Sunday Stealing: Jigsaw Puzzles

 I've got the double whammy of getting ready to go to Darwin and a flat inspection. The former is for work. The latter is one of the joys of renting. Surely, after being here for so long they know that I'm not running a meth lab or hosting 16 Chinese students in my spare room. I also don't put holes in the wall. Ah well. 

So I'm doing what I normally do when I have a deadline. I'm doing a few questions and doing a couple of jobs. 

Questions, as always, come from Bev at Sunday Stealing. 

1. What is a big dream you have for the future?

I have had the dream of getting a book published for years. I have the write the bugger first, but that is a dream. 

Another dream is to go and live in Paris for a while. I really like that idea. I'd love to get my French fluent. 

2. What are your favorite hobbies?

Other than watching movies, walking and writing? I really like knitting and crochet. I love making things. 

3. If you could change the world, what would you do?

I'd love to get rid of right-wing politicians. Particularly Donald Trump - he's a very dangerous man. 

4. What places have you traveled to?  What was your favorite?

I'm really lucky to have travelled all over the world. Asia, America and Europe. Each one of these locations has something special about them. 

But I'm still torn between naming Paris and London as my favourite places. Both are very special city, each of them has their own charms. I'd live in either of these places in a heartbeat. 

I've also got a love of Thailand and Bali. I love being in Buddhist countries. I love the vibe.  

5. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

As an adventurous eater, I've tried a lot of things. So, take your pick from this list: 

• Pickled herring
• Snails
• Kangaroo
• Chicken's feet at the local Chinese yum cha (dim sum) place
• Fresh oysters (yum)
• Wasabi and white chocolate ice cream
• Some of the things I ate in India
• Anything you find in an Indonesian 7/11

6. What are your favorite places to eat?

Again, as I'm an adventurous eater, but I love a good French Restaurant. We went to a local one for my birthday this year and it was delightful. 

7. What kind of music do you like?  Talk about a favorite artist or songs.

You can file me and my music tastes under Adult Alternative. I've got a healthy respect for rock and a bit of pop, and I like jazz and classical. It's easier to ask me what I don't like - which is Death Metal and Country and Western.

As for my favourite bands - well that would be Talking Heads and The Pixies. 

And my favourite song has not changed in over forty years. It has been, and always will be this:

8. What was the last book you read?

I finished Trent Dalton's Lola in the Mirror the other day. I love Trent Dalton - he's one of Australia's best writers. Approachable, fun and gritty, and he writes Modern Australia really well. His non-fiction book, Love Stories, get's a mention in this book. 

9. If you could meet a character from a book, who would it be?

Of course it would be Dumbledore. He sounds fun. The other character than comes to mind is John Parlabane from Robertson Davies' The Cornish Trilogy. He's more trouble than he's worth but he'd be fun to hang around with. 

10. Do you prefer books or movies?  Why?

Oh, this is hard. I love them both equally. I love a well written book, but then again, I adore a good movie, I love being shown a well crafted story as much as I love reading about them. 

11. What is something you used to be scared of, but aren’t any more?

Computers. Once, many years ago, I used to be a complete luddite. I now work in IT (as a writer, but I have to be a little big good at computers). 

12. What is something you were never afraid of, but are now?

Right wing politicians. Peter Dutton. Donald Trump. Take your pick. 

13. What item is your most cherished possession?  Why?

I'm not really into things, but I am into my books. I have a copy of Lady Cottington's Book of Pressed Fairies signed by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. I've also had my tattered copy of Captain Corelli's Mandolin signed by the author. Both are very dear to my heart. 

14. What awards or contests have you won?

I've won a couple of short story competitions. That, and I went on a game show once and won $700. 

Oh, and I won a book from my online book group. That was a bit of a result. 

15. Do you like working jigsaw puzzles?

I do like working on jigsaw puzzles, but I can't remember the last time I did one. We have one in the Darwin office we can work on if you want to have a break from work for a bit. 

Today's song: