I am so far behind on these. I'm just picking and choosing questions anyway, so it could be worse.

What inanimate object do you wish you could eliminate from existence?
If the apostrophe in English counts as physical (and it is when in print), then that. I like to use it correctly but far too many people whack it into random or even all plurals, and I think their English, and that in too many cafes, would be so much easier to read without it.

What is your favourite way to waste time?
Reading, but I wouldn't say any time spent happily is wasted.

Do you have any pets? What are their names? Now, what are the names you actually use for them?

• Jasmin, chocolate Burmese, full name Jasmin "Walnuts" Zampetta. Why? Because she got a notch out of her ear in a fight and we said she looked like a tough Mafia cat. Greg called her "Notchy" which made me laugh as it sounded like noci which is Italian for walnuts and we were watching The Sopranos back then. Zampetta is "little paw" which completes her Mafia name. Also known as Jazzy Walnuts, Jazz, Jazzy, the thug. She left us last November after getting a fast-acting cancer, but she deserves to be here.
• Ashley, silver tabby, full name Ashley Riverstone because Greg thought she looked like a stone from the Ashley River. Also known as Ash, Ashy, Ashels, Squeaker, and The Flag-tailed Yogurt Cat - I think she likes yogurt more than tuna.
• Sebastian, black domestic shorthair (according to the vet), full name Sebastian von Klemperer because the rising noise he makes when he's hungry sounds like Commandant Klink. Also known as Seb, Sebby, black hole.

How much of your body would you cybernetically enhance, if you could?
All of it from the neck down.

How quickly do you adapt to new technology?
Pretty quickly. I'm a geek who enjoys change.

In a couple of weeks they're removing scanning and the vaccine pass mandate for eating/drinking places because the Aussies and returning residents - like a friend of mine who just came back from Germany - can't eat out. Omicron is still peaking down here though so no way am I going to relax my vigilance as I'm terrified of long covid and side-effects to the brain. We've decided not to go to the family wedding next month because weddings are classic spreader events, and also guests have to wear formal attire and we don't have any. If I still had a black suit, I'd cross-dress like I used to for formal occasions, but I really can't be bothered. We will hardly know anyone there and dancing isn't our thing, so I'm relieved at the decision.

Which word do you almost always mispronounce? Which word do you always mistype?
"Statistics" is always hard to say, and also a bit prone to typos.

Which body part do you wish you could detach (or at least reposition), and why?
Definitely boobs. I didn't get them till my 20s and wish I never had. I'd detach the bastards and never put them back. Seriously, other mammals only have them if they're feeding young, so why do we have to put up with them regardless? Really bad design flaw, along with a few others I could name.

Pineapple on pizza: yay or nay?
Yay: I love it: the mix of sweet with rich savoury flavours.

Should taxpayers have the option to explicitly say what they don’t want their tax money spent on?
No: too hard to implement, and some not-very-exciting things might never get funding.

What is the worst smelling place you've been to?
Rotorua with all the sulphur, but after a day or so you get used to it, and then it's a fun place to be.

It's definitely autumn after a summer that never really happened, but I like autumn: nice settled weather and those European trees up the valley showing their glorious colours later in the season.

Omicron is raging through the country, massive numbers each day. The town looks empty and small towns or villages around the area are deserted with most shops or cafes closed. I've been volunteering one afternoon a week to deliver food and supplies to Pasifika families isolating at home out in the countryside (because I have an electric car I get the further away addresses) and the roads are strangely clear. Despite all this, or more because there's little one can do about Omicron, we're opening up to tourists this month, Aussies first. I'm still being super-cautious though. They're showing the first two Godfather films at the local cinema, and Greg, who hasn't seen them, wants to go but I'm nervous about the danger, even though they require vaccine passes.

Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction books? Why?
Fiction - I like to be entertained, especially when the book is set somewhere or when that's exotic to me. [clings to escapism]

What is the most useful app on your phone?
Probably the Tesla app which gives me keyless access and lets me do things remotely like turning on and off heating or aircon (we still don't have a garage, but there are walls now). After that, Anagram Solver, because I do cryptic crosswords. It's the best anagram app I've found.

