What Do You Mean I'm It?

There is this very strange game in blogland that people like to play called Tag. Well, it very closely resembles the game we all played as children. One person is IT, and that person gets to post answers to a list of a lot of things, and then he tags several other people and so on. As I remember, I never did like tag very well. I was the youngest kid in my family, I was often around a lot of older kids, I was littler than most of the other kids, and it seemed like my turn at being IT was an eternity.

So when I found myself tagged by Steve at Nikon Sniper you can understand that my first reaction was to say "No way!" but Steve threw in the kicker, "It's kinda like jury duty." Well, I really don't see how it's my civic duty to do this, but that was kind of a gotcha phrase. My husband Marty is currently on jury duty, and is on a case that has been dragging on for three weeks. When he received the summons for jury duty, he said, look, it says anyone over 70 can be permanently excused. I said, good grief, you've got plenty of time and that's just lame to try and get out of it. So he didn't check the little "get out of jail free" box. He really is not thrilled to be on a long case like this, and I feel just a tiny bit of guilt. So in expiation for my guilt, I will go ahead and play this game of Tag.

Steve has a wonderful photo blog and has over 2000 followers. I have been a follower of Steve's blog almost from the start and have enjoyed and drooled over his wonderful photos. If you enjoy good photography, visit his blog at Nikon Sniper. To have my blog chosen out of the 2000 followers is an honor, I think, although perhaps Steve threw darts at a board with all the names on it. Or perhaps it's because I ragged on him a couple of times about his total concentration on his photography to the exclusion of all thoughts of personal safety. Whatever the case, thanks a bunch, Steve!

So, here's the stuff I'm supposed to answer. Woo, hoo, I can lie if I want, and who will know? Well, I guess there are a few friends and family out there who know me well enough to catch me, but most of them only read the stuff I put out and don't comment anyway, so the rest of you will never know. So here goes, mostly the truth, and maybe an embellishment or two. Oh, and because this is a photo blog, I'm including some photos to liven things up a bit. I'm also following the advice giving in one of my favorite poems, Warning, by Jenny Joseph:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Well, I don't feel like I'm an old woman yet, although some of my children might contest that fact, but I have been practicing, so none of them will be too shocked or surprised. What I'm trying to say is I'm gonna kinda sorta follow the rules, I prefer to think of them as guidelines, and answer the questions in my own way. You will notice that my way doesn't include following the list of 8 that each question asks for. I am not at all good at remembering numbers, so I'm just going to make this easy on myself (or at least easier).

8 TV shows I watch:

Well, no big excitement here. Being part of the pre-baby boomer generation, I find a lot of the programs on TV just not my style. I do like shows about cooking, sewing, nature, history, home improvement, gardening, and the occasional kids show. I do like Antiques Roadshow,This Old House, hockey games, figure skating, and the evening news. I watch car auctions and things like Dirty Jobs with Marty. I watch cowboy movies, old romantic comedies, sappy holiday specials, movies like Ice Age and Cars and Ratatouille, and just whatever catches my fancy.

8 favorite places to eat and drink:
I like eating at home. During the summer the long hours of daylight and the brightly blooming flowers make the deck an enticing place to eat breakfast or lunch or dinner. During the winter the holidays bring family meals. I like eating out when it's Marty's turn to cook, and we go to local Fairbanks restaurants most of the time, like the Pump House, the Pagoda, the Cookie Jar, and Hilltop (a truck stop on the haul road). I like the adventure of eating at a variety of places when we are traveling, both chain and local favorites.

8 things I look forward to:
I look forward to spring. I look forward to living to be 100 and watching all our grandchildren grow up. The youngest is 9 months old, so that's another 30 years or so. I look forward to playing with my grandchildren. Oh, all right, I look forward to playing, period. I look forward to figuring out how to keep the moose from eating my garden, but if they are in the garden or the yard, the least they can do is pose prettily for a photo or two. I look forward to going on many more roadtrips with Marty. I look forward to having many new adventures. I look forward to getting all my old photographs scanned onto the computer and organized. I look forward to learning something new every day for the rest of my life. I look forward to each new day, not because I'm a morning person, but because I'm still around to enjoy another day. Any day you wake up is a good day.

