I was always shy. When I was growing up I would go to great lengths to avoid having to meet new people, and sometimes even to avoid talking to people I already knew. I’m still an introvert, although I doubt that it’s very obvious to people I meet anymore, and certainly no one I know well believes it. I find social situations exhausting, and I require a fair amount of time to myself to recharge. Knitting fills that time now, but it used to be reading. I was a voracious reader as a kid – the kind who could check 10 books out every week and read them all. Grown up life and other hobbies have cut way down on my amount of reading time, but lately I’ve been trying very hard to get back into things. I’ve probably read more books in the last month than in the whole previous year.

Are you all on Goodreads? Wouldn’t you like to be my friend (I’m Stitchywitch there too.) I really like having a place where I can notate everything new that I read, it appeals to the crazy listmaking part of my brain (seriously, nothing makes me happier than crossing something off a list.)

Since I’m still sick and looking like a chipmunk (although I am feeling a little better, I finally got to sleep at 4 last night) Marc was sweet enough to go to the downtown branch of the library and check these books out for me!  I just love the “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series, I’m sure that reading them will help me to feel better!  Now I just have to master the art of reading and knitting at the same time (those of you who do this, how does it work?  How do you keep your pages open?)

Finally, I was tagged again for the 7 Things meme, and I figure there are always plenty of random things about me, so I’ll make another list (mmm…. lists.)

1.  I was so happy last summer when I finally got to own my dream car… a Volvo.  Yes, you heard that, I always wanted a big boxy Volvo.  Marc already owned one when we met, and when the time came to get a car for me I knew what I wanted – we bought a used S60 and I love that car to death!

2.  My eyesight is really bad, and what makes it especially bad is that my left eye is 2 points worse than my right, making seeing out of a pair of glasses nearly impossible due to distortion (I do see fine with contacts though.)  I envy all the cute eyeglass styles I see now and actually own a pair that are not prescription so that I can fit in… but I feel like a fraud when I wear them!

3. My all time favorite TV sitcom is “The Bob Newhart show.” Not the 80s one, the one from the 70s set in Chicago.  I love their fabulous 70s decor, and I think Bob and his wife act just like Marc and I.  I was so sad when Suzanne Pleshette died recently.

4. Although I really dislike most contemporary christian music (I think it’s usually pretty bad musically) I have a secret love of gospel choirs.  I listen to them all the time in the car!

5. My hair is naturally blonde, although I have been dying it red for most of the past 8 years.  I did have a very brief experience with black hair, after an encounter with a box of black cherry (read: purple) dye.  I tried keeping it natural after that for awhile, but I just felt washed out.  I love being a redhead!

6.  I am not a vegetarian, but I prefer vegetables and will usually choose the vegetarian option.

7.  I cry more easily than anyone I know – I cry when I’m sad and when I’m happy, at books and movies, and when I even hear about someone else being sad.

Wow, that’s still a fun meme.  If you want to do it, consider yourself tagged!