While walking/running/biking/other cardio: music or podcasts or silence?
Definitely silence. I like to be able to think or make up stories, and I can't do that with song lyrics or a podcast.

Do you have a Pavlovian response to anything?
Nothing I can think of makes me salivate. Sallymn said "pavlova" which is a clever and funny response.

Is some degree of censorship necessary?
Yes, porn for example.

As an adult, is there anything you don't even pretend to bother with anymore?
Talking about politics and depressing news, not that I did either as a kid. I really don't get why people want to talk about awful things when there's nothing they can do about them, and many do it with an almost creepy glee. If someone starts up with "Oh, did you hear about that dreadful [insert horrific event]" I've been known to either change the subject or just walk away. There's so much about people I don't understand.

I just heard there's been a tweet (see here) implying that they're going to shut down LJ or block non-Russians from using it.

I've looked for the few people I follow here over on Dreamwidth but have only found two of you. If you're under another name there, please let me know. You can email me using this username on Gmail; I'd hate to lose touch.

Even if that doesn't happen, given that LJ's owned by Russians, moving to DW seems like a bloody good idea anyway.

Summer is finally here - now that it's autumn. Lovely fine hot days, and more than two in a row, too! Keep it up, autumn!

What's invisible, but you wish people could actually see it?
I can't think of anything, but when I was a kid, I once thought it would be useful if people's noses turned blue when they lied. I now know that white lies have their place in polite society. 

If you built a themed hotel, what would the theme be, and what would the rooms look like?
Two people I know went for book-themed hotels, but I'd like to do something exotic: different suites or units in different styles: Moroccan, Greek, Turkish, French country, Spanish, Tuscan villa...

If time travel is possible, would we have met time travelers already?
Given the one, then yes to the other.
BTW I once saw a old photo (1920s?) of a crowd including what looked like a man looking at a mobile phone. I don't know what he actually had - a small notebook or folded map, probably.

Greg had mild cold symptoms last week so he had to get tested, and we both had to self-isolate until he got his results (which were negative). It's the first time I've ever used click-and-collect for a supermarket shop, picked up by a neighbour. I hope it wasn't a dry run for actual covid, which is indeed in town and "rife" in Dunedin, the city closest to us.

Have a small selection of the remaining February questions.

What makes you roll your eyes every time you hear or see it?
Off the cuff:

• Anti-vaxxers and anarchist protesters shouting about their "freedom" and shitting on the majority of us who just want to get on with our lives as well as we can. An aside: some of the protesters at parliament have got covid and blame the government for beaming it at them - and are wearing tinfoil hats. Seriously. I thought it was a joke, but they're even more moronic than I thought.
• "With all due respect" = "with no respect whatsoever".
• "To be honest" - so you haven't been so far?

When was the last time you told someone, "I told you so!"?
About three weeks ago on Waitangi Day when Greg thought we could drive to Hampden and have their excellent fish and chips on the beach. I said it's 1) Monday and most eating places close on Mondays, and 2) it was a public holiday, so even more so. "They're open seven days." he said. Nope. Oh well, the beach was still there.

Is there something that you're interested in that most people aren't?
Lots, probably. I'll pick languages.

What really needs to be modernised?
The search function on streaming services. Laboriously moving right and left to select individual letters in a linear alphabet is a really crap way to enter text.

Do you text more or call more? Why?
Phoning is my last resort. Texting or emailing are the way I go. Yes, I'm an introvert - why do you ask? ;-)

Most important in a partner or best friend: intelligence or sense of humour?
Probably intelligence, as senses of humour differ so much. Greg however is also my best friend and our humour is completely in sync: we laugh at exactly the same things on TV which has amused the hell out of guests.

What are you going to do this weekend?
Very little today. It was summer yesterday for a whole day; it's now wet and grey, but tomorrow is predicted to be sunny so we could go for a drive up the valley to Omarama and even risk lunch outside at a favourite cafe.

