![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
January 2024 Blog Prompts - Part 2
This is from the other set of monthly questions. The full list is at stonepicnicking-okapi’s site.
1 Jan: Polar Bear Plunge Day: What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been? It was about -26 Fahrenheit when I was in Churchill, Manitoba, where I went to see real live polar bears. Churchill was, in fact, significantly colder than both Antarctica and Svalbard.
2 Jan: World Introvert Day: How introverted are you? Does it change based on your surroundings? I consider myself an ambivert. I need introvert time to recharge my batteries, but I can enjoy being sociable at times, depending on the context.
3 Jan: JRR Tolkien Day: What’s your favorite Tolkien character? Historically, I would have answered with Gandalf. But I read something recently that argued for Sam Gamgee, on the basis of his unassuming friendship for Frodo. That seems as good as any other answer for this.
4 Jan: World Braille Day: Have you ever studied Braille? If you don’t require Braille, have you ever run your fingers over a sign instructions or a book page in Braille? My only real experiences with Braille are: 1) seeing the Braille chart in the children’s book Follow My Leader, which has to do with a boy who is blinded in a fireworks accident and 2) noticing Braille on elevator control panels
5 Jan: Whipped Cream Day: If you eat whipped cream, what’s your favorite way to eat it? I sometimes eat desserts that come with whipped cream on them, typically pieces of pie. But I pretty much never have whipped cream in my house.
6 Jan: Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday: If you have one, what’s your favorite adaptation of Sherlock Holmes? I can’t think of one. I pretty much just read the original stories.
7 Jan: Tempura Day: Do you like tempura? I like tempura quite a bit and sometimes get vegetable tempura at a Japanese restaurant.
8 Jan: Winter Skin Relief Day: What’s your favorite lotion, cream, moisturizer, skin treatment? I’m not at all fussy about moisturizers. I am still working my way through the vast number of bottles of Vaseline Intensive Care that I got as one of my lovely parting gifts from Jeopardy 35 years ago.
9 Jan: Shop for Travel Day: What (if anything) do you usually buy before a trip (travel-size toiletries, magazines, snacks)? I refill my toiletries bag so I’m sure that I have enough toothpaste, dental floss, sunscreen, chapstick, and the like. If I’m going somewhere in the less developed world, I check my medical kit to be sure I have a good supply of peptobismol, immodium, bandaids, iodine tablets, antiseptic cream, and bandages. If I’ll be at sea, I make sure I have my acupressure bands. I also make sure to have a good supply of pens and pencils and at least one crossword puzzle book. Packing lists are essential to my sanity.
10 Jan: Houseplant Appreciation Day: What kind of houseplants do you have in your home? I don’t have any houseplants. I have had succulents (cacti and jade plants) at some points in my life, but I don’t really like them. And everything else dies quickly. If anyone wants to give me a houseplant, I believe they are also obliged to give me a gardener to care for it.
11 Jan: World Sketchnote Day: Do you doodle? If there is a pencil in my hand and paper in front of me, I am doodling.
12 Jan: Hot Tea Day: Do you drink hot tea? If so, what kinds? I love tea. My favorite varietals are assam and lapsang souchong. I sometimes drink flavored black teas and, in particular, ones flavored with vanilla. While herbal teas are technically tisanes and not teas, I do drink mint tea from time to time and rooibos frequently.
13 Jan: Sticker Days: If you use stickers, how? Do you have favorite stickers? I used to use stickers to identify things on my calendar, but I got tired of them. So nowadays I use stickers only rarely, mostly to seal envelopes.
14 Jan: International Kite Day: Do you know how to fly a kite? I learned how to fly a kite back in the early 1980’s. The secret is to start with the right kind of kite. Deltas are, in general, the easiest to fly.
15 Jan: Bagel Day: Do you like bagels? What kind? What kind of toppings do you put on them? Toasted or not toasted? I like bagels if they are real bagels, not the bagel-shipped rolls that too many places try to foist off on us. My favorite is sesame, with scallion cream cheese and, sometimes, lox. Bagels should be served hot out of the oven and should never be toasted, which is something people do if the bagels are stale.
16 Jan: Quinoa Day: Have you tried quinoa? Do you like it? I’ve eaten quinoa but I’m not crazy about it
17 Jan: International Mentoring Day: Do you have a mentor? Have you mentored someone else? I did have a mentor in my early years at work. I’ve also mentored people later on. Currently, I mentor members of my genealogy group on Lithuanian research.
18 Jan: Winnie the Pooh Day: Do you have a favorite Winnie the Pooh character? Or story? I’m not a big fan of Winnie the Pooh, actually. I suppose that Owl is the most tolerable character.
