I somehow managed to entirely escape doing the Sunshine Blogger Award during 2022? (Actually, I know exactly how. Procrastination, baby.) But since Sarah so kindly tagged me (on a tag that I tagged her for) way back in, erm, March (that's just embarrassing), and we're all probably yearning for a bit of sunshine this January, I thought I'd finally stop procrastinating and just do it!
Praecepta:
Thank the blogger who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.
What is your favorite time of the year? Not necessarily a season (unless that truly is your favorite) but maybe a holiday, feast day, yearly event, or liturgical season. What makes it your favorite?
I actually really love Lent and Advent. Having times that are specifically set aside for penance, self-reflection, and some amount of rest from the crazy makes so much sense, and they always feel so restful for me. Lent I love more than Advent, though, because Lent includes Holy Week, which is my favorite week of the entire year, bar none (because it has the best liturgies of the entire year). And you know what's crazy? Lent is only about five weeks away!
If you could learn any musical instrument, which would you choose?
Probably viola! I already know how to play piano, brass instruments are too hard, and I'm not really a percussion person. Of the strings, viola seems like the best because it's easy to cart around, but it still has more depth of sound than a violin (which is what I like about the cello). Alternately, maybe clarinet or some other wind instrument, but breath/mouth control isn't necessarily my forte (hence why I'm in choir I guess, lol).
Describe your dream sitting room/living room. (Pictures are a bonus!)Kind of like this, but with more books and a slightly darker aesthetic. Pic is from Allison @ Married and a House, who is SO COOL.
I'm just...not really an interior design-y person. I know if something is off, but I wouldn't know how to fix it. Nor can I just, like, visualize a room and find a picture on Pinterest that suits it. That said, my ideal living room would include:
-Many bookshelves
-Comfy couches
-Baskets of blankets (weighted blankets are a major plus)
-A fireplace
-Potted plants
-Dark wood in some form or another
-Lamps instead of ceiling-mounted lighting
-Religious art of some nature
What do your daydreams usually consist of?
I don't daydream all that much? Usually, my brain is too busy working on things like 'what do I have to do today?', 'what am I forgetting?', 'how can I make my current Landscape Architecture project better?'. When I do daydream, though, it's usually about the future in some way, or about my current WIP.
Where's your favorite spot in the world to pray and talk to God?Image credit to owner. Also, *heart eyes*.
Actually, the chapel at the Newman Center at school. I do love talking to Him in the mountains of my home state, but I don't get to go there very often. Our chapel is really beautiful and spacious and really quiet in the mornings, with gorgeous stained-glass windows, and because I pray there almost every day, it's not hard to get into the rhythm of prayer when I'm in there. (Or rather...it's hard, but it's not as hard as trying to pray in other random places.) Also, having the Eucharist there REALLY helps in my prayer.
What's the most recent quote you wrote down somewhere or saved on Pinterest/Instagram?
As of the time of writing this post, the most recent was:
"I have always been a terrible conversationalist. I like to be around people who talk all the time because when somebody else is doing it, I don't have to." --Flannery O'Connor
-Lunch in the cafeteria with friends
-Taking the bus with a friend to downtown to go to a book bar/coffee shop
-Chatting over coffee for a long time and maybe picking up a couple of books
-Coming back and taking my new books up to my room and reading on my bed in a pool of light.
Of course, that's never actually happened, but it would be ideal if it did. Though there are many other Saturday afternoons that would be ideal...that's just one of them.
Out of horses, giraffes, dolphins, and elephants, which one would you choose for a pet and why?
Horses, because I'm boring they're the only ones which wouldn't require a whole bunch of extra infrastructure, equipment, &c. Plus, hasn't ever girl secretly longed for a horse at some point in her life?
What is your favorite medium of art whether you actually use it or just appreciate it? Acrylics, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, mosaics, etc...?
I actually really like graphite, i.e., just take a plain pencil (or a drafting pencil...those are like catnip to me) and sketch. Sketching in graphite is also a skill I have to use A LOT for my major, so it helps that I like it, lol. I also enjoy pen drawings--that's something I've been getting more into especially for travel journaling. (Not that I'm good at it yet, of course, but I'm practicing.)
Obviously, that's all to use...I think in terms of appreciation my favorite medium is oil paint because that was what was used by painters like Caravaggio, for instance. Although frescoes would be a close second, probably.