Would you rather have all your meals prepared for you but not have any say in the menu (outside of certain dietary restrictions e.g. allergies), or sleep eight hours every night but not get to choose your bedtime?
Defo the meals! I don't enjoy cooking, and "What's are we having for dinner?" is one of the most annoying questions (even though Greg helps to cook). This way I'd get to ask the question too.

I am sitting here on a cold grey day with the heater on, sad that we've missed out on yet another summer. Mind you, all the things I wanted to do during it were cancelled.
Good: the garage is slowly being built, and we might have the deck on top of it next month.
Bad: the weather hasn't been good enough to sit out on a deck. It's autumn already and this is meant to be the hottest month.
I really need something to look forward to.

What do you think is the best sitcom (current or past)?
I'd have to go with The Detectorists, like zoefruitcake who introduced me to it. It's funny, eccentric, quirky, never mean*, and so very rewatchable.
* Far too many older ones are sexist. Parks and Recs, which I gave a try recently, wasn't, but utterly repelled with its fat-shaming and bullying of Jerry.

Who would you most like and least like to be stuck in a lift with?
Most like: MacGyver, if I'm allowed fictional characters, because we won't be stuck long. Otherwise, Greg.
Least like: the shitfaced ex-president. It'd be the ultimate locked-room murder with an obvious suspect.

What was the last song you listened to of your choosing? What was the last song you heard that was imposed on you (e.g. background music at a shop, in someone else's car etc.)?
Last I chose: We Don't Talk About Bruno on YouTube because I missed a lot of the lyrics when I saw the film.
Last imposed: some bloody annoying repetitive Irish thing at the local cafe. All their songs seem to be the same phrase, musical or verbal, repeated over and over. I can't read with that going on, but their food is so good.

Time for a catch up. Ho hum, life goes on, plants grow, dogs bark... and it seems all fun is cancelled until further notice. Everything I fancied going to is off, although there are still drives in the country and meals out, so that's something.

Boba Fett ended spectacularly (but why was it a book?), and we will miss the viewing highlight of the week. I'm glad we found Resident Alien, but we're trying not to eat it all up at once.

If an actor who is really well known for one role turns up in another film or TV show playing a different character, do you have trouble not seeing them as their more famous character?
If the actor is one of those who just plays themselves, then sometimes yes. If they're very good (e.g. Meryl Streep or Benedict Cumberbatch) they'll inhabit the role so well they're totally different people each time.

Regardless of your age, what "old person" thing(s) do you do?
Knitting has that reputation despite a lot of younger people (including a few guys) doing it. I don't care though. It's so relaxing and satisfying.

Do you often get the hiccups? If yes, do you have a go-to cure for them?
Not often, but I do have a very effective method I discovered by experimentation, and since learned a famous opera singer also uses: get a glass of water, hold your breath and sip, swallow, sip, sallow, sip swallow (and so on). Works every time!

Which current or recent news story is the most interesting to you?
None of them. I did enjoy Elon Musk's update on the starship this afternoon though. I'm glad he mentioned exploration and adventure as well as the usual doomy reasons to go to Mars.

Would you rather ask for help with a difficult task or figure it out for yourself?
It depends on how much I'm invested in it. If it's crafts or something else I enjoy, I'll figure it out, or google, or look for YouTube videos, or, in some cases, come up with my own solution. If it's doing something around the house, hell yes, I'll ask for help.

If you use top sheets, do you sleep with them tucked in?
No, I like to be able to stick my feet out. In summer (which is now) I just sleep under a top sheet, or sometimes nothing at all, like last night which was so hit and humid I also had the fan going all night.

Toilet paper: over or under?
Over.

Do you think your country would change if everyone, regardless of age or any other current restriction, could vote? If yes, in what ways?
Here anyone can vote if they're 18 years or older and are a citizen or permanent resident, so the main restriction is age. If even young children could vote, there'd probably be a lot more votes for fringe parties with weird names or eccentric local candidates. It might make electioneering a bit more fun though as politicians vie for the child vote, and if a party popular with kids got enough votes, they'd get a seat in parliament. However I doubt that would change the country much unless a party got enough seats to form a coalition.

Is there a film or TV show you can watch over and over again without tiring of it?
Not really. The radio series Cabin Pressure comes close though.

