Sunday Stealing.. Write from Karen

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on the WTIT Blog with Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. You may have heard the expression, “honor among thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from, if possible. We also provide a link to the victim's questions in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from recently asked questions from a previously post. Cheers to all of us thieves!

 These questions from Karen at Write from Karen.  Karen is married and mom of two grown sons.  She says, "I believe in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Writing Well. (I also believe in our Constitution – Don’t Tread on my Rights, Yo)"

Hear Hear, Karen!  Don't Tread on our Rights! 


March 10th, 2018

Write from Karen

1. What’s the coolest item you’ve found at a garage sale, flea market, etc?
It was at a swap meet in the summer of 1971. I remember this because I was VERY preggers with the Twins.  The item was a brand new Teacher's Edition of the 1966 Jerusalem Bible, for $1.50.  I was almost giddy with joy!  
I still prefer it to any other new translation I've read.  I found it, well, very Quakerly, meaning "plain speaking".  I need to get it re-bound.  or maybe I'll attempt to do it myself.  .....nah..

2. Describe how your day went yesterday.
Mr. Z was away, helping his sisters get ready for a garage sale.  So, I played our MMPOLG a little, knit a little, read a little, watched a Midsummer Murder Mystery, and I cooked and ate some Udon noodles with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for lunch.  Yummy!  

3. Do you have issues with people entering your personal space? What do you do when your personal space is violated?
Well, I don't normally have a personal space, at least not one I'm aware of.
However, if some lurching drunk were to sit down on a park bench next to me and start to snore as he or she snuggled up to me, I would be affronted, though, so I'm sure that I DO have a sense of personal space.  Good grief that is a long sentence.

4. What is the one meal recipe you think you’ve mastered?
Having to pick one is hard.  But I'll go with Enchiladas Verdes de Pollo.  I used flour tortillas made from my grandmother's recipe.  Now you've done it!  I'm hungry!

5.  If you could take back something you did to someone, what would it be?
I wouldn't have spanked my two older kids, EVER.  It wasn't necessary at all.  I can't remember even spanking the twins, but by then I was a lot wiser, and a much better mom.

6. Would you describe yourself as spiritual, religious, or something else?
I just answered this one. Spiritual follower of Christ, in a Quakerly fashion.. there the last bit is new.  I'm also leaning more toward Buddhist and Taoist, you see... 

7. Did you ever receive detention in school? What sort of kid were you in school – bookworm, smart kid, troublemaker, quiet … etc.
No.  I never did a spell of detention.  But, I had a tough time.  Not getting abused there by either the teachers or classmates until, that is, moving to a more "enlightened" school district at the end of the 10th grade.  So, I ended up being bookish, high achieving, and very quiet except around my friends.  My friends were mostly other Girl Scouts.  They were very cool friends.    

8. When’s the last time you ran a mile? How often do you exercise?
I no longer run, and that would have been since I had my knee replaced in October, 2011.  I also haven't been exercising since my daughter died.   My exercise plan is now to play Wii tennis and follow Tai Chi, and they are likely the things I'll do for the rest of my life.  I can no longer stand to be in a gym.

9. What would you say to your 16-year-old self, and why?
"Eventually, I promise, you will be happy." Why?  Because I was going through the toughest part of being a female in my family.  School wasn't any fun either so my whole life felt like Shlock and shoved in it.

10. What are you avoiding?
I avoid thinking about being blamed for things that happened years ago, when someone I love doesn't know enough about the situation to judge correctly, though my sister and husband know the truth of it.  My friend Carol also helped me with this, because she knows the truth.  She walked that part of my life with me, too.  Her loved ones also fell victim to it.  So, now, I just remind myself, "This, too, shall pass" and I try to be bullet proof again.  But God knows; it's hard.

11. Describe a “Hah! I told you so” moment you had recently.
I wish I had that opportunity. lol

12. What’s more important, where you live or what you do for a living? Why?
Since I know that I'd have been a lot happier somewhere else, I'd say where you live is more important.  Of course, this isn't true for everyone.  Just for those like me.

13. Swear words: Are you pro or con? Why?
I'd rather not cuss, ever.  But,  I've found that I AM more prone to it these last two years. I need to stop.  Why?  I think there are better, and more effective, ways to express anger than loosing your lashing tongue.....

14. Paper or plastic? Do you prefer to pack your own groceries?
California no longer allows plastic one use bags for Groceries or other large retailers.  And when I do the shopping, I'm happy to have someone bag them up for me.  
We use the newer fabric bags.  Freight Outlet also has Boat Bags that cheap, washable, fabulous, and last forever.  I like to stash things I buy, like yarn, into them.

15. Do you have a shoe fetish? How often do you buy new shoes? Do you ever get rid of a pair of shoes?
I used to like shoes a lot when I was younger but never had more than a dozen and a half pairs, which also included my Hiking boots.  Now I don't wear them very much.  I did just get a new pair of Tevas, the first new pair of any type of shoe, besides Sketchers slippers, in four years. and yes, I have sent many of my shoes away, to the Goodwill store, over time....

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