Armchair BEA: Introduction

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

About three years ago, my husband pulled the rug – along with our Maine house out from under me, and moved us to central Virginia. So, without thinking much about it, I was suddenly semi-retired, looking for part-time work (which I found nearby) and community. In my Maine life I was a journalist for 20 years and then an English/special education teacher. I missed reading and writing. So I began to blog. My second year blogging anniversary is coming up at the end of June. I still don’t know what I am doing. I still write and act like an old-fashioned journalist. I’m learning.

2. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 

Cicadas are humming outside my house. Is that the noise of them having sex for the first time in 17 years? I don’t see many but hear them. My dog, Riley, found one the other day, tossed it about in his paws, moved it to a better location and dined on it.

Pictured above is Riley torturing a second cicada, one that somehow made its way indoors. 

3. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 

 This is my first Armchair BEA, and I just signed up late yesterday. I already feel behind. But I am going to give it a shot because I want to be more active, and have a lot to learn. That means going out of my comfort zone and doing something other than writing long responses to reading.

4. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

    I’m reading – a few pages to go – Jane Gardam’s “Old Filth”, and I am very taken with it. It may be my favorite book this year so far, but I’m not good naming favorites. I think too much. The best books, for me are a little like family that way. I love each person, each book, for different reasons and I would rather write about those reasons than grade, rank or select a favorite. Not so great books are like acquaintances -- soon forgotten. Awful books like irritating people --  hard to shrug off.

 I do have a batch of lifetime favorites, but not one for the year yet.

5. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

     Hester Prynne. I love what she did to her scarlet letter. She made it into a piece of art and wore it over her heart. (We would not dine on cicadas with Riley).