Five Questions

A long while back an award or two was passed my way and a little while back I finally had the opportunity to acknowledge said awards. As part of receivership I had to give up the goods on seven things about myself. Me being me, I decided to turn the tables and asked your for seven questions you had for me. I lucked out, sort of; there are only five questions to be answered.

Buttons from Buttons Thoughts asked: OK my question. If you could only grab one thing out of your house while leaving in a hurry for unknown reasons and your family and pets are all out and safe what would it be? Just say the first thing that pops in your head.That would be the one.

This one is easy peasy cause I've asked myself this question before. My grandmother was steeped in English tradition even though she was born and raised in Canada. One aspect of what I called her "Englishness" was her love of china, especially Royal Doulton figurines of which she collected a few, meaning enough to leave one to each of her daughters-in-law and granddaughters. She was fairly excited when they came out with small figurines with the names of her two oldest granddaughters, yours truly and my cousin Kerry. Quite a coincidence that they would come out at the same time. Imagine her dismay when she and my grandfather went to see them and discovered that they had, and I quote..."the homeliest faces I've ever seen." So much for that.

Fast forward a few years and as I visited her one Christmas morning she showed me her gift from my grandfather, a figurine named Sara..my middle name, slightly misspelled, and she asked me if I would like to have it. Not right then and there of course but she wanted to be sure where each one was going someday. I nodded yes, and that was that. My grandfather passed away that following summer and it turned out to be the last figurine he bought for her. And several years after that Sara came home with me. Now she sits in one of my cabinets with my name still taped to the bottom, a favourite of mine...not because I love china figurines but because my grandmother loved her and me, so much.

Tina from aka Gramma asked: What was one of the silliest things you did in your teen years that no one else would believe that you did?

I kissed a whale! I wanted to be a marine biologist so my Aunt took me to Marineland to see the whales and dolphins because that's what aunts do. Near the end of the marine show at the aquarium they asked the audience if anyone would volunteer to kiss one of the killer whales. My aunt jumped up and down screaming "Pick her, pick her!" and had everyone around us jumping up and down screaming "Pick her, pick her!" while they all pointed at me because that's what my Aunt does. Guess what? They picked me. It was like kissing a salted, wet rubber tire. And it was really, really cool. Thanks Aunt Dee!

Lynne from Irish Garden House asked: Have you ever truly been surprised, and if so, what was the surprise . . .

My first response to this question was no, not really but then when I dug a little I realized I was very surprised to be window shopping on the internet, dreaming of a country property only to discover a photo of a pretty yellow farmhouse with a magnolia tree in bloom and a delightful little pond in the foreground. But it gets better. It was in our price range and the Artist took one look at the photo I sent him and he quickly suggested we book a viewing. How's that for a surprise?

Lisa from Suburban Retreat asked: Hmmmm, let me think. Okay, I'm always into a good love story so how did you and the Artist meet?

We met online. It really does work! He was searching for another Artist, at least one at heart. I was looking for someone who appreciated the meaning of the saying Live, Laugh, Love. The rest, as they say, is history.

Jess from Old Nichols Farm asked: What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you. Something that would make them stop and say, "Really!!!?"

This was a tough one to answer. It's not like I've scaled the CN Tower, walked a tightrope over Niagara Falls or birthed a baby in a car! Those are things to which I would say, "Really?!"  And I've already told you about my fondness for whales however I did have an odd experience once. When I was nine our cat became lost. I was heartbroken; I rode all over the neighbourhood on my bike looking for her, stopping to ask people who were out and about if they had seen a calico cat around town. She had been gone for days and I think my parents were trying to prepare me for the fact that I might never see her again. One morning as my friends and I waited for the bell to ring at school, I recounted my travails regarding my lost cat. "My cat ran away from home. (I was nine, remember.)We can't find her anywhere," I said.  "I've been searching everywhere for her and, and......and there she is!"

I just happened to glance over to my right as I was speaking to my friends and lo and behold there was my cat sauntering across a baseball diamond; in the complete opposite direction from home. Really. I could not believe I had looked over just in time to see her passing through the school yard. Talk about timing.

I ran across the yard with a velocity never to be repeated and scooped her up into my arms. My friends surrounded me while some strange girl tried to tell me it was her cat...yeah, whatever. I gave her to a friend with strict instructions to not let go of her, went inside to the school office and called my mom with the good news. I have no idea what I would have done if she wasn't home.

By the way, just to give a little perspective, my school was almost 2km from our home, a good 30 minute walk. She had travelled quite a distance for a little cat.

~Be well friends~