The Book Geek Quiz

For those of you not on Facebook, and because I get tired of all the stuff associated with Facebook apps, here's a quiz that Kaye Barley posted on her Meanderings and Muses. I'm fried from a day of census enumerator training preceded by a tense night wondering what upset-tummy Rusty might deposit on the carpet (he is getting better and with late-night and early-morning walks by each of his people, did no damage last night) and this is about all I can manage. Feel free to copy and do your own or respond in comments.

What author do you own the most books by?
Probably Charles Dickens, since we bought a nearly-whole matched set of the Oxford Illustrated and filled in with paperbacks of Bleak House and Edwin Drood. However, for authors purchased book-by-book, I bet it's Patrick O'Brian, because I have the complete Aubrey-Maturin series.
What book do you own the most copies of?
Um. The Bible. Lots of different translations and editions. I'm a little bit of a Bible study geek as well.
Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
That rule is a piece of arrant nonsense up with which I shall not put, as I believe Winston Churchill once said.
What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Richard Sharpe from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels.
What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children)?
Probably A Christmas Carol.
What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I'd say of books I finished, it would be Peregrine by William Bayer, an Edgar winning best novel. I just hated it.
What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Like Kaye, I find it hard to choose. I thought maybe I could pick one fiction and one non-fiction, but even then.... For non-fiction, I really liked, was moved by, and highly recommend Take This Bread by Sara Miles and Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup. For fiction, An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear and City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin. These are all from my 2008 reads.
If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver. Or maybe Deep Economy by Bill McKibben.
Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
Terry Pratchett. What a hope. Wouldn't it be cool, though? Imagine the acceptance speech!
What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
A Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif.
What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Same one I picked as "Worst Book" -- for the same reasons.
Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I usually can only recall my dreams for a few minutes after awakening. And they usually involve people I know in odd situations rather than anyone I don't know.
What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
I read plenty of "lowbrow" books but I'm not going to mention any names, not because I'm ashamed of reading them, but because the authors' feelings might be hurt.
What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
I'm still reading it, and probably will be all year: The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross. New Yorker music critic views twentieth-century serious music and history together. I know little of this music and not much about music theory at all, so it's slow going, but intriguing.
What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
Well, I've watched the video of the BBC's Titus Andronicus.
Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
The Russians I guess, since I know so little of the French beyond The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo!
Roth or Updike?
Updike I guess, but I sure haven't kept up with either.
David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris!!
Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare, but Chaucer a close second.
Austen or Eliot?
Austen, no contest.
What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I've read only very short things by Henry James and William Faulkner.
What is your favorite novel?
Pride and Prejudice, a sentimental favorite because it was the first Austen for me, although I love the others too.
Play?
The Importance of Being Earnest.
Poem?
Very hard to choose just one. Right now I'm thinking of Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Tomorrow it might be different. And then there are the ones that come unbidden into my head, like Animal Crackers and Cocoa to Drink by Christopher Morley, or many of Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.
Essay?
An Affix for Birds by St. Clair McKelway, from A Subtreasury of American Humor ed. by Katherine Angell and E. B. White. At least I think it's an essay.
And... what are you reading right now?
The Winter Widow by Charlene Weir, The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross, White Protestant Nation by Allan Lichtman, and Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett.
What's the best title for a book ever (you don't have to like the book).
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Haven't read it yet though.
Kaye put a lot of nice pictures in her blog, but I just don't have the gumption this evening.

Music for My Movie Meme

Here's a fun exercise that Sisterfilms put on her blog FilmAching. Let's see how it goes. Like SF, I am going to keep the Christmas music out of it, since I have so much that this would become either a Christmas movie or something too, too ironic for words.

So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc). 

2. Put it on shuffle.

3. Press play.

4. For every question, type the song that's playing.

5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.

