I'd Need Sixteen Lives To Do It All

The Dictator Princess (who, by the way, may have the best online name ever) has challenged me to a meme (hush now - let me finish telling you what it's all about before the eye rolling starts) and as it fits in my monthly theme of favorite things I am happy to meet her challenge.

Ganked from her blog because it cracked me up:

McCain has 8 homes in the U.S I thought it was 13 but whatevs. You have to pick eight places you would like to live. List them. You don’t have to list your reasons, but if you do at least for a few of them, it would be more fun. And remember that the only rule is: the homes must be within the borders of the United States of America or else, within the borders of the country you live in, so as to utterly emulate the McCains. When you’re done, tag 8 people, so that they may join in the self-indulgence, forgetting about the crappy property market and the equivalent of The End of Pompeii on Wall-Street. You could spend your time hammering your doors and windows shut in preparation for the apocalypse instead, but it would be much less fun.

As Dictator Princess lives in Switzerland she's upped the ante and on her blog listed eight places in Switzerland and the US I shall give you the same twofer - with Germany instead of Switzerland.

Germany first:

1. Schwerin. It's the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and having my friends and family try to remember and pronounce that (they're already having fun with saying Sachsen-Anhalt) would alone be worth the move, it's a very pretty city. Small and managable as well. And they have a lovely castle on a little island.

2. Berlin. Parking there is atrocious and it's enormously spread out but I love the feel of Berlin.

3. Potsdam. For living purposes I likely would prefer Potsdam over Berlin. Jump on the S-Bahn and you're in Berlin in about 20 minutes. All the fun of Berlin without the hectic feeling.

4. Wernigerode. When I think of fairy tale towns - the king's castle on a hill way above a charming little town - I think of Wernigerode because that's what it has. There's really a castle up on a hill above the town. The city hall alone makes me squeal because of all it's adorableness.



5. Munich. How could I resist the lure of Bayern-Munich home games?

6. Nuremburg. How could I resist the lure of the most famous Christmas market in Germany?

7. Heidelberg. Pretty, pretty, pretty.

8. Freiburg. It's usually the warmest place in Germany.

And in the USA:

1. Olive Branch, Mississippi. Now normally I'd have said Memphis but I no longer think I could bear to live in Memphis itself. Still, I love Memphis (and would move there if I had the ability to live in the Peabody Hotel) so what could be better than to live over the county line (and state line) from Memphis? Olive Branch is the alternative. Close to the fun of Memphis without having to deal with the hellish traffic every day.

2. Washington, D.C. When I say DC I don't actually mean in DC. I like having an actual senator and voting member of congress, thanks. I mean living in northern Virginia where I lived before. Fairfax county, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier counties - all of them would be acceptable to me. Arlington and Alexandria are a bit too close in for me. Maryland is out of the question. All the traffic and overdevelopment would be worth it to once again be that close to the Smithsonian museums.

3. Savannah, Georgia. Atlanta tempts me but Savannah is more my style. I am in love with its parks and squares.

4. Charlottesville, Virginia. A gorgeous area of Virginia. And I love Mr. Jefferson.

5. Miami, Florida. Hilda lives there. And there's plenty of seaside to fill my needs. And of course, there are the Cuban sandwiches.

6. Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'd love seeing that impossibly blue sky every day.

7. Williamsburg, Virginia. I have always wanted to live there. I still have not forgiven my ex-husband for turning down a chance for us to transfer down there when we both worked for the power company.

8. Oxford, Mississippi. Lovely town. University events. Not too far from my hometown. The ability to just live in the bookstores.

I won't tag anyone but do feel free to give us your own list. Especially useful for you NaBloPoMo folks who may run dry one day.

Dude. I Am So Cheating Now.

Wanna know what I did this weekend? Read, watched a pantload of soccer, watched a pantload of movies. In other words, the same stuff I do every weekend except I didn't knit as much.

And so this means that I don't have a lot to actually write about but I still feel like I need to give you something to read. And I need to get one post closer to Magic Post 1000.

So I'm going to cheat. I'm going to give you stuff I've already written.

One Ravelry I belong to a group where you list your top five of...whatever. Top five bands. Top five movies. You get the point. Here are some of my top fives, copied straight from Ravelry, including commentary from me and everything. And the best part? You can do it to! Just gank this from me like a meme, use the same categories and voila! Creamy meme goodness with no cooking!

Top Five Rock 'n Roll Hunks

~ Roger Daltry of The Who - I’ll probably go to my grave thinking he’s hot.
~ Jon Fratelli of The Fratellis - A little skinny and maybe a little goofy looking but he’s got that something.
~ Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi - Yeah. I know. But he’s a handsome guy.
~ Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea
~ Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters

Top Five Housework Quirks

~ I love to clean my kitchen at night. 10pm is perfect time for me to start.
~ It freaks me out a little to have wet hands (I’ll get them wet but I can’t wait to get them dry again) so rubber gloves are a must for me.
~ I’d rather take a good beating than vacuum.
~ I love ironing and I iron everything except for underclothes and towels.
~ I am virtually never caught up on my laundry.

Top Five Items In Your Closet You (Mostly) Can't Live Without

~ All my Birkenstocks, especially my Arizona sandals for wearing in the house and my Annapolis Mary Janes to wear outside the house.
~ My v-neck, all-cotton, long-sleeved t-shirts. And I really like the ones with the flowers embroidered around the neckline.
~ My khaki trousers. They look so nice all tidy and ironed.
~ All-cotton short sleeved camp shirts. They also look so nice when they’re ironed and all starchy.
~ My collection of scarves and wraps. Something to perk up every outfit.

Top Five Foods You Wouldn't Want To Live Without

~ Bacon. It’s the pearls of the food world - goes with everything.
~ Hellmann’s mayonnaise. I am known among my friends and blog readers (that's y'all!) as being a freak for Hellmann’s. And you know what? It goes with bacon!
~ Pasta. It’s a toss up really between pasta and potatoes but pasta nudges out the spuds.
~ Tomatoes. My hands down favorite veggie-that’s-really-a-fruit-but-everyone-considers-it-a-veggie-anyway. Goes with bacon. And Hellmann’s. And pasta!
~ Peaches. I eat peaches or peaches-are-an-ingredient food every day. And you can eat bacon with a fresh peach. You really can.

Top Five Dumb Things You Do

~ Wash towels. Be too lazy to hang them up to dry right away. Put it off for two days. Wet towels sour. Rewash towels. The cycle begins again.
~ Call my mother in Mississippi. Begin to speak to her in German. Conversely call my MIL. Begin to speak to her in English.
~ Sneeze while applying mascara. Lots of fun if you like to not only look like a raccoon but are dying to gouge out your eye.
~ Get in bed so exhausted that I’m asleep before I can pull up the duvet. Wake up hours later freezing.
~ Check my alarm clock about seventy jillion times that it’s set. And that it’s set for the correct time. Randomly wake up in the middle of the night and check it again just to be absolutely sure it’s set and set for the correct time.

Top Five Superpower You Would Want To Have

~ Healing. I’d love to make my husband walk again. * sniff *
~ Teleportation - that way my butt wouldn’t be in Germany when sometimes I really want to be back in Mississippi and vice versa.
~ Shape shifting - I’d love to be present in places where I’m not supposed to be. Like the Oval Office when the sooper secret stuff is going on.
~ The ability to eat anything that I want without any physical ill effects. Oh to be able to eat a whole Red Velvet cake without gaining 4 pounds and being sick to my stomach.
~ To be able to snap my fingers and have my home instantly clean and organized.

Y'all are shocked about me being freaky over having wet hands, aren't you? That and the fact that I love to iron.

Victory Will Be Its Own Reward

Becky has enticed me into a meme. Like book memes, movie memes are virtually irresistible to me - plus this one has the added fun of reader participation! Jump up and holler "Yeah!".

A few guidelines. We don't want you going crazy and driving off a cliff or anything.

