The Dogs Are Always Glad to See Me

A note from Bud:

This space has become a bit like a Chuck Lorre vanity card. I usually tell you about the person that I stole the meme from, if I know it. But nowadays we have to use all sorts of question sites to find decent ones. But most of all of us started our blogs about 10 years ago. I’d say 75% of our blog friends left for Facebook. Which is weird because you can do both. And this gives us a place to vent without worrying about who will read it. OK, a bonus question to put at the end. I grew a beard. I stopped shaving when I got ill. It took four days just to figure out that I broke three discs in my neck. Anyway, my wife hates it. Since almost all of you are women, add this question: How do you feel about beards? No bonus points. I'm curious.

Sunday Stealing: The Bearded Questions

What is some of your favorite music?  I had been on a years long Country kick, but lately I find myself listening to Contemporary Christian, Jazz, and classic stuff from the 70s and 80s.

List your three favorite scents. The smell of the air after a rain storm, homemade bread baking in the oven, and fresh sawn lumber.

How do you ground yourself or recharge?  My best way, especially if grounding is the goal, is to spend some time in prayer or reading the Bible or getting together with the women from my Bible study group.  We help each other get our heads on straight.  If the goal is recharging, I might do that or I might blast some fun music and sing along.  Sometimes a little rest is what is called for...a good night's sleep or getting lost in a book or maybe a walk to get some air and clear my head.

Any ways you treat or spoil yourself? I love pedicures and my favorite way to treat myself is a new purse or a new book.

Besides your blog, do you have a creative past-time? I journal and I like to take pictures.  I'm pretty pleased with the pregnancy photos my daughter asked me to do last month.

Share something difficult you've been through. Being thrown under the bus by people we believed to be very dear friends when the church we all belonged to was having major problems.  I think betrayal by "Christians" hurts more because we expect them to know (and act) better so we let our guard down.  When they hurt us, it cuts to the quick.

    What helps you fall asleep?  Usually it's being exhausted at the end of the day.    

What is one strength and one weakness of yours? I'd say my strength is that I am forgiving and a weakness is that I worry too much about what people think of me.

Have you ever received a letter or written one to someone else?  Not recently, but when I was younger I was a great letter writer.  I wrote pages and pages to people who lived away.  Most of them also wrote back.  I miss that.  Emails and texts are fine, but there was something so satisfying about a letter in the mail to savor and enjoy and save.

What makes you feel powerful, what breathes life into you?  I know I'm not powerful.  I only get through things by the grace of God.  As for breathing life into me...a spontaneous activity...a trip...good music...hanging out with my friends.

What's your favorite thing to do at night? Either sleep or play around on the computer.

If you could go back to any era, what would they be?  Probably the 70s.  I was just a kid and I remember it as being a much simpler world. Safer, too.

Your favorite things to wear at home?  My pj's (which these days are fleece-lined leggings and a long sleeve t-shirt), fuzzy socks, my big, fluffy, pink and white robe, and my slippers.

If you could be immortal or have an extremely long life span which would you pick and why?  I don't know!  I don't think I'd want to be immortal and have to watch everyone I know and love die generation after generation.  On the flip-side...I've never heard of immortals being ill and infirm so that might be better than being really old and having a failing body or a scrambled brain.

Tell us about something positive you have done for yourself or someone recently.  I told my daughter she could have Christmas at her apartment. That took a lot of pressure and stress off of me since my husband still has the guest bathroom torn up and it doesn't look like there's a snowball's chance in heck of it getting done in the next two weeks.  Plus, our daughter's apartment has a bigger living space so it will be more comfortable.  I do still have to do the cooking, however, since she will either be ready to go into labor at any given moment or be taking care of a brand new baby.

One thing you like about your appearance?  My very curly hair.  That's something I never thought I'd say and a relatively new development.

     Something that makes you feel better after a hard day?  The excited greetings from my dogs.  Nobody else is ever quite that glad to see me every single time no matter what else is going on.

If you have one, name a favorite book & movie.  I always answer these with Little Women and Dirty Dancing. To be different this time...Lottery by Patricia Wood and The Great Outdoors starring John Candy has some great one-liners.

Bonus: How do you feel about beards?  My husband nearly always has one. In fact, I never saw him without one before we got married.  I prefer it and am kind of disappointed when he occasionally shaves it off.  I will say that not all beards are created equal and not all men look good in beards. And I really LOATHE the whole hipster beard/man-bun look.  Just saying.