Journal of Mistress Kat

Continuing the catch-up ...

1. Name three things in your fridge right now that you are looking forward to eating I have corn tortillas and Mexican cheese blend, which means I can make quesadillas. I also have surimi and ramen noodles (and there are frozen Asian vegetables in the freezer) which will make a nice stir fry with the addition of sesame oil and soy sauce. And there are a couple of containers of Trader Joe’s strawberry-vanilla Greek yogurt. Aside from that, except for some eggs and a jar of spaghetti sauce (which really doesn’t need to be refrigerated since it’s unopened), almost everything in the refrigerator is some sort of condiment or a beverage.

2. What is the price of a dozen eggs at the store near you? Is there a price at which you will choose to not buy eggs? I think I paid $4.29 at Trader Joe’s a couple of days ago.

3. What does "copy cat,” mean to you? Someone with the good taste to imitate me.

4. What was your first pet? Why did you choose this pet? My brother and I both had turtles when we were really little. I don’t think there was any choice involved, since my parents bought them for us. Later on, we had Rosie the mouse, who we got from my next-door-neighbor after her mother objected to having a mouse. (I think her name was officially Rose Petal. She was a very cute white mouse.)

5. What is my earliest or happiest memory? My earliest memory is of being at my grandparents’ bungalow in the Catskills. I may have been chased by a cow, so it wasn’t actually a happy memory. I do have happier memories there which involve all the women playing mahjongg.

6. How are you going to make tomorrow a joyful day? Maybe working my way through my to-do list.

7. What are a few qualities you dislike in other people, and why? At the top of the list of annoying qualities is interrupting people. Mansplaining is a particular example of this.

8. What was your favourite thing to collect as a child, and why? I collected foreign coins, which started with buying a packet of them. I know I bought some at Expo ’67 in Montreal, but I may have gotten some earlier than that at the New York World’s Fair in 1964.

9. What is your greatest fear and how often do you think about it? I am terrified of heights. I can’t say I think about that a lot, however, since it is easy to avoid high places in my day to day life.

10. Have you ever moved? Tell about one of your moves. I’ve moved several times. Probably the most interesting was driving from Los Angeles to northern Virginia in 2002. I stopped at the Meteor Crater in Arizona and went to both the Cadillac Ranch and the less famous Bug Ranch in Texas. I ate some very good Mexican food in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I did not stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, but I resented the sign suggesting I should do so since I was then earwormed by the song “Hotel California” all the way to Oklahoma, where there was a sign telling me that the land was grand. I was also surprised in Russell, Arkansas where overhearing a conversation between two guys and a motel desk clerk informed me that dry counties still exist in some places.

11. Tell about a time you were given, or gave, flowers. My mother was really thrilled with the bouquet of flowers I had sent for her 80th birthday.

12. What is something that made your mother happy. Aside from getting flowers, Mom loved going to the theatre and I took her to Broadway shows for Mothers’ Day for several years.

13. What did your family do on Sundays as a child? My brother and I rode our bikes to Rhodes (officially called a delicatessen, but really more or less a general store) to pick up the Sunday New York Times and a box of “mixed fancies” (i.e. Italian pastries). We ate pastries as well as things like bagels or pletzel for brunch. We had to wait for Mom to finish with the NYT Sunday crossword before we were allowed to even look at it to try to fill in the words she didn’t know.

14. As a whole, do you live for tomorrow or today? Explain. I do both. I have long to-do lists for today, but I am also always planning things for the future.

15. Which talent would you most like to have? I’d like to have actual musical talent.

16. Which holiday has the most meaning for you-—and why? Passover brings back a lot of family memories.

17. What’s something exciting you are looking forward to? My upcoming paper conservation workshop in Greece.

18. Who do you feel most connected to right now and why? Probably Cindy, because we talk on the phone or text almost every day.

19. How much money is enough for you? As much as it takes to pay for my condo fees, food and other necessities (e.g. housewares and drugstore purchases), books, and a couple of trips a year.

20. How have your views on friendship changed as you’ve gotten older? I recognize that some friendships will inevitably end, just because of people moving or changing interests.

21. Make a list of 10 fun things you could do this week. I’m going to Balticon this coming weekend, so that probably accounts for 10 in and of itself.

22. What author, book or series do you refuse to read? I have no interest in the Fifty Shades series.

23. What helps you feel grounded and centered? This is a tough question. I guess completing some home organizing chores would qualify.

24. How are you and your parents alike? I share my parents’ love of books, especially mysteries. I also share some of their musical tastes, especially Broadway show tunes and humorous songs, e.g. Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman.

25. What did your parents do for fun? My parents liked to go to the theatre and to play board games. Those are also things I do for fun.

26. If you had the option of living forever, would you take it? Only if that included perfect health and if the people I’m close to would also live healthily ever after.

27. What is your favorite day of the week? I don’t think there is any particular day of the week that is always my favorite. For any given week, there may be some event I am looking forward to, however.

28. Who do you talk to when you have a problem? One of my friends, usually either Cindy or Kim, depending on what the problem is.

29. What did you see today that was beautiful? The fabric that one of the women in my crafts group dyed.

30. Did you have a good sleep last night? Pretty good.

31. What are some things you are proud of yourself - for accomplishing, for being, for surviving, for changing, for not changing? I’m proud of how many places I have managed to travel to.