I was recently tagged by Mandy, The Complete Cook Book, and given 10 Questions to answer. This is one time where having insomnia pays off. Rather than spend the night grousing about the poor state of overnight broadcast television, I have this assignment to occupy my attention until I’m ready for bed.
So, with Lucy quietly roosting at my side and Max snoring behind me, let’s get started, shall we?
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1. Describe yourself in seven words.
A pasta lovin’, spider hatin’, dependable friend.
2. What keeps you up at night?
Insomnia.
3. Who would you like to be?
Me. I learned a long time ago that to be happy in this life one has to be happy in one’s own skin.
4. What are you wearing now?
It’s 4:00 AM. I’m wearing sweat pants and an old shirt. (Quite the picture, eh?)
5. What scares you?
Spiders … spiders … spiders … and spiders.
6. What is the best and worst things of blogging?
Sorry to repeat your answer here, Mandy, but you were right on the money. The best thing about blogging is the people one “meets.” I’ve been showered with kindness, encouragement, and assistance. It really is remarkable and I’m very thankful.
And, like Mandy, I find that blogging is becoming more and more time-consuming.
7. What was the last website you looked at?
I read a review of the Absolutely Fabulous 20th Anniversary Special.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
Be a better proof reader. I can re-read my typed comment 5 times and the instant I hit “Post Comment” I’ll notice the error(s). I’ve left typo-ridden comments across all of WordPress and if I’ve not yet left one on your blog, it’s only a matter of time.
9. Slankets, yes or no?
No.
10. Tell us something about the person who tagged you.
Mandy was one of the very first people to look in on, and follow, my blog. Her encouraging words and positive comments meant a great deal to this new-comer to the blogosphere. Visit her blog and you might be rewarded with a tasty suggestion for lunch, a bike tour of her hometown, a restaurant-caliber entrée for dinner, or a passage reprinted from the Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book. And when I say “rewarded” I mean that in the very best sense of the word.
Who are you going to tag to join the quiz?
I hope I’ve not “double-tagged” anyone.
- Tanya, Chica Andaluza
- Marie, My Little Corner of Rhode Island
- “Smidge”, Just A Smidgen
- Kathryn, kiwsparks
- Jed, Sports-glutton.com
* * *
And by the way, just to be clear, spiders scare me.
* * *
from the Bartolini kitchens 
You are so funny! I love the tablets…the 10 commandments…perfect. I, too, have been tagged for this and what scares me is starting to be replying with answers that live up to the answers that those before me have given! 😉 Though, I am not terribly fond of spiders either.
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Whoa, talk about typos…yikes, I forgot the delete button! Sorry, I meant trying to answer with the same level of interest and humor as those before me was beginning to scare me….I’ll just go hide now.
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Don’t worry about it; it’s not your fault. I caused it through the power of suggestion. This comment section will probably be the most typo-filled section in all of WordPress because of me. 🙂
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Thank you. Sooner or later, everyone will be answering these questions or something similar. There are bound to be responses that mirror each other. That, too, is interesting to me: our similarities. Like our shared hatred of spiders. YIKES!
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I love that your answers are short and sweet. Still learned a lot though too!
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It’s the insomnia, Greg. I ran out of gas. 🙂
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Not feeling arachnids, huh? I hate the things too. I have a “truce” with them. Outside you get to live, inside you die!!! Got a good chuckle out of some of your answers. Now I need to look up WTH is a slanket.
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There is no truce with arachnids in these parts. I garden with a can of Raid at my side and have a couple of them in different rooms in my home. The only room they are “safe” from Raid is my office because the parrot is in there. Bug spray would kill her. Luckily, the 8 legged buggers haven’t figured that out yet.
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You little monkey – you tagged me! Loved reading your answers…spiders eh? Good thing I´m not planning a post on deep fried spiders any time soon 🙂 I love, love love your answer to Number 3….so true!
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Fried spiders?!?!? You have got to be kidding! I’ve got the willies just thinking about that.
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And heights…don’t forget heights!
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This was a post answering 10 questions and not name your phobias. Just be thankful there were no questions about navigators.
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It’s always fun learning new things about my blogger friends! Spiders, huh? Unless they’re horribly big I’m okay with them – well, not in the house, but you know what I mean! I can take them down! Blogging is very time consuming – but I love it!
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Big, little, and everything in between. I hate them all! Just brushing into a spiderweb can give me goose bumps. It is really ridiculous. I, too, thoroughly enjoy blogging. I’m just a bit surprised to see how much time I’m spending on it daily. It’s not something I was expecting.