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess in the comments.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. GUESSERS: NO Googling/using IMDB search functions. If you cheat I will find out and I'll send over my mother to give you a lecture on cheating and fair play. I promise you that if that happens, you'll be sorry. Her lectures can make your ears bleed and cause your hair to fall out.
   

Get out your popcorn - we're going to the movies.

1. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks.
   
   
2. I'd be the worst possible godfather. I'd probably drop her on her head at her christening. I'd forget all her birthdays until she was 18. Then I'd take her out and get her drunk. And, let's face it, quite possibly try and shag her. - About a Boy (2002) - dkaz, you got it!
   
   
3. We ate pancreas! - Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) - Kristina, well done!
   
   
4. Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit? - Love Actually (2003). Bravo, Mollie!
   
   
5. Nobody ever invented a polite word for a killin' yet.
   
   
6. Dammit, are you boys gonna chase down your leads or are you gonna sit drinkin' coffee in the one house in the state where I know my boy ain't at? - Raising Arizona (1987) - Correct again, dkaz!
   
   
7. As long as she ate the mouse, she can't see nor hear. Now sing.
   
   
8. We've got armadillos in our trousers. It's really quite frightening. - This Is Spinal Tap (1984). Excellent, Becky!
   
   
9. And then I started foolin' around... and then I started screwin' around, which is foolin' around without dinner. - Chicago (2002). Jaxie! Fantastic!
   
   
10. You're a fat loser and you have body odor. - School of Rock (2003). Rock on, Hilda!

She's Nabbed Me Twice Now

I suppose it only makes sense that if they're crap on the inside, there's going to be crap on the outside. I submit to you the following from a box of Reese's Puffs.



Now while it's admirable to have goals, do they have to be goals that simply don't do anything for you? Goals that don't enhance your knowledge or build your character or prepare you for the adult world in any way? Okay, maybe numbers 5, 10, 14 and 15 aren't complete crap but meet your idol? Ride the world's biggest roller coaster? Own a pointless collection? Why not just aim for being vapid? What do you want to do, Suzy? Why I want to have a permanently vacuous look and have really, really shiny lips!

So a meme has sprung up (I know, I know...just hush and keep reading, okay?) for us to suggest a better list of goals. And once again Southern Muslimah has tagged me 'cause she's my buddy.

Rules. More rules! Maybe the first goal should be for us all to either shuck off the rules that chain us down or just learn to shut up and follow them. Guess which one I'll be doing.

1. Post these rules before presenting your list. (I suppose doing it after presenting my list will lead to an uncomfortable encounter with a cattle prod.)
2. List 6 actions or achievements you think every person should accomplish before turning 18.
3. There are no conditions on what can be included on the list. (Except, I suppose, anything as stupid as what Reese's Puffs could dream up.)
4. At the end of your blog, choose 6 people to get tagged and list their names. (You know right now that I'm going to break this rule into tiny, tiny bits.)
5. People who are tagged write their own blog entry with their 6 suggestions.
6. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged. (Is this an actual rule or merely a friendly suggestion?)
7. Optional: You can include the image of the ridiculous Reese’s Puffs list in your post as a reference. (Oh, do it. You know people love to peek at the pics!)

1. Learn to swim.
Maybe it doesn't sound so noble to learn to swim but in my family, learning to swim wasn't optional. You learned to swim just like you learned to read and learned your phone number. If there's an emergency that causes you to be in water, you'll be damned glad you learned how to keep yourself afloat. Flailing around in a panic is not something you're going to want to be doing.

2. Work regularly as a volunteer.
It doesn't have to be the same old thing all the time but volunteer to be on committees and clubs that help improve your community. Visit assisted living centers. Clean up a roadway. Collect money for a worthy cause. Mentor a younger student. Learn to give of yourself and of your time and learn that a great way to feel worthwhile is to help others.

3. Learn how to earn money, how to save it, and how to spend it.
So many people, especially these days, are up shit's creek without a paddle because they've never learned how to manage money. Before heading out into the big world a person needs to know how to earn money - get a job or do chores or whatever but do something that earns you money so you can learn the satisfaction hard work and being rewarded for hard work brings. Learn how to save up for something, how to handle a budget and learn how credit works - how to get it and how to not abuse it. Get in the habit of always paying your debts and paying them on time. There's honor in saying you'll pay your debts when you promise to and dishonor in not paying your debts.

4. Learn a second language.
And not just learn it but use it. Find others learning the same language - it should be easy since you're sitting with them in your 3rd period Spanish class - and speak it together. Later on you'll be glad you did because that's when you'll be traveling and you won't be kicking yourself because you spent all that time learning another language and you let it go to waste because you no longer remember it. And it's a heck of a lot harder to learn another language when you're older.

5. Get in the habit of regular exercise and proper nutrition.
Like learning another language, it's hell taking this on when you're older. If you learn to take care of yourself properly when you're young then you won't spend your later years trying to reverse the damage. And never, ever under any circumstance take up smoking! I promise you, you'll regret it later on.

6. Take up a hobby that you can pursue all through your life.
No one should ever be bored and a great way to fight boredom is to have a hobby. Personally I believe that hobbies that allow you to create something are most satisfying. Take up quilting or knitting. Photography. Play a musical instrument. Write. Cook or bake. There will be times in your life when you'll be alone and if you can't entertain yourself, you're going to have a lot of lonesome hours because, believe me, no matter how many channels you get, there will still be plenty of times when their ain't shit on TV.

Okay, time for me to tag. Jeez, I hate tagging. I can never remember who has done a certain meme and who hasn't and who hates to do them at all and then I tag the wrong people and the folks who wanted to be tagged don't get tagged. It's. Too. Much. Pressure! You're all tagged! All of you! Hey you in Minnesota! You're tagged. You over there in London! Tagged! And you! You in Hamburg! You're tagged as well!

Mindless Filler

Memes. Blog content that's guaranteed to leave you hungry a half hour later but I so love the book related ones. Plus it's either this quick bit of painless fluff or you get to hear about how I went to the post office today to send a registered letter to our digital TV service to get put on a discounted subscription. If you're handicapped they give you the full service for something like 15€ a month cheaper. Sucks to be a quadriplegic except when you're getting those fabulous discounts! "Herr G! I'm sorry but you'll never walk again!" "That's okay! I can get into the zoo for half price now!"

Tagged by the darling Southern Muslimah.

Rules! There are always rules! No free-form stylin' round these parts!

# I. You have to look up page 123 in the nearest book around you.
# II. Look for the fifth sentence.
# III. Then post the three sentences that follow that fifth sentence on page 123.
# IV. And then tag five people, just like you were tagged! (said with such enthusiasm!)

I have to ask, what's with the roman numerals? You know they had to have been passed on from blog to blog to blog with all the copying and pasting that was done. Are we supposed to be made to feel that we're doing something a little more serious if we use roman numerals?

The book nearest me is the book I've been reading for what seems like weeks now: The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen. Very enjoyable book but I've been spending a lot of time knitting and limiting myself to about fifteen or twenty minutes of reading per day. I need to get finished with this pair of socks and really dive into this book because so far I'm less than halfway through it and I know I haven't gotten to the really good part yet.

Here goes. I'm flipping through the book. Flipping. Flipping. I'm sure this would go much more smoothly if I weren't flipping and typing at the same time. Ah! Here it is. Page 123.

Ooo. Wow. This is one of those pivotal parts of the book - where a decision is made that may impact the rest of the story. Good page!

Okay the page starts with a portion of a sentence. That doesn't count in the five I'm supposed to count down, does it? No, I'm not going to count it. Command decision made!

A conversation is going on:

"Are you not even going to go in and examine them?"
The lamp cast an orange hue on Doc's face, throwing shadows beneath his brow and nose and chin and frown. "I shouldn't."

Who needs to be examined and for what should they be examined? And is not examining them going to have an effect later on? Interest is piqued!

Done! No tagging though. I got so fired up with my command decision that I've decided to go buck wild crazy and not tag. However you're welcome to gank it for yourself if you wish.

And since we're on the topic of books and since I got all history buff on you yesterday I ordered this evening Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Edward Steers. I had an Amazon gift certificate from my sister and so I gave in to the temptation. My love of history geekiness knows no bounds!

