Eleven Questions

I was tagged in an eleven-question meme by one of the blogs I follow. The rules are: 

1.  Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2.  They must also answer the 11 questions the “tagger” has set for them.
3.  They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4.  They must then choose 11 bloggers and tag them in their post.
5.  These “lucky” bloggers must then be told.
6.  No tag backs.

But I’m not going to follow the rules, because I think there are only ten people who follow this blog anyway and the last meme I send out tags for (a cooking one, via email) got horribly rejected and it was all quite a bit of faff. So if you want to answer my questions, I’ll post ‘em at the end and you can answer them in your own blogs, or in the comments section. Otherwise you can just enjoy reading my answers :)

So, eleven things about me -- I'm 29 years old (1), happily married (2), and really enjoying being a mum (3). I really wish I had a cat as well (4), and also would like to be somewhat settled down (5) although I feel it will be hard to commit to staying in one city for a long time since we've moved so frequently (6). My favorite thing to do is listen to folk music while reading a good novel (7), and if you bring by some champagne, fancy truffles, and then something horribly carb-and-fat laden to eat (8) I'd  probably think I was in heaven. I love to cook (9) but I get really stressed out when I have to bake (10). Thinking up lunches to make is the one thing I really dislike about keeping my family fed (11).   

The questions I must answer:

1) What was the last book you read? Adam Nicolson’s Gentry: 600 Years of a Peculiarly English Class. When Dave & I popped into Heffers to buy German dictionaries it turned out that the dictionaries were part of a 3-for-2 deal, so David found this book and we brought it to Berlin. It helps with the adjustment to leaving Cambridge and with my inability to get Downtown Abbey right now. It’s also a fun read, like an Edward Rutherford novel but using real people.   

2) If you could visit one country right now, which would it be? This is hard to answer, since we’re currently visiting a new country. I’m probably going to surprise everyone by saying America. I love visiting the US, because it’s different but not too different. I like the food, the people are friendly, the prices are low... And it’s one of the places where I don’t have any responsibility or obligations. I can usually just cut loose and relax when I’m there. That said, I think if I were living in Canada my answer would be somewhere on the European side of the globe.

3) If you could be adopted by another culture, which would you feel most at home in? I think Scotland. Scotland itself always reminds me of Canada, and the people are friendly & thrifty and seem fairly unpretentious. Out of all the places I’ve visited it’s one where I feel that I could happily live in.

4) How do you pronounce “lieutenant”? I pronounce it “lewtenant” although I know that’s wrong. Words which I read, but rarely pronounce, I often mispronounce in my reading—quay & draught are two other examples.

5) Do you speak or read any other languages? At some point in time I was granted various degrees that suggest I can read Latin, but my skills are diminishing with time since I don’t keep it up like I should. I can speak a little German, but not much. The linguist really is David, and I’m just along for the ride.

6) What is your favourite costume you’ve ever worn? Mighty Mouse, when I was 5 or 6 years old. It’s one of the few costumes that I remember turning out the way I wanted it to. My mum even borrowed my cousin Tara’s mouse ears from Disney Land so that I could have the proper head attire.

7) What is one of your favourite quotations? A small piece of Ovid, ostensibly from the Metamorphoses: “Vita est flumen; tempora nostra non incipiunt et nova sunt semper.” I came across it out of context, in a Latin exercise book, and I’ve always liked the idea of time changing, and us changing with it, just like the course of a river – sometimes fast and furious, sometimes slow & meandering. If you take it in context with the Metamormophses the meaning changes...so I suppose if I ever use it as my motto on a coat of arms in future years to come people will be swearing that I believed in reincarnation or some such!

8) Favourite flower? Most often roses, especially big tea roses, but I also like carnations for sentimental reasons (my dad always buys them for my mum, and has done so for as long as I can remember. Every two weeks without fail!)

9) Do you prefer heat or the cold? The cold, because one can always put on more layers. With the heat you eventually realise that you’re naked, there’s nothing more to take off, and you’re still uncomfortable.
 
10) Preferred birthday cake? Chocolate with a rich, crunchy chocolate frosting and some nuts thrown in. OR my mum’s cherry cheesecake.
 
11) Do you like muffins? Not particularly, or at least not the ones you can buy in shops or coffee places. The only muffin I really like is a health muffin, so bran with nuts or oatmeal or something like that. Otherwise they’re too cakey and sweet, in which case I’d rather just have some cake.
 

Now, my eleven questions:

1)      What is the best book that you’ve read this year?
2)      What is your favourite mealtime (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) to eat out, and why?
3)      Out of all the places you’ve lived, and I’m assuming most people reading this have at least lived in two, which place feels most like home?
4)      Describe your faith, and how you came to it. Or if you believe in nothing, why?
5)      Are you a cat person or a dog person?
6)      What is one thing you’d like to do before you die?
7)      Favourite pizza toppings?
8)      Best childhood memory?
9)      What do you like most about Christmas?
10)  Where is the farthest that you’ve traveled?
11)  What is your favourite old hymn, and why?