19 Jan: Popcorn Day: If you like popcorn, what kind? Butter? Other toppings or flavors? I only eat popcorn once in a while and, when I do, it’s a small bag of the microwave popcorn with light butter.
20 Jan: Cheese Lovers Day: Do you love cheese? What kind(s)? I’m not really fond of cheese, for the most part. Mozzarella cheese on on pizza is an obvious exception.
21 Jan: International Sweatpants Day: How much time do you spend in sweatpants? In the winter, I wear them a lot around the house.
22 Jan: Answer your Cat’s Questions: If you have a cat, what kind of question(s) might they ask? What would be your answer(s)? I travel way too much to have a cat. So, I suppose, if I did have one, its major question would be, “why do you neglect me?”
23 Jan: Handwriting Day: How is your handwriting? Let’s just say that I got C’s in penmanship throughout elementary school.
24 Jan: Peanut Butter Day: Do you like peanut butter? I like it once in a while.
25 Jan: Robert Burns Day: Have your best laid plans ever gone awry? Has your love ever been like a red, red rose? The best laid plans of mice and Miriam gang oft agley.
26 Jan: Clashing Clothes Day: Have you ever accidentally or deliberately mismatched your clothes? I am a big fan of Chocolaticas, a brand of shoes that are deliberately mismatched.
27 Jan: National Geographic Day: Have you ever taken an amazing photograph? I sold a photograph of Asoro Mudmen in Papua New Guinea to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. (It’s on the cover of a book titled Weird World. And they paid me quite well for it.)
28 Jan: Data Privacy Day: How much do you do to protect your data or identity? I try to use good passwords and, when possible, two factor authentication.
29 Jan: Puzzle Day: Do you like puzzles? What kind? I love puzzles. I mostly do word puzzles (especially cryptic crosswords) and trivia games. I do jigsaw puzzles a couple of times a year. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my mother always brought out a jigsaw puzzle after Thanksgiving dinner as a way to get us to clear off the dining room table.
30 Jan: Croissant Day: What is the best way to eat a croissant? Plain or with jam or butter or something else? The best way to eat a croissant is warm from the oven with nutella or marmalade.
31 Jan: Inspire your Heart with Art Day: What kind of art inspires your heart? I tend to favor abstract art, though I also like a lot of photorealism.
1 Jan: Polar Bear Plunge Day: What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been? It was about -26 Fahrenheit when I was in Churchill, Manitoba, where I went to see real live polar bears. Churchill was, in fact, significantly colder than both Antarctica and Svalbard.
2 Jan: World Introvert Day: How introverted are you? Does it change based on your surroundings? I consider myself an ambivert. I need introvert time to recharge my batteries, but I can enjoy being sociable at times, depending on the context.
3 Jan: JRR Tolkien Day: What’s your favorite Tolkien character? Historically, I would have answered with Gandalf. But I read something recently that argued for Sam Gamgee, on the basis of his unassuming friendship for Frodo. That seems as good as any other answer for this.
4 Jan: World Braille Day: Have you ever studied Braille? If you don’t require Braille, have you ever run your fingers over a sign instructions or a book page in Braille? My only real experiences with Braille are: 1) seeing the Braille chart in the children’s book Follow My Leader, which has to do with a boy who is blinded in a fireworks accident and 2) noticing Braille on elevator control panels
5 Jan: Whipped Cream Day: If you eat whipped cream, what’s your favorite way to eat it? I sometimes eat desserts that come with whipped cream on them, typically pieces of pie. But I pretty much never have whipped cream in my house.
6 Jan: Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday: If you have one, what’s your favorite adaptation of Sherlock Holmes? I can’t think of one. I pretty much just read the original stories.
7 Jan: Tempura Day: Do you like tempura? I like tempura quite a bit and sometimes get vegetable tempura at a Japanese restaurant.
8 Jan: Winter Skin Relief Day: What’s your favorite lotion, cream, moisturizer, skin treatment? I’m not at all fussy about moisturizers. I am still working my way through the vast number of bottles of Vaseline Intensive Care that I got as one of my lovely parting gifts from Jeopardy 35 years ago.
9 Jan: Shop for Travel Day: What (if anything) do you usually buy before a trip (travel-size toiletries, magazines, snacks)? I refill my toiletries bag so I’m sure that I have enough toothpaste, dental floss, sunscreen, chapstick, and the like. If I’m going somewhere in the less developed world, I check my medical kit to be sure I have a good supply of peptobismol, immodium, bandaids, iodine tablets, antiseptic cream, and bandages. If I’ll be at sea, I make sure I have my acupressure bands. I also make sure to have a good supply of pens and pencils and at least one crossword puzzle book. Packing lists are essential to my sanity.
