May 2025 Blog Prompts
Jul. 26th, 2025 08:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxklore1. Orange juice or apple juice? Actually, I prefer cranberry juice to either of those.
2. When you look at an elderly person's hands what do you see? Looking at my hands, I see some wrinkles.
3. Have you ever bought shoes online? Did they fit? I am a big fan of Hot Chocolate Designs and have bought them online several times. Their sizing is consistent so I know they’ll fit.
4. What did you eat as a child that you can't stand now as an adult? I developed an aversion to certain textures (specifically mushy foods) as I grew up. As a child, I ate bananas in sour cream, applesauce, and soft cooked eggs, none of which I eat now.
5. Describe your typical day, from wake to sleep. All of this assumes that I am home, not traveling. I typically wake up somewhere between 3 and 4 in the morning and do puzzles on-line for a while. I eat breakfast around 7 a.m., then read for a while and go back to sleep for a few hours. If the weather is decent out, I go out for a walk. I try to get through various chores, though my to-do list is generally several pages long. I eat dinner about 7 p.m. I often talk on the phone with one of my friends. I spend too much time on-line. Some evenings I go out to some sort of performance (or go to one on-line) or play games with friends. I typically go to bed about 10:00 p.m. and I pretty much always read for a while before that.
Of course, if I’m traveling, then I’m generally sightseeing during the day.
6. What if your life had been harder or easier? How do you think you'd be different? I think my life has been relatively easy, though there were difficult times, like grad school. I’ve generally been able to pull myself together and fight my way through the challenges. So I don’t think I’d be very different if my life had been harder or easier.
7. What did you want to be when you grew up? It varied from year to year. At various times, I wanted to be an astronaut, a chemist (specifically Marie Curie), a race car driver, an actress, and the first woman to pitch for the New York Mets.
8. What would it be like to be in a tornado? I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.
9. What would you do if you woke up one morning with a tail? I think that depends on what sort of tail. A cute little puffy bunny tail wouldn’t be very intrusive, but a long prehensile monkey-ish tail would make it challenging to adjust clothes to fit.
10. What yes or no questions have you ever decided by flipping a coin? I don’t think I’ve ever decided anything by flipping a coin.
11. You are given 24 hours to do whatever you would like, money no object. What do you do and why? I’d travel somewhere. Maybe take the United Island Hopper through the South Pacific. The catch is that 24 hours is not really long enough for most places I want to go.
12. If you had to choose between having a personal chef, a housekeeper, or a personal trainer, which would you pick and why? I’d definitely pick a housekeeper, since cleaning is something I generally find unpleasant to do.
13. If you were in a band, what instrument would you be playing? Maybe an oboe.
14. Describe what you hear when you hear nothing. I am rather prone to musical earworms, but that doesn’t really qualify as hearing nothing.
15. If you saw an alien, what would you do? Probably scream. Then I’d conclude that I was hallucinating.
16. Tell about a time when someone made you feel welcomed or accepted. What did they do and how did it make you feel? Not long after I first got involved in storytelling, I went to a weekend retreat. The weather was terrible and the drive took ages. But when I arrived, I was immediately greeted by someone I had met at the storytelling group I had started going to and she welcomed me enthusiastically. And she is still one of my close friends.
17. What is your least favorite chore and why? Nature abhors a vacuum and so do I.
18. Describe a fair, parade, or festival you have attended. I’ve gone to lots of crafts fairs and folk festivals. I always enjoy seeing creativity on display. One particularly memorable event was a Celtic music festival I went to in northern California with two of my friends. It was the first time I heard the band Old Blind Dogs and they were having a terrible time with their instruments in the heat. But it was still a great weekend, largely because of the company.
19. Have you, or your family, ever been affected by war? Describe how. My father and grandfather were Holocaust survivors and lost most of their family.
20. Tell what you like about one of your hobbies. I like knitting and crocheting because I can make beautiful things to wear or to keep myself warm.
21. Tell a story that you have had with one of your aunts or uncles (or some other family member) When I was growing up, I really wanted a chemistry set. My great-aunt Bernice bought me a “make your own perfume” kit as what she thought was a more suitable feminine alternative.
22. Tell about something that you and your siblings used to do together. We explored the area we lived in, either on foot or by bicycle. Back at home, we played board games.
23. What is something you liked about your childhood? My family listened to music together a lot. Dad would bring home the latest Broadway cast albums or comedy records. We also sang along with my Mom playing the guitar.
24. If you had the option to know the day and time of your death, would you want to know? There’s a part of me that would want to know, mostly so I’d know what annoying chores I could just stop doing. And it would be nice to be able to bid a proper good-bye to various people in my life.
25. What rituals do you have or hold? I always put my clean laundry away in a particular order - linens first, then pants and skirts, then tops, then socks, then underwear.
26. Should there be a dress code in places such as school, restaurants, and places of business? Why or why not? I think there should be guidelines in certain places so that people can conform to expectations, which makes everyone feel more comfortable.
27. What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes? It would make choosing what to wear far easier, but it would get pretty boring.
28. List your favorite cozy fall activities and why they bring you joy. I like walking in woods full of fall color, then coming in and drinking hot cider by a fireplace.
29. Name 3 things you love about your job. I’m retired now, but when I was working three things I liked were: 1) I had a lot of flexibility and variety in what I did from day to day, 2) I worked with some people who I could bounce ideas off of, which often helped me to think through how to approach a problem, and 3) I earned a good salary and benefits.
30. What is something that you are looking forward to doing today? It’s a bit late in the day for looking forward to doing something. But I would like to make a dent in the stack of travel brochures I’ve accumulated.
