting.
What are you most excited for?
I'm afraid I'm too old and jaded to be excited easily.
What websites do you always visit when you go online?
GMail, LiveJournal, FurAffinity, and the National Weather Service. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I always read the latest Faux Pas by the Carspeckens.
What was the last thing you bought?
Breakfast? We had a special breakfast for our best library assistant who is headed off to University of Wisconsin at Platteville to study horticulture. I made a trip up to Harvard for it even though I'm on vacation this week.
What was the cutest thing you've seen today?
Both cats burrowed into the waterbed together. Asher putting his head in over Archie's stall door to see what I was doing and whether I'd scritch him or give him a treat while I was cleaning barns this afternoon.
Does the weather affect your mood?
Yes, but rarely in a negative sense. I like weather of all sorts, though I may not want to go out into it. A gloomy, rainy day like today makes me enjoy being indoors, cooking, reading, writing, or crafting.
What is your zodiac sign?
Sagittarius sun, but what people often perceive in me is Virgo rising, and/or Libra moon.
Do you want to learn another language?
I can still get by slowly in very child-like French or German I think. I can read several others, so I think I've probably done enough language studies. If I had time, though, I do like languages and wouldn't turn one down.
5 things you can't live without:
Air, water, food. Quiet! Nature.
Do you have any siblings?
Two living (male, female) and two dead (male, female.)
Do you have to pee?
Sometimes.
Say something to the person who tagged you:
I wasn't tagged and I don't tag. Unless you count Asher poking his muzzle into my ribs this afternoon. *hugs a horsie* I love you Ash, play nice now.