Random Dozen

So, in an odd moment of idleness (Yes, they do occasionally happen...), as I boogie-boarded through the internet waves (because I'm too graceless to surf...), I found myself bobbing alongside a blog called Second Cup of Coffee.  If you know me at all, you know that caught my attention!  And, no surprise, it's a keeper-blog, very charming, tons of fun, and with a special bonus of being the hostess-blog of a really cool, super-uper weekly meme thing ("Super-uper" is William's personal favorite qualifier, in case you wondered. We all say it now, of course...).

 Anyway, here's the fun: The blog owner, Linda, presents a dozen random questions every week that participators get to answer and share on Mr. Linky!  How much fun is that?  If you want to play, run over today!

Here are this week's questions:

1. It's early morning, about 2:00 AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?

I sit there.  I know God is watching.  It's true; He is.  And though I've known this from the earliest days at my mother's knee, an incident in my adult life permanently impressed the very words of this warning into my brain...

 We used to have a little handpainted sign that said: God is watching, so put on a good show.  Because we inherited it from someone we cared for who had passed away, we couldn't bring ourselves to get rid of it, gaudy as it was (it was painted white and aquamarine!), so through the years it floated around the house, showing up in odd corners, hung  behind doors and such.  Then the kids grew up to be teenagers, and one day the little sign mysteriously appeared in the water closet (You know: the loo, the john, the head, the bathroom)... We decided forthwith it was time to retire the little sign to a bin in the barn.  The lesson has always stuck with me.  (Which lesson, you ask?  Well, all of them, of course...)


2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?
I would stop at one bowl of popcorn.

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)
I've been pressed for time lately, so feel horrible that I often do not get back to my commentors.  (I know.  It's awful.  My mother did teach me better...) I always mean to reply, really I do, but, you know.... Things pile up, the comment slips to the bottom of my e-mail page, then before you know it, it's in the middle of the third page of my inbox....  and so much time has lapsed, that to reply would point out how very not-on-top-of-it I am.  =sigh=  And we all know it's true, but we don't need to point it out, right?

But, when I do reply, I either reply back in my own combox or e-mail the commentor personally, depending on the situation, and whether or not the reply would be pertinent to other visitors to the combox.  (Nobody's ever going to comment now, though...)

4. Your favorite Disney movie is:
Dumbo.  For the song.  You know the song?



5. Do you recycle?
Yes, personally, right here on our property.  We don't buy most of the things that are usually recycled, but if it can have a second life, we'll usually resurrect it right here at the farm.  Newspapers are used to light our wood stove and protect our dining room table from paint and glue; any glass jars we save for storage, vases, or crafts; we buy very few convenience foods or drinks, so we have very little in the way of plastic containers....  And practically no article of clothing, furniture, or other miscellaneous geegaw is bought new or not passed down, and every scrap of food we don't eat goes to the dogs, chickens, goats, or compost pile.

Just prudence and economy for a big family...  We'd gag to be called "green."

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?
Chance.  I'm totally a right brain kinda gal.

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?
Yes, I have the same recurring dream that my husband has, believe it or not.  We both dream we are wanderingthrough a gigantic house.  Room opens upon room after room, and secret stairways and hatches lead to more rooms still.  But it's a nice house, nothing like the Winchester Mansion, where everything's nonsensical and strange. We're filled with delight as we explore the endless square footage.   There are too many closets to count, a kazillion bathrooms, and endless grounds with beautiful, manicured lawns.  I'm pretty sure there are usually gardeners and housekeepers darting about the fringes, too. =le-sigh= It's ever so lovely.  Dan and I finish each other's sentences when we talk about this dream.  I'm sure there's some deep meaning to it...

  Or else we've just been cramming too many people into too small a house for too long.  (I expect that's it.)

8. What did you learn from your first real job?
My first real job was working as an aide in a Daycare Center -- and I learned, more than anything, that I would never ever put my children in Daycare.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?
Ooh, that's tough.  I have to say it's about equal.  We borrow scads of library books for the children, but most of the books I read, and many of the books we fall in love with from the library, we find cheap and used online.  Isn't it a wonderful world that we can do that?

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?
I swore many years ago that I'd never again wear a girdle.  Oh my word.  They are so uncomfortable. They roll up on your legs and either squeeze the life out of your belly, or roll down like an external lap band, cutting off your digestion and/or the blood to your legs.  But.  I got one to wear under the little black dress I wore at my son's wedding -- for smoothing purposes, doncha know...  And, let me tell you, they've improved since I last wore one!  All the advances in the universe are not technological!

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?
The day after Christmas.  Last weekend, though, I pooled the trashbags hidden in the cellar with the boxes hidden in the top of my closet so I could figure out what I have and what I need. And:  I need a lot.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?
Well, hmmm... I'm not generally a jumper-up-and-downer, but I'm pretty sure I did a happy dance when I heard that Paul had finally proposed to Nicole.  And, then  there was the time last summer when I came home and son, Kevvy, had cleaned the refrigerator for me.  It was The Pony that day.  And I think I hallooed praises and hop-skipped around the bathroom that glorious day a couple weeks ago when we took the potty out for the last time.