It appears cross-posting from Dreamwidth no longer works; at least it didn't this time. LJ does have a strange new post editor which might explain it. Annoying! I'm using the old one for now.

If you opened a business, what kind would it be?
Proofreading. It's badly needed - just look at all the apostrophised plurals - but it wouldn't be a viable business because people just don't think that getting it right matters.

If you are an only child, do you wish you had siblings? If you have siblings, do you wish you were an only child?
The latter. My sister drives me crazy. She's a rabidly right-wing conspiracy-theory nutter who refuses to be vaccinated and thinks Covid is "just a cold" and that the government is making it all up just to control us. It's no use using logic with her. I've told her I refuse to engage with her about any of that, and that's finally got through. I'm glad she lives on another island.

Well, Omicron's loose in the country, spread by attendees at a wedding in Auckland, and we're going to alert level Red at midnight. We were going to fly up to a wedding in April but I doubt whether it will be on - it was cancelled once already - or if it is, whether I even want to risk it.

They saying to 1) be prepared for having to look after yourself at home if you get it, and isolate if you're a contact, and 2) don't panic buy. Um. Not that there aren't already gaps on the shelves at supermarkets due to supply problems. We were going to do a normal top-up today, but nope; I'm not willing to deal with the panic shoppers.

19. Do you like reality/competition TV shows? Why or why not? If so, which ones?
In general I loathe them.
So-called reality: I have watched a local decorate-a-friend's-house one years ago that was very entertaining, and the UK's Escape to the Country (which is no longer on here anyway).
Game shows: I used to love Mastermind and University Challenge but they're long gone.The only one I watch now is The Chaser when it's a celebrity one, not because it's (mostly completely unknown to us) UK celebs, but because they're doing it for charity. Game shows for personal gain have always rather repelled me.

20. How fast do you read?
I've never timed it. I used to read six books a week, but it's fewer now that I have to rely on finding something at a decent price to read on Kindle, not because I can't afford it, but because I'm not willing to spend over $10 to get something that might be appallingly badly written and unedited. It happens often enough with the cheaper ones.

21. Do you like classical music? If yes, name your favourite composer(s).
I do! I'm no good at favourites, so pass. It's rare I don't like something.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

It's been a while since I answered some of these, and it's only some I'm answering.

Would you rather lose the ability to read or the ability to speak?
Definitely speak. It would be a pain and very difficult to cope with, but I couldn't give up reading.

Would you rather have all illicit drugs or duelling between consenting adults be legalised?
Since it's "all illicit drugs" - for example I'd legalise marijuana but not meth - I'll pick duelling, but there would be rules. The only permitted duels would be, supervised by licensed referees:
- Paint balls at 20 paces
- Verbal sparring / debate
- Fencing with rubber epees scored by touches

Which film would be greatly improved if made into a musical?
None of them? I've never been crazy about musicals because people suddenly dropping everything and singing totally throws me out of a story, the most recent being Encanto which I otherwise loved. Exceptions are the Rocky Horror Show because that's bizarre enough to carry it off, and anything like Glee which actually includes singing as part of the plot.

What social stigma does society need to get over?
Judging people by their appearance, especially size.

Where do you get most of your news?
Mostly via Facebook friends, Greg telling me about the more interesting, but not depressing or infuriating, stuff, and, rarely, actual TV news as now with the Tongan volcanic eruption.
Re that, this town has a large Tongan population so it's very immediate, and this country has a close connection with Tonga. We're sending air and sea support, and I assume there will be collection points in town for donations.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

As I was in town, I went to the doctors' to book my booster, and they took me right away. I was nervous about side effects as my second job gave me chills, fever, and nausea for a day or two, but, as with the first one, I just got a sore arm right away and felt a bit tired this afternoon. It's only a matter of time till we get Delta or Omicron down here, with so many people travelling around on summer holidays, so I'm relieved I've had it done.

How often do you binge-watch TV shows?
Sometimes we watch two episodes of a series one after the other; that's about the extent of it. We're having to wait a week for each Boba Fett 'chapter' which feels very retro. If the series was all dropped at once, I suspect we'd watch an episode a night.