I actually don't know the answer to this question, because I've never thought of a very favorite smell, but one of my favorites is the smell of a PNW forest...it smells totally different in the summer from in the winter, but I really like both smells. (And no, I'm not going to try to describe it...because I can't. But I will say that there's a fair bit of evergreen involved.)
How do you come up with your blog post ideas?
They're usually sparked by something I've recently read, listened to, or seen! Other than that, I really couldn't tell you. It's kind of mysterious.
My Questions:
1. Have you ever had an encounter with an unusual animal (either in the wild or otherwise)?
2. Would you dog-ear a library book? If not, what's a weird thing you've used as a bookmark?
3. What's your favorite Christmas song? (I know I'm out of season to ask this, bear with me)
4. Have you ever been out of the country? If so, where? If not, where would you like to go?
5. What's your least favorite book?
6. What's your favorite cuisine?
7. Favorite miniseries?
8. Would you rather try to wrestle a bone away from a dog, or a chicken wing away from a cat?
9. Have you ever had surgery?
10. What's your favorite kind of day? (you can answer this however you want, whether it be in weather, activities, books read, &c)
11. Do you have a favorite board game, and if so, what is it?
Oh gosh, I hate figuring out eleven people to tag. XD I'm sorry if a) I've tagged you too often, b) you didn't want to be tagged, or c) I mess something else up, but I'm a rule follower, so I have to at least try...
And I Tag:
1. The Maidens of Green Gables
2. The Story Sponge
3. Elizabeth @ Autumn Ink
4. Chloe the Movie Critic
5. Catherine @ The Rebelling Muse
6. The Grim Writer
7. Hamlette @ Hamlette's Soliloquy
8. The Nutmeg @ Only Mildly Mad
9. Elizabeth Hyde @ Trivialities
10. Sarah @ In Cordibus Jesu et Mariae (because apparently tag-backs have no end...you're welcome)
11. And you! Because I don't know who wants to do this tag or not, so...just do it! XD
...is it just me, or did there used to be more people in the blogosphere that I could torture tag?
So, there you have it! My first tag of the year! How is your 2023 going so far? Would you go for a horse over an exotic animal for ease of care? Are you good or bad at interior design?
That quote by Flannery O'Conner is so relatable that it's painful. Sit me down with someone talkative and I'll nod along in utter relief at not being required to say anything. XD
ReplyDeleteI love PNW forest smells, but especially right after it rains so that there's the living pine smell but there's also petrichor. Are there different outdoor smells in your college area?
It was making me laugh, because I'm sorta in that camp, but I know a bunch of other introverts who wholeheartedly agree with O'Connor on that one. XD
DeleteOoh yes, petrichor is nice, too! The outdoors does smell completely different here--but not in a way that I've actually thought about? So, I'm not going to be able to describe it yet...
This is so much fun, Sam! Thanks for the tag!
ReplyDeleteI think I would go for a horse just because I do love horses and eight-year-old me would be so disappointed at grown-up me for choosing an elephant instead. Ease of care is a good point, too. Grown-up me wouldn't have thought of that.
I've never tried my hand at interior design so I really can't say whether I'm good at it or nay.
You're welcome!
DeleteHaha, gotta cater to that eight-year-old self! My eight-year-old self would also probably have preferred a horse to an elephant...
Well, maybe someday!
Aww, thanks so much for tagging us Samantha! Your questions look so fun! Love your answers too!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I look forward to seeing your answers! :)
DeleteLent and Advent are both wonderful times of year! I love all the reflection they provide.
ReplyDeleteI would pick the horse too. Not so hard to find a place to keep a horse.
Thanks for the tag! I just filled out a tag, so I may sit on this one for a week or so, but I'll definitely do it :-)
Me, too! They allow a chance to slow down that I really always need.
DeleteExactly!
You're welcome! I'm the queen of waiting months and months to do tags, so my feelings won't be hurt if you sit on it for as long as you want. :)
Sam, my dear, I have discovered something unfortunate about myself--and that is, once a lurker, always a lurker. I absolutely read your lovely posts as much as I can--but DANG IT I ALWAYS NEGLECT TO COMMENT.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. This is me sitting down to comment on this particular post, and wanting to give a general blanket statement of thanks and appreciation for you as a blogger, but also for this particular post, which was great fun to read.
Lent is only five weeks away! Gosh, is it really that short? I'd best decide exactly how I want to whip myself into shape this year, haha. And I'd also better build some graphics for Remember, O Thou Man 2023, lol.