The Desperation Has Started

It's been extremely quiet around here so that means I'm resorting to a meme. But it's a book meme so it only gets half as many points on the blogging Cheez-O-Meter. Think of it as the light beer of memes.

Swiped from Hilda. She swiped it from Katya. They're both very groovy ladies.

1. Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Everyone that I know who has read it loved it. And it's been made into a movie, right? Still I'm so afraid that I'm not going to like it and so I'm afraid to buy it. Like I don't want to blow my book money on something unless I'm really sure I'm going to like it. I feel so whiny about being scared off by this book. Even this answer sounds whiny!

2. If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
I'd pick Josh, Biff and Maggie from Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. It would be a casual dinner party for Josh's birthday so that means we'd be eating lots of Chinese food.

3. (Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Actually I'd be ready to die if I got through that nearly 1000 pages of boredom.

4. Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
Ha! Don Quixote! I have been somewhere near it though. I was supposed to read it for my AP English class when I was a senior in high school and I didn't read past the first hundred or so pages. I just couldn't bear reading another word of it. For the rest it was Cliffs Notes all the way, baby!

5. As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I'd sworn that I'd read it but it turned out that I was mixing it up with the half dozen times I've read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. That and I've seen that really dopey Tom Sawyer movie with Johnnie Whittaker and Jodie Foster about eleventy-million times.

6.You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalise the VIP).
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It's a classic and a fabulous story with accessible characters and a writing style that will appeal to those who are non-readers.

7. A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
German. I think the good fairy would take pity on the fact that now when I read a book in German I need to keep a German-English dictionary at my side. Plus it would be great to read German classics in original language. I don't have what it takes to tackle Mann or Goethe or Schiller or Hesse in original language.

8. A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Mischievous fairy is thirty years too late. I've been re-reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger every year since 1978.

9. I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
Book swapping. The internet sure lets folks connect and get their previously read books passed around.

10. That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks?
Big windows, lots of natural light, wooden floors with rugs, big comfy chairs and sofas to curl up on, good lamps for reading - not to stark but not to muzzy soft either. Window seats would be lovely. I'd have lots of built in shelves but a way to get to the books without climbing a ladder. No raggedy books and nothing dog eared or with broken spines. I love books in series so I'd like each series to be complete. And I'd love to have signed first editions of all my favorite novels.

I know you'll forgive me for this

It's getting late in the NaBloPoMo season and I'm running dry. I blame weekend posting for this.

Suffer though a meme. For those of you who believe in Purgatory, I believe it may be possible that reading this meme will get you a day knocked off. Two if you do the meme on your own blog.

Gently lifted from Hilda:

Here Are Five Things

I've always wanted to do:
1. Live in a five star hotel.
2. Work in a museum.
3. Drive across the United States.
4. Knit a cardigan.
5. Visit the Maldives.

Found in my bag:
1. Wallet
2. Passport
3. An insane amount of lipstick
4. TicTacs
5. Sock knitting project

Found in my wallet:
1. 258€ and change
2. Appointment card for hairdresser
3. Mall gift card purchased last Christmas season
4. Picture of my cousin's 2 year old daughter
5. AT&T phone card I didn't use up before I left the US

I'm currently into:
1. Knitting
2. Granny Smith apples with gouda cheese spread
3. Bath & Body Works body lotion in the cucumber melon scent
4. Playing games on King.com
5. Christmas Tiles

Feel free to swipe if necessary. If I can get you through another day of your own NaBloPoMo posting then I will feel my work is done.

Because 200 Isn't Enough, Here's 7 More

Those of us living the expatriate life have to stick together. We all make an effort to integrate in our adopted countries but when things get frustrating, connecting with those who have and still do stand in your shoes can be an enormous help. One of the best benefits of this blog is that it's connected me to some really great people living as expatriates all over the world and I appreciate the friendship and support they've given me over the years. There's a group of expats living in Germany who are getting together this weekend in Dresden and I know right at this moment they're having a fabulous time together. I wish I could have been there as well but I just got back from leaving B at home for 2 1/2 weeks, plus Gerd is sick and that means my MIL is occupied taking care of him. And I didn't have the guts to take a train during a rail strike, even if they aren't striking today.

Another expat, Ann ona Moose, has tagged me for a meme and of course I am delighted to comply because us expats stick together. It's the seven random things meme and here are the rules. I'd normally say they're "guidelines" but this is Germany and that means they're rules. Nothing like a little stereotype on a Saturday evening, is there?

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Okay....let's hit it!

1. I love to knit socks but I hate wearing them. I hate wearing all socks. Just putting them on annoys me. I wear them when I absolutely must but if I can get away with skipping sock wearing, I do. And when I do wear socks they need to be as thin as possible and preferably all cotton.

2. The entire time I was married to my first husband, I never called my then MIL anything. She lived in Texas and I seldom ever saw her or had much contact with her and I never asked her what she wanted me to call her and she never told me. I couldn't figure out whether to call her "Mom" or "Anita" or "Mrs. [fill in my former married last name here]" so I called her nothing. I would go to great lengths to avoid having to call her by name.

3. And strangely enough I've never asked my current (and final) MIL what to call her. I think. Actually I can't remember - maybe I did and I forgot. Anyway, I call her either Mutti (mom) or by her first name - I flip back and forth. Generally by her first name if we're in public and I'm trying to get her attention, and Mutti if we're at home. And it works in reverse about the same - she calls me Kimberley if she's trying to get my attention in public and Mein Kind (my child) if we're at home.

4. I would rather have a foot and hand massage than a regular body massage. I'm a little hyper-sensitive about anyone touching my back - if the doctor tries to put her stethoscope on my back I have to actually force myself not to pull away - but if you massage my hands and feet, I'll be yours for life.

5. I hate to clean house when it's very overcast, rainy or snowy outside and I also can't do any housework once the sun has gone down with the exception of cleaning the kitchen after dinner. I really need to have at least partial sunlight to do any housework more complex than picking things up and putting them away or doing laundry. Needless to say, in the winter when Germany can have weeks and weeks of dreary weather I have to force myself to do housework.

6. I have two book related Christmas traditions. The first (and one that Hilda mentally shakes her head at...heh!) is that I have to read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger sometime between Thanksgiving and the end of the first week in December. I've been doing it
since 1978. The second, and one that I sometimes have to rely on a re-read to accomplish, is that I find within a book series, preferably a mystery series, a Christmas themed book and read it. This year's Christmas themed book will be Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves.

7. I love cupcakes. I hope Heaven is filled with dark chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I'm going to break bad by disregarding the rules and not tagging anyone since I can't keep track of who's done this meme and who hasn't. Feel free to swipe it if you wish - give me some linky love back here if you do.

You Are Absolutely Going to Kick my Butt for Doing This

But...

1. I got it from Lisa. And I adore Lisa!
2. Hilda digs memes. This one will probably leave her as giddy as if I gave her a day off from work, a new purse and a Cuban sandwich.

Here's a list of 239 films. Supposedly if you've seen more than 85 of them you probably have no life. I'm thinking that if you've seen less than 85 of them you probably haven't been inside a movie theater since before Nixon was president and you refer to the television as the "boob tube". Or you're my mother.

