Tax Dodge

I'd love to boast that my blog is now "award winning," but the truth is that KatieZ over at Thyme for Cooking just sends me these awards because she knows that I'm such a nerd that I get a kick out of filling out memes. As Katie says, the rules (there are always rules) are simple: Tell seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to other beautiful bloggers. Having just tagged a bunch of my favorite bloggers, recently, I plan to find some additional folks to send this along to.

Here are the seven things about me that you may not have known and that may amuse, while you are taking a break from filling out your tax forms:

1. When we lived in Maryland, I had a pet box turtle as a child and kept it for perhaps a week. It was a marvelous creature, perhaps 8" long with a beautiful, high arched, hinged shell patterned in black and bright yellow. It lived in the screened porch, when I wasn't putting it in the bathtub for a swim, and it ate lettuce. My mother could see that a diet of iceberg lettuce wasn't going to sustain life for any creature so she made me let it go. We released it at the edge of the woods where I had collected it and watched it aim immediately for some low-hanging blackberries that were growing wild at the edge of the woods and begin wolfing them down. Even a stubborn six year old could see that this poor turtle was much happier in his own environment.

2. I found another box turtle about 20 years later - it was trying to cross a freeway in Virginia where several other box turtles had failed to make it to the other side. Sadly, it was like a real-life game of Frogger, only with turtles so slow that one couldn't imagine how drivers could miss them. Anyway, this turtle was on the verge of the highway, about to try his luck, when I made then-husband stop the car so I could rescue him. As we were on our way to visit my sister and her family, I kept the turtle to give to my nephew, who was then about four years old. He was both thrilled and terrified of this gift but we had fun exploring the turtle before releasing it near a woods on his father's peanut farm. I still have the snapshot of him and me with the turtle.

3. Growing up in the Navy, we had cats as pets rather than dogs. Cats are easier to transport. All our cats for a long time were named Sam. The original Sam was an intact male who loved my Dad and tolerated the rest of us; Dad would let Sam out at night and who knows how many kittens he sired. He always returned at dawn and slunk into the linen closet where he slept for the rest of the day. When Dad was at sea, Sam would bring presents of dead mice and lay them gently on Dad's pillow. Mom did not appreciate this aspect of Sam's devotion.

4. I have climbed Mount Fuji, all the way to the top, and watched the sun rise from there. It is one of my proudest achievements.

5. I was an indifferent student as a young woman and only finished two years of college before leaving gratefully for the working world. I returned to school after three pleasant but dead-end jobs and was a stellar student at age 35, earning my Bachelor's in Biology and my Master's in Higher Education Administration in short order. It was a wonderful experience and a good investment in satisfying work.

6. I can't dance. I love music and enjoy dancing - just can't do it at all well. No sense of rhythm and my feet don't have noticeable connection to my brain.

7. When I was in boarding school in France at age 16, we used to sneak out at night and meet boys. We made plans for these assignations at our Sunday beach outings. I suppose all kinds of dire things might have resulted, from rape to (worse) discovery by Mme. Blay, the feared headmistress of the school, but nothing did. We walked around the town, thrilled by our guilty freedom, and then went back, climbed back up the shutters we had shinnied down a few hours before, and went to sleep.

Now, wasn't that better than doing your taxes? Off to tag some other Beautiful Bloggers!

Meme City

Thought I'd give you a pretty picture from my garden to look at while I answer the meme from Nerissa that I was tagged with a few days ago. It's a longish meme, so you may want to get a cuppa something before you begin reading.

1. Last movie seen in a movie theater?
"Mama Mia," a wonderful, joyous romp, almost as good as the stage version was. Meryl Streep shows us once again that she can do anything!

2. What book are you reading?
A great spoof called, "Endgame," by Andy Secombe from my pal Wenirs and I'm nibbling my way through "Inside Inside" by the very literate and somewhat ponderous James Lipton.

3. Favorite board game.
Scrabble, hands down!

4. Favorite magazine.
Sunset, Bon Appetit (because Molly's articles are in it), and Science News.

5. Favorite smells.
Fresh air off the ocean, sun-dried clothes and bedding, my moisturizer (Crabtree & Evelyn, Swiss something)

6. Favorite sounds.
Gentle snoring from My Beloved, cats purring, soft waves on sand.

7. Worst feeling in the world.
Losing a loved one, human or animal.

8. First thing you think of when you wake?
Gotta go pee.

9. Favorite fast food place.
Seabreeze Market in Berkeley.

10. Future child's name?
Had I had them, a girl would have been Johnna Wendy (or Wendy Johnna) and a boy would have been Garth with some kind of family middle name.

11. Finish this statement: "If I had a lot of money..."
I'd fly first class to Europe and see each country in a leisurely manner, staying in rented apartments or houses and making friends all over. Then, I'd start on Asia...

12. Do you drive fast?
I used to but since I retired, I'm getting a bumper sticker that says, "I'm retired. Go around me."

13. Sleep with stuffed animals?
No, not for many years since I found My Beloved.

14. Storms - cool or scary?
Usually cool, especially lightning storms, ice storms that knock out the power for days with spectacular beauty, and heavy snowfalls that result in "snow days."

15. What was your first car?
1959 Hillman sedan. It smelled inside like the cigars the previous owner smoked and had to be backed up steep hills but I loved it. Independence!

16. Favorite drink?
Currently, tea made by steeping fresh mint and camomile tea in water in the fridge, but usually Diet Coke.

17. Finish this statement: "If I had the time, I would..."
Now I have the time for just about anything and I'm busy doing them - gardening, walking, lunching with friends, visiting museums, taking classes, making art books, napping, traveling - woo hoo!

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Oh, yeah. If it's stringy, I peel it before cooking but I love it.

19. If you could dye your hair any other color, what would it be?
If I could switch back instantly, I'd probably try a variety of colors - purple, blonde, blue, zebra striped... but it takes too long to grow it out so I'm sticking with dark brown with liberal gray.

20. Name all the different cities in which you have lived.
Patuxent River, MD (twice); Virginia Beach, VA (twice); Honolulu, HI (twice); Washington, DC (three times); Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada; Cannes, France; Yokosuka, Japan; Palo Alto, CA; Rochester, NY; Omaha, NB; Alameda, CA; Richmond, CA.

21. Favorite sport to watch?
Dressage or Sumo wrestling.

22. One nice thing about the person who sent you this meme?
She gives me great ideas for new dishes to try and she comments on my blog, which makes me happy as I know someone is reading it! She's a good writer, too. Okay, so I broke the rules and added three. Sue me!

23. What's under your bed?
You mean besides dust kitties? Storage drawers full of off-season clothes, maps and art/craft supplies.

24. Would you like to be born again as yourself?
Yes, I'm the luckiest person I know.

25. Morning person or night owl?
Morning, morning, morning!

26. Over easy or sunny side up?
Over easy, but I prefer poached to fried.

27. Favorite place to relax.
Hawaii - especially the Big Island but Kailua Beach on Oahu is a close second.

28. Favorite ice cream flavor.
Coffee, no contest.

29. Of the people you have tagged, who is the most likely to respond first?
Impossible to tell.

Now I am supposed to tag four or five other bloggers but I've bugged them all recently with a meme so I'm hesitating to do it again... is that really, really bad?

Voluntary meme: If you'd like to enter this meme, leave me a comment to let me know you're doing it and I'll add your names to this post so others can find you. I'd honestly be interested in your answers!