31. How do you express love for someone? If you’re someone I love, I’m pretty sure I can make you know that. For one thing, I give good hugs.
2. When you look at an elderly person's hands what do you see? Looking at my hands, I see some wrinkles.
3. Have you ever bought shoes online? Did they fit? I am a big fan of Hot Chocolate Designs and have bought them online several times. Their sizing is consistent so I know they’ll fit.
4. What did you eat as a child that you can't stand now as an adult? I developed an aversion to certain textures (specifically mushy foods) as I grew up. As a child, I ate bananas in sour cream, applesauce, and soft cooked eggs, none of which I eat now.
5. Describe your typical day, from wake to sleep. All of this assumes that I am home, not traveling. I typically wake up somewhere between 3 and 4 in the morning and do puzzles on-line for a while. I eat breakfast around 7 a.m., then read for a while and go back to sleep for a few hours. If the weather is decent out, I go out for a walk. I try to get through various chores, though my to-do list is generally several pages long. I eat dinner about 7 p.m. I often talk on the phone with one of my friends. I spend too much time on-line. Some evenings I go out to some sort of performance (or go to one on-line) or play games with friends. I typically go to bed about 10:00 p.m. and I pretty much always read for a while before that.
Of course, if I’m traveling, then I’m generally sightseeing during the day.
6. What if your life had been harder or easier? How do you think you'd be different? I think my life has been relatively easy, though there were difficult times, like grad school. I’ve generally been able to pull myself together and fight my way through the challenges. So I don’t think I’d be very different if my life had been harder or easier.
7. What did you want to be when you grew up? It varied from year to year. At various times, I wanted to be an astronaut, a chemist (specifically Marie Curie), a race car driver, an actress, and the first woman to pitch for the New York Mets.
8. What would it be like to be in a tornado? I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.
9. What would you do if you woke up one morning with a tail? I think that depends on what sort of tail. A cute little puffy bunny tail wouldn’t be very intrusive, but a long prehensile monkey-ish tail would make it challenging to adjust clothes to fit.
10. What yes or no questions have you ever decided by flipping a coin? I don’t think I’ve ever decided anything by flipping a coin.
11. You are given 24 hours to do whatever you would like, money no object. What do you do and why? I’d travel somewhere. Maybe take the United Island Hopper through the South Pacific. The catch is that 24 hours is not really long enough for most places I want to go.
12. If you had to choose between having a personal chef, a housekeeper, or a personal trainer, which would you pick and why? I’d definitely pick a housekeeper, since cleaning is something I generally find unpleasant to do.
13. If you were in a band, what instrument would you be playing? Maybe an oboe.
14. Describe what you hear when you hear nothing. I am rather prone to musical earworms, but that doesn’t really qualify as hearing nothing.
15. If you saw an alien, what would you do? Probably scream. Then I’d conclude that I was hallucinating.
16. Tell about a time when someone made you feel welcomed or accepted. What did they do and how did it make you feel? Not long after I first got involved in storytelling, I went to a weekend retreat. The weather was terrible and the drive took ages. But when I arrived, I was immediately greeted by someone I had met at the storytelling group I had started going to and she welcomed me enthusiastically. And she is still one of my close friends.
17. What is your least favorite chore and why? Nature abhors a vacuum and so do I.
18. Describe a fair, parade, or festival you have attended. I’ve gone to lots of crafts fairs and folk festivals. I always enjoy seeing creativity on display. One particularly memorable event was a Celtic music festival I went to in northern California with two of my friends. It was the first time I heard the band Old Blind Dogs and they were having a terrible time with their instruments in the heat. But it was still a great weekend, largely because of the company.
19. Have you, or your family, ever been affected by war? Describe how. My father and grandfather were Holocaust survivors and lost most of their family.
20. Tell what you like about one of your hobbies. I like knitting and crocheting because I can make beautiful things to wear or to keep myself warm.
21. Tell a story that you have had with one of your aunts or uncles (or some other family member) When I was growing up, I really wanted a chemistry set. My great-aunt Bernice bought me a “make your own perfume” kit as what she thought was a more suitable feminine alternative.
22. Tell about something that you and your siblings used to do together. We explored the area we lived in, either on foot or by bicycle. Back at home, we played board games.
23. What is something you liked about your childhood? My family listened to music together a lot. Dad would bring home the latest Broadway cast albums or comedy records. We also sang along with my Mom playing the guitar.
24. If you had the option to know the day and time of your death, would you want to know? There’s a part of me that would want to know, mostly so I’d know what annoying chores I could just stop doing. And it would be nice to be able to bid a proper good-bye to various people in my life.
25. What rituals do you have or hold? I always put my clean laundry away in a particular order - linens first, then pants and skirts, then tops, then socks, then underwear.
26. Should there be a dress code in places such as school, restaurants, and places of business? Why or why not? I think there should be guidelines in certain places so that people can conform to expectations, which makes everyone feel more comfortable.
27. What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes? It would make choosing what to wear far easier, but it would get pretty boring.
28. List your favorite cozy fall activities and why they bring you joy. I like walking in woods full of fall color, then coming in and drinking hot cider by a fireplace.
29. Name 3 things you love about your job. I’m retired now, but when I was working three things I liked were: 1) I had a lot of flexibility and variety in what I did from day to day, 2) I worked with some people who I could bounce ideas off of, which often helped me to think through how to approach a problem, and 3) I earned a good salary and benefits.
30. What is something that you are looking forward to doing today? It’s a bit late in the day for looking forward to doing something. But I would like to make a dent in the stack of travel brochures I’ve accumulated.
31. How do you express love for someone? If you’re someone I love, I’m pretty sure I can make you know that. For one thing, I give good hugs.