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Spiders? Huh. I am a terrible insomniac as well. I wonder if alot of bloggers are. That’s when I make most of my comments, yep type-o’s and all. So glad you were tagged so we could learn a little more about you.
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Yes, spiders! It seems there are a number of us insomniacs in our little community. Too bad we aren’t all residents in the same, real community. We could meet up, cook all night, and boy would our loved ones and friends wake up to some spectacular breakfasts!
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Love reading this posts. It’s nice to get to now the person behind the blog a bit more! I too am scared of spiders, especially big black hairy ones! Oh, I too leave comments w/ grammatical errors and spelling errors….sometimes it’s in my posts too!
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I don’t care how beneficial they may be, if I could, I would have lizards both inside & out to eat as many spiders as possible.I have spent far too much time today correcting not just my post but my own comments in response to others’. It’s hopeless.
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John, loved your answers – short, sweet, funny. I’m with you on spiders – when you t h I n k about them, how they capture, and how they keep, and then what they DO with their prey, ewwww it makes me go all squiggly. (sorry, i shouldn’t have done that to you!) But their webs, all pearly with dew, or better yet, frozen fog, works of art! Still, we’ll never be friends. Sorry about your insomnia! I’ve got it too. I used to fight it more than I do now. Now I figure it might be a good time for SOME thing (though I’d thought it was sleep). Looks like you’ve arrived at a similar conclusion?
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Beautiful web or not, if it is anywhere near me, my trusty can of Raid will be called into action. And, yes, since I can no longer work, I do not have the sense of urgency about getting to sleep as I did when I had to be out the door by 7:30 am. So, though I may not like it, I’l just ride out the insomnia episode, catching naps when I can. Eventually, my normal sleep pattern will return and all will be well in Max’s house. 🙂
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Darn…you and my son hate spiders…so that leaves ME to kill them myself!! So not fair!
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I’ll kill ’em! Just keep me supplied with Raid and there won;t be a spider within quite a few yards of me. I once bug bombed my car when I saw a spider in it. It dropped from the ceiling panel while I was making a left and I almost hit a bus. Yes, the animosity between us goes back, way back!
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OMG! in your car!! That would scare anyone – even those not afraid of spiders!! Are you okay with frogs?? I get alot of those too!
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That spider in the car still gives me the willies! Frogs don’t bother me in the slightest. A friend, now deceased, had a place in North Ft, Meyers, where I learned to never pick up a shell laying in his driveway (wolf spiders), to stay off of the rocker on his porch (a massive speckled spider had a nest over and around it), and that spider ate the frogs that came out at night. I was terrified whenever I visited him.
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AB FAB is having a special!! Well pass the Bolli darling!.. and as you know i LOVE spiders so you can send them all to me! c
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Yes, Celi, they’ve already broadcast the 2 of them on BBC America and LOGO. I know you don’t do cable but you can find them on the web to download. Look for “Absolutely Fabulous S06E01” and “Absolutely Fabulous S06E02”. There is, also, a movie in the works and, although I’m not sure, there may be a 3rd episode later in this year. One of them, the movie or 3rd episode, will involve the Summer Games in London. Pats & Edie go to the Olympics. This can’t be good. 🙂
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Oh i can just see them at the olympics.. ogling and slugging away at their bottles.. fab!
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I saw Jennifer on Graham Norton a few weeks ago. She said it was purely coincidental that the filming and Olympics would occur together. What luck for the rest of us! I get a good chuckle just thinking about it.
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Were you bitten by a spider, John? If you ever come to visit you should come in the winter — most spiders die off here by the end of the fall.
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Yes, Sharyn, I have been bitten a couple times but they are not the cause for my arachnophobia — only justification. 🙂
If I do visit, let’s just play it safe and make it a January or February event. I don’t wish to chance a meeting with a hanger-on from the previous Summer.
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Ooooh! More presents! Thank you!
I love this one, because we get to find out more about you…
And, I promise: No more spider pictures without fair warning!
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Thank you and I hope you don’t mind my tagging you for the Quiz right now. If you haven’t the time for it, just shelve it until you do, if at all. It’s supposed to be fun, after all– unlike those nasty spiders! There ain’t nuthin fun about them!
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Oh you and me both my friend…spiders – ACK! They freak me out beyond belief. Fortunately, I’ve taught Mr. N how to “save” me from them. 😉 And I can also relate to your insomnia. One of these days I have to figure out how to get a good night’s sleep. Fun to learn more about you!
