Liebster! RosemaryMariee’s questions

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster by RosemaryMariee! What an honor! Thank you, RosemaryMariee! Those of you who follow Noble Doubt know that one of the highlights each week is the reading the Saturday installment of this legacy. I look forward all week to sitting with my nook, a cup of coffee, and the newest chapter of Noble Doubt.

Here are RosemaryMariee’s questions:

1. If you had to be named after a city, state, country, etc., which one would you want it to be?

   I’d love to be named after Canada! Canada Tea! 🙂 I had a TS3 founder whose name was Canada Davis.

2. Do you have anyone you go to for advice? Online or in person?

   Online, I have great friends at the Forums that I can talk to about writing, reading, online friendships, work, being a person, and life. They give great advice that helps me clarify what I really want to do. And the best part is that I know I could ask them about anything and receive caring, thoughtful insights. They’re a great support group!

   In person, I’ve got a pretty good support system, too. I have a good friend I go to for deep questions about identity or my place in the broader social world. I have good friends at work that I can go to for work-related concerns and frustrations. And my partner is my go-to guy whenever I’m really puzzled by something and I need someone to give me advice who’s able to see the healthiest, most positive choices. His advice might not always be the easiest to follow, so I’ve got to be ready to take up the challenge, but when I am, his advice never fails–and it’s lead us to some pretty neat places, like my getting an MFA in creative writing, becoming a web editor, reducing my work hours to 30 hours a week, and buying our house!

3. What is your perfect pizza?
   
   Hmmm… I don’t eat flour, meat, or tomatoes, so that means the pizza might be a bit unusual. How about this recipe? A toasted Ezekiel wrap topped with pureed butternut squash with rosemary and lots of basil, topped with sliced tofu that’s been sauteed in onion, garlic, and ginger. Douse the whole thing with tamari and a sprinkling of ground pumpkin seeds! (Wait… that sounds suspiciously like my supper…)
4. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning?

   We did it!  Yesterday, we finished a huge web-migration project at work, which we’d been hoping to do for 15 years. I’m still in the stress-zone. It’s good stress! But it’s stress none-the-less!

5. What is the last movie you saw and what did you think of it?
   
   OK. Don’t faint. The last one we saw in a theater was Sleepless in Seattle in August 1993. I remember getting pretty ticked off that when the film was supposed to be showing what was happening in February, the trees had leaves! Come on! We lived in Seattle from 1985-91, so they couldn’t fool us! But it was fun seeing our old neighborhoods! 🙂

   We do watch a lot of Netflix, but it tends to be series, more than movies.

6. If you had a chance for a “do-over” in life, what would you do differently?
   
   I don’t really adhere to “do-overs.” Everything contributes. We learn and grow from every mistake. Healing from pain makes us more resilient–when we’re lucky and supported and when we take the time to turn towards our pain. So, I guess I’m not doing over. I have had moments when I wish the world would do over, and that Jimmy Carter got re-elected, and we all listened to Young Al Gore back in the late ’70s and took global warming seriously. Forty years ago, we actually had a critical moment when we could have turned a different direction, and I can’t help but think that the planet and all the beautiful creatures on it, like polar bears and coral reefs, would thank us for it. But we didn’t do that. So, what will happen now? Now we move into this new time, hopefully aligning ourselves with the increase in the energy of the earth’s magnetism, and maybe, move into something new… (Oops. Spoilers for my story “Through a Glass Murkly“)
7. What was your favorite toy as a kid?
   
   I had this beautiful little Steiff donkey. He was small enough that I could bring him with me when our family went on day trips in the car or to symphonies. I remember many times sitting in the concert hall while he rambled through the fields and meadows of my imagination. Now he stands on a bookcase in the art room, where I practice cello, along with about 21 of his other Steiff friends–a chimpanzee, a gibbon, several ponies, a few bears, some dogs, a lion, a tall giraffe, and more. And he’s looking pretty good for a 52-year-old miniature donkey!
8. What is the last thing you bought?
   
   Two Amazon gift cards for two of the women with the company that was part of our big web migration project. They were integral to the project’s success, and I wanted to express my personal thanks to each of them.
9. Have you ever heard of Euchre, Dutch Blitz or Farkle and do you know how to play?
   
   I think my grandmother played euchre, but I sure don’t know how! And I’ve never heard of the others!
10. How old were you when you last went trick or treating?
    
    Oh, I think I stopped at 12. When I was growing up, I somehow got the crazy idea that once you turned 13, you were a teenager, and you had to give up all childish things.  No wonder I was so sad on that birthday! If only I’d known I could stay a kid-at-heart forever!
11. If you could travel in time, would you go to the past or to the future and why?
    
    Just like I’m not a “do-overer,” I’m not a time traveler, except in my imagination or memory. In my imagination, I love to walk the fields and forests with Bach, to search the beach with Thoreau for any sign of shipwrecked Margaret Fuller, to sit in the garden with a cup of tea and Jane Austen. In memory, I sometimes find fragments of forgotten days, and I love to sweep up all the tangled bits of me and pull them back inside.

Thanks for these great questions, RosemaryMariee! I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s chapter of Noble Doubt! 🙂