Well, I can't cook until my house is clean, or at the very least, my kitchen. My workspace is so miniscule, I can't function unless it's clean and tidy.
Who do you resemble in your family?
Oh, a little of column A, a little of column B. I have my mom's build and my dad's nose, my grandma's eyes and a slather of introspective creative bent from both sides. And plenty of OCD.
We always muse that every genius, from Beethoven to Einstein, would have been labeled obsessive-compulsive, or attention-deficit, or some other label, and then heavily medicated, thereby eradicating their genius. Says loads about our culture, doesn't it?
Have you tried e-books yet?
Yeah, I don't care for them. Staring at a screen is not the same as reading a book, and you can't loan it to anybody without handing over your username and password. Not to mention the issue with batteries and Amazon being able to remotely wipe your Kindle. Stick your device on a shelf for 15 years and see if the book is still readable. But paper and ink books? Still kickin'!
Do you collect anything?
Books. I collect books that I love, mostly by long-dead authors. I have a collection of Albert Payson Terhune that lives at mom's, because I don't have the space here, and the books are too old and delicate to go into storage. I even have one that is a first edition with the original color plates. I'm currently sniffing about for other authors to collect. I'm sampling lots of writing right now.
What's your favorite fall tradition?
Halloween! It's kind of funny. When I was little, I loved Halloween because I got to dress up and have candy. Then when I was a teenager, I was too old to dress up and felt guilty about still liking it. Now that I'm an adult with kids, I can dress them up, decorate with pumpkins, and hand out candy. It's so much fun having kids! They make a great cover to do all the things that I'm supposed to have grown out of.