6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Opening Credits:

Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley by Lonnie Donegan

Waking Up:

Missing by The Roches

First Day of School:

Sufferin' by Gordon Bok

Falling in Love:

Tuba mirum from Mozart Requiem in D Minor, Berlin Philharmonic, von Karajan, soloists

Fight Song:

Paint me, Redoute by June Tabor

Breaking Up:

Waltz Down the Aisle from Anything Goes

Prom:

Mending Wall by Robert Frost, read by the poet

Life's Just OK:

The Lady is a Tramp by Frank Sinatra

Mental Breakdown:

I'll Take My Sorrow Straight by Iris DeMent

Driving:

I'm Walking Behind You by Frank Sinatra [this is really funny since I don't drive!]

Flashback:

Safe at Anchor by Kate Wolf

Getting Back Together:

The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan (D'Oyly Carte Opera Co.)

Birth of Child:

The Homestead on the Farm by The Carter Family

Wedding:

Bill Morgan and His Gal by Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen 

Final Battle:

World in Union by the South Wales Burma Star Male Voice Choir

Death Scene:

Walk Down by the Water by Bill Staines

Funeral Song:

The Me I Used to Be by the Austin Lounge Lizards

End Credits:

The Twa Sisters by Dorothy Fourbister, collected for The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (i.e. the Child Ballads)

Well, what this proves is that I have a fairly eclectic music collection. I have to say this probably doesn't work as well with Windows Media Player as it would if I had an iPod. I ended up just pressing the "next" button a random number of times without looking. Let me know in comments if you play and where.

Tagged Again: The Movie Meme

Sisterfilms tagged me for this one. She didn't think I could come up with 20 movies - HA! I actually had to substitute some because the original choices didn't have any quotes listed.

The Rules:
1.) Pick 20 of your favorite movies.
2.) Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3.) Post them  for everyone to guess.
4.) Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed and the movie.
5.) NO GOOGLING/using IMDB search functions.

You may post your guesses in comments. Consider yourself tagged if you feel like it!  Here goes:

1. "We shoulda rented a car."

    "We have my pony."

    "Your pony is an old nag."

2. "Dear?...Dear?...What is your first name?"

3. "Sometimes for your own sake, Red, I think you should've stuck to me longer."

   "I thought it was for life, but the judge gave me a full pardon."

  "Ahhh, that's the old redhead. No bitterness, no recrimination, just a cool swift left to the jaw."

4. "My, she was yar."

5. "That's a piecrust promise. Easily made, easily broken."

6. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room."

7. "I thought all the nuts went home on Labor Day."

8. "Frankly, you're beginning to smell, and for a stud in New York, that's a handicap."

9. "This is no time for Schopenhauer. This is important."

10. "And the magic word: Julie Andrews!"

11. "Jane Austen and I have so much in common. Neither of us can endure mess."

12. "The cleaning lady will untie you in the morning."

    "I hope she's pretty."

13. "Guns, yes. It's essential we're armed. Here's yours."

     "Is it loaded?"

    "Yes. It's a present from Margate. It fires a stick of rock."

14. "Come in, sit down, take it easy. What's the trouble?"

     "If you must know, something fell on my head."

    "When, infancy?"

15. "I liked you better as a bum."

     "I can't help what kind of people you like."

16.  "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you."

17. "The only reason I get up in the morning is to see if my luck has changed, and it never bloody has."

18. "Anti-wrinkle cream there may be, but anti-fat-bastard cream there is not."

19. "I had a farm in Africa."

20. ""Are you trying to say you're ... jilting me?"

     "W-well, that's a very heavy word, Merle. It's a very heavy word. Let's just say that we're...uncoupling."

Bonus points: #2 and #3 have something in common. What is it? And #3 and #4 have something in common too; what is it?

I've Been Tagged for the Meme of Tears

     Kaye Barley, who joins my blogroll today, has tagged me for the Meme of Tears. Kaye is a fellow DorothyLer, like me a reader of mystery stories, and lives in North Carolina. Later this year, I'll be a guest blogger on her blog, which is a scary thought given some of the other guests she's lined up. Here's the meme:

What's hit you on an emotional level and made you cry? An event, a book, a movie, a TV show - any or all of these?

