A few weeks back I was nominated for a Liebster award by the lovely YvoCaro at A Lady and Gaming, and subsequently wrote about it. For anyone interested to hear more about the Liebster, please take a quick look back at that piece. The gist of the experience is that it’s an award that writers nominate other writers for.

Which is quite an honor.

I had nominated one of my favorite people on the planet (At Home In My Heart), and she nominated me right back!

So friends, please strap in for my double Liebster!

P.S. (as in pre-script), these questions are really good ones!

#1. Why? * I have always wanted to know*

Because I must. I have always had a strong inclination to do (or not do) certain things, and once my mind is made up, things happen. My gut reaction to this question actually came in French: Il faut.

I have chosen to do some wonderful things, and also done some far less than wonderful things. I have made friends and lost friends. I have strong feelings about things. But I am not a stone wall. I am pliable to reason.

Il faut.

.

#2. Who is one of the kindest people you have ever met?

This is a funny question because it involves the person who asked it.

This is also a several part response.

First is my partner. He is kind and respectful to everyone, to a degree I didn’t understand was possible. During our first year together, he was working at a convenience store on the graveyard shift. This particular store was near a club that was busy on the weekends, and also got a lot of transients coming through.

No matter who he was interacting with, he was always respectful. It didn’t matter where the person lived, what they wore, or what they said; he was respectful.

He is this way with all creatures. He is the happiest person I’ve met. He thinks people are amazing.

He’s pretty much my hero.

The next answer is a tie between his parents. I can’t tell you how accepting of me they were, and how kind they have been over the course of the last nine years. They are two of the most genuine and lovely people I’ve been privileged to know, and I can never show enough gratitude for their creation of this amazing person I am honored to spend my time with.

I would be remiss not to mention when, years ago, they came to my aid at a time when I was broken-hearted (have I ever healed?) over the death of my dear Esmeralda (my best friend and first dog). What occurred will always be the second-nicest thing they have ever done for me.

I won’t ever forget that. Thank you.

And the person who nominated me for this double Liebster. She is magical. She is kind. She is intelligent. She has a sense of what people are feeling, and always seems to have the proper response. She has a delightful curiosity about her.

I don’t think I have enough adjectives to explain her. Or any of these people, actually. They all defy accurate description.

Is that not an intriguing way to be? Beyond description? I think so.

To each of those mentioned, thank you for being in my life. I am immeasurably better for your presence.

.

#3. Where was your special hiding place when you were a child?

Oh boy. Well the house I grew up in was tiny. As in 250 square feet of tiny. I shared a room with my parents until I was in 6th grade. My brothers lived in the attic where you couldn’t quite stand up all the way except at the apex.

So there weren’t a lot of places to hide.

However, my father was a master gardener, and we had a decent chunk of land the house sat upon. I would sit in the garden and look at all the wonderful growing things and marvel at nature and how things work. How do those roses push themselves through the stems? Can you imagine how much energy that would take?

There was also this neat area inside some bushes where you could see out, but no one could really see in, and occasionally I would find my way in there, but most of the time, I was in the rows and rows of the garden, watching the tomatoes, corn, peas, carrots, and everything else find its way to the surface and beyond.

Gardens are amazing.

My other answer to this would have to be my mind. I began reading at an extremely early age, and I grew to read voraciously the older I got. Sometimes I would be teased at school for our economic situation, and it was easy to lose myself in the stories I read. And I remember wishing more than once that the girls in the Baby-Sitters Club were my real-life friends.

.

#4. Do you think there is life on another planet?

I have no idea. It seems unlikely, based on what we know scientifically.

However.

There are so many undiscovered everythings in the galaxy, how can we know for sure?

I truly don’t know. If there are, I just hope they are friendly.

.

#5. What is one of your favorite colors? Why?

I adore colors. Colors get my imagination going. Colors are what inspire me to paint. Colors are magical. They are one of the main reasons I love rainbows; that’s where colors go to hang out.

I am partial to orange. The deep orange of the robes of monks in distant countries. There is something intensely soothing and unspeakably powerful about that particular shade of orange. I have tried to paint something that shade for years and never quite succeeded.

I will continue to try.

.

#6.  Who is one of your heroes?  Why?

Kenneth Grahame.

Kenneth Grahame was the author of Wind in the Willows, and his life was fraught with frustrations and obligations he carried out. He had a great sense of duty, but all the while yearned for something. Else.

After much patience, he caught up to the life he had yearned for for so long. He created something that was whimsical, but deeply telling of humans and creatures, and in the process, changed our childhood’s (and, in my case, adulthood) forever.

One of the finest pieces written on him was by Susan Cooper in the introduction to the Aladdin Classics version of Wind in the Willows. I highly encourage anyone to read her brief, but incredibly moving account of his life.

.

#7. How is your life different than it was a year ago?

I write now. Right now. A year ago I was just thinking about it. Last August I started doing it. I now write almost every day.

.

#8. Name a fad from the decade you were born.

Oh gosh, there are so many. Disco is the first that comes to mind. I adore the ’70s. Electric Light Orchestra!

.

#9. Beach, mountains,  or desert?

All, please. But if I must choose, I will always choose near the water. The beach.

.

#10. What was a favorite kid-hood book?

This is a tough one. I will choose the following because I have a personal story with it.

When I was younger I was introduced to Stephen Kellogg’s amazing children’s books. One in particular stood out then, and it does so now: The Mysterious Tadpole.

So imagine my starstruck little grade school self when I was told Stephen Kellogg would be coming to our very own library to autograph his books for us!

I remember telling him how much I loved The Mysterious Tadpole and he drew me this adorable tadpole in transition inside the front cover. It was my prized possession.

Years later, that, and many of my other children’s books managed to get lost in my parent’s belongings despite my best efforts to find them. It’s the one thing I really wish I could have found and kept safe from my childhood.

.

#11. What would you eat for your last meal if you could choose?

My last meal? This question feels a bit dire, but I would have to say Thai food. I love Thai food. I find it beautiful, delicious, and deeply nutritious.

.

I will now spare each of you the additional 11 fun facts about me, as we are nearing 1400 words and I don’t want to bore anyone. It’s awfully early, and I’m not even sure I could come up with 11 fun facts, or even just facts, as all I’m thinking right now is: there is a glass of pens and pencils near me.

Riveting.

And with that, thank you for coming by and reading this. Thank you to the Mamabird for the additional nomination. It means so much coming from you. I couldn’t think any more highly of you. And then I do.