I Mustache You Some Questions

Here’s another fun “get to know the blogger” meme. I love the pun in the title! Kaja of On Dragons and Hearts tagged me to participate in this questionnaire, and I decided to go for it even though I just did the 20 Questions one last week.

Four names that people call me (other than my real name):

1. Karen – The name I was born with, before I changed it legally.
2. Lark – my blogging name
3. Mum  – I used to be Mommy, when ‘Robin’ was little. Then she discovered Harry Potter and lots of other British books. Now I’m “Mum” – and I love it!
4. Mrrow (or maybe Miaow) – If my cats call me anything, it’s something like that. I don’t want to guess what it means.
5. What, you thought I was going to reveal my husband’s pet names for me? Think again! 😉

Four jobs that I have had:

1. I sold cheese and sausage in a Swiss Colony cheese shop – a job for which I had to wear a fake dirndl. Not terribly proud of that one, but it was my first “real” summer job.
2. I worked as a bookseller, assistant manager, and manager for a major bookstore chain (now defunct). For five years, after college. I loved working with the books… and getting the employee discount!
3. I taught English and drama in a small private school. I think that job was one of the hardest, but also the most satisfying (not counting motherhood.)
4. Currently, I’m a freelance indexer, which means I write the index you find in the back of a book.

Four movies that I have watched more than once:

Only four? OK… and I’ll try to stick to movies and not TV movies.

1. Winnie the Pooh. This was my go-to comfort movie for years.
2. 101 Dalmations. The animated version. Did I mention that I am a mother? To this you can add Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Aladdin, Babe… (need I go on?)
3. All of the Harry Potter movies, especially the first four. Because both Robin and I are fans.
4. The first three Star Wars movies, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, because they came out during my teens and early 20s, and they were awesome. (That’s Episodes IV, V, and VI to the younger generations.)
5. The Sound of Music (hey, I couldn’t leave it out.)

Honorable mentions: Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I love.

Four books I’d recommend:

1. For fantasy lovers: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. He has essentially invented picaresque epic fantasy. His worldbuilding is jawdroppingly good – and complex. His main character is the ultimate in unreliable narrators. And his writing is frankly amazing, moving easily from earthy humor to poetic lyricism. He is a storyteller’s storyteller. (my review)
2. For mystery lovers: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King. She writes intelligent, well-written mysteries featuring a young woman who is a match for Sherlock Holmes – in more ways than one. And the first one is one of the best.
3. For historical romance lovers: A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh. A wonderful fake-betrothal romance by one of the best writers of historical romance I know. Terrific character development, compassion and humor.
4. For YA lovers: The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope. Historical fiction with a twist that may or may not be fantasy (you decide), and a touch of romance, this book is just about perfect. It held my 8th-graders spellbound when I read it aloud to them – boys and girls alike.

Four places I have lived: 

1. New York City, as a very young child.
2. The campus of a private boarding school where my mother worked.
3. A studio apartment, before I was married.
4. Our current house, where we’ve lived for over 20 years. There’s a lake across the street, and trees throughout the neighborhood.

Four places I have been:

Only four again?

1. Great Britain – seven times. From the Isle of Skye and Inverness to Cornwall, from the mountains and coast of Wales to the white cliffs of Dover to Yorkshire’s moors. I’ve been the lucky beneficiary of my mother’s Anglophilia (lucky, because I share it. I would vacation there every other year if I could afford to.)
2. Mexico – for a month of study abroad, my freshman year in college. A fantastic experience.
3. Canada – three times. Twice to Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Rockies, and once to Nova Scotia (mainly Cape Breton Island) with a detour to Prince Edward Island. (Yes of course we went to see the Anne of Green Gables sites!)
4. American National Parks: Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Arches, Mesa Verde, Bryce Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Shenandoah, and a whole bunch of the historic sites. (I know I’m leaving at least one big one out, but I can’t remember which.) I was a child when I went to the Grand Canyon and Bryce; the others I’ve seen as an adult.

Penrhyn Castle, Wales (© K. Pekar, 2002)

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1. Great Britain – well, maybe not right now because it’s winter, but come the spring…
2. New Zealand – because the scenery is amazing.
3. A lovely warm (and big) log cabin in the Rockies.
4. Wherever my family is.

Four things I don’t eat:

1. Tomato anything. I’m allergic. Not life-threateningly so, but it’s not worth the symptoms (chiefly extreme fatigue. Like trying to walk through chest-deep water.) Yes, that means white pizza, white lasagna, white chili, pesto on my spaghetti…
2. Eggplant
3. Bugs, with or without chocolate
4. MSG – if I can help it.

Four of my favourite foods:

1. Chocolate – especially my sister’s chocolate cake
2. Macaroni and cheese (or almost anything involving cheese)
3. quiche
4. scones – with proper clotted cream and dollops of fresh strawberry jam. And tea, of course.

Four TV shows that I’ve watched:

1. Star Trek – The original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and some of Voyager.
2. British mysteries – especially the ones that have been part of PBS’s Mystery series: the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series, Poirot, Partners in Crime, Campion, the Alleyn mysteries, both sets of Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, Foyle’s War, Cadfael…
3. The West Wing – great ensemble acting and terrific writing
4. Sherlock – wow.

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:

1. Having Robin home for the summer!
2. a family vacation with my husband’s family, and another with mine
3. my (gulp) 35th high school reunion
4. singing, reading, and knitting

Four things I’m always saying:

1. “I love you”. I say that a lot to the people I love. I don’t think you can say it too often – as long as you mean it!
2. “Take care of yourself”  in one form or another: reminding my family to eat right, get enough sleep, be careful walking to class, and so on. I’m a mother; I can’t help it!
3. “OK.” Or “Right.”  Meaning “OK, that’s done, now what’s next?”
4. “Where is/are my _____?”  Fill in the blank with whatever I’ve misplaced. Usually keys or phone, but sometimes glasses, purse, wallet, book…  And said with varying degrees of urgency/franticness.

Four people I tag:

1. Cheryl @ Tales of the Marvelous
2. Jennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews
3. Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings
4. Lianne @ Eclectic Tales