10 Jan: Houseplant Appreciation Day: What kind of houseplants do you have in your home? I don’t have any houseplants. I have had succulents (cacti and jade plants) at some points in my life, but I don’t really like them. And everything else dies quickly. If anyone wants to give me a houseplant, I believe they are also obliged to give me a gardener to care for it.
11 Jan: World Sketchnote Day: Do you doodle? If there is a pencil in my hand and paper in front of me, I am doodling.
12 Jan: Hot Tea Day: Do you drink hot tea? If so, what kinds? I love tea. My favorite varietals are assam and lapsang souchong. I sometimes drink flavored black teas and, in particular, ones flavored with vanilla. While herbal teas are technically tisanes and not teas, I do drink mint tea from time to time and rooibos frequently.
13 Jan: Sticker Days: If you use stickers, how? Do you have favorite stickers? I used to use stickers to identify things on my calendar, but I got tired of them. So nowadays I use stickers only rarely, mostly to seal envelopes.
14 Jan: International Kite Day: Do you know how to fly a kite? I learned how to fly a kite back in the early 1980’s. The secret is to start with the right kind of kite. Deltas are, in general, the easiest to fly.
15 Jan: Bagel Day: Do you like bagels? What kind? What kind of toppings do you put on them? Toasted or not toasted? I like bagels if they are real bagels, not the bagel-shipped rolls that too many places try to foist off on us. My favorite is sesame, with scallion cream cheese and, sometimes, lox. Bagels should be served hot out of the oven and should never be toasted, which is something people do if the bagels are stale.
16 Jan: Quinoa Day: Have you tried quinoa? Do you like it? I’ve eaten quinoa but I’m not crazy about it
17 Jan: International Mentoring Day: Do you have a mentor? Have you mentored someone else? I did have a mentor in my early years at work. I’ve also mentored people later on. Currently, I mentor members of my genealogy group on Lithuanian research.
18 Jan: Winnie the Pooh Day: Do you have a favorite Winnie the Pooh character? Or story? I’m not a big fan of Winnie the Pooh, actually. I suppose that Owl is the most tolerable character.
19 Jan: Popcorn Day: If you like popcorn, what kind? Butter? Other toppings or flavors? I only eat popcorn once in a while and, when I do, it’s a small bag of the microwave popcorn with light butter.
20 Jan: Cheese Lovers Day: Do you love cheese? What kind(s)? I’m not really fond of cheese, for the most part. Mozzarella cheese on on pizza is an obvious exception.
21 Jan: International Sweatpants Day: How much time do you spend in sweatpants? In the winter, I wear them a lot around the house.
22 Jan: Answer your Cat’s Questions: If you have a cat, what kind of question(s) might they ask? What would be your answer(s)? I travel way too much to have a cat. So, I suppose, if I did have one, its major question would be, “why do you neglect me?”
23 Jan: Handwriting Day: How is your handwriting? Let’s just say that I got C’s in penmanship throughout elementary school.
24 Jan: Peanut Butter Day: Do you like peanut butter? I like it once in a while.
25 Jan: Robert Burns Day: Have your best laid plans ever gone awry? Has your love ever been like a red, red rose? The best laid plans of mice and Miriam gang oft agley.
26 Jan: Clashing Clothes Day: Have you ever accidentally or deliberately mismatched your clothes? I am a big fan of Chocolaticas, a brand of shoes that are deliberately mismatched.
27 Jan: National Geographic Day: Have you ever taken an amazing photograph? I sold a photograph of Asoro Mudmen in Papua New Guinea to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. (It’s on the cover of a book titled Weird World. And they paid me quite well for it.)
28 Jan: Data Privacy Day: How much do you do to protect your data or identity? I try to use good passwords and, when possible, two factor authentication.
29 Jan: Puzzle Day: Do you like puzzles? What kind? I love puzzles. I mostly do word puzzles (especially cryptic crosswords) and trivia games. I do jigsaw puzzles a couple of times a year. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my mother always brought out a jigsaw puzzle after Thanksgiving dinner as a way to get us to clear off the dining room table.
30 Jan: Croissant Day: What is the best way to eat a croissant? Plain or with jam or butter or something else? The best way to eat a croissant is warm from the oven with nutella or marmalade.
31 Jan: Inspire your Heart with Art Day: What kind of art inspires your heart? I tend to favor abstract art, though I also like a lot of photorealism.