Have you ever saved an animal's life?
Not directly, but I've found homes for 7 or 8 stray cats; not sure if that counts.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

What do you do to get rid of stress?

Read entertaining (as opposed to depressing or frightening) novels, preferably set in a time and/or place that is very different to mine. I've always been able to lose myself in fictional worlds; as a child I annoyed my parents by just not hearing them when they tried to get my attention. Sadly I can no longer achieve that sort of complete immersion - noise really distracts me, especially conversation or songs in the background.

Good TV comedies also work well, but they seem to be a lot rarer now. In fact it's hard to find good stuff to stream in general. I've found that most of what we watch now is foreign: Korean, Danish, Israeli, French...

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

When you are old(er), what do you think children will ask you to tell stories about?
I have no idea. Maybe about when I lived in Israel, if I start the ball rolling with a funny story or two.

This one is mainly for North Americans (I think this lot of questions comes from Canada).

January 3 is Fruitcake Toss Day. Do you like fruitcake? Why does it get such a bad rap?
I have no idea, you weird lot - I love it! Fruitcake is delicious - rich, moist, and so good! Fruitcake is not just for Christmas, but for all year round. It is also the traditional wedding cake here with marzipan and royal icing, unlike those pale, light, sweet sponges you lot seem to have with loads of creamy icing, sorry, frosting - according to TV, anyway. You couldn't post a piece of that to absent family.
Or are your fruitcakes really horrible, hard, dry things? If so, why do people still make and sell them?

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

Well, it's a new year, so have some pretend fireworks. I doubt 2022 will be any better than the last two in general, but I wish you all some personal joy and happiness in your lives.

It was very quiet here with all public celebrations cancelled (not that there's much most years in this town anyway - one lot of fireworks one year, a street party another year) but we went out with a friend to a superb tapas restaurant, which was delicious and fun. I kept the fancy prosecco bottle. :)

OK, first question for this year. I don't think I'll keep the numbering this time as I'm not going to answer them all. Some are boring with one-word answers, others are just too intrusive.

After roughly two years now of living with various changes and restrictions brought about by the Covid pandemic, which, if any, measures do you think you will continue to do all the time?
I assume you mean after the pandemic's over? I suppose always washing my hands on coming home. I've certainly become less inclined to go out, especially anywhere crowded, but I hope that will change one day.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

Last one for last year, ho hum.

31. What are you looking forward to in the next year?
Hope? Being able to do more? Maybe even have a holiday because we didn't get one in 2021. I think we've got at least another year of this crap though. I can get my booster this month which might make me feel a bit safer.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

Ho hum, another grey "summer" day. Summers here are not that great. Maybe we'll go down and ride the steam train round the harbour as they only bring it out on special occasions, in this case, just this week till new year's eve. Usually it's an old diesel on weekends.

26. What's your favourite flavour of soda, pop, or whatever else you call it?
Fizzy drink or soft drink. Ginger beer is the only one I like, or plain carbonated water - which is actually what I call soda.

27. What time do you usually have dinner?
Anytime from 6 to 7:30, depending on how we feel or how long it's taken to make it.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

A fun and relaxed (and possibly also merry, as that means "pleasantly tipsy" to me) Christmas to all who celebrate it!

It's just past the summer solstice which means it doesn't get dark till 9:30 down here, yet there are still a few people who light up their houses US-style. I hope they do it again at Matariki (our latest holiday) next year; we so need a winter festival of light, and it will at pretty much the same time in our winter as Christmas is in the northern one, just after that solstice.

Aucklanders were released this month after a long lockdown and travel ban. Seen yesterday outside a steampunk shop: "Welcome to Orclanders who have escaped Mordor!"

On to the questions. Enlighten me on #23 if you can.

22. Is there anything about technology that scares you?
Data mining: how much companies and other entities might know about me because of my online activity. Not that any of it's unlawful; I just value my privacy.

