Sundry

OK, time for some serious blogging here. Goodness gracious, I've been tagged by Oreneta and I'm not sure I'm ready to share such personal stuff. Oh what the heck. But first! On the bus tonight I finished, "Beijing Confidential" by Jan Wong. I bought it for iMan two Christmases ago, after hearing about it and of course, wanting to read it myself. So I finally got around to it and it was fabulous. The story behind the book was Jan Wong's return to Beijing around 2006 to look for a young woman who (whom?) she had denounced when she was there in the early 1970's studying, during their Cultural Revolution. She had been dogged for awhile, wondering what had happened to the woman, fearing the worse. It contained a lot of history, some of it interesting to me and just enough that I found when I was starting to lose interest, she would bring the story back front and center. Quite enlightening as far as the story line went but it left me furious to read about China's environmental practices. There ought to be international laws and I keep thinking some body should step in - the UN ?- and put a stop to the absolute planet-cide happening there. Yeah, yeah, I know that's not a real word.

Here's Riley proving he can now fit an extraordinarily large spoon in his mouth:


This tag thing comes with an award called, Premio Dardos, meaning "prize darts.” This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Here's what it looks like:





And here's what you have to do:

Step 1: Respond and rework — answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

Step 2: Tag other bloggers to do the same.

Here are the questions:

What are you wearing right now? My grey fleecy pants, a long sleeve LLBean organic cotton t-shirt (overrated), a hoodie and some black and grey wool socks. Oh yeah, I am wearing underwear too and I'll stop there.

What part of your house never gets cleaned? Behind the fridge. It's a big sucker levelled with little wedges of this and that, if I moved it I would never get it back in its spot.

Do you nap a lot? Rarely. I grew up being allowed to nap only if I was sick. Since I had Riley I've learned to nap a little. If I do, it will be right after lunch.

Who is the last person you hugged? Riley, less than a minute ago.

What websites do you visit when you go online? Blogs, emails, a handful of stores (mostly art stuff), my online classes, the weather site, public transport schedules, Oprah's soul series.

What was the last item you bought? Sliced mozzarella and soy yogurt.

What’s the last book you read? Beijing Confidential (see above).

What is your favorite comic strip or character? I read about six regularly in the newspaper, I completely skip the other ones. Zits, Rhymes With Orange, Between Friends, For Better or For Worse, Stone Soup.

Has a celebrity’s hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle? Meg Ryan, I always want what she has. *sigh*

What is one skill you wish you had, but don’t. I wish I could draw well. I get by, I have to work at it constantly but I wish it came easily to me.

What was the last movie you watched? Snow Buddies. I can't remember the last grown up film I watched, I think it was when I was laid up with my broken knee four years ago.

What is the luckiest thing that ever happened to you? Riley coming to me as a late-in-life surprise.

If you had a whole day to yourself; no work, commitments or interruptions what would you do? Wake up slowly, do some yoga, eat a leisurely breakfast and do the sudoku in the paper. Have some iced coffee and work in my studio. Stop after lunch and read for an hour, then finish the day in the studio. Eat something garlicky for supper. A shot of voddy, a hot bath with a good book.

Is there a major goal you have that you haven’t yet achieved? Yeah, baby. Maybe more than one although it/they don't interfere with me enjoying my current life.

Where did you meet your spouse/partner/bf/cat? I met my dog through an ad in the newspaper. I adopted her when she was 8 months old and two days ago we celebrated her 14th birthday.

What is something that those in blogland might not know about you? I like my tea and my coffee iced, never hot.

What Countries have you visited as an adult? Canada, the U.S.A., England, Japan, St. Martins, Barbados, Cuba. I think that's it.

What do you do to relieve stress? I drink, what else? Just kidding. Spend time with my boy, walk the dogs by the water, take an excruciatingly hot bath.

If you could change one physical trait about you what would it be? I'd change my skin, have a great complexion. Of course I'd also like to be an inch or two taller and have thicker hair.

What was the last publicly embarrassing thing that happened to you? I called someone up and blanked on their name - I didn't know him that well and just stuttered.

As this is supposed to be a cultural award, what is the most recent piece of painting or sculpture that really impressed you? Jeez, so much to choose from. I would have to say something I've seen online on a blog. I haven't been to a gallery or a museum for awhile so it would be something homegrown. So much that is inspirational out there.

That said and done, if you're reading this and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged. I will keep it going by specifically tagging The Crafty Chook and Tales from Twisty Lane (I know you guys have oodles of time on your hands!)