Lovely Things

Looking for inspiration tonight, I went rummaging through some old entries from my fellow journalists and came up with this one from the ever-reliable Bozoette. A lot of questions I've answered before, so I'm going to give DIFFERENT answers this time, 'cause there can always be more than one answer. This time I'm going for offbeat answers that I've probably never used before.

Song you love: "Grandma's Feather Bed" by John Denver. It makes me smile every time, and I have yet to be able to sing along with the entire song because my tongue gets twisted somewhere in the middle

It was nine feet tall and six feet wide
soft as a downy chick
It was made from the feathers of forty 'leven geese
took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick
It'd hold eight kids 'n' four hound dogs
and a piggy we stole from the shed
We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun
on Grandma's feather bed

I never can wrap my tongue around "took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick" 'cause it goes by so fast!

Food you love: crab won ton. Now, I don't kid myself that there are a whole lot of people living in China who have won ton stuffed with crab and cream cheese (any more than there are sushi bars in Japan which use avocado and cream cheese in their rolls!), but that's OK. It's pure junk food and of course I'm addicted to junk food.

Thing you love to look at: At this time of year, blossoms. There are some streets in Davis right now which display masses of blossoms. White blossoms, and pink blossoms and it takes my breath away every time.

Sound you love: The sound the mourning doves make when they call to each other on my mother's porch--Mama calling to Dad to come and babysit so she can go get something to eat, or both parents on the deck calling encouragement to the babies to jump out of the nest and try their wings for the first time.

Thing you love to laugh at: Puppies. Very definitely puppies. We are getting two 2-month old Jack Russell terrier puppies on Tuesday (named Jack and Russell) and I'm looking forward to giggling at their antics.

Gadget you love: I think I'd have to say my garlic press. I've had this particular one for years...perhaps ever since we got married...and I like it better than any other newer model that I've acquired over the years. I'm not a huge gadget person, so my gadgetry is pretty limited.

Person you love: I said this was going to be offbeat answers. My new TV love is the chubby little kid who is talking about all the mistakes of his life which made him fat and lazy and how he's changing his ways and getting more active now. I can't remember his name, but he's so cute you just want to eat him up.

Software you love: Well, of course there are all the biggies, like PhotoShop and Word Perfect, but since I'm going for offbeat in this list, I would have to say SRip32, a freeware screen capture utility. I am amazed how much I use this simple little tool.

Word you love: A Brasilian word: Saudade. It has no exact translation in English but I understand it to mean missing someone so much it hurts, beyond simply "missing" someone. It's wonderfully descriptive for all sorts of situations. I feel much saudade for David and Paul, for example

Thing you love on the internet: Two things -- "That's My Answer," the first thing I turn to each morning; and a couple of flash jigsaw puzzles, which for some perverse reason I just love working.

Place you love to go on vacation: We've never had "a place" to go on vacation. We have gone places on vacation, but never anywhere regular. Still, if I could go back to a vacation place that we have visited as a family, it would be the cottage that we rented in the teeny town of Mayo Abby on the west side of Ireland. (Given how things have grown up in Ireland, it's now probably a booming metropolis!)

Sensation you love: Sneezing. Seriously. Don't you feel just wonderfully relieved after you sneeze? I read somewhere that it is the next best thing to an orgasm.

Animal you love: Elephants. How can anyone not love elephants. And I don't mean performing elephants or elephants in a zoo, I mean the real deal, out in the wild being what they were supposed to be. I love reading and watching programs about elephant families and think we humans could learn a good lesson about sticking together and about raising children. Elephants invented "taking a village" to raise a child! I don't know how anyone who has studied elephant societies could ever want to see an elephant in a zoo or performing in a circus again.

Book you love: I will not use my usual ("East of Eden" and "The Mother Tongue"), but instead I'll pick "Tuesdays with Morrie," which I thought was an amazingly powerful book, also entertaining and a real tear-jerker.

Emotion you love: Optimism, which is a combination of anticipation and joy.

Occasion you love: Well, I would be lying if I didn't say that my very favorite "occasion" is Cousins Day.

Quality you love in people: Selflessness. I have recently re-encountered people who give tirelessly to their neighbors and to the community and I feel sad that I let so many opportunities to do likewise pass me by throughout my lifetime.

Thing you most love to shop for: Books. It's actually about the only thing I actually LIKE to shop for.

And finally…

What you love about today: I got some fantastic news this afternoon, which I hope to write about very soon. (No, the baby hasn't come yet!)