Here we go. Assorted comments by me in italics.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show Seen it a frightening number of times...and paid for the priviledge.
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story Jeez, I hate that stupid flying dog. And that whispery fairy girl.
(x) Blazing Saddles May be one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
(x) Airplane
total = 7

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan Saw it twice on the same US to Europe flight.
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw Gory, but good.
(x) Saw II Just gory.
(x) White Noise
(x) White Oleander Book was better.
(x) Anger Management
total = 9

(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement They should have stopped with the first one.
(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
total = 9

( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp Even I know when to quit.
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
total = 7

( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
(x) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland I know this movie was supposed to be so great but it bored me to tears.
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch Complete crap.
total = 7

(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre Both the original and the remake.
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks I will never be bored enough to watch this. I'd read a Nicholas Sparks book first.
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30 I watched the first 30 minutes and then I switched the channel to see if I could find White Chicks on TV.
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
total = 6

(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt I'll admit it - I find this movie to be hilarious.
(x) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
total = 7

(x) The Terminal
(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie Proof that I will watch almost anything if it's on my TV in English.
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
(x) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
total = 8

(x) The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago I could watch this weekly.
(x) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
total = 7

(x) I Am Sam And I cried and cried!
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
(x) Gothika
total = 8

(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles Perhaps the most quotable movie ever.
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
total = 5

( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
( ) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
(x) Lone Star I love John Sayles movies.
(x) Bedazzled The original is great. The remake is crap.
(x) Predator I
( ) Predator II
total = 6

(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
total = 7

(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
(x) Calendar Girls
total = 5

(x) Sideways I hated this movie. I have never wanted to slap two characters more in my entire life than those two pissant guys.
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
total = 9

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
( ) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
total = 8

(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick B loves Rob Schneider. He thinks he's the greatest actor ever. Don't ask.
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
total = 8

(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook I blame my being on an airplane for having sat through this maudlin crap. And the weren't showing White Chicks on the flight.
(x) K-Pax
(x) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember I won't count this even though I watched over half of this boring crap.
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
total = 8

(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Basketball Do they mean BASEketball? I've seen BASEketball.
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman Brilliant
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
total = 7...8 if you count BASEketball.

(x) Mothman Prophecies Book was interesting. Movie was disappointing.
(x) American History X
( ) Three
(x) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle Fabulously hilarious
( ) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Nightwatch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic And I want those three hours of my life back.
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail So I can watch this twice more.
total = 8

(x) Shaun Of the Dead I love Simon Pegg!
(x) Willard
(x) High Tension I almost fainted from the gore in this movie.
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook Horrible, horrible, boring, movie.
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
total = 8

( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld Which is essentially The Postman but with boats.
(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2 I love these movies.
(x) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes I have it recorded but I haven't watched it yet.
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
total = 5

( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
( ) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith I have these thee films recorded but haven't watched them.
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope But this film I saw 25 times in 4 weeks when it was first released.
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage Oh please!
total = 3

( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor Is this a real movie?
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police Nasty and tacky and crude and funny
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
total = 7

Whoa. Had to break out the calculator for this. 169 movies seen. 170 if we count BASEketball. Oh hell, let's count it.

Turn the Page

When I was in college I had a boyfriend who loved the song Turn the Page by Bob Seger. He'd sing along and even do the "Turn the paaaaaaa-juuuhh!" along with Bob.

Anyway, here's a book meme. You know me loves the book memes. Makes me look all literate and emphasizes the irony of me saying things like "me loves". Sorta. And I'll do it because I loves me some Hilda and Katya. Me loves a lot of stuff, eh? Too bad proper grammar isn't always one of those things.

What are you reading now?
I'm currently re-reading Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote. I'd recently watched Capote and from seeing Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee together I got the urge for this re-reading. Harper Lee is his Idabel and Truman Capote is her Dill. And since I like a bit of fluff to read I've just started Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton. It combines three of my favorite things - fluff mystery novel, books in a series and knitting! With free blueberry pie recipe and two knitting patterns included! How could I say no to that?

Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that?
I've got a lot on my plate between now and the time I leave town in October so my reading time will be limited. I just don't have time for any proper reading so I probably won't read much more than the book that comes after Needled to Death, A Deadly Yarn. This one has a recipe for chili rellenos!

What's the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
Forced? Like for school? That's the only time I can think of where I'd be forced to read anything. My top pick would be The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Get up, pee, get in boat, row, row, row, fish, fish, fish, row, row, row, fish gets eaten, row home, pee, go to bed. If we're talking about crap I read willingly, if misguidedly, my choice would be The Bridges of Madison County. Such pretentious, pretentious crap. This piece of shit makes any drivel that Nicholas Sparks ever even thought about writing look like Shakespeare.

What's one book you always recommend to just about anyone?
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. Irreverent, to be sure but I love the humanity of Jesus in this book.

Admit it, sadly the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don't they?
No, but Amazon.de does.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don't like it at all?
Stone from the River by Ursula Hegi can be a hard sell to others. "Okay, it's a book that takes place in Nazi Germany in a little village along the Rhine and the main character is a dwarf woman who loves to trade gossip..." I love it though. One of my favorites.

Do you read books while you eat?
Not meals but I think a bowl of popcorn and an icy cold Coke go quite well with fluffy mystery series novels and semi-autobiographical first novels by flamboyant Southern-born gay authors both.

While you bathe?
Oh hell, me being in a bathtub alone is dangerous enough without me mixing in reading.

While you watch movies or TV?
Occasionally. Depends on how boring the TV program is and how fluffy the novel I'm reading is.

While you listen to music?
I can do anything to music. Anyone can do anything to music. If a surgeon can remove someone's big ass brain tumor while listening to Miles Davis wail then I can read Needled to Death while listening to The Fratellis.

While you're on the computer?
I can't even fathom why I'd ever want to. There's multi-tasking and then there's being completely ridiculous.

When you were little did other children tease you about your reading habits?
No, but I believe I'm of the age where during my childhood kids didn't get teased about stuff like enjoying reading. Now if you had a weirdly shaped head or goofy glasses or dressed like your granny that was a different matter.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Staying up until nearly 4:00 AM to finish it reminded me of when I would drive from Virginia to Mississippi. It's a very long trip to make in one day but if you stop at the halfway point you'd be stopped around 1:oo PM so why stop? If you stop when you're really, really tired then you're stopping about 60 miles from your destination so you just keep on going because you can't wait to finish.

No tagging - steal if you love books. Or if you're desperate for something to write about.

Friday Shuffle - Bossy? Never! Just Insistant! Edition

Who am I speaking of? Hilda, of course. And she's really isn't bossy but she's a woman with definite ideas and when she wants something done, she'll do it. And if she wants you to do something, you'll do it. It's part of what I adore about her. Focused and determined. That's Hilda. And me? I'm more or less flaky and sleepy.

Hilda's tagged me with a meme that's actually my style of meme because it combines talking about me with history. I love me. I love history. Let's go.

Here's how it goes. Look up your birth date on Wikipedia. Find three events, two births and a holiday that falls on your birthday and tell us what they are.

My birth date is January 19th. Let's see what we find.

Events:

~ 1829 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust Part 1 premieres (and likely is still going on).

~ 1953 - 68% of all United States television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.

~ 1977 - (This one's for Hilda) Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas. (Please tell me you remember this, Hilda!)

Births:

These are harder to pick from. This was evidently a good day to be born if you're cool or interesting. Or Desi Arnaz, Jr. (See events above). I'll pick some people I really like - I can't just stop at two.

~ 1807 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general.

~ 1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet.

~ 1939 - Phil Everly, American musician (I loves me some Everly Brothers)

~ 1946 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress (I loves me some Dolly too. I absolutely dig that we share a birthday.).

Holiday

~ Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. That's it. Just one holiday. Must be because so many cool and interesting people are celebrating their birthday there's no need for an extra holiday.

Now I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing this part except because I've been instructed to and since I'm a color-within-the-lines sort of gal, I'll do it. Copy this list of blog links, delete the link at the top and then add your own at the bottom. Okay. I'll comply. I don't want Earth spinning out of orbit or something because I didn't follow the directions.

~ Mimi Writes
~ Late Bloomer Boomer
~ Second Effort
~ The Mind Wobbles
~ Dixie Peach

Holy cow! More requirements! Now it's time for me to tag five folks for this link filled and quasi-educational meme. I don't normally tag but if I've conformed this much so far I may as well see it through. And if I didn't tag you and you want to do this meme, pretend I did. One of us may as well be a maverick.

~ Kitty - C'mon. Put aside Harry Potter anticipation long enough to do this meme.
~ Marsha - You too. See if you can break your link record.
~ Lisa - Now surely interesting things happened on the day you were born other than you being born, right?
~ Katy - You like history don't you? This meme's for you then!
~ Mahala - It'll help ease you through your No-New-Craig hump.

