The rules:
- Thank the blogger who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog
- Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you
- Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions
- List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog
1. Have you ever had an encounter with an unusual animal (either in the wild or otherwise)?
Well, I've ridden elephants and camels, and I've petted stingrays. Those were all pretty unusual. None of them were in the wild, though.
.JPG) |
| (At the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI) |
2. Would you dog-ear a library book? If not, what's a weird thing you've used as a bookmark?
I would. But I would probably dog-ear the bottom corner so it would be less noticeable to other readers and not irk them so much. I've used a lot of random stuff as bookmarks, though, including hair ties, necklaces, earrings, and a comb.
3. What's your favorite Christmas song? (I know I'm out of season to ask this, bear with me)
I love Christmas too much to pick only one. My top three are:
- Elvis's version of "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" (listen here)
- Bobby Darin's version of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" (listen here)
- Dean Martin's version of "Marshmallow World" (listen here)
4. Have you ever been out of the country? If so, where? If not, where would you like to go?
Yup! I've been to Canada many times, to Mexico for an afternoon, to Poland for a few hours, to Ukraine for a little over a week, and to a couple islands in the Caribbean for a few hours.
 |
| (In Montreal a dozen years ago) |
5. What's your least favorite book?
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, closely followed by Lord of the Flies by William Goldman. I've linked both those titles to my reviews of them if you want to know why I hate them.
6. What's your favorite cuisine?
American! I love cheeseburgers and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and pumpkin pie :-9
7. Favorite miniseries?
The Blue and the Gray (1982) -- it's a sprawling Civil War epic following a Virginia boy who sides with the North, plus delving into the lives of his brothers and sister, cousins, and friends. Some fight for the South, some fight for the North, and some try not to pick sides. I owe my lasting interest in the Civil War and its effects on people to this miniseries, which I watched with my family many times when I was growing up.
8. Would you rather try to wrestle a bone away from a dog, or a chicken wing away from a cat?
It depends on the dog and the cat. If it was my dog Westley I had when growing up, I'd pick trying to wrestle a bone away from him because he'd think we were playing tug-of-war and eventually let me have it.
9. Have you ever had surgery?
Alas, yes. When I was 12, I broke my arm while roller skating and had to have surgery to set the bones. When I was 18, I had my wisdom teeth removed, which involved full anesthesia, so I think it counts. When I was in my 30s, I had to have my gall bladder removed. And when I was 42, I broke my arm while roller skating (same arm, about an inch below the first break) and had to have surgery to set the bone.
10. What's your favorite kind of day? (you can answer this however you want, whether it be in weather, activities, books read, &c)
A lovely, quiet day where I don't have any errands to run or appointments to keep, but can stay home and enjoy my family, my books, my movies, my hobbies, and my home.
11. Do you have a favorite board game, and if so, what is it?
I love Scattergories a lot!
 |
| (Random picture of me from back when my hair was red and the grass was green) |
So, now it's time for me to tag nominate blogs for this award and ask them 11 questions! I hereby nominate:
And here are my 11 questions:
1. What's the farthest you've ever been from home?
2. Do you like Shakespeare?
3. Do you have a green thumb?
4. What musical instrument would you like to learn if time and money were no object?
5. Have you ever watched a silent film?
6. Do you like kumquats?
7. Have you ever dyed your hair?
8. Have you ever been to a rock concert?
9. What's the last movie you watched?
10. What blogs do you think more people should know about?
11. What inspired you to start blogging?
Play if you want to! :-)
Thanks for tagging me! Your questions look like so much fun :D
ReplyDeleteRandom thought inspired by your answer for #7--have you ever read "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier? I read it for the first time recently and it struck me as the type of epic Civil War story you might possibly enjoy, though I can't say for sure because it definitely has tragic elements as well, and tragedy is such a personal, subjective thing...
Anyway! I was curious ;)
You're welcome, Katie! I hope you have fun with them :-)
DeleteI haven't read Cold Mountain, but I've seen the movie at least three times! So I will probably read the book at some point, just because I did like the movie a lot :-)
Tragedy is definitely very subjective. I can watch and read Hamlet over and over and love it dearly, and then fume at another story for being "too sad."
Nice! Then I think you would enjoy the book, since you like the movie and know how it ends. It's beautifully written and has really unique descriptions.
