Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Liebster Award #3!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful July thus far! Summer here has been full… but in the best sense, so on the whole quite enjoyable.


On the blogging front, I received the Liebster Award again a few weeks ago! (Thank you, Hamlette!) So here are my answers for all your enjoyment and—of course—edification. ;)

1. Do you have a favorite mug or teacup? ~ Yes, indeed! It makes me happy every morning—and I’m sure it’ll be a big surprise:


2. Are you an adventurous eater? (Do you try “strange” foods?) ~ Hmmm. Generally I’ll try something as long as I know what’s in it. But then, on the other hand, sometimes I won’t (if I—accordingly—know what’s in it). I did once try a tiny bite of raw, healthy ground beef.

3. What fandoms are you into? ~ First and foremost, almost anything Zorro related. :) In further general terms: Disney, period dramas, classic films and any other spectacular stories truly told.


4. What famous author/book do you really not care for? ~ Don Quixote! Honestly, it’s dreadful. (I did get halfway through the massive tome and then stuck fast where he’s turning cartwheels for “penance” in… well, never mind. Let’s just say he didn’t have much going in the way of clothing.) Cervantes’ mockery makes me angry, but for a long time I didn’t completely understand why until I read some background on Spenser’s Faerie Queene. Writing at the same time as Cervantes (and a couple centuries after the heyday of armored knights) Spenser’s work is a stunning epic in defense of Christianity, including nobility, sacrifice, and honor (along with a lot of other truths well worth dying for). I now find it fascinating to compare the two—Spenser and Cervantes—but I still haven’t gotten around to forcing myself through the second half of DQ. (Side note, there IS an excellent 90’s Zorro episode on the Quixote theme, though, and—while it’s dealing with an old man’s dreams—it ends resoundingly in favor of a true fighting hero. ;))

5. What obscure author/book are you nuts about? ~ One (I think) little known story I love is Chaim Potok’s The Chosen. It’s one of the three books that have actually made me cry. And don’t worry, it does end happily!

6. What’s the oldest movie you’ve ever watched? ~ The Mark of Zorro (1920). The silent film with Douglas Fairbanks, it’s both frightfully fun and funny. (I did warn you about my Zorro thing up above, didn’t I?) Incidentally, though having the same name, it’s also different from The Mark of Zorro with Tyrone Power listed here on my author blog. 

7. What did you have for breakfast today? ~ A mango-gelatin smoothie.

8. When did you first see your favorite movie? ~ I feel like I’ve been linking to Shadow on the Mesa here every five posts or so… but it does truly seem inevitable. I first saw it last Thanksgiving and I’ve now seen it five or six times.


9. Do you prefer fantasy or sci-fi? ~ I don’t think I’ve ever actually read any sci-fi… so fantasy.

10. What did you expect your blog to be like when you started it? ~ A place to share about my stories and surrounding interests and/or further delightful happenings—I was pretty open to seeing where it would end up going. 

11. Has it changed? If so, how? ~ The story sharing part has hopped a little, but in the main it’s stayed pretty constant. One major development I’ve noticed is I’ve gotten more comfortable writing what I actually think—both on and off the blog. Learning to be comfortable opening up and honestly sharing my opinions. I’m still growing, so thanks goes to all you wonderful readers and friends who have (and still are) helping me along! It’s also helped me even in some smaller details like faster typing and editing. I still cringe when I discover a typo (and am known on occasion to cut-and-paste and delete and repost my reply comments if I’ve made an egregious error), but it’s helping me learn to get words out and achieve the fine balance between crippling perfectionism and excellent, well-executed work. :)

And now for 11 facts about myself (in no particular order)!



1. I love clear turquoise water.
2. I have a splendid story board up behind my computer with all my character “castings” for On David’s Shoulders and also my important writing calendar.
3. I’d like to learn Spanish someday.
4. I can recognize quite a few different butterflies. 
5. I milk cows.
6. I’m crazy about Egyptian archaeology and history.


7. One of my favorite musicals is the ‘03 Music Man with Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.
8. I love studying dinosaurs.
9. I’m hoping to use the Leisl’s Dance Dress pattern here, when making my bridesmaid’s dress for a friend’s upcoming wedding.
10. I’m 5’4” tall.
11. I don’t like flies and gnats, etc., but otherwise bugs, spiders and creepy crawlies really don’t bother me.

I hope you all enjoyed and thanks so much again for the tag, Hamlette!

Tell me! Do we have any of those last “11 Facts” in common?


