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For those who noticed I’ve been missing, send the ransom! For those who didn’t, send the ransom!

[If you need my mailing address, email off-loop. Checks and prepaid bank cards accepted.]

No. I haven’t been lolly-gagging. Remove the lolly, and you have it. I’ve been gagging on priorities, and determined to write forward.

I traveled to exotic locales to find inspiration.

While there, I picked up a delightful Chopped Anti-pasta salad, and waited in line to admire iconic figures.

Fortunately, the woman in line ahead of me discovered before I had to that:

  1. Verbalizing “what’s the big deal” is not advisable while staring at a certain part of a male’s anatomy, and…
  2. Innocent looking cherubs can morph into water fountains when annoyed or embarrassed.

I left as quickly as I could. She was not Happy, and I had not clue which of Snow White’s remaining six dwarfs she would turn out to be. I feared a good-hair-day-gone-bad Grumpy might adversely impact my glee.

Yes, glee! I was in write-forward mode, making great progress on my manuscript when…

Thanks Connie, Dave & Kathleen!


I had been tagged in the eleven question game.

I chose to ignore it. The prose were leaping from my brain to keyboard to paper. And, then…

Ping! Incoming!

What? Another tag in the eleven question game? How could this be? And why did my brain toy with the word “plagiarism” when it threw that first line out there?

With two new items on my to-do list, I chose to call a brief time out and respond.

So who were these beloved fellow bloggers who tagged me? Why, Nigel Blackwell and Mike Schulenberg. I selected options from each of them entirely at random whim. Snark Potential scored a few points in my pin-the-tale-on-the-question game.

RULES? Of course there are rules. I frequently bend the rules. The ones I choose to adhere to on this tag, are to (1) answer eleven questions (of the available twenty-two), and (2) ping-back to the spawns of the devil beloved fellow bloggers who tagged me.

This first set came from Mike Schulenberg, part of my WANA112 class and parent to Qegu, the most popular post on my site to date.

If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?

I can see it now. It would be an eclectic mix of climates and geography, not unlike moving from one world to the next in Disney World. (Yes, Sherry, in my imaginary world, you are still my next door neighbor. Squee!)

You’ll likely find me—if you want to find me—sitting by a babbling brook in a forest.

[Yes, I know “babbling brook” is cliché. My mouth has I have an affinity with the phrase. Shoot me.]

Home base will be an impressive log lodge staffed by volunteers. Volunteers receive free lodging in exchange for performing tasks they love. I am currently accepting applications for the following positions:

  • LOO quality control engineer (steam cleaner provided)
  • Tap dance instructor
  • Fly swatter

 Do you read in noisy or quiet places?

I read anywhere – noisy or quiet—so long as I’m insulated in my bubble and permitted to imitate a bump on a pickle. I do not want to engage in conversation unless I choose to toss my penniless-thought into the game.

If the discussion in progress involves budgets, I’ll keep my penny.

Sometimes, it’s entertaining to read in public places. Eavesdropping, spontaneous snorts, and unanticipated spews of green tea become surreptitious and innocent so long as I keep my eyes focused on my book.

Do reviews influence your choice of reads?

Not much. I follow my favorite authors, snarky titles, genres that interest me, and all books written by authors I know personally. I haven’t yet found a bad one in the bunch.

Can you handle a secret?

  • No? Skip to next question. It’s in bold. Four lines down.
  • Yes? Proceed to next line.

I read Fifty Shades of Grey. I chose to explore why it created such brouhaha when it hit the top of the NYT list for combined print and e-sales. Now I know.  

Whose marriage did you last attend, and with who?

Inner editor Gracie made me leave this in for a debate on whether it should be “who” or “whom.”

Yes, she annoys me, too.

As for the question, I don’t remember. If I recently attended your wedding, it was lovely and oh-so-memorable. In the event you had repeat gifts, I am in need of a new toaster and new towels (preferably yellow or red). 

If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Well, duh.

I would take my own manuscript. I could add plot threads, kill off a husband or two, put bad apples in jail, flirt, have a change of heart, become a saintly-type person, learn to tap dance, craft a protagonist who stands on her head for ten years, reversing the impact of gravity…

I would require participants for method acting some of the scenes.

No. I don’t plan to tell you which scenes.

Whoop! It appears one of the prospective method actors left the building.

Hey! Stop him! He has my chopped anti-pasta salad.

Ingrate.

This next set of questions comes from one of my favoUrite Brits (U-Hogs, just like Canada). The Nigel Blackwell–master of dry wit and cheer(io)s.  If you click on this link, you’ll be taken to Nigel’s own eleven question post.

Nigel followed the rules, so you can read them in their yawn awe-inspiring detail when you bop to his site. While you’re there, cruise through his archives. Make sure you locate his post on SOCKS. Too funny!

What sort of vacation do you prefer, activity filled or relaxing on a beach?

Yes.

You have to go back to elementary school – what would you rather do, fifth grade science project or show off your latest dance moves on stage?

Oh, how I would love to show off dance moves at an age when I did not tower two feet above my tap dance classmates.

I would not repeat my science project, a study about the impact of alcohol on the cognitive skills of mice in a maze. For the project, I built a maze from plywood and cardboard, augmented with cozy nests for my two white mice.

My findings? Mice can (and will) chew through plywood and cardboard. Mice are horny social little critters. I may be responsible for a colony of alcohol-dependent mice in the State of Pennsylvania.

What do you juggle the most of? (and don’t forget this isn’t an X-rated site!)

Priorities-du-jour.

What country would you most like to visit and why?

Canada, the land of the U hogs, and—more specifically—Toronto (so Sherry Isaac will quit nagging me) followed by a road trip with her to Banff, and finishing off with a dip into Pennsylvania to visit my sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles.

You’ve just been tapped to star in a new Hollywood action blockbuster, would you do your own stunts?

I would—in my imaginary world.

Does seeing tomorrow’s weather forecast matter to you?

Heck, yes, it matters to me! My husband is retired. My retired husband is a golfer. My retired, golf-loving husband becomes restless when the weather prohibits golfing. My retired, golf-loving husband—when restless and housebound—enjoys playing with budget numbers.

I do not enjoy listening to him play with budget numbers. I miss the Louisville Slugger they took away from me “for my own good.”

Can you imagine what you would do with a mega-lottery win?

None of my family or friends would have mortgages or credit payments.

Who needs over-the-top expensive clothes and cars in place of clean water wells for deprived communities, food for hungry children, and basic life-saving medical care in third world countries?

I would continue to do what I love to do. Write, travel, and dance alone in public when the mood strikes.

I’m sappy charitable enough to find worthy causes on my own. If you are a stranger, do not knock on my door or call me.

What sort of pet do you have?

Peeves

OKAY! That does it! Again, if you want to read the rules, Nigel has them on his site.

While you’re here, leave a comment. Is there a question you’d like to ask that wasn’t addressed in these eleven? Would you like to take on one of these eleven questions yourself? Do you want to be tagged? If yes, leave a comment. If you’re reading this and don’t LIKE or comment…

I have ways to track you and the option to “tag” is still on the cliche-alert table. You have been warned. Have a wonderful glee-filled day. Thanks for visiting!