a peek inside the fishbowl

30 Oct, 2006

Winter ChristmasHolidayGift thing: my answers!

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Oh! Things!

Thanks to Andrea over at Beanie Baby who is once again hosting this gift exchange. I am excited! Woot! So without delay, here are my answers.

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If I could, I’d invent an alarm clock that gradually fills your entire bedroom with sunlight, birdsong, and the sound of waves breaking on the beach, and damn it, the world needs one because the it would be a much better place to live in if everyone woke up on the RIGHT side of the bed every day.

I sometimes buy perennials at the garden centre, because they are more like the me I want to be than the me that I am. I am not a gardener, but I would really like to be.

If you came over to my house to play and touched (and damaged!) my collection of paper stars I’d be a little bit mad at you forever.

The colours salmon-pink and dusty rose make me want to shave my eyeballs with a cheese grater.

Wasabi green, chocolate brown and robin-egg blue are so beautiful that when I see them, a beam of light comes down and I hear a choir sing.

Fruitcake makes me gag, feel it in my mouth for a minute, and then swallow it back down rather than spit it out (or else I just don’t like it, but I’m too nice to say it.)

I might get sick or die if I touch polyester napkins with my lips, or look at pictures of the dust mites that live in our eyelashes.

Gefilte fish gives me the willies and I might need to consider a frontal lobotomy if I even think about it further.

I love the feel of cashmere so much I want to hump it like a puppy on a sofa pillow.

No one should have to watch me eat milk-chocolate covered caramels, because then I might consider being polite enough to share, and I don’t want to share it.

I’m a grown-up now, so I don’t have to eat organ meats with soggy overcooked vegetables on the side, and you can’t make me.

If I could invent a way to permanently coat my nostril hairs with this scent, I’d be my own biggest customer: the shea nut and coconut variety of body butters. Yum. 

Three things I like that anyone might like: small windup toys, LUSH bath bombs, leather-bound notebooks.

Three things I like that nobody else in the world likes: unconventional artwork eg. a collage of old medical illustrations, castaway things found on the sidewalk to be turned into pocket-sized art, retro squirrel-themed salt and pepper shakers. 

I have TOO MANY fridge magnets, and not enough beauty in my everyday life.

Okay, we know the best things in life aren’t things, but these are the best
things in life if there are going to be best things: old school games I can play with my family (Trouble, Perfection, Rebound are all faves around here), photobooth photos of people I don’t know, a hefty book read while drinking a hot latte in bed.

When people have kind, sweet and nice things about me, they’re usually talking about what a creative person I am. When they say I can be a wee bit grouchy and abrupt if I haven’t eaten in awhile they’re usually right too.

It’s true, I can’t handle fast spinning rides at amusement parks anymore, and I’m learning to be proud of it.

If I could have any talent in the world, I’d choose to become a world-class speaker and use my powers of persuasion to convince people that peace is better than war, tolerance is better than hatred, and that celebrity magazines should only be used to wash windows and line birdcages.

If I was given a day and a no-limit credit card to spend in one of these
places, childfree, I would choose:

An auction, where you never know what you want until you see it, and then
you want it more than anyone. It’s all about the adventure and the
atmosphere…  or an estate sale, where these is the potential to round out a growing collection of mine, well, one of many. I’m the collector who’s unable to  focus on one thing. My recent whims include egg cups, bird-shaped cookie cutters, vintage valentines and musty children’s story books. I would love to collect tin robots. And old keys. Both would be very cool in my books.

Overall: I’m a sucker for cool packaging, clever design, and vintage stuff. (I’m already feeling sorry for the person who draws my name.)

It is important to me that the items chosen for me aren’t unnecessarily overpackaged. Let’s just say it’s a pet peeve of mine. Otherwise, I’m not going to force my own Wal-mart boycott on anyone.

If I could suggest that you read only one post category from my archives, this would be it.

If I were to name the Holiday of my choice for this exchange, it would be:
Traditional Christmas without Big Heavy Religious Symbolism.


2 Responses to "Winter ChristmasHolidayGift thing: my answers!"

1 | Marla

October 31st, 2006 at 9:46 am

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I love your answers, but then, you know I would.

2 | a peek inside the fish bowl

January 17th, 2007 at 12:16 pm

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[…] That’s why, when it was time sign to up for the other Andrea’s Winter Gift Extravaganza I jumped in without hesitation. The secret santa aspect is particularly intriguing to me…. because the exchange is not entirely without risk. When I do my shopping for my own recipient I spend a lot of time thinking and shopping, shopping and thinking, sometimes EVEN AT THE SAME TIME! The problem is this: what if my recipient doesn’t do the same? What if they disregard the questionnaire that I painstakingly filled out? […]

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  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the
  • Janelle Brown: Dear Andrea Thank you for sharing Piper’s story with her followers. I empathise with your grief and emptiness as I lost my 14 year old Westie last
  • Natasha McReynolds-Nicholl: My god reading this is heartbreaking. December 1st was the as you describe longest day of my life, we lost out beautiful WFT hazel. Pipers final momen

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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