WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Been a while.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yes, and so do most people who see it. It’s beautiful (she says modestly.)
DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
One daughter, Elizabeth, named for her birth mother, Lizz, and me. How’s THAT for symmetry.
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
If I saw me in a good mood….of course, on a bad day NO one would see me so I guess, yes I would. I can be fun. I play well with others.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Try not to, except humorously, because sarcasm verges on hurtful. There’s a couple people I know who who are so funny–but so sarcastic–that I am never quite sure what to think of the things they say to me.
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Lost ’em long ago, or I’d have starved to death.
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No, my spine has been insulted enough, thank you.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Old fashioned oatmeal with cream and maple-cinnamon sugar, or homemade granola with yogurt and berries. But I also like puffed red wheat, or Spoon Sized Shredded Wheat and Bran. As you can see, I am not really into the kind of cereal that turns the milk purple!
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Almost always.
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Used to think no, but looking back at my life, I’d have to say I’m stronger than most anyone I know. I don’t know very many who could have endured all that I have and remain standing.
FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
So many…hard to say. Chocolate, I guess, is still my favorite, but raspberry or apricot sorbet is right up there.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their hands. Always their hands. I fell madly in love with Gerald’s hands almost at once…they are beautiful. Still.
RED OR PINK?
What, I can’t have both? Says who?
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
The fact that having bipolar disorder makes my moods unpredictable, and I can get irritated or hurt so easily.
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My grandparents, and my two Uncle Bobs. And Anne. I have found so many people I’d thought never to see again, but I miss Anne every day.
WHAT KIND OF SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Barefoot. I’d go that way always, if I could. (Yes, it’s cold but I’m all wrapped up in an afghan as I work here and my toes are quite toasty.)
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Peter Coyote narrating a documentary about hippies.
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Indigo.
FAVORITE SMELLS?
Freshly washed hair, Gerald after his morning shower and shave (he wears a great scent!) and line-dried laundry, especially sheets.
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Gerald. Which is always fun, because he knows it’s me when I call, and answers the phone in any number of fun ways: “Talk to me!” or “I told you never to call me here!” or, best of all….”I was just thinking about you.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
I am not a sports fan, but I have to say, Stephane Lambiel was poetry in motion, on ice.
HAIR COLOR?
Honey blonde.
EYE COLOR?
Green.
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No. Glasses, except for reading. Yeah, that’s what I said!
FAVORITE FOOD?
Shrimp.
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
“Madison.” Ever heard of it?
SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer. “In the midst of winter I learned there was in me an invincible summer.” Words to live by! (That being said, I am enjoying this extreme winter. I know, I know…but I like snow.)
HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs. The kind that don’t let go for a long, long time.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
“Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Tech
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Cannot remember.
FAVORITE SOUND?
Good music, and the laughter of my family.
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles
WHERE IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN?
Toronto, so far. We WILL go to England and Scotland one day.
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
My writing. And my ability to make a lot out of not much.
WHERE AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN?
Goshen, Indiana.
So….did you learn anything you didn’t know? Any surprises? I’d love to hear YOUR answers to some of these!
ElizabethVirdon's Blog 
Okay, I’ll play.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? September, when my dad died.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I don’t write, per se; I print. I like the legibility, and my cursive is a disaster. I had the self-discipline to teach myself cursive, but not enough of it to manage a proper copperplate hand.
DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
One daughter, Miranda Ellyn. Her first name is taken from The Tempest; her middle name is the same as my mother’s, with a variant spelling.
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Maybe. Sometimes.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
My sense of humor would be wildly different without it, although I try to keep the zings in not-mean territory.
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yep. Appendix, too.
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Egads, no. That’s a pinched nerve waiting to happen.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don’t much like cereal, to tell the truth. I can’t even remember the last time I had any…although I’m pretty sure they were Honey Nut Cheerios that were at the office. I like Cap’n Crunch on ice cream and yogurt, although I never buy it.
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Most of my shoes are sandals.
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Ask me thirty years from now.
FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Peppermint stick.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Teeth. I have a dental fixation. I’m kind of obsessed with teeth.
RED OR PINK?
Red.
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Oh my. I’d be here for days. NEXT!
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My grandpa and my dad.
WHAT KIND OF SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
A pair of Havaiana flips I picked up at the airport.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
The air conditioner. It’s almost bedtime and the house is quiet.
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
What time is it? There’s never just one answer to that.
FAVORITE SMELLS?
Rain, in all its multitudinous forms.
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
The paralegal at the office where I work.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
The Winter Olympics. All of them. Which I am about to miss for the second Games in a row because I have no cable where I live. It makes me sad and cranky.
HAIR COLOR?
Red going grey. Well, white, mostly, but going. It’s an uphill battle and L’Oreal can only do so much.
EYE COLOR?
Green, mostly.
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Not since I had to get bifocals.
FAVORITE FOOD?
Don’t have one, but I’m really missing sushi right now because the local sushi place closed last summer.
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Depends on the movie.
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Amadeus, in honor of Mozart’s birthday.
SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter. I live in endless Summer, and it isn’t as pleasant as most people think it would be. It’s actually pretty uncomfortable a lot of the time; it’s easier to bundle up than strip down.
HUGS OR KISSES?
Both, although I have some dandy Candy Cane Kisses in the fridge left over from Christmas….
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt. It’s fascinating.
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
White Collar on DVD.
FAVORITE SOUND?
Rain. Purring. The ocean. Oh, and snowfall. There’s a very distinct sound that comes with a gentle snow, no wind whipping around, no icy particulates, just big fluffy flakes. If it were possible to hear velvet, it would sound like snow.
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Both. Beatles for singing, Stones for driving.
WHERE IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN?
Apia, Western Samoa, about 90 miles west of where I’m sitting now.
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Nope. Not a one.
WHERE AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN?
Anderson, Indiana. 8:48 a.m.