Looking up? Done. Copying and pasting? Done. Linking? Done. Tagging? Done. I need to put my feet up and have a cocktail after all this. Or shuffle. Bixente the iPod, let's hit it!

1. You Only Live Once - The Strokes
2. Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Judy Garland
4. Looking For A Kiss - New York Dolls
5. Young Americans - David Bowie
6. Country Sunshine - Dottie West
7. Badlands - Bruce Springsteen
8. Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon
9. Evangeline - Los Lobos

That's it for me until next week. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be delivered tomorrow and I'm going underground until I'm finished with reading it. B's going to try to distract me - you know have me take him outside and have fun and all that - but else I'll be spending every spare minute reading.

Y'all be good until I return!

Katydid Tag Me

Some days it's hard to come up with a good title for a blog entry, especially if it's for a meme, but if I do say so myself this one's not too bad. I'm not normally the sort to rely on puns but there you go. Pun and a warning up front that this entry's a meme. Hardly gets better than that.

Katy did tag me and since she's a faithful longtime reader here at Chez Peach and a very lovely, friendly, sweet lady I could never refuse her. Here's one more opportunity for you to become an expert on all things Dixie.

1. What were you doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago I was freshly back from visiting B in Germany for the first time and getting myself geared up to move there (or is it "here" if I'm now there?) so what did I do? I changed jobs. I was going to move in six months and I changed jobs anyway. It freaked B out a bit because he thought if I'd change jobs that it meant that I wouldn't move to Germany but in reality it meant that I had one of the world's shittiest jobs and I was desperate to get away from it.

2. What were you doing one year ago?
I was fully immersed in World Cup fever. I really do miss the excitement that was generated by Germany hosting the World Cup.

3. Five snacks you enjoy
1. Chips and salsa
2. Popcorn
3. Nachos
4. Salt and honey cashews
5. Cheese straws

4. Five songs that you know all the lyrics
Five songs in general is nothing. Let's shake it up a bit and list five Adam Ant songs that don't come from the Friend or Foe or Strip albums that I know all the lyrics.
1. Dog Eat Dog
2. Room At The Top
3. Don't Be Square (Be There)
4. Wonderful
5. Beautiful Dream

Brush me, Daddy-0!

5. Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Set up trusts for my niece and nephews.
2. Hire help for B.
3. Travel with B to Australia to visit his cousins.
4. Travel with B to the US to visit my family.
5. Adopt more pets.

6. Five bad habits:
1. Procrastination
2. Disorganization
3. Eating sweets
4. Not exercising enough
5. Lack of self-discipline - hence the other four

7. Five things you like doing:
1. Knitting
2. Reading
3. Watching old films
4. Having lunch with friends
5. Driving

8. Five things you would never wear again:
1. Spike heels
2. Leggings
3. Sweatshirts of any sort
4. Turtleneck shirts or sweaters
5. Overalls

9. Five favorite toys:
Adult toys or toys from my childhood? Let's do childhood toys because I am not all that much of a gadget person and probably couldn't list five.

1. Liddle Kiddles dolls
2. Bicycle
3. Tinker Toys
4. Easy Bake Oven
5. Hippity Hop Ball

Won't tag anyone but feel free to steal. Double points if you work in a pun in your title.

Friday Shuffle - Joy Times Twenty Edition

It's been one of those days where little, nagging things go wrong. Just enough irritation to be...uh...irritating. I forgot something at the grocery store and later when I went back to get it I got caught in a puking downpour of rain. Got into a disagreement with B over the forgotten grocery item. I left a pot of begonias in the sun and they're now crispy fried begonias. And Gross Neck Funk is entering his testy teenage years and now the whole back and right side of my neck hurts like hell.

And when the little thing in life go wrong, that's a good time to think about the stuff that really brings you joy. It's certainly better than going berserk with frustration and irritation and ramming an ice pick into your skull and certainly much less messy.

Swiped this Joy Meme from Hilda. She's a joy to me as well.

Ten joyful things:

1. An overnight thunderstorm. Not the kind with violent thunder that scares you out of a sleep but the sort with rain that shushes against the window and there's a rumble of distant thunder that seems to go on endlessly. I try to stay away to hear the soothing sounds but after a while I'm fast asleep.
   
2. Fireworks displays. I'll admit that the loud booms and bangs get to me because I'm easily startled by loud, sudden noises but I am a sucker for fireworks. One of my favorite things about New Years Eve in Germany is going out on my balcony and watching everyone's fireworks. It goes on for hours and I never tire of it. There's a fireworks competition in Magdeburg next weekend and I'm there.
3. Going out to lunch with friends. Going out to dinner is nice but I much prefer going out to lunch, especially with girlfriends and especially if there's no time limits for us to work around. There's something much more casual and relaxed about going out to lunch and being able to eat and talk and laugh with good friends is wonderful.
4. Seeing music performed live or a stage musical. There's something so overwhelming about music performed live and it's difficult for me to contain my emotions. It's rare that I attend a concert or musical that I don't end up crying at some point.
5. Books in a series and reading a new edition. I've loved books in a series since I fell in love with the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder more than 35 years ago. I become invested in the characters and when I read the next in a series it's like seeing old friends again. I almost dread reading the last Harry Potter book just because I know it's the last. If I never read it I'll always have it to look forward to but once it's read, that anticipation is gone forever. I might would even consider putting off reading it for a while just to savor that anticipation a little longer but I'm afraid I'll run into some asshole who spoils the end for me.
6. Taking a nap on a summer afternoon with the windows open. There's something delicious and decadent feeling about laying on the bed with a breeze sweeping across your skin and the sound of birds in the distance.
7. Talking with my husband for hours. I feel fortunate that I have the sort of relationship with my husband where we don't grow tired of each other's company and we're able to talk about anything. And we do. We sit close with my head against his shoulder and we talk about anything that pops into our heads. We tell one another stories from our past or we'll talk about politics or jokes we've heard and lose all track of time.
8. Buying one of my favorite things. There are three things that I love to buy: books, makeup and knitting yarn/accessories. I can't have enough and I never tire of buying them. I even like the places where you buy them. And once I have them at home I don't often use them right away. I like to first look at them. Riffle through the pages of the book and run my fingers over its smooth pages. Uncapping the lipstick and rolling it out over and over and examining its perfect surface and if it's a Chanel lipstick I like pushing the little gold bottom to make the lipstick pop out. I squeeze and caress new yarn and marvel over its luscious colors and twitter with new needles or other gadgets. I'm glad the things I love most to buy are generally inexpensive because I'd hate to be this obsessive over buying diamonds and new cars.
9. The anticipation of Christmas. It's my favorite holiday and what I love most about it is not so much the day itself but all the preparation in the weeks beforehand. I love shopping, decorating, baking and you already know I am in love with our outdoor Christmas market. The high point is Christmas Eve when B and I settle in front of the TV to watch It's a Wonderful Life and we eat chocolate chip cookies and drink milk. Last year's tradition was spoiled by my carton of milk smelling like ass but for the most part it's a peaceful, comfortable time.
10. Curling up on the sofa and watching one of my favorite classic films. If it's raining or snowing outside, it's even better. If I have an icy cold Coke and a bowl of popcorn, it's the best.

Just remembering what makes me happy is quite soothing. Won't tag anyone but I highly recommend this exercise should you be having a lousy day.

Now for our next ten. Time for Bixente the iPod to shuffle. Go boy.

1. Waiting For My Lucky Day - Chris Isaac
   
2. Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics
3. Wicked Little High - Bird York
4. Growing On Me - The Darkness
5. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
6. Whisper My Name - Randy Travis
7. Western Stars - k. d. lang
8. Killer Queen - Queen
9. The House That Jack Built - Aretha Franklin
10. Mother - Danzig

Oh yeah. Danzig. He absolutely oozes joy.

