Feast 175

Sorry this is late -- I wasn't feeling well on Friday and I forget about these things over the weekend. Hope it is worth the wait.

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
My given middle name is Kathleen, but now I consider Ayers to be part of my middle name too. I don't think I'd change any of my names because I've lived with them all so long that I am used to it and my name is really a part of who I am. However, my online handle is 'PinkCoder' which is the name I chose for the Internet world.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
Well, pink of course. As far as fabric goes, it would be casual, hearty stuff like cotton, denim and linen. Style? Uh, do I even know what style is?

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Boy, my life must be pretty good, as I can't even think of some really bad chores. I mean, of course no one likes washing dishes or cleaning the bathroom, but when I think about it, those things don't bother me that much. Lately I have been helping my mother-in-law get her house ready to sell, and I can tell you that peeling wallpaper is a really ugly chore so it's good I don't have to do that often.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
You know, I continue to try and fill out this questionairre in a short amount of time. I keep thinking that most of the questions are easy (like the next one) and that I can come up with answers off the top of my head. However, time after time I find that some of these are actually not easy to think of an answer (like the last one), and here again is one that has me vexed. I mean I can think of a few things that make me scared, like certain horror films or haunted houses, but when the question says "really frightens you", I feel like I have to come up with some serious phobia, especially when it may be linked to an event in my life. When nothing just pops to mind, and I have to sit and ponder for awhile, it makes me feel like my life is really boring and I must be a simple person. Oh well.... call me Simple Simon I guess.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
Oh, this is an easy one! I am sitting in my cube at work -- I can see all sorts of things like the building next door through the window; all kinds of stress-reliever-desk-toys sitting nearby; my coworker across the hall; and a bunch of little Beechies gum packs that someone lined my cube with on Friday.

Feast 174

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?
The mail? Do we still use that system of communication? Let's see... umm..... well.... I really don't read the mail much. My husband goes through it and filters out all the junk. I did read all the Christmas cards we got this year. And I remember the thank you we got from my sister for her wedding gift. But none of these were really 'surprises'. I think I'm going to have to say I can't answer this question.

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?
Assuming I have the right job to go along with it, I'd like a winter home probably somewhere in Arizona. I haven't travelled enough to know where for sure. It would need to be somewhere warm, but not too humid, and not overgrown with tourists.

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.
Cherry. Although strawberry would be a better choice if it were available.

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.
I still own my wedding dress, which I believe is still very nice. Of course I haven't opened the sealed box in over 14 years, so it could be disintigrating inside there, but for the sake of argument let's assume it is not.

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?
Umm.... I forget days all the time. Days like the one before yesterday, which even now I can barely remember. So assuming the question was meant to make me choose a particular day that I actually do remember, I don't think I would want to pick any of them. Seeing as how those memories are special in some way, even the painful ones, they make me who I am and I don't want to just erase any of it.

Feast 173

Appetizer
Name 2 things you would like to accomplish in 2008.
1 - I would like to get back down to the weight I was at right before my sister's wedding and stay there for at least 3 consecutive months. 2 - I want to finish reading the rules for Burning Empires and run at least one session.

Soup
With which cartoon character do you share personality traits?
I have to pick just one? Let's see... I like food like Garfield the cat; I am challenged at work like Dilbert; I can sometimes be sing-song-happy like the Smurfs; I can somtimes be loney and sad like Charlie Brown; I can be uncoordinated and naive like Scooby; I can be loud and obnoxious like Fred Flinstone. I guess that's enough.

Salad
What time of day (or night) were you born?
You know... I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was right around noon -- probably lunch time because I was ready for some real food already!

Main Course
Tell us something special about your hometown.
Out of sheer defiance, I always thought of Woodbridge, Virginia as my hometown, but I have to concede that I've lived here in Kansas now for a majority of my life which really makes this home. So what is there special about Shawnee/Lenexa/Roeland Park/Overland Park Kansas? The cost of living is such that I can make a really good wage that doesn't all get spent on goods and housing which leaves enough left over to save and travel quite a bit. But the best part is that my friends and family are here.

Dessert
If you could receive a letter from anyone in the world, who would you want to get one from?
Well, my first thought was someone famous or important like Bill Gates or the President. But then I realized that if I did receive a letter from someone like that it would be some generic promotional thing or a secretary-written-stamped-signed kind of note. So I thought about it a little more and remembered I had a friend move to Seattle awhile back and I haven't heard a peep out of him -- Thomas if you are reading this, write me a letter!

