Should she choose to do so, I hereby tag the brilliant and beautiful author of secret, fragile skies to create a post concerning 25 random things about her.

1. The first word I said was light.
2. I hope there is no such thing as reincarnation. But if there is then I think I'm a fairly old soul.
3. I've had monthly massage from the same woman for 16 years and she's heard lots of my stories. Recently she said that if she ever came back as an animal that she would want me to adopt her.
4. I love natural hot springs. I've even been known to disregard signs out in the desert, but luck was on my side......... (video runs 31 seconds)
5. The smell of Daphne stops me in my tracks.
6. About 90% of the time in the last year or so I'm neither euphoric nor anguished, and I think that's pathetic.
7. When I walk out my door during non-school hours there is usually some neighborhood kid who will yell hello to me. They all call me by my first name and I've made a point of learning all of theirs.
8. On July 21, 1969, two things happened that I'll never forget. My boyfriend and I were on a double-date with another couple and on our way to Lake Tahoe we stopped at a cabin along the Truckee River to say hello to the other guy's grandparents and parents who were having a family celebration. They insisted that we eat a quick spaghetti meal, an excellent one, because the grandparents were from the old country. The grandfather taught me how to spin my pasta using a fork on a spoon. I've not eaten spaghetti any other way since........
9. .........After dinner we sped on to Tahoe where we expected it would be easy to find a television to watch. It wasn't easy. We were kicked out of several bars because we were underage and were about at our wits' end when we drove by a motel with the lobby windows clearly showing a television on. Time was running out; we charged in and asked the owner/clerk if she would let us watch with her. She was pleased to have the company. Just minutes later the five of us sat speechless as we watched Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the moon.

10. I treasure solitude.
11. My father left my mother when I was three weeks old. I didn't meet him until I was 21 and we talked for about an hour. I saw him a final time when I was 35. He was drunk and that visit was horrible.
11. My mother and I were on top of Mt. Schweitzer near Sandpoint, Idaho, when my father died. I know this because I kept the summer chairlift ticket stub with date/time stamp and compared it to the death information.12. I quit eating mammals 32 years ago, but I still eat seafood and poultry.
13. My favorite type of cuisine is Indian.....but my favorite food is salmon. Every time I eat it I thank the fish.
14. In freshman college English we were asked to write an in-class essay about what we would be willing to die for. Mine was about music.

15. When I was a kid our family went to the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. My mother took this shot. Notice the lack of crowds and the simplicity of the Olympic Flame.

16. I had an operation and subsequent period of recovery during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91. I returned to work when the war ended. It was a short war.

17. I'm pretty sure that I love cats more than anything else in the world. If there's something I love more than cats one of my cats will let me know.
18. I think the funniest movie I've ever seen has to be The Jerk with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. (video runs 2:26)
19. I use my middle name at my blogs. My first name isn't especially common to begin with, and my mother spelled it in a really unusual way, thereby ensuring that I have spent my life spelling out a name that never truly seemed like it belonged to me.
20. Mike and I merged our last names when we were married. They each are fully represented in this natural blending, sans hyphenation.
20. I love God.
21. There were llamas in a field that I drove by this week and it made me so sad to realize that I'll never have one for a pet.
22. I am unsure what my favorite color is. I like a variety of colors for different uses for assorted reasons in special seasons.
(Fantastic color wheel here!)

23. My favorite number is 8. It reminds me of the track I had for my HO gauge train set when I was a kid.
24. Spring is spectacular, but my favorite season is autumn.
25. I took this quiz.......Are You Mind, Body, or Spirit?....... and here are my results:
You Are Spirit |
You are resilient, hopeful, and inspiring. You have a lot of emotional, physical, and mental energy. You nurture and nourish yourself. You know that you need fulfillment and downtime if you want to be your best. You stay present in every moment. You don't allow yourself to be distracted or flustered. You appreciate the life you have been given. You embrace all that is beautiful in the world. |
Photo of lightbulb: Jeff Lieberman, 2007
Music and autumnal graphics: webweaver
Painting of cats: Henriette Ronner-Knip, Dutch
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