Random Dozen, January 20th

1. So I was thinking about how Jon Bon Jovi never seems to age much. His hair is smaller nowadays, but he still manages to look like a boy somehow. And then that made me think of the story of Dorian Gray. Question: If you physically lock in one age for yourself, which would you choose and why?

I would want freeze time in my early twenties, back when I could eat anything I wanted without a thought, exercise as little or as much as I wanted without repercussion, and never gave my skin a second thought. 


2. What is the best dish that you cook or bake (your piece de resistance?)

 I claim no fame as a cook, but I think I'm pretty good at anything that can be made in one big pot: soup or stew, spaghetti, gumbo, stroganoff, mystery casserole, etc. I like a menu with very few pots to have to wash, that can feed an army, and that I can embellish with pretty much any combination of odd ingredients that I happen to have left over in the fridge.  And, though these dishes are never the same twice, and their ancestry questionable, the kids never complain.

3. When you feel blue, what is one strategy you use to help yourself back to normal?

 A sure cure for the blues for me is a getaway to the mountains.  If I can't do that, listening to upbeat music usually turns the tide, or watching Olly and Stanley, or just having a conversation with the Littles -- who are probably more funny than Olly and Stanley. 

4. When was the last time you danced in public?

Um.  I don't dance in public.  I may have been guilty on a couple of occasions in college, having most likely had some kind of alcoholic encouragement, but I wouldn't be caught dead nowadays.  I do have some smidgeon of dignity, still in tatters perhaps, but worth hanging onto. I have two left feet is the truth of the matter and am usually too preoccupied trying to keep track of toddlers to think of keeping a beat. As a matter of record, actually, I didn't dance at my son's wedding -- but I didn't need to because my mother and father-in-law got out there and cut such a rug that anyone else attempting looked ridiculous.  (Except maybe Theresa, getting dipped in the above pic from the wedding reception...)

5. Do you consider yourself a realist or dreamer? 

Oh, my gosh.  Good question.  I think I'm a hybrid.  I'm a dreamer about big things, but a realist about little things.  I dream about moving back to my beloved home on the Western Slope of Colorado, but I'm realistic about what it will take to get there -- and so I'm painting walls and de-cluttering the outbuildings, and holding on until the timing is right.  The little things, the realistic things, have to come before the big dreams can happen...

6. As a parent, what is one thing that you have done well?

I am humbled and blessed by the fact that my children -- from the youngest to the oldest -- talk to me, tell me their dreams and frustrations, and share with me the details of their lives.  I don't know that that is so much my doing as our family culture or the fact that we're all a bunch of big mouths, but it's something that I'm very grateful for.

7. Which is your favorite character on the Andy Griffith show? 

Will I have to duck stones and pinecones if I admit that I really don't like the Andy Griffith Show?  My mom even comes from NC, but I just can't stand that show. I love hometown, I love wholesome, I even love some of the early comedy of Andy Griffith himself, but the pace or the hoak or Don Knots adams apple --- something irritates me about that series. To be perfectly honest, though, I really don't care for any show like that.  Except for I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke, I can honestly say I have not purposely sat down in front of a sitcom or dramedy of any kind for many, many years. 

8. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you know about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

 Oh, gee, in the world of knowlege about any human being, I'd say my knowlege of MLK was likely the tip of the iceberg.  In fact, since I didn't go to public schools, and my children don't go to public schools, my knowlege is probably more like the tip of the tip of the iceberg.  I'd say it tops out at maybe a 3.  But ask me anything about Queen Isabella of Spain or Pope Pius X.

9. Have you never been mellow? Have you never tried … to find a comfort from in side you? (Sorry, Jorge was singing that song just now, and it just seemed to be perfect timing as I was creating this week’s questions.) REAL question: What is your #1 driving pet peeve?

Children who come in the front door and. drop. their. shoes. right. in. the. middle. of. the. floor!  AGH!

  Other than that...  You know when you're driving on the highway and two miles ahead of time, signs start alerting drivers about a lane closure ahead?  Arrows point it out, graphic signs display exactly what the lane is going to do and when.  Every forty feet there is a sign.  No chance every driver on the highway is not aware that they need to merge into the open lanes.  So you get over, right?  You'd think.  But some people don't think those signs apply to their world, or they are snoozing at the wheel, or they are just plain arrogant.  Have you seen these people?  They think they can stay in the closing lane until the very last minute, whizzing past everyone else who dutifully pulled over into the bottleneck lanes.. They speed all the way to the front of the line expecting that some dope is going to let them in. And then some dope does! Grrr.  One is rude, the other is an enabler.  I don't know who makes me madder: the arrogant line-cutter or the dope that lets him in.  (Sheesh!  Not feeling mellow now...)

10. Which color best represents your mood today? Care to elaborate? 

Green.  I'm wearing a green plaid blouse and a matching kelly-green cardigan.  Green is my happy color and I'm determined to be happy today (just as soon as I get the highway line-cutters out of my mind).  But, there's no green outside, so I'm trying to feel it inside.  (I'm looking forward to a springtime hike in the mountains!)

11. If your spouse were an animal, which would he/she be?

 Dan is brown-eyed yellow lab.  Sweet and snuggly, thoughtful and steady, loyal and friendly, and smart.

12. What activity takes up the bulk of your time on an average day? 

Trying to remember what it is I'm doing and what I need to do next. 

* Mosey over and have a "cuppa" with Second Cup of Coffee for more Random Dozen posts!