     It's not really that hard to move me to tears. My father, in one of his more printable salty sayings, used to tell me, "Your bladder is too close to your eyeballs."  My daughters tease me about my propensity to choke up at movies, at church, or while reading or telling a story. Sometimes I can't even fully explain what it is that touches me, though I hope it has something to do with empathy.

     I'm surprised that the list of examples didn't include music, the surest way to make me cry.  It can be just the sound, or something in the words of a song, or the memories the song evokes, that trigger the tear ducts. I'm a sucker for cherub choirs, bands playing patriotic music (a severe handicap when I was in the Women's Army Corps!), and a lot of other music. Most recently, I was moved to tears (virtually outright sobbing!) when I heard a recording of my daughter Sisterfilms singing Koppången.  I've blogged about this song before [December 4, 2007] and it's definitely a favorite, but normally I can hear it sung without crying. Sisterfilms had sung it in church on the first Sunday of Advent (while I was still 1500 miles away) and with one thing and another I didn't get to hear the recording till after Christmas. Sisterfilms' voice ranges from tenor to mezzo-soprano, but she sang this squarely in the alto voice. I happen to feel that the alto and baritone voices carry more emotion than the soprano and tenor, and perhaps that's why I prefer them. Sisterfilms is also particularly good at conveying emotion in her singing, and she really outdid herself with this one.  If I had been present for the live performance, I don't think I would have wept as much or even at all, since I would have been nervous for her, but I heard that several people in church were also moved to tears that day.

Books often move me.  Even after many readings both silent and aloud, I cannot read the two episodes of the death of Jack the bulldog in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books without crying. (The first time they only think he is dead; his return turns on the waterworks too). The book that most recently choked me up is Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon (or Temeraire in some editions).  The first in the Temeraire series, it's set during the Napoleonic Wars, much like Patrick O'Brian's sea stories, except that in this world, there are dragons who have been domesticated and form Aerial Corps for the warring countries. The dragons can speak, and form close attachments with their handlers/captains, and usually vice versa. But the hero, Will, and his dragon, Temeraire, discover one dragon who is sadly neglected by his unworthy handler. The scene of the neglected dragon's death, when Will forces the handler to visit his dying dragon, and the depiction of the dragon's pitiful gladness at some attention from the handler whom he loves despite all, had me reaching for my handkerchief. (One cannot use tissues whilst reading this type of book).

I'll stop there, although I could certainly come up with a movie, an event, or even a TV show that has caused me to weep. If you would like to reflect on this meme, consider yourself tagged, and let me know in comments if you play. And don't forget to check out Meanderings and Muses!

Looking Backward Meme

Singing Owl had this meme, which is to look back over the preceding year of blog posts and excerpt the first sentence of the first post for each month, then see if there's a pattern. So here are mine:

JANUARY: Well, I've already broken my New Year's Resolution about blogging, but my excuse is that yesterday was Sisterknits' last full day with us before she headed back to City of Lakes today.

FEBRUARY: Which Wife of Henry VIII Are You? The picture has disappeared and I can't remember!

MARCH: Here we go again! The snow started, as predicted, about 10 pm last night. 

APRIL: Another Friday Five: How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book: I haven't been doing a lot of spiritual reading lately, mostly mysteries and some non-fiction dealing with economics (in a fairly superficial way).

MAY: Sisterknits said I'd better do a blog post before I take off, so here it is.

JUNE: Last week the Friday Five was about garage sales, and today we actually went to some!

JULY: Also Friday Five, since I was away from computer July 1-3, so: 1. Barbeque's or picnics ( or are they essentially the same thing?)

Not to me -- barbecues are usually at home or someone's home, and picnics are at a park or similar place. But, today we actually ate at an old-school drive-in with picnic tables, real cherry cokes, and deep-fried cheese curds! (Something you can't get in Maine.)

AUGUST: It was the Friday Five, so here's my first answer: ) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?

