Thanks to my friend, Marie, for nominating me for a Liebster Award! We have never met in person, but I think that we should correct that, and pronto!

In typical, Colleen does not follow the rules fashion, I am only answering her questions and not nominating any other blogs. Mostly because I cannot think of eleven blogs but also out of laziness and the fact that this took me much longer than I expected. I am cheese-brained today.

1. If you could get paid to do anything, what would you do?

I’d love to be paid for my writing and photographs.

2. Who are your favorite actors?

Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, Jimmy Stewart, George Clooney, Michael Fassbender, Matt Damon

3. When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was eight, I wanted to be a pilot. After that, I didn’t think about it, which probably explains a lot.

4. What is your guilty pleasure?

Ooh, I love magazines and have subscriptions to Harper’s Bazaar, Sunset, Kiplinger‘s, and New Mexico. I also find it very difficult to turn the channel when TMZ is on, which is really quite awful, I know. But that guy with the long blonde hair makes me laugh every time.

5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Oh dear, I had never counted. Thirty-seven! Which includes gardening clogs, rain boots, and flip-flops. Somehow those last three make me feel better about having so many, but in all honesty, I think it is time to purge! Maybe I can get down to twenty-five?

6. What made you start blogging?

I wanted to be in the habit of writing.

7. What is your most popular blog post?

There’s a way to know this? I am terribly uneducated in this department!

8. What do you order at Starbucks (or whatever coffee/tea place you patronize)?

Being a local-lovin’ Portlander, Ristretto and Albina Press are my favorite coffee shops. I order a small decaf latte, as I am naturally caffeinated. Always a mug or cup and saucer, never a paper cup, I sit down and sip slowly. I also like to lick the foam off the inside of the cup when no one is looking.

9. What is your favorite memory of a grandparent?

Of Grandpa Briggs: holding hands and walking to the Western Motor Lodge to buy candy.

Of Grandpa Marv: sitting on the back porch early in the morning.

Of Grandma Frances: staying up late to play Kings Corners.

Of Grandma Tess: talking on the phone.

10. If you could change two things in the world, what would you change?

That women everywhere be treated as equals.

An end to violence.

11. What is your favorite song?

I could never ever choose one, so a few.

For fast driving: The Doors, “L.A. Woman”

For sheer loudness: Radiohead, “The National Anthem”

For the best jam: The Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”

For sweetness: Debussy, Suite bergamasque – III. Clair de lune (Andante très expressif), played by Walter Gieseking