I tend to avoid following or giving instructions, but I enjoy giving and receiving awards. So I’m going to at least partially follow some instructions passed on to me by a terrific fellow-blogger who gave me “The Versatile Blogger” award. It’s scary to put words out there and not know if anyone will read them, so I appreciate when people appreciate my blog. Thanks to Cindy Brown of Everyday Underwear for this:
Now I’m supposed tell you seven things about me, then pass the award on to 15 bloggers. But ever since I had back surgery in January, I’ve slacked a smidge on blog rounds, so I’m trimming that list to 10, to ensure that it remains a meaningful representation of my recent blog habits. I like many blogs, which you’ll find on the right side of your screen under Links I Like.
And now, here’s my list of…
Seven Things About Me:
1) My dreams often have soundtracks, like in the movies. The songs seem to contain all the lyrics, which tells me I should still know all the lyrics when I wake up. I don’t. Fortunately they tend to be among my favorites, such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Blue on Black, so when I wake with a song in my head it’s not some annoying earworm like Melanie Safka’s Brand New Key. Listen at your own risk:
2) I’m one of those genetic mutants who hate cilantro because it tastes like soap. I used to get embarrassed when people caught me struggling not to become unglued at finding unannounced cilantro in my food. These days I point them toward the New York Times article Cilantro Haters, It’s Not Your Fault. According to Harold McGee’s article, “…cilantro aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are modified fragments of fat molecules called aldehydes. The same or similar aldehydes are also found in soaps and lotions…” Apparently I just have strong survival instincts against being poisoned.
3) I didn’t like William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, though I really wanted to. I found his writing overburdened with metaphor and unhinged in space and time. I wanted just one sentence that said something like, “Then Caddy walked into the room.” I get nervous about confessing this to fellow writers, who I fear may dismiss me as slow-witted, or worse, try to explain the book to me. If that’s you, please allow me this defense: I love the section about Grandfather’s watch in Chapter 7. In part: “You can be oblivious to the sound for a long while, then in a second of ticking it can create in the mind unbroken the long diminishing parade of time you didn’t hear.” Genius.
4) I bake delicious pies. My favorite is plum, though it never turns out the same way twice, thanks to that fruit’s unpredictable water-content. I never stick in my thumb.
This is not a plum pie. It is a raspberry cream pie. A plum pie would look boring because the crust would be sealed. But my, isn’t this one pretty?
5) I don’t like to cook. To me, baking is a science, while cooking is an art. When I’m cooking, all I can think about is how I’d rather use the creative time to write. My husband does most of our cooking, and he’s an excellent chef. Where I look in the refrigerator to see what there is to eat, he looks in the refrigerator wondering what he can create. I love his pizza dough.
6) When I was 16, I used to read my grandmother’s romance novels. If she didn’t want me to, she shouldn’t have left them on the back of the toilet. When I was done reading, I’d go back to the seduction scenes and read them all in one sitting — not on the toilet, in my room. My favorite was Rosemary Rogers’ The Wildest Heart. (OK, now Faulkner fans are probably sure I’m a dolt.) When I was about 40, I found a copy in my husband’s grandma’s house after she passed away, and read it again. Check it:
“What will we do when the rain stops, Lucas? Tell me; I must know!”
“Must know what? Isn’t now enough for you?”
“Am I going to be just another one of the women you’ve used and then discarded?”
Hmmm, maybe if Grandma had left Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in the loo, I would have chosen better boyfriends back in the day.
7) I’m still crazy about my husband after knowing him for 20 years and being married to him for nine. He’s thoughtful, supportive, and handy around the house. We both like hikes and movies. And I still can’t wait to talk to him every day. A woman from China told me she finds it weird when Americans say how great their spouses are, because it’s like tempting fate. But I like telling women because, after years of floating through boyfriend purgatory, I like spreading optimism.
And now, here’s my list of…
10 Versatile Bloggers:
1) Cindy Brown – Everyday Underwear
2) Luis Alberto Urrea – Luis Alberto Urrea
3) Jamey Stegmaier – Jamey Stegmaier
4) JC Little – The Animated Woman
5) Kim Kircher – Kim Kircher
6) Lisa E – ChickyBus
7) Shawn Basey – Saint Facetious
8) Anissa Mayhew – Free Anissa
9) Louise Gallagher – A Year of Making a Difference
10) Chris Guillebeau – The Art of Noncomformity
Many excellent bloggers didn’t make the above list. As for those of you who did: no pressure. Either pass the little green square on, or just relax and soak in this glorious moment. I just want you to know I think you’re terrific at writing, drawing, and making a difference. I’m probably not supposed to give the award back to the person who gave it to me, but like I said, I tend to avoid following instructions. And honestly, Cindy Brown is a terrific blogger. I hereby absolve Cindy of any responsibility for listing more bloggers. We could be passing this back and forth forever: “I love you more,” “No, I love you more…”
