Thank you so much for your asks, @thetimemoves! (weāre playing this ask meme)
2. Grilled cheese or PB&J?Ā
Oh, this is not even a close contest. Grilled cheese wins by a HUGE margin. Mmmm, grilled cheese.
10. Do you own any signed books/memorabilia in general?Ā
I do! Largely through the kindness of others. My best friend went to one of Terry Pratchettās book signings many years ago and asked him to sign Men At Arms for me. Iāve never been 100% confident I could read what he wrote -- he had very loopy handwriting! -- but I think it says, āTo Rachel - Lots of wishes, Terry Pratchett.ā My mother is a renowned eBay adventurer, and she managed to get a postcard with a picture of Granada Holmes sitting in his chair with his knees pulled up (like the Paget painting), and itās been autographed by Jeremy Brett. Itās sitting in a frame on my bookshelf. Sheās also, over the years, found about a dozen late 19th and early 20th century editions of The Strand with Sherlock Holmes stories in them. The Strand used to put out an end of year compilation of its monthly issues, bound together like books, and Iāve got some of them lined up on my shelf, while sheās kept others at her house for me. She also knows that I find Bobby Kennedy an interesting historical personality, and she has bought a number of bits of memorabilia surrounding him over the years, mainly photographs from press junkets and that sort of thing.
This isnāt exactly memorabilia, but...itās better. My father used to take me to science fiction conventions every now and then when I was a kid. When he was in college, he self-published a fanzine about Ray Harryhausen (the special effects pioneer who was famous for his stop motion animation.) As a result, he was sometimes invited to help a little bit with the behind-the-scenes stuff at conventions where Mr. Harryhausen was appearing, and we sometimes got to meet the other special guests there, too. So, because of this, I got to meet Mr. Harryhausen several times, and also Ray Bradbury (who was a dear friend of his), and Forry Ackerman (also old friends with both), who ran the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and basically knew everybody in 20th century science fiction. I have been to lunch with them (as part of a larger group), and sat around a hotel lobby listening to them talk about how much they loved King Kong, etc. It was pretty special. I told Ray Bradbury that I wished he hadnāt killed off Clarisse in Farenheit 451, and he said he heard that all the time, LOL! What an amazing bit of luck to have gotten that experience, which is in no way typical of conventions -- it was a privilege to be allowed behind-the-scenes a little.
46. Whatās the freezer food that you stock up on when you go to the grocery store?Ā
Ah, the eternal quest for frozen meals that donāt taste like garbage. Iāve tended to have the best luck with the types that you pour into a skillet and cook for ten or 15 minutes, rather than anything microwavable (though I have reconciled myself to Scott and Jonās Shrimp Risotto, itās not bad, especially if you dump a bunch of feta cheese on top of it when you pull it out of the microwave). For skillet meals, I like different kinds of Bertolliās pasta: chicken parmigiana, shrimp asparagus, or chicken florentine. PF Changās skillet chicken fried rice is good, too. And each bag generously serves two (or, in my case, makes two meals, since my husband prefers to cook for himself). Whole Foods used to carry, in the frozen food section, bags of falafel stuffed with lemony hummus or tzatziki. You just popped them in the oven for 10 minutes and then warm, delicious goodness, and even though they were labelled as snacks they were incredibly filling. I loved those things. But I havenāt seen them in months; either our store stopped carrying them or they went out of business. BUT I MISS THEM.
Also, is there an occasional Klondike bar in my freezer? Yes, there is. Not nearly often enough. But that sounds like a good Motherās Day gift to myself for next weekend :)
