An intellectual game

For my  first non-class blog, I am following the rules a friend posted. 

1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.

A kinda old picture, but one I like. I felt very optimistic that day.

1. That day was July 1, 2008. It would have been my thirteenth wedding anniversary, but I had been divorced almost seven months by then. I knew I would sulk and cry if I stayed home, so I emailed my friends and acquaintances that I would be going to the local Olive Garden that evening to treat myself to dinner, and I would prefer not to be alone. Some wonderful ladies and gentlemen came to support me that evening. I felt loved and taken care of. Though I don't get to see many of these wonderful folks as much as I'd like, I know that I am still in their prayers, as they are in mine.

2. I miss my parents. Every day. I wish Daddy could have seen me finally get my college degree, and I wish he were going to be there when I get my Master's. He was a wonderful man, and no one will ever be as wonderful as he was, in my mind. I did not get anywhere near enough time with him. But I am glad I started trying to get to know him a little better when I did in junior high, or I would regret the lost years. I love you, Lewis Ellsworth Emery, Sr.

This is him in his garden, his shop is behind him. A great man.

3. I am a crazy cat lady. I love my cats more than is natural. I think my kitten (almost two years old now) thinks I birthed her. I don't try to dissuade her. Sometimes, I think I really did birth her. Space Ghost is a bit jealous, but I keep telling her that I love her the most (which is true), so she has no reason to worry. Hannah is a different story. I love her and would do anything I could for her, but we aren't intimate (in a mother-daughter way) like I am with Spike and Belly.  Jeremiah's cats are also quite wonderful, and I suspect he sometimes feels about his kittens the way I feel about Spike and Belly (though not the birthing part).

4. My everyday dishes don't match, and I like it that way. Though they do kinda go together, if you look at them as a whole, because they all look like some part of me. I buy a plate or two when I see one I like. I think I have 7or 8 different designs in my cupboard.

5. Kitchens should always be yellow, with red accents. It's cheerful.

6. I am inordinately proud of my garden. Daddy had one as I grew up that took up a big portion of our backyard. This year, I have cherry, roma, and beefsteak tomatoes, jalapeno and bell peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, broccoli, carrots, a blueberry bush, a peach tree, asparagus, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, basil, oregano, and I plan to  plant mesclun greens this weekend. I also have marigolds, bachelor buttons,  zinnia, and a variegated ivy. I keep thinking about gardenias, but I killed the one I got last year (though it was halfway there when I bought it half-price). I go out and talk to my plants each day. They seem to like it, because they are growing!

7. I am technically obese. I hate to say it, but it's true. I was getting into shape, a bit, then the damned medical crap hit again. Kidney stones, and now a cold. I WILL get back into it after Spring Break (two days left!)!

8. I like to watch Murder, She Wrote, Poirot, and Colombo. They remind me of Mother.

9. I am learning to cook more healthfully. It is not easy, because I love fried and fatty foods. I also have a sweet tooth. But making sweet things usually gets me in trouble, as I tend to eat them all at once. I have ordered and eaten a whole large pizza in one sitting on more than one occasion. 

10. I have a fairly well stocked liquor cabinet. I also have lots of beer in the closet (Jeremiah makes it), but I often have to make myself drink it. My goal is to have one drink per day, for my health, but I don't quite make that. 2-4 per week is about average.

11. I also have a lot of tea in my cabinet, but don't drink that nearly as much as I should. A cup or two a day would be nice, but I often forget til bedtime. I used to have several lovely teapots, but all but one are gone now. It's sad, really.

Now for the questions I am supposed to answer.

1. What is love? (Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more....)

   Love is the most important thing. It makes us human. Without love we are mere beasts. I say this knowing that animals are capable of love, which gives them the human qualities we see in our beloved pets. Loving is essential, but so is being loved. There needs to be a balance between the two for good mental and emotional health. Loving, or being loved, is not holding on to something so it can't get away, but being grateful for the time you have with the ones you love. Also, all kinds of love are necessary for a balanced life. The love of a friend, of a companion, a lover, and more. These should be filled by as many different people as possible, as one person, or a few people, are not enough to fill all the holes in one's soul.

2. Favorite poem? Why?

     Home Burial by Robert Frost. It's long, and it's about the loss of a child in infancy. I found it as a teenager, and it still speaks to me. But I can't quite explain it.

3. Favorite composer? Why?

    I don't have a favorite. I like Ravel, I like Pachobel, and a bit of Vivaldi. There are many others, but since I don't care as much about composers/artists as others, I don't really have a favorite. Ida Maria is one of my favorite bands. I also like the Puppini Sisters.

 4. Most traumatic experience yet?

    My divorce. Not that I would go back to being married to him. But it was so difficult. And I felt quite alone much of the time, even with the wonderful friends I had. I missed my parents terribly during that time. I think not having them around made it worse.

5. Did you know that children don't have ossified knee caps until they're nearly two?

    I did not, but I have seen the inside of my knee. I had surgery when I was 17, and got a copy of the tape. I think I still have it.

6. Favorite pre-historic epoch?

    Duh. Genesis.

7. God or No-God?

    Yes. Both. All at once. There is the Creator, who is purity, happiness, sadness, good and (what we call) evil all together. We humans see this as a single (or triune, if you're Christian) deity, but it is really not a singularity as we conceive it. It is Everything, and Nothing. Of course, as a Catholic, I experience this in a Catholic way, because it is the way I am wired. Then again, if this deity is my Creator, then that is the Reality, because that is what I experience, according to my wiring, which this deity has created.  (Was that circular enough?)

8. Would you live on the moon?

    No. But I'd like to visit. I'm too much in love with the Creation here to leave it for very long.

9. Dinosaurs - Dragons/Jesus Ponies/Elaborate hoax?

    Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. 

10. Evolution - Myth or fiction? ;)
      I say myth. Myth is, in part, our telling of origins in a way we can understand, so I think evolution fits within those parameters. Fiction would be a completely made up story that we knew to be incorrect, or false. I think at least part of the theory is true, even if it doesn't all seem quite right to me.

11. What would you do/Where would you go WHEN the Zombie Apocalypse occurs?

      Why do you think Jeremiah brews beer?  Two of my brothers have guns, So we'll probably all go to the one's hunting property with our beer. Good times.

Now for my questions for those of you who want to answer. Please give me a link if you answer them, I'd like to try to read them.

1. What was your first pet?

2. What author or book has changed you the most?

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?

4. Lipstick - red or natural?

5. Do you practice the faith you were taught as you were growing up? Why or why not?

6. How do you feel about mustaches?

7. Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery?

8. Is technical school as good as a college degree? Is it better? Why do some look down upon tradespeople? Should they?

9. What is your favorite eye color? What is your eye color?

10. Is health insurance necessary?

11. Is The Princess Bride one of the best movies ever?

This has taken longer than I thought, but I'm glad I've done it. I've had fun!