Cactus Watcher Strikes Again

19. Do you like spicy foods such as chili peppers?

Yes, after living in AZ for many years, I'm a lot more tolerant of hot spice than I once was. I use hot sauce liberally on a lot of things I eat. I really like jalapenos. I don't bother with really hot peppers like habaneros. I use red pepper on my pizza, but oddly I don't use black pepper much at all.

20. Are there any artisan food markets or farmer’s markets held close to where you live? Do you visit often?

No. Arizona is not a big state for truck farming, which is what you need for farmers' markets.

21. Have you ever traced your family tree?

Yes, I traced it back to Charlemagne and beyond many years ago. I don't know how good all the links are to Europe, but I'm certain I have a number of ancestors who came to Massachusetts in 1630, when a whole fleet of ships arrived from England. Nobody I know on the Mayflower.

22. Do you know how to play backgammon? How about chess?

I can play chess, I have played backgammon, but I can't say I know the rules, right now. I was pretty good at chess as a kid (easily beat all comers in my grade school), but never played seriously.

23. Do you own a coffee machine? What’s your favorite type of coffee?

No. I don't like coffee or coffee flavored things.

24. How are you feeling today?

I had some problems getting enough sleep lately. But I feel fairly rested and well today.

via shadowkat

1. The Delphinium or larkspur is a tall plant with pink, blue, purple or white flowers. Shakespeare called it ‘lark’s-heel’. Butterflies love it, but it’s very toxic if eaten by humans/animals. Do you have any poisonous plants you recognize in your garden or nearby?

No. Most cacti aren't poison, but might give you a bellyache if eaten. Back in Missouri the woods at my house was full of poison ivy. I wasn't sensitive to touching it, but I was never crazy enough to try to eat it!

2. Do you still use your local library?

No. I had a card when I lived in Missouri. I looked in the local suburban library when I lived near Phoenix. They had nothing I'd be interested in, kind of a glorified school library.

3. Have you ever worn a hairpiece, wig or clip-on hair extensions? Do you know anyone who does?

Me no. Other people? I try not to look that closely.

4. Have you ever played Pickleball?

No. I played handball and tennis in P.E. in college.

5. Do you have a favorite gemstone?

Maybe sapphire?

via shadowkat

21. How would you describe the décor in your main living area?

Depends what you are calling my living room. The extension of the kitchen and dinning room to the back door has little in it, except a coffee table with a TV, a non-working fireplace, a side board for the dining room and an electronic keyboard. I think technically, it's a family room. Its decor might be called barren. The other candidate has a large table with my work computer surrounded by many full book shelves, which is why I call it my library. Its decor might be called cozy work-space/library.

22. Have you ever lived or worked in a skyscraper or high-rise building? Which floor?

The tallest building I ever lived in had 13 floors, but I lived on the third floor (the second floor for Brits) an easy walk up from the back entrance. Before that I lived in an 11-floor building on the eleventh floor. Not a fun place to live when the elevators weren't working.

23. Have you ever tried non-alcoholic beer or wine?

Yes, non-alcoholic beer. But I only bought it once, and don't remember much about it.

24. Have you ever had a pedicure?

That would be no. One of those things some women have done that baffle men. Looking for a boyfriend with a foot fetish, maybe? A lady friend of mine in Phoenix, enjoyed them and hey, it was her money...( Read more... )

1. The first of May – it’s Labour Day, also known as International Worker’s Day. If you’ve retired, how long (in years) did you work for before you stopped? If you are still working, how long will it be, before you retire?

May Day, a.k.a. International Workers' Day, is a far cry from U.S. Labor Day in September.

I retired early, but then I was working in the family business at a young age.

2. Do you own a toolbox? What does it have in it?

I own a tool box, but all my tools don't fit in it. That's fine with me because I had my toolbox stolen once, and having no tools for awhile was very awkward. These days I do keep screwdrivers, pliers, a few wrenches and a tape measure in my toolbox. Things that don't fit include a long bubble level, a metal-working square, a set of drill bits, more wrenches, screw drivers with less common heads, dial calipers, a very large set of pliers (great for opening stubborn food jars), a hammer and so on.

3. How old is the home you live in?

Early 1990's. My house in Missouri was from the 1930s, and the one in Phoenix was from the late 1990's.

4. Do you often wear shorts?

No, I'm old enough I'd look pretty silly in shorts, just like the other men my age running around in shorts in Tucson. ( Read more... )

via shadowkat

17. It’s International Bat Appreciation Day – are there bats where you live? Have you ever seen one flying?

I have not seen one here, but I know they are around, because bats are the pollinators for Saguaro cacti, and have fruit on mine every year.

I think I already told the story somewhere on DW. One came down the chimney at our house in Missouri one evening. My mother was out somewhere for a meeting, otherwise I might have had some help. I spent a good hour trying to chase the bat out without hurting it. I succeeded, but not till the bat got tired. Amazing flying!

18. It’s International Jugglers Day! Have you ever tried to juggle?

Yes, and failed miserably. ;o)

19. It’s National Garlic Day – are you a fan?

I like it in moderation. I put some garlic powder on the steak I cooked for myself tonight. But I have a limit. One reason I'm not a fan of the famous brand of Sriracha sauce (the one with the rooster on the bottle) is that it has too much garlic for my taste. I like garlic bread, but less rather than more garlic on it is better for me.

20. Do you have a doorbell, a door knocker, or some other device that alerts you to people at the entrance to your home?

A doorbell and it scares my cat something awful!

Via shadowat

20. What do you see if you look down at the floor right now?

Rug, the floor protector under my chair and my black socks.

