OK, it’s a lame excuse for a post, but it’s what I’ve got for now. Too difficult to think and write my own commentary lately because it requires thinking clearly. Since I’m not at the top of my game right now, it’s easier to comment on these questions in the interest of letting friends know I’m still here! So here goes:

1. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence.Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog:

“The maneuver to be performed was of the simplest–point to point in space in a region which sould be treated as free of gravity strain since the two ships were practically the same distance from the Sun and Mars was too far away to matter. There were four simple steps: cancellation of the slight vector difference between the two ships (the relative speed with which the War God was pulling away), accelleration toward the War God, transit of the space between them, deceleration to match orbits and lie dead in space relative to each other on arrival.
Steps one and two would be combined by vector addition; step three was simply waiting time. The operation would be two maneuvers, two blasts on the jet. But step three, the time it would take to reach the War God, could be enormously cut down by lavish use of reactive mass.”

From Robert Heinlein’s “The Rolling Stones”, a 1952 sci-fi book intended for teens (really, I think the publisher felt that Heinlein’s young adult writings were intended for boys, since many girls at that time were not generally thought to be interested in science fiction. Honestly, though, I doubt Heinlein himself could agree with that attitude. His writings about women were very liberal for their time–one of the reasons I love his books. In this book for example, the mother is an M.D. and the Grandmother is an engineer.)

2.stretch your left arm out as far as you can…what do you touch first?
a stirring stick in a ziplock bag, saved for color matching–from our latest painting adventure

3. what was the last thing you watched on tv?
the Yankee game

4. without looking, what time is it?
9:30am

5. what is the actual time?
10:06am

6. with the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
little A stomping around the back room that she’s not supposed to be in, cicadas buzzing outside in the trees, the sound of hammering and a nail gun, putting a new roof on a house a half block away.

7. when did you last step outside?
last night on our way home from the ‘good’ ice cream shop, yum!

8. what are you wearing?
an old white T-shirt from a wholesale nursery in the Chicagoland area, and big ugly stretchy gray knit maternity shorts.

9. when did you last laugh?
this morning when A studied the calendar on the fridge and proclaimed “…we’re going to go boating soon” as if she was planning our family social events for the next week.

10. seen something weird lately?
two stunningly beautiful goth lesbians kissing tenderly at the airport yesterday…you don’t see a sight like that too often around here.

11. what did you dream last night?
i have no idea

12. what’s on the walls of the room you’re in?
salvaged “temporary” (3 years old?) paneling that is in place to cover the bare studs until we remodel the back room someday. It is covered with little A’s art work, crusty old white plaster on one wall, a very large portrait of my parents with some of the packing materials still on the frame until I can find a proper home for the photo. A gold charger (large plate) with oak leaves from a beautiful 150+ year old tree our neighbors removed for no good reason, a watercolor painting of maple leaves that I did a long time ago.

13. what do you think of this survey?
interesting–thanks for posting it Natasha.

14. what was the last film you saw?
in the movies, like the real theatre? I have no idea–yeah it’s been that long.

15. if you became a multi-millionaire overnight what would you buy first?
Pay off our two mortgages, buy some land in upstate NY or PA or both, and hire a property manager, construction crew, and cleaning service to be available at a moment’s notice. Buy a biodiesel or new fuel efficient car. Help family and friends with their finances…who knows really…

16.tell me something about you that i don’t know.
I can’t stand ground beef. Give me a good steak, no problem, but ground beef disgusts me…it’s a texture thing, I guess, blech.

17. what would you change about the world?
I would stop the takeover of the world by huge profit-taking corporations who trample on the rights of everyone. If huge corporate profits didn’t control government, I believe that the world would be a cleaner, safer, more peaceful place where individuals would be able to maintain our privacy and freedom.

18.do you like to dance?
no, not really, though someday I’d love to learn to swing dance

19. imagine your first child is a girl, what do you name her?
already came true…it starts with A

20.boy?
according to our very recent ultrasound, the 2nd child on the way is a boy. My husband thinks he should be named Zeus, and I think not. Still working on this one.

21. would you ever consider living abroad?
probably, though it might depend a lot on #15. Craig lived in Hong Kong as a teen, and that fascinates me, as does the idea of living in a villa in Italy, but honestly, I’d have to try it out. I really do love the Northeast of the USA–NY and PA in particular. I think it would be hard to tear myself away from this area, friends and family too. It would be nice to live somewhere truly safe, where we could walk or bike to everything we need. Somewhere that has a weekend market with fresh farm products and handmade goods would be my preference as well, and it would have to have definite seasons–nothing tropical or frozen solid!