DeleteSame!! I will gush endlessly about "Silence" in spite of--perhaps because of--its terribly bitter ending, but there are other tragic stories that I will never, ever forgive for killing off their characters or destroying their happiness.
Ohho! Thank you. I've just gotten back from vacation and am quite overwhelmed with things-to-do, but I am looking forward to when I have the time to answer these questions!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, VT! Take your time -- I got tagged with this like a month ago, lol.
DeleteSo fun to see your answers!
ReplyDeleteWow, that elephant riding picture is SO COOL! Dang. I'm a tiny bit jealous...
Ha! I'm glad someone else doesn't have many qualms about dog-earring library books. (Cuz I do it all the time? And my friends are shocked. XD)
I'm very curious as to how one ends up being in the Caribbean for only a few hours. It's not exactly a layover destination...is it?
Ooh, The Blue and the Gray sounds really good! (Will I watch it? Dubious, because I just don't sit down and watch things by myself, but who knows...maybe someday. :))
Hold on, you broke your arm while roller skating TWICE? Please tell me you're not going roller skating again any time soon...
Thanks, Samantha!
DeleteWe were on a cruise, so we stopped at two different Caribbean islands for a couple of hours each, but we were on the cruise ship most of the time. We didn't stay overnight on either of them, just long enough for a bit of shopping and a meal on one and an afternoon on the beach on the other.
The Blue and the Gray is magnificent! I love it more every time I watch it. I hope you can see it sometime.
And, yes, I have officially given up roller skating. Never mind that I went skating dozens of times with no mishaps in the 30 years between the two breaks -- I am done now!
1. I've wanted to ride on an elephant!
ReplyDelete3. My favorite is Jim Reeves' with his deep voice (Mary's Boy Child & Silent Night)
5. Lord of the Flies is one of my favorites! :))
Fanda, I think elephants are more enjoyable to ride than camels, but both are cool :-D
DeleteJim Reeves does have a great voice! My grandparents were fans of his too.
I guess nobody likes every book, and no book is liked by everybody ;-)
1. I went to Cape Cod for a week with my Aunt and cousins when I was 16. We rented a house, went bike riding and canoeing, walked on the beach, and visited Martha's Vineyard. I've been dreaming of going back ever since.
ReplyDelete2. I get more out of it when I hear it read by someone who knows what they're doing. I haven't read any since college but I've seen a couple movies.
3. It's light green ;)
4. I would love to learn the harp. It's so beautiful. I know I could get a small one but I want the full size!
5. I grew up on the Three Stooges so the silent comedies of Keaton, and Chaplin were a natural introduction. I would like to watch more dramas but the music is usually very distracting.
6. I know it's a fruit but have no clue what a kumquat even looks like. I'm not an adventurous eater.
7. No, I'm afraid it would fall out lol. If I did though I'd probably just add some highlights/lowlights.
8. No, I don't like loud music. My ear gets a static-y noise when the singing at church gets too loud - I did something to my ear laughing too hard with friends at college.
9. I'm halfway through "The Garden of Allah." I watched "Love Affair" on Valentine's Day and have been on a Charles Boyer kick.
10. Yours of course!
11. In college I loved looking at craft blogs so I started one where I would basically share pics of houses and crafts I liked. Then I started writing about movies and movie stars on it and decided they needed their own space. Joining lots of blogathons helped me feel like I belonged.
Phyl, that sounds lovely! When we lived in Connecticut and my brother lived in Massachusetts, we would go past the exit to Cape Cod every time we visited them, and we always tried to time that so we didn't run into lots of traffic. It's a popular spot!
DeleteI have been known to watch silent films with my TV on mute if the music is lousy. It works pretty well, actually.
Kumquats are like a tiny orange the size of a big green grape. They are a burst of intense, bright flavor -- like sunshine inside your mouth. You just eat them whole, peel and all, because the peel is pretty thin.
My blogging journey was kind of similar to yours -- just tried it for fun, then started focusing on movies more, then started a separate blog for books. Blogathons have been a big help for me to find my community here too!
I have answered the questions! Thanks again for the tag.
ReplyDeleteVT, very cool! I will pop over and read your post :-) You're welcome!
Delete