Since I am not ever the driver, I amuse myself pretty much all the time I am in a car -- in this case I would look at the workers, be glad I'm not working as a flagger for $8 an hour, and perhaps try to amuse the driver, if necessary!

SEPTEMBER: Yes, today everything came together perfectly and we took my birthday boat ride.

OCTOBER: Perhaps you've heard of the "Curse of the State Quarters." I'm beginning to think there may be a curse connected with my collection of coffee mugs! 

NOVEMBER: This morning began around 6:30 am when Rusty decided it was time for people to get up.

DECEMBER:It's a bit late in the day here on the East Coast, but I'm still going to start this out so that there will be a story and song suggestion for each day up to December 24th.

It's surprising how many times it was the Friday Five that got me blogging, when it wasn't necessarily the first day of the month. I think the pattern is that I have not been assiduous nor imaginative enough about my blog. That's a good resolution for this year.

Another Meme (since I have nothing exciting to report)

Celeste tagged me for this meme and I have been lazy about doing it. I actually did it some time back so I had to go back and check the random facts so I don't end up repeating myself.

Here are the rules, which I am breaking:

1. Link to the tagger and post the rules.

2. List seven random facts about yourself.

3. Tag seven more people. (This is the one I'm breaking, because I'm running out of people to tag. Y'all friends who don't blog have to get on the ball! However, feel free to list facts in a comment.)

Here are my random facts:

1. I can't swim or ride a bicycle, although I've had people try to teach me to do both.

2. I attended five different elementary schools in three states and a foreign country.

3. I can't stop buying Christmas music (see photo above)

4. I have a large collection of what I call "How to Be Perfect" books -- books on organization, how to dress, how to decorate, how to run your life. It's not clear they have worked.

5. I now write a short review of each book I read and post them on Goodreads, DorothyL, or both.

6. My dog, who weighs 55 lbs., sits in my lap. (See photo below, I love how he looks when standing up looking out the window.)

7. My cat, who weighs about 5 lbs., does not.

Molly had a silly meme to create my own random band name and album cover art. the rules are:

1. Band Name: Random Wikipeda Link

2. Album Title: Random quote generator (take the last four words from the first quote on the page)

3. Album Art: Flickr Interesting Photo (pick one)

So, here you have it.

My band is "The Strange Procession Which never Moves."

Our latest album is "To Us As Well."

The album cover art is in the corner. I really liked this photo, just wish the person had had a better cookie, this one looks like a cheap store-bought one.

Food Meme: Yummy or yukky?

Found at Terrapin Station via Cathy's Grace Notes:
This is fun, and everybody's doing it. Andrew put together a list of 100 foods he thinks any good omnivore should have tried at least once. Andrew is British, so his list doesn't include some things this Yank might believe to be must-tries.

How the Omnivore's 100 works:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I'm going to put these in double brackets[[]] because I don't think Blogger supports strikethroughs).

4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

MY OMNIVORE'S 100

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea (No, but just give me time, The Herbalist recommends it highly)
3. Huevos rancheros
4. [[Steak tartare]]
5. Crocodile
6. [[Black pudding]]
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PBJ sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans (I even know how to make them!)
25. [[Brawn or head cheese]]
26. [[Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper]]
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I've eaten gallons of clam chowder, but never in a sourdough bowl.)
33. Salted lassi (nope, just mango)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac [[with a fat cigar]]
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (assuming oxtail soup counts)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (covered in chocolate, my father brought home once)
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. [[Fugu]]
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV (probably, in Germany)
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (surely, foisted upon unwitting children by superhealthy 80s moms in my neighborhood)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (making sure readers know this is not BREAD)
63. kaolin - (as in Kaopectate)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. [[Frogs’ legs]]
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. [[Chitterlings or andouillette]] Smelled them cooking, that was enough!
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail (I'm a little dubious about this but I hear they come with lots of garlic butter)
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. [[Horse]] My grandfather would rollover in his grave if I did.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox (We used to get this for Sunday brunch once a month in college)
97. Lobster Thermidor (I generally take my lobster steamed, stewed or in a lobster roll. I've had lobster ravioli and was underwhelmed.)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

What about you?
Comment: I see two common denominators of the things I haven't tried -- too expensive to imagine getting the opportunity, or the "ick" factor. Then there are the things I don't know at all -- what the heck is pocky? I'll have to look that up.

