Thursday, June 5, 2008

Seven Random Things

Not much going on here crafty wise in my corner of the cornfields (well, that's not entirely true, I'm working on a couple of projects that I can't show and the weather stinks so no good pictures of the things I HAVE finished. UGH) so today you get a meme :0). KathieB over at Threadlines tagged me for this one yesterday. I have done it before, but since it's been a year, I figure you can put up with another 7 random things about me :0).


1. I started first grade when I was 4 years old. Yes, there's a long story here. Nope, I'm not gonna bore you with it. But since I was already reading chapter books by that time, I figure that starting school was a good thing.


2. Speaking of reading, I can, and often do, read a novel a day. BT (before Tinkerbell) I would often read more than one novel in a day. We're not talking War and Peace here people, but your average mass market novel, yeah. Your average trashy romance novel? Um, 2-3 hours tops. This has meant I've had a personal library of well over 200 books for most of my life, and currently means my public library folks look at me funny when I check out 5-10 books at a time.


3. My undergrad degree is a Bachelor's of Science in Political Science. This means I have a BS in politics. (go ahead, laugh -- I know you want to) And while, technically, the degree is a general one, 85% of my coursework was in US politics. And yes, I am finding the current electoral cycle interesting. :0)


4. At one point, I planned on being a professional musician. I was even accepted to college as a music major -- a flautist. Then I realized that while I love music, I didn't have enough talent to make a living at it without teaching music. Since I didn't want to do that, I went in another direction (see above). And no, I don't play anymore.


5. I'm scared of thunder. No, not lightning, just the darned thunder. The noise drives me nuts and makes me want to run for cover. I mask this well for my daughter and have learned to deal with it. This is a bit of a problem given that I live in the north eastern end of tornado alley and we have thunder storms all the time.


6. I am allergic to corn pollen. I live in a town surrounded by cornfields. You do the math.


7. I never memorized my multiplication tables. I got up to the 5's and realized that you can figure out all of the rest by doing simple addition so there was no point in memorizing it. I was a cheeky little thing, no? This means that to this day I still do a lot of silent adding in my head. You'd think I would have the darned things down by now wouldn't you?


So there you go, seven random facts about me (and if you feel the need to click on the link to last year's list -- seven more for you).


And since what's a post without photos, here's one I've been meaning to post since February. While I was at my Mom's house I unearthed (well, not so much unearthing as looking around in plain sight) not only quilts, quilts and more quilts, but also some of my early, middle and late period craft adventures. Mom is definitely the most constant recipient of my crafty efforts. So here you are, a piece from my early period, circa 1977. The very first counted cross stitch I ever completed. And since this photo doesn't show scale, that frame is, I believe, 2" x 3".


If anyone is interested, I've got a few photos of other finished stitched work to share as well. And since the weather report is saying I won't have decent light for photos of what I AM working on for another 4-5 days, um, you may get to see those pieces whether you want to or not :0).

16 comments:

Unknown said...

I have a ton of books too! We like to hoard them =) I recently found this site - http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php
You get to swap for free just media mail them to whoever wants them. Kinda fun!

QuiltingFitzy said...

I do a book a week, it's all I can master while using public transportation to and from work. I was a flautist as well. Did ONE wedding and never played again, lol.

I love your random facts! Thanks for sharing.

Kristin L said...

My hubby has a BS in politics as well. Now he works in military intelligence, which is even more laughable. Of course, what's it say about me -- who chose to marry the oxymoron?

;-)

Diana said...

I figured out the same thing with multiplication, but my fourth grade teacher threatened to fail me if I didn't memorize them! My mom bought a set of flashcards and made me work at them every night after dinner until I could do them up, down, and sideways. Yikes!

Emily Cole said...

I would love to see some more of your early stitchery things! I never memorized the multiplication tables either... but that's because my brain doesn't allow me to memorize lots of numbers like that... Plus, I didn't think it was something I really needed to know how to do... Lucky for me, I got out of high school OK, and then just used a calculator in college!

Unknown said...

and another bookaholic here too - we'd love to see your cross-stitch work until you've something quilty to show

The Calico Cat said...

6. I am allergic to corn pollen. I live in a town surrounded by cornfields. You do the math.

Now that is funny!


7. I never memorized my multiplication tables.

me either, I never quite got the 6, 7, 8 block...

Not so good when it comes to quilting & you are thinking oh a 6 x 8 layout would be nice - how many blocks is that?

I am a slow reader - about a chapter a day & we are not talking War & Peace here either.

Unknown said...

I wish I could read that fast. Even though I love it, reading always seems to be last on the priority list for me. So I read in bed: two pages, fall asleep. Takes a long time to read a book that way and it's hard to hang onto the plot too!

Holly said...

Interesting facts about you :) I love the thunder but HATE the lightening.

Libby said...

Okay - I did memorize the multiplication tables . . . but I always wondered why we had to when the table was always neatly printed right there on the flap of every golden PeeChee folder I ever had *s*

Suzanne Earley said...

hmm.

i can do a mass market paperback in about 2-3 hours, too.

i started off as a music major, too, voice, though. knew i wasn't good enough (or focused enough) to make it in performance, and quickly realized i didn't want to teach.

my BS is in Computer Science, though.

Unknown said...

The 7 random facts were so interesting and funny. I have an allergy to multiplication tables too especially the 7 and 8 blocks but now that my DS is learning them, I have to do as if I knew them too!
I am a fast reader as well, thank God, public librairies exist. The problem is not the books, it is the shelves to put them in!
Happy belated Birthday to your DD. Take care.

Magpie Sue said...

I think of you every time I hear about another bunch of tornadoes tearing through the midwest. Having grown up in the northern tier of tornado alley I know all too well what that kind of weather can be like. Mostly I'm okay with thunder and lightning though. (We rarely get any here so it's a moot point.)

I read a lot and fast enough but I wish I could read faster sometimes!

Unknown said...

Yes please more photos of your stitcheries. Books are necessary to create a home. I can´t go to sleep unless read a chapter or so.

Lisa said...

Quilting in cornfields is allergic to the cornfields?! AIY!
Thanks for sharing about yourself!

Nan said...

They may be random things, but certainly very interesting! I wish I could read as quickly as you do. I love to read, and if it's a cheesy book, then I can read it fairly quickly - nobody's 2-3 hours, though! I would definitely like to have a conversation with you about the current state of politics! It's something I've become quite interested in the past couple of years. Thanks for sharing - it's great to find out more about you.
Lovely little x-stitch, too!