23. What’s a word/phrase that’s commonly heard in your region, but not anywhere else?
Wee!
It's not unique to here, but since we moved down south, Greg and I have been fascinated and amused by its wide and varied usage. When the English boy in Derry Girls complained about it being used for everything regardless of size, we both cracked up. I only use it for size, as in "a wee bit" of something, but people here use it as a catch-all adjective. They call Oamaru "our wee town", have wee jobs and businesses, and live in wee houses. Is it a term of affection, which I originally thought? Not really, as when I got my last Covid shot, I was asked to take a wee chair, and who would feel fondness for a generic plastic one? I have had wee haircuts and asked how I liked my wee meal, and all our wee seasonal festivals have been cancelled this year.
Ha!
Our neighbour just texted, "There's a wee present at your front door". There was indeed: two (normal-sized) bottles of the wonderful craft beer he brews and a delicious Christmas cake (i.e. a fruitcake) his partner made. YUM!
Anyway, if you live in a "wee" region, does it mean anything specific to you, or is it just a filler word?

24. Do you bite on straws, lollipop handles, or ice-block sticks?
No. And not on pens, hair, or fingernails either. (And if that's drink straws, they're mostly steel these days.)

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

16. A reality show idea that you would most definitely watch on television?
Ooh, hard one! I loathe most reality shows. Life on the space station? Following astronauts in training? I quite enjoyed the Hadfield one, but I'd want more space-ness.

17. Which parent was more strict when you were growing up?
Definitely my father. He was mostly aloof but could get really angry. He and I did have our sense of humour and interest in the ancient world in common, so that could be nice. My mother was more lenient, but also very critical; we two girls were never good enough for her. I suspect we were meant to be perfected versions of her.

18. Do you ever get gut feelings about things? Do you follow them?
Occasionally, to both. After all, they can be subconscious assessments of the situation.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

And here's another lot.

13. What colour were your bedroom walls painted or wallpapered when you were a teenager?
Ah. That was a sore point. Most of my bedrooms were very plain, probably vanilla/magnolia/whatever, but...
The stucco house we lived in for three years when I was at high school was well known for being pink, my father's failed attempt at a Spanish look. My sister and I shared a room, and we came home from school one day to find it had been wallpapered without any warning: pink gold-speckled wallpaper on three walls and ballerinas on the fourth, an obscenity my mother had perpetrated (via a decorator). I demanded the right to choose the curtains and picked bright-lime-green-and-black swirly abstract ones. To my mother's credit, she kept to the agreement. They were pretty in-your-face and very much anti-pink-monstrosity. Ha!

14. What is your favourite pastime for each of the four seasons?
Reading all year round! OK, summer: reading outside in a hammock, autumn: driving up the valley to see all the autumn colours at the lakes, winter: crisp, brisk walks, spring: just reading.
Spring is horrible here, cold, wet, windy, and it hangs on well into summer while inland, people have actual summer. The constant rain and grey is really getting me down.

15. Were you voted for a superlative in high school?
It took me a while to figure this one out. Best [insert noun] or most likely to [insert verb] that I think they have in US yearbooks? That's not a thing here, and neither are yearbooks. Well, they weren't when I was at school, but a friend told me her kids' primary school does the US everyone-gets-a-prize thing, so who knows what it's like these days.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

I've got very behind with these. The weather's been miserable when it's meant to be summer, everything's been cancelled, the probably 5% of the 10% no-vaxxers society are demonstrating and calling everyone else Nazis, friends have been abused by no-vaxxers to the extent they didn't want to go to work, and I'm so depressed and pissed off with life in general that I started looking at properties in places with better weather. Anyway.


8. What is an unusual item you or somebody you know owns?
I'm blanking on this. I suppose three Roman coins I picked up in Israel and had authenticated at the British museum.

9. Does it bother you if someone practically bathes in perfume?
Hell, yes! I sometimes used to feel very ill on the bus from strong perfume. Once I was sprayed in a department store before I could object and I spent all afternoon repeatedly trying to get the horrible smell off my wrist. Someone obviously liked the stuff though or they wouldn't sell it. It's very personal, depending on one's skin; what works for one person might not for another. I have some Dior that was horrible on a friend but nice on me; not that I wear perfume more than a handful of times a year.

