Have you ever been on an extended vacation/holiday road trip? If so, when and where and for how long?
My nuclear family took some vacations to the Atlantic Ocean when I was a kid. We lived (and I still live) in Western New England so the trips took about 4 hours from home to destination. I wouldn’t call that an extended road trip, but it surely felt LONG to this kid.
We didn’t have video games or movies to entertain us then and although I would have loved having them, I’m pleased now that we didn’t. My Mom would sometimes read out loud to us, sometimes we’d sing songs together or play ‘car bingo’ to entertain ourselves. I had my own game that I came up with too. It was called, “Never going to see THAT again”. As we traveled, I would look out my window and focus on a single leaf or bird. It was a way of embracing a moment in time that fate had made. I was there and something ordinary was there. There was no way I would ‘lay my eyes on’ those things ever again. It felt magical and eternal!
I get the same ‘thrill’ when I find fossils in crushed stone at our campsite. Possibly (probably) no other human being had ever looked at the small, fossilized relic EVER! Humbling doesn’t even cover that moment sufficiently.
When was the last time you visited an actual bookshop, and what, if any, new/old/secondhand titles did you buy?
We have a local Thrift Shop close to our summer place. This gal goes directly to the book section. While I was homeschooling my granddaughter, there was a wealth of obscure children’s material, as well as interesting titles for me. Book junkies can identify with the fact that there are many still on my shelf waiting to be rediscovered this winter.
Before the Thrift Shop, there was a Flea Market in the same town. “The Book Guy” (that’s what we called him) was always there. He had a large, well organized, display of books. Sadly, The Book Guy passed away a few years ago and the Flea Market has almost disappeared without his presence. I miss the man as much as his books.
How do you feel about the new WP Dashboard 7-day highlights Statistics?
I almost never look at those stats. I’m not writing in any way to compete with anyone or build a following.
How do you feel about all the Russian nuclear sabre rattling?
It seems a normal thing for competing powers to do. There’s no way-No Way- that I trust any media outlet to explain what is going on utilizing factual information. So, I cannot impact what’s going on, I have no way of knowing what’s really going on and can only hope that peace breaks out in spite of a handful evil actors seeking wealth and power.
If you could go back or travel to an age of your choice and live or relive a previous era for a day, what age would you pick and why?
There are many but since our Thanksgiving holiday is near, I would like to experience the first Thanksgiving witnessing the real-time attitudes and hopes. [Then I’d come back and separate myth from facts.]
Do you have a favourite coat? [Outdoor/Indoor/Business/Social] What makes it unique to you, OR is a coat just a coat?
Not anymore but during my 30s I had a long Peacoat that I adorned with pins. Some were favorite sports teams and American flags, but others were gifts that held personal meaning. Once I had a lapel full, my friends and family happily surprised me with more. I probably had 50 of them at the height of my collecting.
Do you enjoy learning something new every day or week?
Oh my! I live to learn. My email starts with curiousue for a reason.
Are you more comfortable in your skin today than you were in the youth of your yesterdays?
Why and how so?
Absolutely more each day. I was an odd kid in the way that I related to all kinds of people. I think about it now and believe that it was from a genuineness that I projected. To be genuine requires a level of self- confidence which comes from liking who you are. I suspect that ‘seed’ was always there.
Have you ever kept a hardback diary or a journal as opposed to an online digital one? When did you first start to journal your life?
No but my daughter has kept one for 17+ years.
How do you feel about Eggplant/Aubergine/Guinea Squash as a vegetable? Is it something you enjoy having in your meals?
I enjoy most every squash. Eggplant is not one I ever use but memories of my Italian immigrant grandmother making eggplant parmigiana are good ones.
What film could you watch over and over again and why?
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
This movie is extremely inspirational! A mother’s enduring love and commitment to wise choices…Self- reliance and imagination…and a guide to pursuing excellence. My day care kids watched it multiple times and always asked to go straight to the library after each viewing.
What concert, show, or event would you love tickets for if you could get them?
I don’t do crowds. Noise, standing in line, and (since 2020) pandemic nonsense are the reasons. It has nothing to do with fears or phobias. I do enjoy talking with people in general, though, but not in that venue.
Would your teenage self be impressed with who you are today and what you have achieved so far in your/their life?
I think so. I had many basic plans for my life even as a teen and I’ve accomplished the most important ones.
Which online behaviours do you find the most annoying in blogging?
I’m not easily or often annoyed. But when I interact with others and find them concerned with what I consider “nonsense”, I tend to move along.
https://earthlycomforts.uk/2022/11/19/question-time-over-coffee-5/
Sillyfrog's Blog 
I’ve also done that thing of trying to sear an image into my mind when I know I won’t see it again. Unfortunately, most of them have been overwritten with new images…
Cool! I don’t really attempt to keep them. I enjoy the experience of being fully present in a moment. Thanks for sharing. Our similar ‘oddness’ is uncanny. ❤
Hey Susan, well done for realising many of your teenager aspirations into adulthood. I never had any true set plans, mostly to escape my parents and then to live my life as l wished to without persucution for being me. Many of my goals were from a later age and then l did secure them.
You are spot on, in order for us to feel comfortable with who we are requires confidence and that’s not something we have when we first venture out into the world not in a comfort zone awareness, we are more prone to feeling a bit wobbly about who we are. Once we age , like a good wine, that confidence gets better and better.
To many l lived in my own world [l am on the autism spectrum] and whilst l didn’t, l had a level of confidence despite my upbringing that came to shine properly once out of my father’s shadow,
I was lucky l liked who l was even if many others didn’t.
I think sometimes the older styled outlets for books were best than many of the brick and mortar buildings we have. As a youngster many of my books were bought second-hand from flea markets and charity shops and a guy who ran a flea market stall under the railway bridge, He then moved into CD’s and lost a lot of his original appeal.
Thanks for taking part 🙂
People on the autism spectrum are not only interesting but inspiring.
It’s interesting also to watch the world trying only to imitate others. That makes me sad. So much unique value wasted.
I could ponder all day long on the ingredients necessary for people to know their own worth. Courage? Intelligence? A natural inward focus?
A fascinating topic indeed.
Answering the questions posed are excellent tools for leaving ‘myself’ to my granddaughters.
Thank-you.
You are most welcome Susan and thank you again.
You are quite right, answers to questions are indeed a way of leaving an essence of us behind 🙂
I’m with you on the saber-rattling: I hope it ends before someone gets hurt. It’s a big world, with plenty of room for everyone, let’s all stay in our lanes and worry about our own.
Precisely. Thanks, John.