my hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody

1. When was the last time you stubbed your toe so hard it brought tears to your eyes? 

    my toes aren't that pain-sensitive, as evidenced by my ability to break one of them twice by tripping over a stack of books next to my desk. Like, two different times, I did the exact-same stupid thing. And didn't learn the first time not to set stacks of books next to my desk. 

    More likely to bring tears to my eyes: hitting my knee on the under-side or leg of the dining table, or the corner of a coffee table. My knees are extra-pointy and that pain is shocking.

 

2. What are you "a natural" at doing? 

    • driving country roads

    • buttering toast

    • polishing my toenails

    • alphabetizing

    • cooking without detailed recipes

    • picking up the distinction between some accents, like Australian from New Zealander from South African. I know, nothing could be more useful!

    • making snap decisions (especially about expensive things, and more especially after excessive dithering prior to the actual decision step)

 

3. What's the story behind a time when you got locked out? 

     I can only recall being locked out of my dwelling once. It resulted in breaking a window and missing a birthday-gifted Cubs baseball game. And it was not my fault. 

 

4. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "fun"? 

    exhaustion.

    This is probably not a good mental space to inhabit for very long. At the moment, though, it's shoring up my reserves and getting me back to fighting strength. 

 

5. What has been your best work of art?
 

    The best work of art I've created is probably a photograph, possibly the one shown here. Or maybe the blog, as a whole. While a lot of the posts have been casual and off-the-cuff, some are beautiful, touching, heartbreaking, funny.... There's no other situation where I can imagine feeling comfortable saying this, but, sometimes I think my writing is pretty amazing. 

    The best work of art I own is infinitely debatable. Is it a print of a world-famous painting? Is it a photograph taken by a friend, professionally printed and framed just for me? Is it a hand-turned wooden bowl, brought back from Peru for me by my former father-in-law? Is it a snapshot of me with a friend, long passed, both of us bursting with affection? 

    The best work of art I've seen in person is a cross between one of Monet's water lily paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago or Mark Rothko's intense works at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

 

6. What's the worst tasting thing you've ever eaten? 

    probably something sour, a sensation of which I am not fond except a handful of exceptions (lemon tea or water, dill pickles, green olives). Or chicken mole, a flavor combination that confuses my mouth.  

 

 7. What magazines do you subscribe to, and how many of those do you actually read or look through? Do you throw any of them away unread? 

    Consumer Reports, which is a long-time gift from a family member, and the ABA Journal for a few months every couple of years. I read them, though not every single article in every single issue. I read CR more comprehensively than the Journal. No, they don't get pitched unread. Why acquire something on purpose, and then discard it without using it?

 

[from The Complete Book of Questions : 1001 Conversation Starters for Any Occasion; the title quotation is by Wilkie Collins, from The Woman in White]