I’ve been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Jeanne, from the website Jeanne in the Kitchen. Thank you for the nomination, Jeanne! It was a nice surprise.

Check out her blog for lots of great posts which feature recipes, food experiences, travel and awesome nature photography.

As I understand, these are the rules for participating in the Sunshine Award

• Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Provide a link to your nominator’s blog.
• Answer your nominators’ questions.
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers.
• Ask your nominees 11 questions.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.

Eleven Questions for Me

Below are my answers to Jeanne’s eleven questions.

Question 1 : What’s a hobby you picked up as an adult that you wish you’d started earlier?

Learning French. It is not easy to learn a second language, and it is not easier when you are older. I started learning French when I was almost 60 and a few years later, I am still working on it. I should say English is also a second language for me (Swedish is my native language). However, it is a lot easier to become fluent when you are embedded among native speakers.

Question 2 : If you could invite three fictional characters to dinner, who gets a seat?

I think that would be Asterix, Obelix, and their little dog Idéfix, or as he is called in English Dogmatix. For those who don’t know, they are characters from one of the most successful French Bande Dessinée in history. The comic takes place during the Roman occupation of Gaul, what was then France. When I was a kid, I loved this comic strip and had pretty much all the albums.

Question 3 : What’s the most ridiculous thing you believed as a kid that you maybe… held onto a little too long?

When I was a kid, I and other kids in the neighborhood believed that there lived a witch in the forest next to our neighborhood. The witch was dangerous and ate children. We used to throw stones and scream into the forest to scare the witch. Another ridiculous thing was that I believed that planet Earth was 6,000 years old and that evolution was a hoax. I held that belief until I was almost 20.

Question 4 : What’s a movie or show you can quote without trying?

Interstellar and Annihilation. For example, the quote from interstellar “When you become a parent, one thing becomes abundantly clear. And that’s that you want to make sure your children feel safe”. “Once you’re a parent, you’re the ghost of your children’s future”.

Question 5 : Describe a habit you’re proud of building over the past year?

This year I am taking exercise more seriously and I am going to the gym several times per week.

Question 6 : What’s a small daily ritual that genuinely makes your life better?

I drink coffee and I floss every day, and I think those two daily rituals make my life better.

Question 7 : Share a memory that still makes you laugh, even years later.

We used to tell our kids “Why did the ….” jokes like “Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!” One day our 3 year old son had a “Why did the ….” Joke” too, so I listened. He said, “why did the elephant go to the store?” and I said “no why”, and he said, “to buy a moped”. The joke didn’t really work but it was so unexpected and silly that I started laughing and he thought that he had made a really great joke. It’s a funny memory.

Question 8 : If you could have a blog post, go viral, which one would you want it to be?

It is hard to pick but maybe one of my super facts: “Two events may be simultaneous for some but not for others” because it is mind blowing, or “Quasar TON 618” because it is fascinating, or “Global Warming is Happening and is Caused by us” because so many still doubt this despite the fact that we’ve known this to be true for several decades. It is a challenging fact to many. I think most reasonable people would agree if only they knew something about the evidence.

Question 9 : Is there a meal you can cook from memory without a recipe. You can just walk into the kitchen and create something.

Pancakes, waffles, ham and cheese sandwiches, grilling hot dogs and put ketchup and mustard on them. OK I guess that is not very challenging. However, I can brew IPAs without following a recipe as long as I have the ingredients and I know which hops are used for flavoring and which are used for aroma.

Question 10 : Tell us about something you’re looking forward to in the next few months.

At the end of May, we will visit our grandson Jack again. He is our first grandson, and he lives with his parents (my son and his wife) in Baltimore. We have decided that we are going to go fishing.

Question 11 : You’re invited to my house for dinner. What should I cook?

What ever you like, but Swedish meatballs would work.

Here are my questions for my nominees:

For my nominees I am going to do the same as Jeanne, answer the same questions from above, but you can also pick an alternative from the questions below. So, basically you can pick one of two alternatives for each question.

Question 1 : What’s your favorite movie(s)?

Question 2 : What is something you’ve done or experienced that is unusual?

Question 3 : What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

Question 4 : What’s something you’re really passionate about?

Question 5 : If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Question 6 : What’s your favorite way to spend a weekend or a day off?

Question 7 : What’s something you wish more people understood about you?

Question 8 : What’s your go-to comfort food or favorite meal?

Question 9 : If you could have dinner with any three people (dead or alive), who would they be?

Question 10 : What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Question 11 : What kind of music are you into?

Ten New Victims

Below are my nominees. Naturally, whether you participate or not is entirely up to you. I do not have any particular expectations, and I fully understand if you are not up to it.

Anneli from wordsfromanneli

Di from pensitivity101

Pete Springer from petespringerauthor

John Howell from johnwhowell.com

Luisa Zambrotta from words music and stories

JoAnna from Anything is Possible

Lynette d’Arty-Cross from lynettedartycross

Beth from  I didn’t have my glasses on

Cindy Georgakas from Unique Times with Cindy

The Mindful Migraine

I have been nominated once before, and these were my answers back then.

Sunshine Blogger Award