What is everyone's take on Valentine's Day? I abhorred it all through school - fabulous, a day specifically designed to publicly humiliate & destroy the unpopular I sent black Valentines one year in HS, all bitter pithy quotes & dead flowers

 

My first husband's total obliviousness to the holiday is what oddly made me give a rat's about it - it's a gimme, fer chrissakes, you can't go ten feet without some kind of reminder/idea, and he totally whiffed it. Came home 4 hours late from work, empty-handed, looked blankly at the nice dinner I'd made & said, "Oh. I already ate at BK."

 

When I started seeing now-DH, I told him straight-out, I don't need anything ridiculous, but please, at least get me some flowers & a card so I don't feel totally overlooked. We don't do much, but we do try to go out for a nice dinner at some point around the day. I refuse to go out ON V-Day, having worked fine dining for too long - it's a miserable, overcrowded, over-priced experience, and no one in the kitchen is having much fun...

 

Valentine's colors? in terms of clothing/accessories/decor, I like a nice, washed-out poppy red, or a deep scarlet, that's about it. Unless we're talking real flowers - then I'm a sucker for blowsy pinks Peonies especially, the huge white ones with the blush of pink in the center, but the hot magenta ones are awesome, too.

A Favorite love poem?

 

We do like Neruda, especially The Sea & the Bells...

 

What's everyone's favorite semi-obscure (or underappreciated!) animal?

 

Naked mole rats! (Watch Errol Morris' Fast, Cheap & Out of Control for a primer) Also, hedgehogs, Inca terns, bats, & slugs. I actually have a pet slug right now - a tiny one I found in the lettuce we got at market. I have him in a jar with a lettuce leaf & a damp paper towel. His name is Steve

What is your favorite sign that spring is coming?

 

Oh, so many! Geese overhead, robins in the garden, big fat buds on the trees, snowdrops pushing through the leaves, seed catalogs in the mail, the smell of damp earth...

 

Knitted things? I'm well-set on nearly all things cozy, but I would die of happiness for a Felicity...

Love story?

 

While I do admit to getting sucked into the likes of The English Patient, my soft spot is for the more When Harry Met Sally-type stories - the friends oblivious to what everyone else can see, the disastrous attempts to find love elsewhere, the gut-punch moment when they realize The One has been sitting next to them the whole damn time... so, basically, how J & I got together

 

I like the love-not-spoken stories, too... My favorite elements in Gosford Park are Maceachran & Parks' confidences, quiet exchanges & near-clinches (doesn't hurt it's Clive Owen), and then their quiet parting. In theory, you know they'll never see each other again, but Parks is the sort of man who would re-appear out of nowhere years later to make good on what was hinted at...

 

Naughty bits?

 

Oooer. We have a precocious 3.75-year-old in the house, so nothing too... memorable. I do like me some Hydra-Smooth...

 

Pet toys?

No pets, but I do feed the birds regularly. Suet cakes, a sock feeder, anything like that would be lovely....

 

Who on the thread likes attending Ren Faires, SciFi/Comic Cons & the like? And do you dress up for them?

Once upon a time, I was all over this. I was costume mistress for our HS drama department, which included costuming for the Shakespeare troop... But now? Meh... If I had all the time in the world, I'd give steampunk cons a go, but it's not really in the cards right now.

Do you need any accessories for your phone, computer, mp3 player, etc.?

Erm... I could really use a fun mouse pad!

 

Gently Used CDs/DVDs?

Preferred, actually!

 

First five songs on the "Top 25 Most Played" list on iPod

No iPod, so here's what's been on heavy rotation in the house/car as of late:

 

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

My Car is Haunted - Royal Bangs

Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Convinced of the Hex - Flaming Lips

Icky Thump - White Stripes

Freeway - Kurt Vile

Red Dress - TV on the Radio

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

Chicago - Sufjan Stevens

I'm Not Looking for a New England - Billy Bragg

Too Nice to Talk To - The (English) Beat

Interested in receiving gifts representative of Witch's country or culture?

Yes yes yes please!

 

What about UNTOUCHED make-up samples or any other type of girly-sample thing? Don't wear much at all, but a nice lip-stain is always good...