Mosaic of Me

Celeste did this, so I thought I would do it too. Here's how:
* Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
* Using only the first page, choose an image.
* Copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker over at FD's image maker.

The questions:
What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One word to describe you.
Your Flickr name


1. Nicolette the girl with the chocolate-chilli voice, 2. birthday soup - no shells all meat!, 3. A walk in the park, 4. The Chesil Beach at Portland - Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, 5. Nicolas Cage (1), 6. Bonnie Maid Lime Rickey, 7. . Grantchester - (The Jogger) ., 8. custard pie, its sweet and nice..., 9. Doubleblind anonymity, 10. Watching the fireworks, 11. Reading book..., 12. Knickers now on!

Play if you want to and let me know in comments if you did.

Tag, I'm It!

EmJayDee far away in the Antipodes has tagged me for a me me meme

Here are the rules:

1. List these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

1. Tomorrow is my birthday!
2. I placed eighth in the National Spelling Bee in 1961.
3. For two or three horrible months, I worked on a CB radio assembly line. I wasn't good at it.
4. I have identified, at least tentatively, 958 direct ancestors.
5. I have never had a driver's license, though I've had a permit a couple of times.
6. We bought a house in 1979 and sold it in 1988, and at that time it was the longest I had ever lived in one home.
7. I read about 200 books a year and now post reviews on Goodreads.
   

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
FilmAching
Winifred T. Katt
Julie Bowe
Cathy's Grace Notes
Ringelstruempfe
Processing Counselor
33 Names of Grace

I am interested in the new facts I will learn about you!

I've Been Tagged

Singing Owl has tagged me for a meme. I'm probably not going to come up with 5 people to tag, since so many of the bloggers I read already have done this one. But I'll see what I can do.

Rules: The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions/statements about himself or herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Ten years ago:
I was preparing for two big events: Cordeliaknits' high school graduation (and the ensuing Open House) and a mastectomy. Both had good outcomes. As I recall, the party was a lot of fun, combining many people from my daughter's various communities, and the operation went smoothly, with recovery swift and painless. (It was Stage 0 so I didn't need radiation or chemotherapy.)


Five things on today's "to do" list:

1. Make rhubarb cake.
   
2. Blog.
3. Post reviews on DorothyL and Goodreads.
4. Do some laundry.
5. Finish indexing a pedigree for the local Genealogical Society.

Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:

• Pay off all my kids' student loans. And the nieces' and nephews' student loans. And fund the rest of their educations. Grandnieces and grandnephews too.
• Give more to more charities.
• Travel.
• Add a screened porch and a second floor bath to our house.
• Go to a mystery convention. If I enjoyed it, go to some more.
• I'm afraid I'd probably buy some more books, too.

Three bad habits:

1. Nailbiting.
2. Procrastination.
3. Computer solitaire.
   

Five places I've lived:

1. Maine
2. Connecticut
3. Germany
4. Minnesota
5. California
   

Five jobs I've had:

1. Catalog card typist.
2. CB radio assembler.
3. Library paraprofessional.
4. Church secretary.
5. Russian interpreter.
   

It is hard for me to come up with taggees, since Onkel Hankie Pants says he won't do any more, and many of the blogs I read are semi-professional or multi-person blogs (mystery writers, mainly). And, this has been making the rounds of the RevGalBlogPals and others for a while. However, I don't think Cordeliaknits or Sisterknits has done it yet; and I'm also going to tag Paleika and Lemondancy, just to encourage them to blog a bit more often (though it may not work).