10. Have you ever won a trophy for something?
Not as such, but several prizes or certificates for science, piano, or artwork.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

Not exactly a riveting batch.

4. What is the best positive change you’ve made recently?
I've been doing Pilates for over a year now, so, more recently, restorative yoga from about 6 weeks ago?

5. Have you ever inherited something?
Just money from family estate sales, shared between me and sibs.

6. If you have a partner, have you ever had to sleep in separate beds?
We've chosen to when one of us is unwell. Had to? I can only think of several years ago when we stayed with my sister and family in their holiday house and had a kids' room.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

1. How old were you when you got your first car?
About 26. I had a motorbike at uni, and when I lived in Israel, England, and Germany, I used public transport, something we very much lack here outside the large cities, and even there it's not stellar.

2. What is a topic you are uncomfortable with discussing with most people?
Politics and vaccination status, which seem to be the same thing these days. It can get nasty. Apparently two customers almost came to blows about vaccinations in the local German cafe. FWIW we are both double-vaxxed; boosters due around March. My right-wing conspiracy-theory-addicted sister is, of course, not.

3. What was the longest you stayed in your own home for?
I'm not sure what this means - the longest I've lived anywhere, or the longest I've stayed home without leaving. The longest was over 15 years in Auckland, in our previous house (we moved every three years or so when I was growing up). Otherwise, maybe a week during lockdown?

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

25. Are there any musicians you didn't like at first but grew on you?
I can't think of any, but I've grown to enjoy some opera.

26. Is there anything you used to love but now dislike?
Heights! I loved fairground rides like the ferris wheel and used to do things like climb along the outside of footbridges, but I started to feel nervous when I was about 12. It's got a lot worse since then so I don't even like driving on cliff roads.

28. What is your favourite kind of tea?
English breakfast, black, hot.

29. Are there any old home remedies you use when you're sick?
My father swore by whisky for colds, but I don't like it much. I've found ginger works really well for nausea, upset stomach, or car sickness. I keep Gin-Gins in the house, car, and my bag because they do the job - and are delicious.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

22. Do you still use a radio or just use your phone/computer for music?
Neither. I don't like radio: all those shouty ads and horrifying news I'm much happier without. It's CDs at home or Spotify in the car via the car's software.

23. What kind of socks do you prefer to wear?
My own hand-knitted ones! I enjoy making them and they're so much better than bought ones: perfectly fitting, no horrible seams digging into my toes, no tight cuffs, and so many great patterns and yarns to make my socks the compliment magnets they often are.

24. Do you have any family heirlooms?
Just the decorative tortoiseshell hair ornament my Spanish great-grandmother wore. I wish I had the painting of her.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

16. Do you want any piercings?
My ears, which were done years ago, are enough. I used to wear different earrings every day, but since I started working from home about 7 years ago, I don't bother any more, just change the studs now and then. This question, about wanting  rather than having, seems further proof that they're aimed at, or written by, (US) high-school kids.

17. What does your mouse pad look like?
I don't have one. The wooden desk top works just fine.

18. Have you ever been to a psychic/tarot reader?
No. Just no.

20. Do you prefer your nails long or short?
Shortish. Maybe up to a 5mm tip because I do like the white ends.

21. What are your favourite smells?
Citrus, vanilla, rose, frying onions. :D Not together, though!

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

I was wrong! We do have a poppy in our garden, and maybe it was even out on the 11th. The landscaper we had in two years ago must have moved it from the stone wall to a pot further back. I should really put it in the garden proper, and look for it each November.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.

12. Would you ever go out in public wearing pyjamas?
Hell, no!

13. Have you ever had a lemonade stand?
That's not a thing here.

14. Do you think you look older or younger than your real age?
Younger. When I was at uni, people assumed I was still about 15 and at school, which was annoying at the time. I've been taken as younger all my life, and really enjoy it now. Recently someone else who grew up in the same city as Greg was swapping childhood memories with him, and said to me, "Of course this was all before your time." It wasn't, but I just smiled. It made my day.

15. Where have you lived throughout your life?
NZ Aotearoa, Israel, England, Germany.

Also posted on Dreamwidth, with comments.