Feast Number One

Well, the Feast went on holiday today, so I thought I would start with the first.

Appetizer
What time do you usually wake up each day? If you could choose your wake-up time, when would it be?
I have to wake up so much earlier than I want to. During the week, it ranges from 6:00am to 7:30am depending on how bad I feel and how late I was up the night before. I'm lucky that I'm not expected at the office at a specific time every day.

Soup
When was the last time you bought groceries? What store did you go to? Name 3 things you purchased.
Hmm.... I don't go that often but I did just a couple weeks ago. I usually shop at Hy-Vee for real groceries, and last time I got kale, squash, zuccini and apples.

Salad
How many books have you read so far this year? Which was your favorite and why?
Wasn't the last Harry Potter book this year? I did "read" that by listening to the audio book. I'm also in the middle of the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. I wouldn't really call either one a "favorite", but they are enjoyable.

Main Course
What is something you consider to be very elegant? In particular, what about that item/place/person conjures up the feeling of elegance?
I don't really think about elegance very much; it's not something that usually interests me. So then I had to look it up in Wikipedia and I decided that Justin embodies this ideal more than anyone I know.

Dessert
Who taught you how to drive?
My Dad taught me most of it, including the best part of how to use a stick-shift. But I also went to a Driver's Education class where I learned all the official rules. In the end, I still can't parallel park.

Feast 172

Almost didn't get this one posted today -- it was crazy at work.

Appetizer
Make up a word and give us its definition.
Esoterifeast - A particularly difficult question on Friday's Feast.

Soup
What is currently your favorite song?
Hmm.... Songs come and go with me. Right now nothing really recent comes to mind. The last one I can remember wanting to listen to over and over was A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos.

Salad
What’s at the top of your Christmas wish list this year?
Didn't we have this question a few weeks back? Seems like something similar.... well, as far as I'm concerned all I want for Christmas is a happy family gathering.

Main Course
Name a scent that reminds you of someone special in your life.
Spaghetti sauce reminds me of Mom. Well, actually just about any homemade pasta sauce will. No one can cook like she does, and it always puts a smile on my face.

Dessert
Who is someone on television that you feel probably shouldn’t be, and why?
Oh boy, I could probably come up with a really long list that includes just about every reality show out there. But in general, I don't watch those shows so it doesn't both me too much that silly/annoying/ignorant people are getting that kind of marketing.

Friday's Feast 171

Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?
A Munchkin expansion as a gift for a friend.

Soup
Name something in which you don’t believe.
Hmm.... this is harder than I thought. I'm one of those "glass is half-full" kind of people and it's hard for me to phrase my beliefs in a negative way like that. Just trying to think of an answer for this question has led me to a lot of depressing ideas, so I'm just going to skip it.

Salad
If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?
Probably Bill Gates. This was another tough one for me because I prefer to have bosses with some technology intelligence who stand up for their employees.

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
To quote Shakespeare, "To thine own self be true." I still believe that putting the needs of others before my own is important, but there is that point at which you shouldn't do things for others if it goes against your own personal beliefs. I learned this the hard way by going through a period where I gave away so much to other people that I didn't have a self left to stand up for and then there came the really big crash.

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
We have one -- it's a well-designed theatre. I really enjoy watching movies and often do it to relax and escape the rest of the world.

Thanksgiving

And now for an as-usual-belated-after-trip report on our visit to Virginia for Thanksgiving. It was enjoyable and mostly relaxing, but too short to get the full effect. I didn't take many pictures, but I can share a few images.

Here is my grandfather doing his expert duty of carving the turkey.

Everyone at the table say, "Happy Thanksgiving Pam and Michael!"

After the big meal, several of us went for a walk so we could "make room" for the dessert. I tried to take some snap-shots along the way, but my uncle's leaf-throwing skills were no match for me.

As we headed back to house at the end of the walk, we noticed the large pile of bags that we had worked so hard to rake earlier in the day. Someone had the nerve to say, "Let's see who can guess how many there are?"

Since no one knew the final count for sure at first, we had to spend several minutes re-arranging and counting.


By the way, I think the answer was 52, but my memory isn't what it once was so don't quote me on that.

The next day we made a trip to Great Falls national park to try and do some fun hiking. The cold ended up defeating our spirits, but there were a few nice pictures nonetheless.