21. It’s International Poetry Day - do you have a favorite limerick or haiku?

There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger...

I think this was from Ogden Nash... Niger doesn't rhyme with tiger, tigers aren't found in Niger and I'm not 12 any more. So I guess I don't have a favorite limerick any more.( Read more... )

Via shadowkat

1. What’s your favorite pastime?

It depends on the time of day. In the morning I write. In the afternoon, I'm more likely to do video games. In the evening read.

2. In 1959, the Mars confectionary bar was advertised with the slogan, “A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play”. (I don't remember "the Mars a day" part of this. The rest is familiar. Maybe in the U.S. It was advertising a different candy bar made by Mars?) Do you remember any old advertising slogans/jingles? Do you think they would be used today?

A lot of the old jingles and slogans in the old days were for cigarette ads. Let's not dig those up. One of the coffee ads claimed it was "good to the last drop." Maxwell House or Folger's maybe? It didn't convince me, I don't drink coffee or like coffee flavored things. Some of the local ads were fun if not technically great. There was a minimal cartoon with a little boy dressed as a knight, a little girl dressed as a princess, and a large dragon. The boy asks the dragon, "Do you drink Aero Milk?" The dragon replies, "No, I don't drink Aero Milk. The girl pipes up and says, "No wonder he's so ugly!"

3. When was the last time you rode a bike?

Pretty sure I was in junior high. There was a quite long hill on the road along one side of our property, and it was fun to whizz down it. It was a real challenge to pedal back up. By the time I was in high school the road got busy and it was too dangerous to go up or down it on a bike.

4. In 1882, Britain’s first electric trams ran in East London. Do trams still operate in your area? If not, have you ever been on one somewhere else?

No trams ('street cars' for us) where I've lived for many decades. I rode on one a time or two when I was four or five when my mother took me downtown in St. Louis. All the street car lines shut down in St. Louis by the time I was nine or ten. I barely remembered riding one till I rode one at a train museum in Illinois when I was around 40. What jogged my memory? The driver ringing the bell by tromping on a pedal on the floor. I remember the tromp, tromp, tromp and the bell.

5. The piano company Steinway & Sons was founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City in 1853. Can you play the piano?

A few pieces, very marginally. My mother loved playing. She taught me how to read music. She offered to let me take lessons, but I remembered my sister hating her lessons. So I taught myself as an adult. I inherited my mother's piano, but had to let it go when I was down-sizing. I still own an electronic keyboard which I play very infrequently.

6. How often do you write a cheque (check) to pay for something these days?

Maybe once every other month. All my frequent bills are paid through the Internet.

8. When you are at work (or were at work if you no longer do so) is/was there a dress code?

I worked at our family machine shop, so our dress code (unofficial, but rigorously adhered to) was no jewelry or floppy clothes that would catch on anything. When I was a grad student teaching, obviously I wore clothes appropriate for college students.

via shadowkat

3. The Danish/American comedian and pianist, Victor Borge was born on this day in 1909. Are you familiar with his comedy style?

He was very popular in the 1950s when I was growing up. It's good that there are recordings of his routines.

4. Dry January is a campaign where people choose to abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January (the campaign was started in 2013 by Alcohol Change UK, a UK charity). Are you joining in with dry January?

I haven't had any booze in years, but mostly because it makes me gain weight.

6. When was the last time you cleaned/polished your shoes?

Oddly, I wanted to buy some shoe polish this past week. I haven't found any for sale yet. I don't know if it's just Tucson being Tucson or it's out of fashion everywhere in the U.S.

8. Do you tend to text people or phone them and chat?

Right now more texting.

9. On this day in 1969, the first trial flight of Concorde, the supersonic jetliner, took place in Bristol, England. Have you, or anyone you know, been on Concorde?

Nope. I'm just glad the supersonic military flights over this country ended many years ago... BOOM!!! ( Read more... )

From shadowkat

1. Do you like blue cheese?

I didn't like it when I was a little kid, but I grew into it. By the time I was in my mid teens I liked it. I like it in salad dressing and on burgers.


3. What is your favorite garden plant or flower?

Far away from my old cactus garden, I have tea roses in back, and a big saguaro and frequent purple sage flowers in front. The roses are nice two or more times a year, but the big white saguaro flowers are my favorite.

4.. Is arthritis common in your family (do you have any affected joints?)

Yes, I think my sister did not have it, but my mother had twisted fingers and so do I. ( Read more... )

from shadowkat

1. Let’s talk pillows: soft/medium or hard? Synthetic/hypoallergenic, memory foam or feather (duck or goose)? How many are comfortable for you to sleep on?

We had feather pillows when I was little. They were awful compared to modern foam, even without allergy problems. One is plenty under my head, I like firm better than spongey soft.

2. Have you ever traced your ancestors? How far back can you go?

It was a thing in both my mother's and father's family, before I was born. There was a book printed up about 1900 for a family on my mother's mother's side, and a more modern print-up of my mother's father's family about 1970. My father's mother did both her own family and her husband's as far back as she could and typed it up about 1950. I got interested in it as a teenager. With help from Ancestry.com before it was bought out and became a paid service, I could trace back to Charlemagne and beyond. I'm more interested in the American branches these days. With the Mormon site (familyhistory.com, I think), I could trace several branches of the family back to the 1630 arrival of Governor Winthrop's fleet at MA. No one in the family was on the Mayflower that I know of.

3. It’s Hobbit Day - created alongside Tolkien Week by the American Tolkien Society in 1978. Are you a fan of the Hobbits?

I liked Bilbo, but I kind of got tired of them in LotR. Kind of wanted to put "Kick me" signs on their backs.