Finally Getting Around to this Meme

Some time back, I'm embarrassed to say how long, Crimson Rambler tagged me for this middle name meme. Here are the rules:
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

I don't know why, but this was hard for me. Maybe because my middle name begins and ends with the same letter? Maybe it's the onset of senility that I couldn't think of any descriptive words starting with the letters? Anyway, Sisterknits helped me. So here goes:

A is for Amazing (remember, this is what my daughter says, not what I say!)
N is for Narcoleptic (well, I do fall asleep sometimes in the middle of the day....)
D is for Dorky (no comment)
R is for Respectable (now, does this mean I am deserving of respect, or just that I am outwardly conventional?)
E is for Evolving (into what I don't know)
A is for A Mommy. (hee-hee)

I tag
stonesoupArt
sisterkNits
corDeliaknits
Ringelstrumpfe
onkel hAnkie pants

You can tell that I don't have a large number of blogging friends. And most of them have already done this meme.

President's Day Meme

Songbird posted this meme for Presidents' Day -- a good thing as I have no better ideas for today's posting.

1. Can you name the American Presidents we are honoring? Bonus: Any idea when their real birthdays are? (Don't look it up.)

George Washington, born February 22, 1731/2 (O.S.) in Virginia.

Abraham Lincoln, born February 12, 1809 in Kentucky.

2. Why do you suppose car sales are an important aspect of our President's Day observations in the U.S.? (Feel free to be whimsical.)

I can't think of anything whimsical. I would guess that since the new models have been out for a while by now, dealers are looking to get rid of some of them, and also, it's a day off for some people so that the family can shop for a car together.

3. Have you ever been President of a club or organization? How did that feel?

No, but I have been Moderator of my church. It was not an extremely powerful position, as the church was really run by the five committees, and the Council met infrequently. But I got to help plan the church's 90th anniversary celebration. It was a good experience for me. Also, I was Co-Editor-in-Chief of my college newspaper for a semester. That was fun too, in spite of some friction with the other co-editor.

4. If you could have dinner with any President of the United States no longer living, who would it be? Any particular questions you would like to ask? (Please feel free to substitute a nationally appropriate elected leader, such as a Prime Minister.)

I think, based on reading Merle Miller's Plain Speaking, that I would like to dine with Harry S Truman. He was President when I was born. I'd mostly like to dine with him because he was well-read and seemed to be an interesting conversationalist, and maybe a little less of an egotist than many of the others. However, a question did come up in my mind recently, the answer to which may be written somewhere, but I don't know: When he agreed to join FDR on the ticket in 1944, could he tell that he would probably end up becoming President when FDR died? I would think FDR's declining health might have been evident, and Truman was very much a realist. So I suspect he did. But I wonder.

5. On a more serious note, what are the qualities you hope for in our next President? (As above for those who live in other countries.)

The intelligence of Jefferson, the humility of Lincoln, the genius for dealing with Congress of Lyndon Johnson at his best, the integrity of Washington, the confidence (and the ability to inspire it in others) of FDR, the sense of history of Truman, the inspirational qualities of JFK, the environmental awareness of Teddy Roosevelt and Al Gore, and the plain good-heartedness of Jimmy Carter. A tall order.

Candy Cane Monday Meme on Thursday

Cathy tagged me for this, which she got from Presbyterian Gal. From a Presbyterian to an Episcopalian to UCC -- we are ecumenical! I did actually write this on Thursday, but I was looking for a photo to post with it. Unfortunately, my Christmas photo album is lost somewhere in this house! I haven't looked in enough places yet, but didn't want to put this off any longer.

Now that the dreaded Black Friday has come and gone, here is a short little Meme to properly kick off the holiday season.

Name five of your favorite all time gifts. Either given or gotten.

