Another Meme

It's been a while since I've done any memes, and this is one I hadn't encountered before. Becca's invited anyone who wants to to respond, so I'll take up that offer. If you'd like to answer these questions, please do, and let me know you've done the meme, won't you?

Rules~
1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.
2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OBSESSION? Obsessed might be too strong a word, but all I know is, with lots and lots of music to choose from, I still keep finding myself listening to Fred's album, Go God Go, much more often than anything else. Even when I've switched the iPod on with the intention of trying something new. I think that's close to obsessed.

GOOD FIKA (coffee) PLACE?. Cafe Blend. They know I like a cup with a handle I can actually fit my finger in, and they oblige. They serve fairtrade coffee and the most amazing Tunisian orange cake. And great nutroast with salad. We're very lucky to have such a great place in our town. They know customers' names. They watch for when you've finished eating, and bring your coffee at just the right time.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU HUGGED? My friend Denise, saying Goodbye and Happy Easter, after we'd met for coffee yesterday at the above-mentioned Cafe Blend.

DO YOU NAP A LOT? I love an afternoon nap! I get up early on workdays, have to travel 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours each way, and come home mid-afternoon some days totally drained of energy. I surround myself with cushions, a chennille throw and a soft mohair throw, and put on some nap-music... 20 minutes is enough usually. Sometimes longer. I love it.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? I have no idea. I'm travelling back to my hometown today, staying at my Dad's. Usually I have something fixed by my sister, or get a takeaway on the day I arrive, but today, I have some leftover Shepherd's Pie I could bring with me. I think my Dad would like it, because I made it with lamb (his favourite meat), not my usual beef.... So yes, maybe that's what's for dinner.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? In the supermarket yesterday afternoon - carrots, onions, frozen petits pois, cholesterol-busting spread, coffee, a pack of hot-cross-buns, some sesame-poppy-seed thin crackers, and three bargain easter-eggs, to make sure I'll have enough to share with nephews and little niece.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Occasional traffic. Wind in the trees and the chimney.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WEATHER? Sunny, not too breezy. A perfect May day.

WHAT’S ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE? I don't have a bedside table. I have a deep shelf behind my bed. There you'll find a gooseneck lamp, a daybook of Baha'i readings, my gratitude notebook and 3 pens, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (started it about 2 weeks ago, but haven't gone very far yet for some reason), box of miscellaneous jewellery, tube of cream for hands and feet, a little colour-changing egg-light...

SAY SOMETHING TO THE PERSON/S WHO TAGGED YOU? Becca, I'd love a chance to hear you play your music somewhere, sometime!

IF YOU COULD HAVE A HOUSE TOTALLY PAID FOR, FULLY FURNISHED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU WANT IT TO BE? This is not easy, but assuming I'd also be given a means of travelling to that house often, then Northern California it is for me. Sea or mountains, don't mind, or in the Sacramento delta. I've seen so many places there that I love... Just pick me up and plop me down over there, and I'd be happy!

NAME THE THINGS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT. Well... there's nothing I absolutely cannot live without in reality, but some of the things that make my life so much more full are: all my family, friends, poetry, SoulCollage,

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW? A magical cream that cures psoriasis and dermatitis.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GUILTY PLEASURE? I don't feel guilty about it - Chocolate, these days.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET RID OF OR CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF ? 35lbs. OK. So I should feel guilty!

IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD FOR THE NEXT HOUR, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Haifa, to visit the Baha'i Shrines.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BECOME AS A CHILD? A teacher, and as a teenager, a psychologist. Many years later, when I found myself facilitating creative writing classes, it dawned on me that my first ambition had been realised in a roundabout way, and when I graduated with a degree in psychology age 48, my second one was achieved. Now I teach psychology part-time, so that's both combined!

WHAT DO YOU MISS? Because I now live alone, sometimes I miss having someone there in the moment, to comment on something exciting or interesting I'm reading, think about or notice. I watched President Obama's inauguration alone, and would have loved someone there to share the moment. [But mostly, mostly, I am perfectly happy in my own company. There are just those moments...]

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (stalled, as mentioned before). Just about to start The Power of Now by Eckhart tolle, having finally read and gotten why people are raving about A New Earth recently.

WHAT DO YOU FEAR THE MOST? Dementia.

FAVOURITE MOVIE THIS PAST YEAR? Mamma Mia! Four cinema visits, and got it on DVD too. The first thing that made me feel happy after my mother's death last summer

FAVOURITE BOOK YOU’VE READ THIS YEAR? Water for Elephants. Loved it enough to recommend it even to people who are very fussy about their reading matter.

[oops... I answered them all, and forgot to replace a question, so I'll add one... hmmm]

A CHILDHOOD COMFORT FOOD THAT YOU STILL HAVE SOMETIMES? Mashed potatoes, baked beans and fried eggs.


Thanks, Becca! No specific tags…just join in if the spirit moves you
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Update Tuesday 14th April. This meme was borrowed and posted on Sunday Stealing - a meme blog, and there are 57 other participants linked there... so if you're interested, go on and see what Judd has put together over there. Thanks, Judd!