Friday Shuffle - Get Your Motor Running Edition

Darling Mollie and I have been chatting online for a couple hours now and our topic du jour today is cars. Darling Mollie is a big time car freak. And I've got a line for you single guys. If you want to turn Darline Mollie's head, drive a muscle car. She's a sucker for a hot muscle car.

Darling Mollie then wanted to quiz me on my automobile history and did it meme style so I thought I'd answer it here. She's all excited about me posting it here. Her brush with celebrity.

Steal if you wish. Except you, Hilda. I adore you but you're not eligible to play this time around.

1. What was your first car- not the one your parents made you drive, but one you bought yourself?

The first car that wasn't a parental loaner was a used truck my then-fiance, now ex-husband gave me when he bought a new truck. A 1980 Dodge 3/4 ton pick-up truck. It had two gas tanks - which was helpful since it sucked down fuel like a 10-year-old sucks down a Slurpee on a 90 degree day - automatic, power steering but strangely enough, no power brakes. Who in the hell has a truck with power steering but no power brakes? I hated driving it but I didn't have to pay for it and at least I could stop borrowing vehicles from my parents. My father had an even crappier truck that I got stuck with all the time. The first car I ever bought for myself was a 1990 ragtop Jeep Wrangler. I didn't exactly hate that Jeep but I hated having a ragtop. Too cold, too windy, too noisy, murky windows and I detested dealing with those stupid zippered windows. And for years that Jeep would stall on me just as I was downshifting to make a turn. I held a grudge against my ex-husband for years for talking me into buying that Jeep.

2. What was your favorite car memory?
My cousin had a gorgeous blue 1968 Chevy Malibu. His sister and I would borrow it to cruise the strip around town and since everyone knew this car, we got noticed a lot. A good car with which to cruise the strip is essential. One evening my cousin showed up to reclaim his car and after a lot of protests he said we could come along with him on his errand as long as we sat still and kept our mouths shut.

You know running moonshine with your cousin at 11pm on a Friday night is scary. And a little fun. And I had no idea that going over railroad tracks at 100mph would make you fly up and hit the dome light in the car with your head.

3. What was your worst car memory?
I don't know if this is the worst memory but it's certainly the most embarrassing.

4. Road Trip?
One of the very best road trips I've ever had was when my dear friend, Susan, and I drove from Virginia to Mississippi to visit my family. We rented a car, a red Pontiac Grand Prix, waved goodbye to our husbands for a week and headed down the interstate. Me, Susan, a lot of cigarettes, a lot of Dr. Pepper and a heinous amount of Snoop Dogg because Susan brought the wrong box of cassettes. Susan had never been that far south before so she was enlightened to find out that it's not uncommon to be able to buy bait and fabric at the same store. She loved driving past Bucksnort, Tennessee (and who doesn't?) and the classic moment was when we were laughing hysterically at the hand painted sign in someone's front yard advertising shad guts for sale and Susan creamed a bird with the car. I know, I know...hitting a bird with a car isn't funny but it came after the shad guts and we just couldn't stop laughing.

5. What vehicle did you own that you despised?
That complete piece of crap 1985 GMC Jimmy that my ex-husband bought when I inherited his old Dodge pick-up. The one I warned him not to buy. That piece of shit lemon would never start. We went through batteries, alternators and solenoids at a frightening rate. Not to mention the time we drove to Mississippi and the U-joint broke. Or the time when coming back to Virginia from Mississippi the transmission crapped out and we had to drive the last 400 miles home in a truck that wouldn't get out of low. Or how paint began to bubble up and peel off the hood and roof 15 months after buying it. I have never been so happy to see a vehicle towed away for good in my life.

6. If you could have any car back- which one would it be?
I have only had one car in my life that didn't disappoint me and that was the Toyota Camry that had belonged to my mother and she gave to me when she bought a new car. I used it to commute to work because frankly I couldn't bear to drive that Jeep any more than necessary. It had about 125,000 miles on it but by golly that bitch started every time I turned the key and after the nightmares of my other vehicles, that meant a lot.

7. If you could have any car- regardless of price- what would it be?
Thirty years ago when I first got my driver's license I wanted a black Trans-Am, just like what Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit. If I could have one just like that in mint condition I'd take it.

Bixente the iPod is revved up to shuffle.

1. Bad Case of Loving You - Robert Palmer
2. Phantom Limb - The Shins
   
3. Be My Lover - La Bouche
4. Oye Como Va - Santana
5. Henrietta - The Fratellis
6. All Over You - Live
7. My Generation - The Who
8. Metal Guru - T. Rex
9. One Thing Leads To Another - The Fixx
10. Lone Star State Of Mind - Nanci Griffith

Groove on your weekend the mostest!

You've Been Let Off The Hook Long Enough

It's Tuesday and it's time for knitting talk and that's that. Don't be giving me that look. I haven't beat you over the head with knitting stuff in weeks. And this time I've actually started a new project. With pictures! And there's a meme at the end too! I'm trying to make this as painless as possible.

First - new sock project. I'm still raving over Sensational Knitted Socks and don't know how I lived before I had my own copy. I have eight skeins of this same yarn (boring long story as to why I have eight skeins of the same sock yarn - don't ask) and so for this pair of socks I wanted a fun stitch to liven up this solid color yarn but wanted something a bit brainless to knit since lately I'm having to fit in knitting time when I'm watching TV - no time to knit otherwise. For once I'm knitting a pair of socks for myself and doing them in the Woven Stitch - so easy it should be outlawed.



I'm a little farther now - about halfway into the heel flap. Here's a closer shot of the stitch.



This blue/gray yarn will make these perfect socks to wear with jeans.

Now for the meme. Shamelessly stolen from Rachel - fabulous knitter and hand painter of yarns. I hold those who hand paint their own yarn in the same reverence I save for brain surgeons, those who scale the heights of Mt. Everest and anyone who makes a perfect red velvet cake.

If you've done it, write it in bold. If you plan to do it one day, use italics. If you have no plans to do it, write it normally. Any comments from me are in parenthesis.

Afghan
I-cord (I can do it but only in practice. I've never made anything that's needed i-cord.)
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire (I wouldn't count it out but I can't envision an metal wire project for me.)
Shawl
Sockinette stitch
Socks - top down
Socks - toe up (I keep swearing I'm going to make my next pair toe up.)
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens - cuff up (Don't like to wear them so I won't be knitting them.)
Mittens - tip down
Hat (A good way to insure I finally have a hat to fit my huge melon of a head.)
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting (I'm going to have to know what that is first.)
Participating in a knit-a-long (But I didn't get much out of the experience.)
Sweater (If for no other reason than to say I've done it.)
Drop stitch patterns (Never finished it though)
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting/modular knitting (Don't know what this is either)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (Oh hell no.)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing (Something for Lottie, the sock monkey would be good.)
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn (I can't ever see myself becoming a spinner.)
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting (But I can't purl continental)
Designing knitted garments (I think almost every knitter dreams of designing at least one thing)
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Household items - dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies, etc.
Knitting socks or other small tubular items on two circular needles
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with double pointed needles
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living (I couldn't stand the pressure to knit without errors.)
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks or other small tubular items on two circular needles simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch (I looooove Kitchener stitch)
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long tail cast on
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning, self striping, variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular knitting
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog or cat hair
Knitting items for a wedding
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

If you knit and want to swipe this for yourself, feel free. If you don't knit and want to swipe this, that might be even more interesting.

It Could be the Weekend. Just Depends on What Point You Started It.

The lovely Jessica tagged me last week for a meme and I said to her "Check back here on the weekend. I'll do it then.". And I had every intention of doing it except on Saturday I got caught up in watching Dancing with the Stars and on Sunday I was entirely too drunk exhausted from being all afternoon at the city festival and Monday was a holiday too and therefore technically counted towards the weekend but I got caught up in reading and didn't spend much time online. So I'm doing it today. It's only Wednesday. That makes me only two days late getting it done. Believe me, in my world getting things done two days after I said I'd do them is an accomplishment. Ask anyone who's ever waited on me to mail stuff to them.

