Randomness

I decided, while thinking about what to write about on the blog today, that it might be an instructional exercise to come up with seven random things about myself, even though it was Ellen who was originally tagged with the meme.  After all, we are in this blog together, are we not?

But first, a report on Rumpelstiltskin.

He is coming along very nicely.

Rumpelstiltskin 5-22-07

Growing steadily.  They just grow up so fast, don’t they?  (As an aside, when Harvey was a little bitty baby, I would take him out to the grocery store or some such place, and more than once a complete stranger would say to me, “Oh, don’t you wish they could stay that little forever?!”  “OH MY GOD!”  I wanted to scream.  “The horror!  The horror!”)

In a break from my usual pattern, I am holding steadfast to knitting on Rumpel.

Rumpelstiltskin 5-22-07 

I am determined to finish this shawl in time for the wedding.

1.  Harvey and I are now blue belt, brown tip in Tae Kwon Do.  We broke boards at our last testing.  It was surprisingly easy–I was told beforehand by more than one person:  “It only hurts if the board doesn’t break.”

2.  I own 200+ cookbooks and baking books.  This is a somewhat shameful admission which I trust you will all treat with due gentleness.

3.  I bought this skein of hemp yarn

hemp yarn 

last weekend at the Yarn Barn in Lawrence, KS.  I’m going to make a couple more dishcloths out of it.

4.  When I was a little girl, I collected frogs–frog figurines, frog bookends, frog stickers….  The last remnant of this charming obsession is a silver frog ring which my sister gave me years ago and which I have taken to wearing again.  I realize now why I haven’t worn it very much–the only finger it fits properly upon is the ring finger of my left hand.

5.  The oddest thing I have ever eaten is a smoked ant.  It was crunchy and really, really salty.  Sort of like a tiny little potato chip with tiny little legs.

6.  When I was in the eighth grade, I lost the county spelling bee on the word “ankh.”

7.  I memorize poetry, and when I’m by myself in my car (truck, actually) and don’t feel like listening to music, I recite said poetry.  I feel certain that this either reveals me as a completely pretentious egghead, or reveals that I am charmingly odd genius.

Here’s a sample:

The Snowflake Which Is Now and Hence Forever

 

Will it last? he says.

Is it a masterpiece?

Will generation after generation

Turn with reverence to the page?

 

Birdseye scholar of the frozen fish,

What would he make of the sole, clean, clear

Leap of the salmon that has disappeared?

 

To be, yes!–whether they like it or not!

But not to last when leap and water are forgotten,

A plank of standard pinkness in the dish.

 

They also live

Who swerve and vanish in the river.

 

–Archibald MacLeish

4 Responses to “Randomness”

  1. Ellen Says:

    I vote for “charminingly odd genius.”

    Glad you are wearing the frog ring again!

  2. MonicaPDX Says:

    I second Ellen. Definitely. Rumpelstiltskin is looking amazing! It’s really weird what random strangers say about babies; where do they get some of this stuff? (Although for my money, the nuttiest thing is the total lack of common etiquette when said strangers feel it’s perfectly ok to fondle a pregnant woman’s belly without an invite. If I’d ever been pregnant, there would’ve been a lot of people drawing back bloody stumps.) And hey, my slowly rebuilding library consists mostly of SF/Fantasy. For most people, the idea that I read That Stuff automatically marks me down as hopelessly insane. Besides – you bake and decorate cakes; many of those cookbooks are no doubt tools of the trade! Books of any kind are good; you can never have too many. Just ask my friend who found, the last time she and her husband moved, that she had a *literal* ton of books. [g] The movers were apparently in awe… Or appalled, she never could quite figure out which.

  3. Deb Says:

    Shoot…I missed my chance to tag you by such a little bit. Ah, well…it’s all the same, and I like your list.

    Honestly? I can’t see a thing wrong with having that many cookbooks. Or, really, books period. In high school I would collect cookbooks and pore over them for hours. I think alot of my ability to throw something together and have it taste okay can be attributed to all that time spent.

    I love the Yarn Barn! and I love the color of that hemp!

  4. Laura Sue Says:

    Oh, for sure–charmingly odd genius. Especially when it’s MacLeish!