1. Sisterknits! Our third child, by the time she was on the way there were more diagnostic tools in use, and the doctors told me she would be born on Christmas Day. Yeah, right, I said. Well, Christmas morning I was the first one up, as usual, and I realized we needed to hurry through the stockings and drop SonShineIn and Cordeliaknits off at their grandparents' house on the way to the hospital! I remember watching the repeat of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival in the labor room and bringing her home in a Christmas stocking. She is still the best Christmas present ever and will be again when she comes to visit us on the 21st. (The other two were born on Danish Day (a moveable feast) and International Children's Book Day, respectively, and they are wonderful gifts too.)

2. I'm not sure if it was my summer birthday or Christmas, but when I was 10 I received a clock radio from my parents. I felt so grown up! I could set the alarm if I needed to, and I could listen to all kinds of stations, although it was mostly WNEW for Make-Believe Ballroom Time, WNYC for Oscar Brand's folk music show and WINS (Murray the K kept me up-to-date on all the latest rock-and-roll hits). It was one of those gifts I hadn't asked for or even knew I wanted but became one of my most-used possessions.

3. Maybe 25 years ago or so, I was living in Minnesota and my winter jacket was a rather lightweight parka more suitable for, say, Connecticut. My sister-in-law The Traveler was into sewing down items from kits at the time (she made a comforter and a sleeping bag, for example) and she sewed me a down parka. Still better, she gave it to me at Thanksgiving -- and we had an extremely cold and early winter that year. I probably would have frozen to death doing my (on the bus) Christmas shopping, had she not given me the coat early! It was so warm, and lasted several years before the stuffing began to come out.

4. Onkel Hankie Pants has given me many fine presents over the years; I'm wearing one now, my deliciously warm L. L. Bean fleece bathrobe. The very best gifts, though,have been gifts of his own creation -- poems along the way and, for a Significant Birthday, even a hymn (lyrics, set to Brother James' Air).

5. I am not really sure which of the tangible gifts I have given over the years have been most appreciated by their recipients. I am proud of (and I think they appreciate) the gift that Onkel Hankie Pants and I gave our children. If you've read about the recent study on declining literacy, you will know why I am happy that our children (one is in the 18-24 bracket, the others in the 25-35) do in fact read for pleasure and information as well as the books they "have to" read. (One is in college and one in graduate school so they do have a lot of required reading as well). We both read to them from infancy on, and I'm afraid the best way for them to get our undivided attention was to ask for a story -- they also saw that we enjoyed reading and talking about books. I know there are people who've done the same and yet their children don't care to read -- I guess it's just another proof that the good giver also needs a good receiver.

I tag Cordeliaknits, Celeste, and Onkel Hankie Pants. But anyone is welcome to play!

Mug Meme

St. Casserole posted this meme and it sounded like a good one:
Describe seven mugs that are in your kitchen cabinet. So here goes:

1. Green glass labyrinth mug from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, bought off the Internet. Alas, when I actually got to their classy gift shop last spring, the design had changed completely. This is my favorite, I only use it when I have a new pot of fresh coffee!

2. A black "God Is Still Speaking" mug that I got from a UCC event kicking off that campaign.
3. A very bulbous, handthrown, greyish-blue pottery mug (with a matching dessert plate) that Cordeliaknits' friend Biz gave me. I wish we could see Biz this Christmas.

4. A big heavy white mug with my nickname on it in blue calligraphy (you've probably seen the popcorn bowls? that kind) that my boss at #5 gave me one Christmas -- the other two supervisees also had fairly unusual names so we each got one. Although it's nice to have an unusual name, sometimes you just want to find your name on something...so it was a good present.
5. Dark red mug that says "Hamline University School of Law" where I worked in the library for 9 years. A souvenir of the year that Am. Assoc. of Law Librarians had their convention in the Twin Cities and I helped with the opening reception.
6. Maine-made pottery mug with pink and purple tulips painted on it, a birthday present several years ago from my brother Uncle Markie Pants.
7. And one I don't use often because I don't want to break it -- a mug with a loon on it that belonged to my mother.

I tag Cordeliaknits, Celeste, and Sisterknits (if she ever blogs again!!!)