Agenda Answers the Hard Questions

And some of them were hard, because like I said, I'm not at all introspective.

I was surprised I received so many questions, and that so many of you were willing to play along.  Sam has already posted a response to my question with a tour of the beautiful town in which she lives.  Check it out if you haven't seen it already!

Let's dive right in.  There are probably too many to handle in one post, so we'll see how far we get before it becomes a yawn-fest.  Please feel free to skip this if you're only here for the crafts!

Susan asked:  "What's your favorite story from your childhood?"
I have two brothers who are 6 and 7 years younger than me.  My next younger brother is quite the outdoorsman, and even from a young age used to love to go fishing.  We grew up 2 blocks from a lake, so when he was little (maybe 5 or 6) I'd walk down to the lake with him so we could go fishing.  Thing is, he wouldn't actually touch a fish!  And I wouldn't touch a worm!  (Still won't!)  So we made a pretty good team - him baiting the hooks, and me taking the few fish we caught off the line.  I think I got the better end of the deal!

He's way bigger than me now, LOL!

From Sam:  "I'd love to know what your perfect day would be."
Wow, Sam - this one was fodder for quite a few daydreams!  But in the end I decided to plan a perfect day that is actually within my grasp.

It would start, as all my days do, with a delicious cup of coffee made for me by my wonderful Hubby.  Then we'd head off for a nice long hike - preferably in a pine forest.  (OK, that part is not easily within my grasp, but a girl can dream!  Here's a selfie I took in Austria last month, enjoying the wonderful aroma of a pine forest.)

Big inhale!

Then, by some sort of magic, we'd be transported to some wonderful outdoor lunch spot, our hiking clothes having been replaced with something more chic (and preferable hand-sewn!).  We'd enjoy a delicious meal and a glass of wine or two while gazing upon some spectacular scenery.  After lunch we'd pop into a museum or gallery for a look around, then head home for a quiet evening watching some sort of comedy on Netflix.

Hmm, not super original, but I think it points to the fact that I have a darned good life!  I do a lot of these things pretty often, and feel blessed to be able to do so!

Tracey asked:  "I would love to know if you have always been so creative or is this something that has evolved over the years?"

Well, I can't remember a time when I wasn't making something.  I was lucky to be born into an extended family of crafters, artists and musicians, so I pretty much grew up with it.  My dad especially loved to experiment with different kinds of crafts and he and I used to enjoy exploring new hobbies together.  Just like Dad, I have one enduring craft love (knitting and sewing; Dad's was woodworking) but have tried a whole slew of other things.  I'm definitely my father's daughter!  But of course it was Mom who taught me to knit and sew in the first place.

Here's a Barbie dress I crocheted when I was probably about 7.  Don't ask me how it's supposed to go on!

Andrea and Lisa are both curious to know how many pairs of shoes I own.   Well, I have to admit this is kind of embarrassing for me.  My love of shoes borders on obsession - it always has.  I own far, FAR more than I need; shoes are my biggest extravagance.  I had to count the other day and I'm in the neighborhood of 150.  I do feel compelled to note that among the group of friends I used to hang out with in St. Louis, this was not a huge number!  We did a fair bit of going out and going to events back then.  And this is a collection that goes back close to 20 years.  I also do need to do a good weed-out.  But it's kind of silly:  there are some things I've been saving, in case my nieces want them in the future!  I remember being thrilled at receiving some "retro" pieces from my aunt when I was in my teens and early '20s, so I keep some of the cooler stuff around for that reason even if I'm not using it.

Me and Sal, having Fancy Shoe Knitting night.

Lisa  also asked what was the latest book (or books) I read.  Here are the last few:

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - a small book, but it took me ages to read because it was kind of melancholy, so I wasn't always in the mood.

Quiet by Susan Cain - devoured it in a of couple days.  All about introverts, of which I am one.

And because I love reading for hours and hours when I'm on vacation, I read a bunch of Edith Wharton novels when we were in Turkey and really enjoyed them.  I was a French (literature) major in college, so I missed out on all the American and English literature that most people read while I was busy reading the French.  Now I'm going back and fixing that! 

Sonja had this question:  "Who would you be in an alternate universe? Is there something totally different from what you do now that you always wonder what would have happened if you'd explored it?"

I would be a mom :-)  We wanted to have children but I was not able to.  We were able to move past that disappointment and are quite content with our lives as they turned out, but I do sometimes wonder how things would be now if we had been able to have kids.

Shar asked what is my favorite time of day and why.  Definitely morning.  I'm such a morning person that I go to bed early (seriously early, like 8:30) so I can get up early in the morning.   I like the quiet, solitude and peacefulness of early morning.

early morning park bench in winter

There were two more questions which both related to food, so I'm going to answer those in the next post.  Thanks to all who played along!