This is one of those "Seven Random Things" memes and I think I'll shake it up a little and make it seven random things about....let's see...about me and sleep. If you want to read seven random things about me in general, click on the links in my sidebar. You'll find two hundred of them there.

1. While I may live in the land of giant head pillows (regular German pillows are 80cm x 80cm - 2.5 cm are in 1 inch so you if you want to figure out how big my pillow is in inches, be my mathematical guest 'cause you know I ain't gonna do it for you) I only sleep on a very small portion of it. I don't really care to have the pillow touching my face - my ear may touch and a very small portion of my cheek and jaw but my eyes, nose, mouth and any other face-y parts need to be free. Now I suppose I could get along with a very tiny pillow but tiny pillows don't tend to be puffy pillows and I like thick and puffy pillows.

2. Standard German beds are also different from what one finds in America in that one doesn't have the standard fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket, bedspread and/or comforter arrangement. We have a fitted sheet and a quilted comforter covered with a duvet cover, often made of cotton, and it serves as our top sheet and blanket and bedspread all in one. Makes for fast bed making! Anyway, since nothing that's laying on top of one is tucked into the sides of the mattress it allows me to indulge in having my feet uncovered - and I love to have my feet uncovered as I sleep. It's got to be bitterly cold for me to sleep with my feet covered.

3. I love my mattress. It's the best mattress I've had in all my 45 years of life. It's perfect. Firm without being like a rock. Cushy without being mushy. I'm also fanatical about keeping it flipped over and turned head to foot every month.

4. I don't need absolute quiet or absolute darkness to sleep. I actually like to have the light from the street lamps coming through the windows and the sound of a fan running puts me right out.

5. If I take a nap on my bed (as opposed to napping on the sofa), I have to nap on top of the bed. I cannot get in bed, under the covers, with street clothes on. I get a little wigged out at the idea of being under the covers in jeans and a blouse. And I'll see you in hell before I get in bed under the covers with socks on.

6. I went to a camp for the weekend with my church's youth group when I was a teenager. It was October and rather cold at night and we were in unheated cabins with sleeping bags. I'd borrowed a sleeping bag from my backpacking older brother and thought I was all set for a cozy night's sleep because it was a down sleeping bag rated to something ridiculous like -40°F. Unfortunately I didn't know it was a mummy bag - you know where the bag tapers down until your feet are practically at a point - and I ended up freezing my ass off all night because I couldn't bear having my feet strangled together like that and had to sleep with the bag unzipped.

7. I never slept with stuffed animals as a child but I did and still do sleep with a small pillow (too flat for my head pillow requirements, however!). I don't generally hold it as I sleep or even as I'm falling asleep - I just have it next to my head. But not touching my face. Lord, don't let it touch my face.

I won't tag anyone but if you love memes, need a little content boost or just want to tell us random things about yourself, feel free to steal it. Or do as I did and tell us seven random things about you and something specific. You and your hobby. You and driving. You and desserts. You and college. Break bad! Improvise!

Favorite Pages

I'm powerless to not do a book themed meme when I see one so when I spotted this one over on Katya's blog, I had to nick it. Feel free to gank it for yourself should you be so inclined.

A book that made you cry: I don't often cry when reading books but the last book that made me cry is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I still can't get over Dumbledore being dead.

A book that scared you: The Shining and It both by Stephen King creeped me out no end. To me they're his scariest books. And I remember reading Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi - it got passed around my group of friends - and that really scared me. I remember us talking about the idea that Charles Manson would be up for parole in 1978 and us all saying that we were afraid they'd parole him then - 1978 was only a couple years away at that point.

A book that made you laugh: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole made me laugh out loud many times with its outrageous characters and situations. I'm not sure I've ever read a book more outrageous.

A book that disgusted you: I remember reading my sister's copy of Xaviera Goes Wild! by Xaviera Hollander when I was about 12 years old and nearly throwing up at the German Shepherd masturbation scene.

A book you loved in elementary school: Harriet the Spy and it's sequel The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh. Do you know anyone who read those books and loved them and didn't want to spy on everyone like Harriet?

A book you loved in junior high: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. It's still one of my favorite books of all time and I re-read it yearly.

A book you loved in high school: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of my other all-time favorites. A good lesson regarding integrity at a time when a sense of integrity is a good thing to learn.

A book you hated in high school: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. That book alternately annoyed and bored the shit out of me.

A book you loved in college: I first read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote when I was in college and I credit it and Helter Skelter for kicking off my fascination with true crime stories.

A book that challenged your identity: I'm not sure about whether this qualifies as challenging my identity but A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving did change how I view fate, destiny and how I determine my direction in life.

A series that you love: I can't stop with one series because I am a fiend for books in series. If I love a book and it's characters I love seeing them in a series. It's like seeing old friends again. I started my series love when I was 8 years old with the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Other series I love are the Mitford series by Jan Karon - they're a bit corny but I love their simple, gentle nature, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovtich, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and naturally the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. There are more I could list but I'll get to them later.

Your favorite horror book: The afore mentioned The Shining by Stephen King.

Your favorite science fiction book: I'm not a fan of sci-fi but I loved Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut.

Your favorite fantasy book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Your favorite mystery book: It's a series, actually - the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mystery series by Sue Grafton. I'm waiting right now for S is for Silence to be delivered.

Your favorite graphic novel: Ghost World by Daniel Clowes.

Your favorite biography: I don't often read biographies which is a switch because I read every biography in my elementary school's library when I was a kid. I can't say I have a favorite but one that I've read and enjoyed was Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn.

Your favorite "coming-of-age" book: She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I'm not sure if it strictly qualifies but I think you see a woman grow up and change find herself over the course of many years.

Your favorite classic:: That's so hard to pick. I could go on and on about classic books that I love. I'll just pick the first classic book I can remember reading - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I still love that story - romance, mystery, tragedy, mean characters, pure-hearted characters. Honestly, someone needs to make a classic literature meme.

Your favorite romance book: As a rule I don't read romance but I would qualify another series I love - the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon as being enough of a romance to qualify.

Favorite kids book: If we're talking about books for very small children I'd pick as my favorites the Curious George books by H.A. Rey.

Favorite cookbook: The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

Your favorite book not on this list: Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore are two all-time favorites of mine.

So Nice I Did it Twice

Okay, remember the whole blogging interview thing from last week? I interviewed Hilda who in turn interviewed Poppy (Are you reading their blogs? If not, why not?) and being as I'm a terrible smart aleck and am lacking in blogging inspiration this week I said "I wish someone would interview me again." - and so Poppy did. Danke, Poppy!

Round two:

1. You have a mere four hours in Memphis. How do you spend it?

First, your butt had better be there, Poppy and bring PKB and the Barefooted One as well. Four things are on the agenda:

a. We go to Corky's and indulge in Piggy Prozac.

b. We go find a yarn shop and bliss out in there for a while.

c. We go find an enormous display of lipstick and bliss out there for a while.

d. We'd go find some cream horns for PKB. 'Cause PKB loves cream horns.

Now I understand that this can be done in virtually any city, with the exceptions of going to Corky's, but if I were with y'all that's what I'd want to do. Pork barbecue, yarn, lipstick, cream horns, darling friends. Perfect four hours.

If I were alone for the four hours I'd probably go to the Pink Palace and groove in there. And make a quick dash into Corky's for a pulled pork sandwich.

2. How did Lottie the Sock Monkey come into your life?

I wrote a blog entry about it not very long after I got Lottie. Here's the part where I actually acquired Lottie:

When I was in the US last fall I decided that I must buy a sock monkey. I looked at a few places but didn't find one and my sister, who surprisingly didn't think I was completely bats for wanting a sock monkey, suggested we'd find one at the gift shop of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, the closest to my hometown being a good 45 minutes away in Tupelo. We made plans to drive down there for breakfast the following morning and snag one.

Evidently I was destined to go home with a sock monkey because there was one waiting for me - the last one in stock, as a matter of fact. Price was no object and by the time I was grazing on grits and buttermilk biscuits I had a sock monkey in a little brown sack at my side.