As far as instruments go, I have recently received a rudimentary education in the didgeridoo, of all things. But I'm still determined to learn the banjo someday, by hook or by crook. Viola is also lovely though.
Okay, I relate to what you said about walking around thinking about Landscape Architecture. Except with me it's 'how the heck do I format time values within the Concatenate function in Microsoft Excel?', lol.
Thank you so much for tagging me, friend! I'm excited to answer the questions; they look like good ones!
Grim, I totally get it! I was a lurker once, too, and I still procrastinate commenting...and there are some blogs where I still lurk and don't comment. XD Anyway. All that to say that I always love getting your comments, but I understand lurking, too. :)
DeleteAww, thanks!
I know, that's CRAZY! I have no idea what I'm planning for Lent this year (I think I've had ideas, but I've forgotten them), and like...what. How is it so soon? I will look forward to Remember, O Thou Man 2023, though, even if I might not be able to contribute to it as much as I'd like! (A good reminder to factor that into my blog scheduling...)
Whoa, a didgeridoo sounds really fun, albeit possibly hard to play! Banjo would be neat, too. I love how it sounds!
Haha, that's definitely something I've never thought about! But I'm glad I'm not the only one who walks around thinking about her projects/job all the time.
You're welcome! I'm looking forward to seeing your answers!
Violas are great, but if you play in orchestra, you WILL end up with the weird background rhythms on every single song and never ever get the melody, in company with your second violin neighbours, who have it only slightly better than you do. (So this is why you play the violin instead and make first desk.) (Not that I ever made first desk. The best I ever got seated was principal second, and like I said, NO ONE APPRECIATES THE VIOLISTS AND SECOND VIOLINISTS.) (I think, personally, I would go for the bagpipes? Since I already know violin and piano and I know enough of ukulele and harmonica and mayyyybe guitar and flute to say that I would like to "get better" at them rather than "learn" them. But I can't decide because I also REEEALLY want to learn the banjo. But time--do I have it???? No, forsooth!)
ReplyDeleteUm, okay, long music rabbit trails aside, this was a fun post. And I'm pretty sure I've already wished you happy 2023 at least, like, twice, but happy 2023 again! XD
I mean, I've heard that things like that make violists generally humble people and nice to be around, so...benefits and drawbacks? XD In all seriousness, though, really no one in the orchestra is appreciated as much as the first violinists, in my extremely limited experience and outside observation. I do have a friend who plays first violinist a lot, so I get that they are really hard workers, but...the rest of the orchestra is awesome, too!
DeleteI didn't realize that you played ukulele, nor guitar and flute! That's really cool! And either bagpipes or banjo would also be neat, but I bet your family would root for banjo, just in terms of lower noise level...XD
I'm glad it was fun! It was for me, too. Happy 2023 again to you, too, Sarah! XD
Brass instruments are scary. My cousin-in-law plays the trumpet and I told him the other day that brass instruments were scary and I didn't understand them. So he sat me down and talked about how a trumpet works for like half an hour. Afterwards I was like, "Okay, so I understand it more now, but it's still just scary" XD
ReplyDeleteAh, many bookshelves. Many bookshelves are a must for any living/sitting room. (Or bedroom for that matter. I'm forever trying to figure out how to cram more bookshelves into my bedroom)
I relate very deeply to the Flannery O' Conner quote.
Thanks for the tag! I will attempt to get to it in a timely manner :)
They are really quite strange! But that's a good cousin-in-law to explain all of that to you! (I have three friends who play the French Horn, and I still don't understand how it works. Like F side? Bb side? HELP!)
DeleteThey really are a must for really any room at all...I know people who have bookshelves in the bathroom, and I am here for it!
Haha, me too.
You're welcome! (And you don't have to get to it in a timely manner, if you don't want. I mean, it usually takes me at least six months. XD)
Sorry for the late comment! I swear I wrote a comment and I guess I forgot to actually publish the thing.
ReplyDeleteI've been really looking forward to answering your questions.
There's something so beautiful about stain glass.
I remember wanting to do cello years ago (had some lessons actually but it was so cumbersome I just sorta stopped) because I didn't like the squeakiness of the violin either. Viola would be a cool choice.
Love sketchy drawings too.
Anyways loved this and thanks for the tag!
Yay! I'm looking forward to reading your answers!
DeleteThere really is. I love that there are so many styles of it...
Viola is kind of the happy medium between violin & cello (which is REALLY BIG!)
Yay, it's not just me!
You're most welcome!