Sort of volunteering to be tagged

My blogging friend at Jabblog in England was tagged by Mary from  ‘In the corner of my eye’ and cheerfully answered Mary's questions, but was reluctant to tag others, so she asked for volunteers.
I think this might just be what I need today. My husband and I were driving back from Medicine Hat this afternoon and I told him I was feeling 'blank' — not bad, not good, just sort of not there. 
However, a tag game that includes giving 11 fun facts about myself is sure to cheer me up. Or drag me down. We shall see.
But first, the rules. 

The Rules Are:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 11 more to ask the ones you tag.

4. Tag however many bloggers you wish.

5. Let them know they are tagged.

6. Have fun!!

Well, I asked my husband. He came up with three or four. Not a resounding show of support from one's other half, but...

1. My writing often makes people laugh.
2. My hobby is making floor-plans, or revising and improving floor-plans, for houses. (I don't do commercial architecture.) I've been redesigning my kitchen for 10 years now, and it will finally be renovated in May.
3. I try to identify jazz and swing music (and 50s/60s rock and pop songs) whenever I hear any, because my father was a musician long before I was born, and he insisted I listen to music from his era as well as my own.
4. My lack of musical talent is astounding. That's why Dad taught me to listen.
5. I don't remember when I started writing, but my mother did save a story I wrote when I was six. It was called The Life of Tommy John Atwater. It seems Tommy John Atwater was orphaned at the age of 15 and adopted by two men, two women, and a sea captain (gender of sea captain unspecified but presumably he was a third man in the adoption group).
6. Last year I finally figured out how I knew the word orphaned when I was six. I was going to a memorial service for a friend, and the route took us through the neighborhood where my grandparents lived when I was born. "Do you remember the orphanage that used to be here?" I asked the driver, and the light came on. That's where I learned the word. Someone said "orphanage" when I was small and I asked "What's that?"
7. I've always stood up for my own right to write. When my brother Clint submitted a poem of mine to his school teacher, claiming he had written it, I was furious. I stormed off to my brother's school, loudly asserting my authorship to the authorities (i.e. Clint's teacher).
8. I never had children of my own, but my brother Rob was born when I was 21, so my parents let me serve an active role on The Committee That Raised Rob. It was the most fun I ever had.
9. Like my friend at Jabblog, I talk to dogs and cats, my own or anyone else's dog or cat who will sit still long enough to listen. I would talk to squirrels, too, but they never sit still long enough for anything.
10. I don't drive as much as I used to, but I was once a ball of fire on the freeway. For six years in a row I got what my family called "Kay's annual speeding ticket."
11. I like to eat fresh bread without butter or any other topping.

Whew, okay. Eleven things can be exhausting. Now to the questions.

1:  If you believed in reincarnation who or what would you like to come back as?

I'd come back as a pampered house cat.

2:  Which organism could you happily live without? (Consider carefully the ecosystem.)

The germ that causes the common cold.

3:  Are you a talker or a listener or are you a nicely-balanced blend of the two?

I'm afraid I'm a talker, but my eldest niece would say I'm a good listener.

4:  How much time do you spend day-dreaming?

Most of my time.

5:  Have you ever walked in your sleep?

Yes, apparently. When I was getting over jet-lag following a flight home from Australia, I stayed with my parents. Mother said I'd get up and eat in my sleep, then go back to bed.

6:  What is/are your favourite quotation/s?

Aha. Mark Twain. "When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not."

7:  What is the greatest advice you would give an eighteen-year-old (one who’d asked, obviously...)

Enjoy being young. We're a long time old.

8:  What is your favourite time to get up?

I would like to get up at a civilized hour like 8am, but since I acquired my CPAP machine, I've been sleeping until 10, 10:30, or even 11am. Just today, I saw someone from my church, and said I'd be back when I start waking up in time.

Kay (R) and Clint
Davies, 1949

9:  If you could choose to live in a different era which one would you choose?

It would have been wonderful to know Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Louis Armstrong, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck — I would have loved the 1920s but not the 30s. Tough question. Maybe the late 1800s, Mark Twain time. No. I liked growing up in the 50s, coming of age in the 60s, finally achieving adulthood in the 70s. The 50s were peaceful, the 60s exciting, the 70s full of life lessons. A few more years in the old era of newspapers would have been nice, but I'll take what I got.

10: Would you accept an invitation to travel in space?

Nope, the idea scares me out of what few wits I have left.

11:  Would you rather walk or ride a bike (or horse, or skateboard)?

I would rather ride a horse, but horses know I'm afraid of them, so they always throw me off. Horseback riding is like music lessons, I tried and tried, but couldn't get it.

Well, I agree, it is too difficult to tag anyone directly. What if they think I'm picking on them, rather than picking them? 

Friends, Romans, countrymen, if you want to participate in baring your soul, or baring the sole of your shoe, whichever, all you need do is choose: volunteer, or kick me out.

Post the rules (see above) and follow them. 11 fun things about yourself, answer my questions, post 11 questions of your own, and either tag some poor long-suffering blogger friends, or call for help as we've done here. Then let me know you have responded.

1.  If you had to eat the same thing every day, what would you choose for each meal?

2.  Would you accept an invitation to dinner with the Queen of England, or the Queen of The Netherlands, or both, or neither? 

3. Why? (see 2, above)

4. Would you rather own a horse, a dog, a cat, a squirrel, or a skateboard?

5. How many years in a row did you have speeding tickets? How many years in a row did you have no speeding tickets at all?

6. Have you ever had jet-lag? After how long a trip?

7. Can you read music?

8. Can you sing (i.e. carry a tune so as to entertain your hearers)? Or whistle?

9. Can you play piano or guitar?

10. Can you play bagpipes?

11. Can you hum the melody of Scots Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled: or Bruce's Address to his Troops at Banockburn? Or how about Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney?

  

Cheered me up, this did. If you don't care to answer my frivolous questions, at least let me know if you have responded with 11 fun things about yourself. —K