As I didn't want a nekkid sock monkey we set off to get some sock monkey sized clothes as Toys R Us. It was tough to find a dress for her that didn't have ducks or other babyish print on it but I did succeed in getting her a brown and red plaid dress. Sorta matches her skin and everything.

Note that I referred to her as...well...a her. I can't say that her gender just jumped out at me because let's be real. It's a sock monkey. It's whatever you want it to be. And mine got to be a girl because of one simple reason. It's easier to deal with a monkey tail in a dress than in a pair of teeny pants.

Now all she needed was a name. I liked Sophie but my sister insisted that my sock monkey would be a German sock monkey. Right. Sewed in Ohio and bought in Mississippi. I can see where the German part jumped out at her. Okay, so on to German names. I ran through my repetoir of German names until came across the name of B's great-grandmother, Charlotte. And thus she became Lottie.

Lottie has since then spent a summer with PKB, a visit where she was able to meet Poppy in person, and courtesty of PKB, Lottie now has a pair of teeny pants.

3. Favorite German food?

Currywurst. For the uninitiated, currywurst is a roasted bratwurst, usually, but not always, cut into slices (makes eating while standing at a currywurst stand easier) and doused with a ketchup based sauce seasoned with curry with more curry sprinkled on top. Often served with fries which are great when dipped in the sauce. Nutritionally it's a disaster but it's fabulously tasty.

I also like a good ol' roasted Thüringer Rostbratwurst. In my opinion the best bratwurst in Germany are the Thüringer style ones. Fabulous hot off the grill after they've been there roasting until they become a little blackened and the casing is all split and crispy. I eat mine with ketchup by my husband doesn't hold it against me.

4. Everyone always focuses on the negatives of physical disabilities. What are some of the good things that have come about because of your husband's limitations that might not have happened if he wasn't paralyzed?

Selfishly the best thing for me is that I can spend all day with him. I think it also gave him the opportunity to learn about computers back when personal computers were a new thing - had he stayed uninjured then perhaps he wouldn't have had the time to learn what has been able to learn over the years. I think it's given us both more patience and a great appreciation of the little things that can make you very content.

I just asked B the same question and he answered "I met you.". All together now: Awwwwwwww!!

5. You have an unlimited yarn budget. What's the first thing you buy?

Oooo. Wouldn't that be a dream come true? I know that I'd head right on over to Posh Yarn and get some of that incredibly decadent hand-dyed cashmere sock weight yarn. I don't know if I could bear the thought of my feet being in cashmere socks or the feeling of knitting 100% cashmere, but I'd love to try.

Is there anyone that I didn't interview the first time around who'd like to be interviewed this time? Speak up and I'll do it!

Here's the interview guidelines: Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” I will respond by asking you five questions in the comments here on this post so check back here. I get to pick the questions. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

The Interview

Sheila offered and I took her up on it. She offered to ask me five questions and I'd answer them here for y'all to see. Her boyfriend is also a quadriplegic so it stands to reason that some of the questions pertain to that topic.

Read and learn, folks. There may be a pop quiz later.

1. How would your life be different if B would of never of been injured? (How was B injured, anyhow?)

Wow. I reckon everything would be different, wouldn't it? I met him many years after his accident (while he was in the army he fell into a swimming pool in one meter of water and landed on his head) so it's possible that I never would have met him had he been healthy (he and I refer to his non-spinal cord injury status as him being "healthy" although technically he's not unhealthy but instead has a permanent injury...it's just easier though to say "healthy"). However if all were the same except for him not being a quadriplegic I imagine we'd have kids, travel more, maybe even live in America. I think the closeness of our relationship would be the same but a spinal cord injury is so invasive in the life of the quadriplegic and those around him that I would say that virtually everything would be different.

2. If money weren't an issue, would you ever consider moving B, your mother-in-law and yourself back to the states? Along the same lines, if you all did move back to the states, where would you choose to live?

How much are we talking about when we're saying that money isn't an issue? Enough to pay for the sort of health insurance we require? That's the main reason we live in Germany. There is no way we could ever move to the US because there is no insurance company that would accept B. It's the reason why I most likely will always live in Germany - I have reliable health insurance here that I won't lose. I would have nothing in the way of health insurance if I moved back to the States.

However if we did move back to the US for whatever reason, I'm sure we'd live near my family in Mississippi. I like having family around.

3. Who taught you how to knit? How long ago? Have you ever wished you had learned a different hobby even though you enjoy knitting?

My mother first taught me how to knit and purl when I was around 10 years old. Just knit and purl. Couldn't cast on, couldn't bind off, couldn't make anything and stopped knitting completely until about 2 1/2 years ago when I bought a copy of Stitch 'n Bitch, bought some needles and some cheap yarn and taught myself the rest with the aid of the book. Knitting is certainly more fun when you can actually produce something.

I have learned other crafts - needlepoint, counted cross stitch, crewel - but I didn't take to them like I have knitting. It suits my need to be able to do it spur-of-the-moment because I never know when B will need to interrupt me and I like being able to make something other than wall hangings and pillow covers.

4. What is the one thing as a child / teenager you said you'd never do / say when you got older? Have you done / said it and thought, "Hm, I said I'd never do that."

When I was young I thought I'd never marry a man who wasn't a Southerner and I wouldn't live outside of the South. I wouldn't even date non-Southerners. The first time around I married a guy born in Mississippi and raised in Florida and Texas. Obviously him being Southern didn't help. Now, of course, I met and married not only a non-Southerner but a non-American and I certainly don't live in the South. I don't even live in southern Germany.

5. What is the one thing about B's injury that you knew about, but didn't truly understand until you had to deal with it in person?

I guess the thing I had explained to me but didn't really get until I had to help with it was the bathroom thing. I don't discuss this much at all because I don't like to compromise B's dignity but I wasn't sure how it would work until I saw in person how it would work. It doesn't involve diapers and it doesn't involve him ever spontaneously losing control of his bodily functions and that's all I'm really comfortable with saying about it except to add that it doesn't freak me out at all.

And Sheila has asked me a bonus question.

I was curious about how you go about getting B into his chair. I use a Hoyer lift for Tom, and it works wondrously well. (I can lift him by myself, with no Hoyer, if I absolutely have to, but prefer someone else with more confidence to do it.) Our Hoyer was provided for us through insurance. Along the same lines, is there an elevator in your building? How do you get B outside?

B is a tall man (or do you say "long" in you're unable to stand?) - he's 6'4". He's got these wildly long legs and it means that he doesn't fit in a lot of standard wheelchairs - they're simply too short for him. Here's his wheelchair:



We used to have a Hoyer lift but it was more trouble than it was worth. First, B didn't like the feeling of being suspended in the lift - it freaked him out too much to have it swinging while getting him into position to lower him into the chair or into the bed. Second, it barely fit between the bed and his wheelchair and we struggled to get things into position. We finally gave up using it at all and after a few years when I accidentally stubbed my toe on it for the zillionth time we called the insurance company to tell them to take it away.

When we want to get B outside I have to rely on help. B's a foot taller than me and I simply cannot lift him high enough on my own to get him out of bed and over the arm and controls of his wheelchair. My MIL and I can lift him - I get him under his arms and she gets him under his knees and we pick him up and pull him over. We, however, try to get help from others. If it's a nice day and we want to go out we call friends who can come over and help me pick him up and get him in the chair. Some of the taller, stronger guys can pick him up on their own. If anyone helps me get B in his wheelchair, their drinks are on me for the day!

Sometimes there's no one available to help me get him out of bed and into his chair. Those are the days when we just stay indoors and appreciate having a nice home.

We do have an elevator in our building. Although our apartment isn't made specifically for a handicapped person we can still live in this building because the doorways are wide enough and B can get in and out of the elevator. My MIL's apartment also has an elevator but you have to take a half flight of stairs either up or down to reach the elevator so B's unable to go to her apartment.

Now it's your turn to play if you wish:

Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” I will respond by asking you five questions in the comments here on this post so check back here. I get to pick the questions. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.