Many thanks to Charlotte for tagging me for this meme! I need a topic this evening that won’t tax my brain too much, and this is perfect, although I must say, I have been running words through my head all day, trying to come up with ones that fit. Here are the instructions for the meme:
List one fact, word or tidbit that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your first or middle name. You can theme it to your blog or make it general. Then tag one person for each letter of your name.
So here goes:
D: Dogs. I was not always a lover of dogs; it was getting Muttboy that changed me from a person intimidated by them to one who will approach just about any dog to say hello. Muttboy pretty much runs things in our household; his two daily walks and his meals and his snacks and his little rituals like playing in the backyard with Hobgoblin whenever he takes out the garbage give a structure to our days and weeks. How did we ever get by before we got Muttboy? I have no idea. Life must have been very boring.
O: Outdoors. I have not always been an outdoorsy person either; when I was a kid I liked to hike but didn’t do it that often, and generally I preferred to be indoors reading than outdoors playing in the yard or sunbathing or whatever. This hasn’t changed too terribly much. But upon getting older and having a car and a bit more money at my disposal, I started hiking more and took up backpacking, and, of course, began to ride. Now I try to find a balance; I’m still inclined to linger indoors, but I’ve discovered the magic of the world outdoors too.
R: Reading. What is there to say about this one? I don’t really need a justification for my choice of this word, or a description of how I love it. You already know about that.
O: Online. 10, 15 years ago I would have been shocked to learn that I would end up spending so much time online. If you go back far enough, of course, I wouldn’t know what that meant, spending time online, but even as recently as a couple years ago, I had no idea it would become so important to me. But it has — and for the most part, it’s been a very good thing.
T: Trail. I’m rather obsessed with trails, and especially the Appalachian Trail. I haven’t been on it in quite a few months, and I’m eager to go. There’s something magical about a trail that goes on for hundreds and thousands of miles, a trail you can follow for months and not get to the end of, a trail you can live on and that can sustain a whole community of hikers. I fell in love with the Appalachian Trail when I read an article about it in Reader’s Digest as a kid, and my feelings toward it have never changed. Next summer, I’m going backpacking, if it kills me!
H: Hobgoblin. I have no idea what life without Hobgoblin would be like; I can’t even begin to imagine such a thing. We’ve been married over 9 years now and have known each other for 11 years, exactly 1/3 of my life. That’s a pretty big chunk, isn’t it?!
Y: Yankee. Growing up in western New York state, I didn’t think of myself as a Yankee, tending to think that you had to be from New England to qualify, although I did have an interesting conversation when I was much younger with the family of a friend from the south; one family member asked me where I’m from and upon hearing the answer said, “Oh, you’re a Yankee! I’ve known a few good Yankees ….” Now that I live in Connecticut, I most definitely qualify.
W: Woods. I like my civilization, yes, I do, but I like a little wilderness as well. Don’t coop me up too much, or I’ll be longing for escape. Retreating to my book-lined study is a wonderful solace, but I need time out in the woods, time away from buildings and cars and all the fake plasticky things we surround ourselves with.
I’m not going to tag anybody for this meme, but if you’d like to do it, please do!
Of Books and Bicycles 
This was so fun to read and I was surprised, I figured you had always been an outdoorsy person! I know the older I’ve gotten the more I’ve learned to appreciate nature and it’s beauty.
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That was fun! I’m with Iliana, I was suprised you weren’t always an outdoorsy person. So very fascinating to see the interesting directions we grow in as time goes by
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10 years ago I was spending a ton of time online! (Anyone remember Mosaic?) I took to it like a duck to water. It didn’t take long for my co-workers to dub me the Web Queen!
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Your words convey a happy balance between mind, body, and soul. Even though it might get out of hand at times, it does seem to have the right components. It is such a simple meme, but enjoyable.
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What fun, Dorothy! It seemed to sum you up beautifully!
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Isn’t it funny how much structure animals need to their daily lives? They totally depend on doing certain things at certain times–my cats are the same way (well, as much as cats can be like that). I would never have thought I’d spend this much time on a computer, too. I didn’t even want to get one at first–and it has really actually changed my life. Now maybe someday I’ll even own a cell phone–but let’s not rush these things. Fun answers, Dorothy!
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Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about you. What a fun meme. I, too, like my outdoors tempered with indoor time, and vice-versa.
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Iliana and Stefanie — my interest in the outdoors used to be much more in my imagination than in reality! I learned something when I was young, though, that taught me to value the outdoors, and I’m glad I did.
Sylvia — let’s see — ten years ago, I was barely learning email! What a change.
Lilalia — I hope I’ve found a balance — perhaps I find it at times, and can hope to find it more and more often.
Thank you Litlove!
Danielle — I don’t own a cell phone either! I used to own one, but I never used it, and now it’s so out of date, it’s laughable, and unusable. I guess it’s good that we never know how we’ll change — a little bit of unpredictability is a good thing.
Courtney — I can be quite lazy and slothful and indoorsy, and quite energetic and ambitious and outdoorsy too — I go back and forth between the two all the time!
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wow what a wonderful post! it brightened my day 🙂 I think I will do this one, right now actually!
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I may have to throw my hat into this meme-ring as well, but probably not right away. I have an evening class and a full-to-the-brim weekend.
Isn’t it funny that we need a car to go hiking? 😉
If you get a chance you might want to check out the Pacific Crest Trail. Compared to the Appalachian it is longer, more rugged, more varied in altitude, and more dense with vegetation, but probably less interesting for fall colors (lots of evergreens).
When I moved from Seattle to Houston, I got called a Yankee often. Since the Civil War didn’t touch either place very much, I always got a chuckle out of this. Nobody in Washington State thinks of themselves as a Yank; the thought never even crosses their mind.
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Hepzibah — I’m going to head over and read your version very soon!
Bikkuri — yes, indeed, it’s strange to need a car to go hiking; if only the Appalachian Trail cut across my back yard! I’d love to check out the PCT, although it’s such a long, long way from here, but I bet it’s beautiful. Perhaps when I’ve finished the AT … people from Washington definitely aren’t Yankees, at least not in my mind — how odd to get called one.
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That was neat to learn these things, about you. Now I am thinking of doing one of these.
I especially liked the comment about “online”. I too, just a few years ago really… well, in pre-blog days, and then again, pre-email days, I often wonder…. HOW DID I LIVE?
Sometimes I think I am weird, how much I now rely upon this medium. So I was encouraged in my reading of Eric Clapton’s biography. Just tonight I read him saying “Thank God for the Internet. When I am away from the family for long periods of time like this, we use it a lot, sometimes just to say goodnight when it’s the kids’ bedtime, but also generally to stay current. I honestly can’t imagine life now without it…”
Neither can I!
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