24 comments:

  1. Heidi, I absolutely LOVED this post - it is so delightfully delicious! My sister and I adore Egyptian archaeology! We even joked about digging for mummies way back when, lol.
    I must say that the dress pattern is simply BEAUTIFUL and I'd love to see pictures of it!

    Blessings dear friend!
    Email received - thank you. :)

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    1. Sarah,
      I'm so very glad you loved it!! :) And you're fascinated by Egyptian archaeology, too?? How -- HOW -- have we never discussed this?!?!?!

      And thank you! If the dress pattern arrives in time (and all goes well) I'm hoping to post pictures eventually. ;) Blessings to you, too, dear friend!

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    2. I have no earthly idea how this topic never came up! It's not like we haven't talked of many, many things! ;)

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    3. Sarah,
      LOTS of things, indeed! Well now we'll have to touch on this one sometime, too. ;D

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  2. There's a Music Man version with Kristin Chenoweth?!? *freaks out in ecstasy* Oh my goodness!! MUST WATCH IT. I had no idea they made a new one!

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    1. Emma!!
      YES! And you must absolutely drop everything and watch it NOW. (Okay, after the busyness of your western week and whenever you have a free summer evening would be all right, too. ;)) But seriously. Let's just say I saw the old version and didn't really ever want to see it again. And then I saw the '03 and it somersaulted to my favorite movies list. It may even win out as my all-time favorite musical. The way they tweaked the story in places is just incredible (I LOVE the ending!!!).... and most of the costumes are just deliciously gorgeous. (I want some of them in my closet so badly. Badly enough that I think one of these days I'll actually try making a few of them! ;)) Tell me if/when you're able to see it! ;D

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    2. EEEEEEEEEP sounds like so much lovelyness?

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  3. I love the Mark of Zorro with Tyrone Power but the own with Douglas Fairbanks sounds good too! I didn't know it existed but I'll have to try it out. :)

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    1. Lois,
      I'm SO happy to find another Zorro fan!! :D Yes, the Douglas Fairbanks took me a little to get into (mostly just because I haven't seen many silent movies), but then by the end it was hilarious. I was watching with my sisters and we were in stitches -- you can't help it. The 1920's was the first Zorro (after the book, of course) and started off the swashbuckling genre (including, I would guess, a good many other stories that take a bow here and there to the tradition, like Princess Bride :)). If I'm remembering correctly, it's also the first one the husband-wife team (Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford) did together.

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  4. Such pretty turquoise water :)
    Isn't it SO much fun to find a photo online or somewhere that matches one of your characters???? I can't get over how much I love it when that happens.

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    1. Jessica Prescott,
      Thank you! Isn't it lovely?

      And yes, indeed! I have pics for quite a few of mine and I'm absolutely thrilled to have perfect ones for my two main characters. (It took a long time -- several years! ;)) The pictures for my heroine are actually from an ad and also a knitting book, but I have her personality so firmly entrenched it works great. And then my hero's "cast" from a couple films (which is a long story) and it's working out fantastically. So altogether I'm one happy writer!! ;)

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  5. Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! In every form I have seen or read, he is marvelous. I actually just bought the Douglas Fairbanks Sr. version, but haven't gotten to watch it yet. I'm glad to hear you like it! And of course, Tyrone's is so delicious.

    That dress pattern is super cute! What color will you be making it?

    I've never watched the more recent version of The Music Man, but I love the old one! I'll have to hunt down the new one.

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    1. Hamlette,
      ZORRO!!! Yes, okay. I can't say much more than that or I'll be going on indefinitely. Honestly, I love LOVE classics and period dramas and certain Disney films, etc., to absolute pieces, but I was starting to wonder if I'd ever find anything I was absolutely nuts about.... that I could go places with. It's kind of hard to have a fandom about one film. (I mean, Tangled and North and South are two of my three favorite movies, but you can't really have a fandom about them, can you?? Well, actually I do, but you know what I mean.... :P) Anyhow, all that to say, I've now found mine!!!! Yay!! ;D

      And thank you -- I'm hoping the pattern arrives soon so I can start sewing! The wedding color is teal, so I'm hoping to use a pretty chiffon on the bluer end of the spectrum. I can't wait to share pictures if all goes well!

      And I hope you're able to see the newer Music Man before too long! Does your library have it?

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    2. I'm happy you've found yourself a fandom! Also, this gives me all sorts of Christmas present ideas :-D There's so much wonderful Zorro stuff in the world :-D

      My library doesn't have the newer Music Man, so I'm going to see if I can watch it online. Right now, though, I'm in the middle of The Slipper and the Rose (ahem), and then I need to rewatch the original 3:10 to Yuma so I can review it for Western Cinema Week...