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My having insomnia is one thing; I live alone. You, however, are Mom; you need your sleep! I don’t know how you do it. This arachnophobia is something I’ll just never get over. Everyone said I’d outgrow it but I sure showed them! All this talk of spiders has me wondering if I need to buy more bug spray. Hmmm …
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I’ve been so looking forward to reading your ’10 things’ and you didn’t disappoint. You’d better be careful if you come to Australia because we have some very big and really poisonous spiders here! And what is it about typos on comments??? It happens to me all the time too. Everything looks perfect until you hit that button.
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OK. Now you are going to think me truly nuts. I have been to Australia and — this is the crazy part — one of the first things I did when I got to Sydney was to go to the Australian Museum where I went to the exhibit that showed the poisonous spiders. I was completely terrified but “Know thy enemy” is just as true with spiders as it is with people! I had read one spider was known to lurk under park benches and even public toilets. You guessed it. I did an awful lot of standing unless I was in my hotel room.
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I’m so with you on the typos! Sometimes I write in Word so I can spell check, but even that doesn’t catch some of the humdingers! Oh well, I’m in good company 🙂
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My problem is the same as it always has been: I do not read what I actually wrote but what I think I wrote. Even today, I’ve had to re-post this entry twice due to typos and I’ve self-corrected 2 of my own comments. Maybe we should form a support group. 🙂
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🙂 my mind is boggling at the thought of an online support group for typos and their owners!
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🙂
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Very, very interesting.. this is such a great way to get acquainted with each other…. I just bet I’ll be up at night writing my 10 as well. Must be something in the air, I’ve had an incurable case of insomnia for the past 5 nights and so has my daughter. At least she keeps me company into the wee hours. Perhaps a wee shot of something would help us? You’ll have to get Facebook, then you can chat all night long:) Spelling — as soon as I blogged that I was better at spelling than Math.. guess what happened?? Attrocious, oops atrocious spelling errors and I don’t understand why… Yesterday I typed Romain instead of Romaine… At least WordPress has tiny red underlines to help out my weak eyes..
xo Smdige er Smidge
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PS what are slankets??
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Slankets are a kind of blanket with sleeves. They come in all sizes & colors, some are even reversible.
Don’t mind me. I’m just showing off. I had to google ’em last night to find out what they were. 🙂
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Sorry to hear that insomnia has struck both you and your daughter but at least it hasn’t affected your sense of humor! This is a great comment, Smidge, just as I”ve come to expect from you. My insomnia, at least for now, seems to be waning. I hope the same can be said for you and yours. 🙂
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So fun learning about different bloggers! You are not alone…I am terrified by spiders too! 😉
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Apparently, judging by the comments, we are definitely not alone. We need to form a support group. We could call it Arachnophobes Anonymous but AA is already taken.
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It’s so great learning more about you, including your fear of spiders 🙂 I’m thinking the majority of people are… but I could be wrong. I’m certainly one of the many!
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“The many” is right, Stefanie. I’m very surprised to see just how many of us there are. It makes me wonder if many of those who have poked fun at me, all these many years, are, themselves, arachnophobes but only better at keeping their secret concealed. Hmmm …
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This was such a fun read! Your personality seems to so beautifully come through in each and every post, so to hear a little bit more about you is delightful. And although I think typos must plague us all, one of the best things about other bloggers is we are all a very friendly and forgiving bunch, don’t you agree? You are a very generous blogger, John. You are wonderful at responding and commenting…and yes, it DOES take a lot of time! I’m finding that out, too, but I look forward to it more than I ever would have expected. Get some rest! Debra
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Thank you so much, Debra. Like you, even though it takes up more time, I find it very rewarding — and that is the biggest surprise of all. And, thanks again, I did get a halfway decent night’s sleep and am planning a day of errands to celebrate! It’s amazing what one can accomplish on a day following a good night’s sleep. 🙂
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Niceli done my friend!
10 priceless answers, but in the first one I think you did a little cheating 😉
Have a nice day:)
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Nicely… see? Typos happen 😉
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Oh, I know … I’ve been correcting them, in the post and in my replies, all day.
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Thank you, Giovanna. I didn’t cheat. The request was 7 words, not 7 adjectives. Next time the maker of these quizzes should be more specific. 🙂
Enjoy your day, too!
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Another fellow arachnophobic – CANNOT handle those 8 legged critters! John, thank you for playing along and paying the questions forward. I loved reading all of your answers and thank you so much for such wonderful, kind and love filled words about me. I am feeling super special right now!