8 things I love about winter:

I love the beauty of winter. I love the winter sun. Although our days are short, we have a great many gorgeous sunny days when everywhere you look the sun sparkles off the snow. I love seeing the Northern Lights. I love watching the Chickadees and Redpolls at the feeders. I love that I have a break from yard work and that the lawnmower is stored for the

winter and the gardening tools are put away. I love that there are no mosquitoes or weeds to deal with. I love quiet evenings at home relaxing with a good book. I love Christmas and putting up my Christmas village. I love going to the Ice Park in March and seeing all the wonderful ice sculptures.

8 things on my wish list:

I wish to live to be an ancient old lady with Marty beside me, and I wish that our money will run out the day before Marty and I check out together, thus preventing our children from having anything to fight over, except maybe who has to take the urn with the ashes. I wish for all of our children and grandchildren to be happy and successful in life. I wish to be able to go on many more long roadtrips with Marty and see all the wonders of the U.S. and Canada. I wish to be able to travel first class anytime to anywhere the whim takes us and enjoy beautiful weather when we get there. I wish to have wildlife approach me wherever I go to let me take fantastic photos. By the way, the photo is of my great-great-grandmother. I think I see a resemblance.....

8 things I am passionate about:

I am passionate about my husband and family and home. There are lots of other things I really like, but I don't know if passionate is really the right word. I like gardening, photography, watching wildlife and birds, reading, quilting, being with friends, my Christmas village, and relaxing on the deck in the summer. I like watching hockey games and the Northern Lights. I like family get-togethers. I like seeing the wonderful people our children have become. I like visiting with friends. I like traveling and seeing new places and having new adventures with Marty. I like living in Alaska.

8 things I have learned from the past:
Don't worry about being in style. Any photos from long ago will make you wonder what you were thinking to wear something like that, not to mention keep you humble. (Yes, it was polyester.) I have learned that nothing is forever and life is always changing. You never know what is just around the corner, so take the time to appreciate your family and all your blessings. Tell your family you love them while you still can. (Hey, any of my family reading this, if I haven't said it recently, I love you!) Don't wait to begin to live your life until you are thinner, richer, healthier, or whatever is holding you up. You can always find some excuse why you can't do something now, but life is too short to put yourself on hold waiting for something to happen before you can begin to live.

8 things I want/need:

I want to learn to take better photos and to take one photo a week that I am as happy with as I am with this Sandhill Crane photo. I want better camera equipment and the strength to carry it into the field, and along with that the knowledge to put it all to good use. I want a new super duper whizzer of a computer so I can handle all of my photos easier. I want a super fast Internet connection. I want to walk into a furniture store and buy all new furniture and appliances for my house. I want a Cleaning Fairy--oh, wait, I guess I want a fairy to do all the things I don't want to do. I want medical researchers to come up with a way to keep your body from turning against you as you get older. I want to play hockey again.

8 people I want to tag:
Okay, here's where I revert to my childhood. I can't catch anyone and I've been IT for so long that I'm just worn out, so I'm gonna drag my little body (ha, remember I'm back in my childhood) home and rest. Remember, "When I am old, I shall wear purple" and I can do this however I want to. So, I'm going to tag every one of you reading this. If anyone feels so inclined to be IT, consider yourself tagged and answer the questions. If you do decide you want to be IT, have fun and let me know when your answers are blogged. If you don't want to go through the exercise, do check out the blogs I've listed in my sidebar. There are some very wonderful blogs represented there. And, yeah, there are some positive things about this little exercise. It does make you stop and think a bit about your life and the things that are important to you. It lets you reach out to others and share a bit of yourself with them. It will either scare people off or make them closer. I hope I haven't scared too many people off!

I Swear I'll Eat Just One!

Well, we all know that's not how it works! Fortunately, most of these chocolate chip cookies will go to a party tomorrow, and a big bunch will go in the freezer. Of course, that's after my quality control guy gets enough to deem them good enough to share with others. Sometimes that takes quite a few, just to be sure.....

We're Back Home

We got back home Tuesday night. It had snowed maybe a foot on Sunday night, and then today another 10 inches to a foot. More snow than we've had for a long time. The temperature has been about 20 degrees, so really quite pleasant and very pretty. Marty has been busy plowing snow and I have been cleaning house getting ready for a baby shower for Kit on Saturday. Tomorrow I need to make a cake and do some more shopping. Hmmm, guess the vacation is over, and things are back to normal.