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    3. Hamlette,
      Hee, me too!! :D And ooohhhhh.... goodie!! ;D (I've actually got a splendiferously exciting Zorro blogging idea up my sleeve, but since I'm crazy busy at the moment -- and into late fall -- I'm making myself wait to do it till probably January. It seems like a tremendously long time to wait, but it also makes something to look forward to after all the fall and Christmas festivities. :))

      And oh dear.... sigh. I do hope you can find it somewhere! And you are?? Yay! I know I told you about some of the potentially slow points, etc. :P, but how are the fairy godmother and the prince measuring up so far?

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    4. Oooooh, a Zorro blogging idea! How splendid! I look forward to it unfolding whenever you unfold it, hee.

      It looks like TMM is on YouTube chopped into about 17 pieces, but maybe I'll be able to watch it that way.

      I'm nearly done with TSATR, and I love the prince and the fairy godmother! And the king is hilarious most of the time. I'll email you more fully tomorrow once I've seen the last half hour or so.

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  6. Ah, this was so fun! A couple points I wanted to comment on....

    I really need to see Shadow on the Mesa soon....have you ever heard of the movie "The Redemption of Henry Meyers"? It's a Christian western and I liked it a lot. Not a "favorite" movie, but I still enjoyed it. And, you know, it's a redemption story....in case you didn't get that from the title. ;)

    How is "The Music Man" content wise? I've heard of it vaguely but never looked into it.

    You're 5'4"? For something reason I envisioned you a bit taller, haha. (not that I'm saying that's a bad thing ;))

    I'm not the only one who does the cut-copy-paste-delete thing too with comments?? Yay!

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    1. Natalie,
      Yes, thou MUST!!!!! :D And no, I haven't! A redemption story? Yes (hem!) you do know me.... I'll definitely have to look into it! ;)

      Hmmmm. The Music Man.... There are a few details, but it'd get kind of long and categorical in a comment here -- would you be all right if I get the answers to you in an email sometime? Or were you wanting to watch it like this weekend??

      *Laughing* After I wrote that, I was actually measuring for garment fitting etc. and found out I'm just 5'5". Is that closer to what you were picturing?!? ;D

      And whew! I'm so glad to find I'm not the only one! :)

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    2. Haha, well, I just found it on youtube the other day, so I PROMISE I will watch it soon! :D

      An email would be just fine! Whenever you have time is great. :) I haven't even yet checked to see if our library has it.

      Haha, yes, actually, that is closer to what I was picturing! :D

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  7. Loved reading this. It is always nice to learn new random facts about you!
    Love the teamug by the way.

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    1. Rose,
      I was delighted to get your comment -- you've been missed!! And so glad you liked the post. Yes, that coffee mug is from one of my favorite places in the entire world and makes me happy every morning. ;)

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  8. Ooooh!:D

    Have you seen the Antonio Banderas versions of Zorro? The second one of his is the only Zorro movie I've ever finished watching, and I feel slightly uneducated;-P

    I really want to watch Shadow on the Mess (because, um, Wes Brown and Kevin Sorbo). Do you know if it's on YouTube or Netflix or anything?

    That version of The Music Man looks adorable!!! Kristen Chenoweth and Matthew Broderick!! :D

    I quite enjoyed reading your answers!:)

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    1. Olivia,
      First, thanks so much for the follow -- I was so very happily tickled to see your button pop up on my sidebar! ;D

      And no, I haven't seen the Antonio Banderas versions yet, but (as I'm now on a compulsive, long term marathon for all things Zorro related) I'm sure I'll be looking into them at some point. :) Did you like it?

      And hem! *clears throat* Shadow on the Mesa. Um.... yes. Quite. Very much so indeed. ;) I first got it at our library before promptly adding it to my collection, but I've heard it's on YouTube. I hope you can find it soon!

      YES. The Music Man is sooooo sweet and gorgeous -- such a favorite! ;D

      And thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts and look forward to further confabulation. Please just be courteous to one and all. Oh, and I love thoughts on old posts, so comment away!

(Also of late -- what with time being finite, and Life Happening + managing multiple blogs and computer issues and all that -- I sometimes have to alternate between creating new content and replying to comments, but rest assured I'm thrilled to hear from each and every one of you and always hope to reply thoughtfully in full ASAP. <3)

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