🙂 Mandy
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You should feel super special. Describing you and your blog was the easiest of the 10 questions and I meant every word.You are certainly among the best of the people I’ve met here. And now, learning that you are a fellow arachnophobe, my admiration for you has surged 10-fold. 🙂
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It is always fun to learn more about our blogging friends. I won’t mention the you know whats but I think most people feel the same but just put up a brave front sometimes. I work on 2 or 3 hours sleep far too often.
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Thanks, Karen, and here, at my end, it has been interesting to learn how many others hate those 8-legged beasties and, unfortunately, how many also have sleep problems. I’m rather surprised. In my case, being I can no longer work, this is an inconvenience but not much more. I’ll just sleep later in the day. For many, though, with careers and families, I don’t know how they do it. I give them credit. It cannot be easy for them.
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What is with you Italians and spider? Liz feels the same way about em.
Thank for passing along the tag. I’ll see what I can come up with. 😉
BTW…classic usage of the image.
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Well, I’m the only arachnophobe in my family and have taken quite a bit of ribbing as a result. Tell Liz i completely understand.
Glad you accepted the tag and am looking forward to learning more about the Man behind the O/U line.
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What a great post John, always nice to read more about my blogging ‘friends”. And spiders scare me too. You reminded me about when we were down in Cancun, Mexico several years ago. During twilight one night we were walking back to our hotel to dress for dinner when I spotted a blobby thing about 20 metres ahead of us in the middle of the path. I said to my husband, “what is THAT?” and he made fun of me, saying, ‘it’s a BIG BAAAAAD BUUUUUGGGGG…arrrrrhhhhhhh!” and as he said this he walked very spider like toward the ‘blob’. At which point, the blob stood up and we watched in total awe (read mouths hanging open) as it walked away on its eight legs…later that evening I asked one of the Geo’s what it could have been and they said it was a giant tarantula. Apparently they do grow that large for not often. YIKES. Lucky us!
What are slankets?
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I’ve been to Mexico, having stayed in Puerta Vallarta, and I knew there were tarantulas about. I never saw one and, if I had been in your shoes, I would have run screaming all of the way back to the airport. “Knowing” something like that exists is bad enough. “Seeing” it is definitely something i can live without.
A slanket is one of those blankets with sleeves that are being sold on those insufferable television commercials.
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I am sure glad your answer was no, then! I cannot guarantee what the consequences might have been had your answer was yes.
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Well, I can be certain of one thing. If any of my friends caught sight of me, I’d have to leave town. They’d never let me live it down. 🙂
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Okay, now that I’ve wallowed in the luscious pasta dish on today’s post here (Strozzapreti) for a goodly while, I guess I’d better get on with this homework you’ve passed along! I loved reading your answers, and while I can’t promise any nearly so informative or entertaining since mine are supposed to be about me, I shall endeavor to be honest and maybe dig up a surprise or two in the mix. It could happen! Meanwhile, I thank you for kindly including me in this round-robin-of-revelations and look forward to spying on others’ answers too, because yes, it *is* fun to get to know everybody a little better!
Kathryn
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Thanks, Kathryn, but, I must admit, my tagging you was really quite selfish of me. I so enjoy your writings, both prose and verse, that this was my way of getting a bit more from you under the guise of a friendly little quiz. Devious? Yes, but remember I’m the guy that just taught you how to make pasta that’ll choke a priest. 🙂
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Oh, I won’t forget, never fear!
. . . And it’s up and running: http://kiwsparks.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/mrs-sparklys-ten-commandments-i-mean-ten-questions-and-more/
🙂
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And it is every bit as good, if not better, than I thought it would be. Such a treat!
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Oh spiders! I hate HATE HATE them.
I just have to say try dettol, less annoying smell and instant effect.
Eva’s story will give me nightmares for weeks now
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You and me both, Sawsan! I would have run, screaming, as far as my feet could take me, had I stumbled upon the goliath Eva saw. Thanks for the dettol tip. I’m definitely going to look for it! We arachnophobes have to stick together! 🙂
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So sorry I forgot about the pasta..reading the comments about the spiders ….creepy
The pasta looks great and I really love the shape, the name made me laugh and I am tempted to look up the other stories
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Thanks, Sawsan. If you’re seriously interested, I’ve mentioned 2 of the other stories in reply to a couple comments. It might save you a little time “googling.” 🙂
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