Anything but books

I’m generally not a huge fan of blog tags, mostly because I’m just too lazy to answer questions about myself! But I’ve been seeing this book tag do the rounds, and it looks really interesting. So when Sreesha tagged me on the Anything But Books tag, I had to give it a go.

Here’s how this works. I’ve been given a set of questions. My answers have to be about anything – as the name suggests – but books. At the end of the post, I’ll tag a few other bloggers to share their answers.

Here goes!

Name a cartoon(s) that you love

Hands down, Tom and Jerry! Watching that mischievous mouse get the better of the big old Tom never fails to make me laugh!

What is your favorite song right now?

There are a couple that I gravitate towards these days, depending on my mood:

What could you do for hours (that isn’t reading)?

Paint, of course!

What is something you love to do that your followers would be surprised by?

I love to pick up new creative projects. At one time, I expressed my creativity by mixing together herbs and flavors and experimenting with cooking. This was a phase that lasted for roughly a year or two. I haven’t really cooked in about 4 years! I’ve also tried my hand at embroidery, and I’m not too bad at it – until I lose patience with trying to be neat and precise, that is. These days I’m trying to sketch slightly more realistic faces. I still prefer more whimsical faces, but it’s good to keep pushing yourself!

What is your favorite unnecessarily specific thing to learn about (this can do with books, I guess)?

I love watching art videos. All kinds of art, even if it’s an art form I will never really try. Simply watching someone else’s creative process is really fascinating, though. And I suppose you do pick up a few small things that you can somehow translate into your own creative process.

What is something unusual you know how to do?

Identify different kinds of woods, joints, and woodworking tools. Oh, the perks of having a woodworking enthusiast for a husband!

Name something you’ve made in the last year (and show us, if you can).

I’ve made a deck of Oracle cards! You can see pictures and read a bit about my process here.

What is your most recent personal project?

Well….let’s just say it’s an ambitious personal project! It’s quite a huge undertaking, so I don’t want to say anything about it until I’m much closer to the finish line. All I will say for now is that it’s two-fifths complete, and I’m slightly stuck on the next third of the project. But, I’m starting to figure things out, so let’s see how it goes!

Tell us something you think about often (maybe while staring out of windows).

About the state of the world and where we are heading. About the loss of peace, the trampling of human dignity, the rise of terror, and the normalization of lynching. About why we can’t all co-exist peacefully. About the travesty of the patriarchal system; the commodification of the female body; the judging, shaming, silencing and blaming of women no matter what she does or doesn’t do.

I also think of happier things like chocolate cake and dreaming about where I want to travel to next.

Give us something that’s your favorite, but make it something oddly specific, not like your favorite food, but like your favorite food when you’ve been studying for hours and forgot to eat. Or, you know, something like that.

Talking about food, when I’m depressed, a good prawn dish can perk me up almost instantly. If we don’t limit it to food, then meditating when my head is heavy with the state of the world can help me to center myself again.

So that’s it! Those were all the questions I got from Sreesha. And now I’d like to invite you to take it up if you wish. Share your answers on your blog and share the links with me. Or feel free to answer these questions in the comments section if you prefer. I look forward to reading your responses!