Random Dozen -- the THURSDAY meme

We're a day late, but we're not a dollar short. We've got a full dozen questions to be going on with this week. 

I know, I know . . . you've been waiting all week for this moment:

1. Do you prefer to read the book or see the movie?  Definitely prefer to read the book. Only in one instance was that not true – the movie “Chocolat” is much better than the book on which its based.  But that’s the only instance I can recall.

2. What is your favorite holiday and why? Christmas!!  But not just the day – the whole season that runs from Thanksgiving Day to New Years Day.  We have a lot of family get-togethers in that time period and I love to put out the Christmas decorations. It’s not the gifts – I could go without all of them. It’s the family (oh, and the decorating fun).

3. Which do you like better - the mountains or the beach?  I was born near the beach and I still love it, but truth to tell, I’ve come to prefer the mountains now that I live in the Intermountain West.  There are so many magnificent sights out here, and our annual camping trip just can’t be beat for relaxation and fun. Not a lot of crowds in the mountains.

4. If money were no consideration, what vehicle would you drive? I’d probably still purchase the best deal I could get for the amount of money I would want to spend and the kind of vehicle I'm looking for.  There are a few car makers I’d stay away from, but it’s more about the money and the type of vehicle.

5. What is your favorite cold-weather beverage?  Nothing beats a cup of hot tea on a cold morning.

6. How do you communicate most often with your friends: phone, email, text, face-to-face, or Facebook?  Text and Facebook, followed by face-to-face. How sad is that? But everyone is so busy these days. And my arm goes to sleep if I'm on the phone too long.

7. How do you receive your mail? Mailbox on the porch, at the end of the driveway, down the street, or post office box? Mailbox out in front of the house, at the sidewalk (about 15 steps from the front door). In the new house we’ll be moving into next month, the mailbox is at the end of the driveway, at the road.

8. Of the four basic personality types - sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, and choleric - which is your strongest? Which is your least evident? (See definitions below.)  This was tough! I read them over and over again, but I truly feel as though I have an equal number of characteristics from each of the four categories.  Plus, who wants to be classified by any of those names -- they all sound like diseases.

9. What do you miss the most about being 20? Nothing. Really! I was an idiot at that age, and I was also in lousy physical shape, too. So there is nothing for me to miss about being 20.

10. How long from the time you get up, does it take you to get ready to walk out the door in the morning?  The fastest time would be a bit more than an hour, including just a few minutes to scarf something down for breakfast. If I am allowed to proceed at my usual morning (read: snail) pace, though, it would be two hours. 

11. Who handles the car maintenance and pays the bills in your family? We both do. I handle mine and he handles his. Joint expenses have been divided up between us. E.g. he pays the house payment, and I buy the groceries and pay the utilities. It works out pretty evenly in the end.

12. For those in the US, how many states have you visited? For those outside the US, how many provinces/other countries have you visited? Including layovers in airports? About 45 of the states, by my reckoning. A little bit less if I actually have to have gone outside an airport and seen something.

If you want to play along, answer the questions on your own blog, then click on the doughnut picture at the top and link up over at 2nd cup of coffee.


- Catherine