 

WoW Nope!

Mix CDs Sure!

 

Favourite candy Anything caramel, esp Goetze's caramel creams/CowTails aroused.gif

 

Plush microbes No more critters, plz!

 

Kitchen Gadgetry A new OXO peeler, would be great - I stole ours for soap trimming

 

Mardi Gras Can take it or leave it...

 

What about handmade sewn gifts? Any fabrics you wish to/need to avoid due to allergies, etc? Yes, please!

Would you like new nail polish? If so, what colors are you craving? Never paint my nails

Do you like incense and/or scented candles, and are you able to burn them in your home? If so, what kinds of scents do you like? Overrun with incense, but some bamboo charcoal would be AWESOME.

 

Boxes? For Bpal (bottles and/or imps) or otherwise. All set, thanks!

 

Would you use a natural sea sponge? No, but thank you.

So, what is this unobtainable miracle your Witch found?

My witch last round found it - a copy of The Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken

 

Would you like some of my favourite recipes?

Yesyesyes!

 

Do you like alcoholic beverages? If so, what is your preference (beer, wine, liquor...)? And finally, is it legal to ship alcohol to your state? I do, but PA has draconian alcohol laws - can't get any shipped here

 

Are you into steampunk?

Not hard-core, but yeah, I appreciate the aesthetic...

 

Would you like or accept an energetically-charged item or gift? Something that had power poured into it? If so, do you have a particular purpose that you'd prefer? (Love, protection, money, etc.)

Oh yes. Something to aid in new business ventures/financial fecundity would be well-timed, indeed

 

Do you have any significant upcoming events in your life you'd like something for? A child/yourself graduating from high school/college? Are you buying a new home or car soon? Moving in with someone/getting married? Taking a new job? Moving to a new part of the country/world?

I may well be solely self-employed in a few weeks - whether I like it or not. Part of me is thrilled, but... well. See the above request.

 

How are we feeling about Burlesque?

I don't mind a bit of shimmy now & then

 

Win some earrings?

No holes in these lobes, thanks

 

I custom mix nail polish, a process called 'frankening'. If you were my witch, would you enjoy a custom 'franken', based on whatever colors/theme you chose?

Oooo, yeah! I'd wear something weird & metallic....

 

Since everyone is spending the same amount of money on this swap, would you be interested in seeing the cost breakdown of each item in your package?

No, unless you were particularly cunning.

 

What color are your eyes?

Dark brown/green/grey

If you had to choose a color for a nightie to sleep in what color would it be?

I sleep nekkid

 

What's your favourite flower?

Oh man. Not fair. Cut flower? Freesias. Potted plant? My Red Cross & burgundy oxalis. Garden plant? Too many to pick a top favorite - I love bleeding heart, columbine, crocuses, narcissus, peonies, grape hyacinth, lobelia, harebells... if you can imagine it in an English garden, I'm probably a fan.

If you like tea, what are your favorite kinds?

Unflavored black, primarily - I like a good malty Assam, but Ceylon & Assam blends are lovely. I also ADORE Harney & Son's Yellow & Blue herbal tea, but it's so damn spendy I rarely get it. Absolutely no rooibos please

 

Hogwarts house?

Gryffindor all the way.

 

Space, the final frontier?

We are big Star Wars fans, & I do like Star Trek, as well. Not a big astronomy buff, but stars is purdy.

 

Favorite animals?

Birds. Birds. Birds. Sheep. Birds.

Are there any languages or countries that you're really interested in?

I'd really like to get back to my Welsh some day, as useless as it is... Japan, Scandinavia, New Zealand & Tibet are on my life-list...

 

If you could be in any fictional universe, what would it be?

***DORK ALERT! DORK ALERT!*** Tolkien's Middle Earth. Yeah, I know. But I'd want to be one of the Rohirrim, or a Hobbit. None of that nancy Elven crap.

 

Do you like gardening,growing vegetables, house plants? Need any small tools, seeds, labels?

Oh heavens, yes! We have a big veg plot we share with the neighbors - any heirloom tomato/bean/melon/lettuce/herb seeds are welcome, as are plant markers, tomato ties & the like...