More questions: Callunav

[mrissa]

callunav has asked:

1. What is your favorite cure for hiccoughs?

Alas, but I have no cure for hiccoughs. Or hiccups. Or anything. I get the really loud, body-shaking, painful kind -- The Dreaded Lingen Hiccups -- but I don't have a cure for them. Sometimes a good hug from somebody big works. Sometimes not.

2. Are there kinds of story which you're not sure you're enjoying, but which you like to read anyhow?

Well, the story element that makes me squirm is when people who care about each other -- whose caring is shown and not just told -- are angry with each other. I don't like that at all. But sometimes it's a necessary element of a good story -- I've written it and will be writing it myself in more than one spot. So.

3. Name one reason you're glad you're not a student any more.

Just one? Golly. I'm glad I'm not a student any more because my reading time is my own. I mean, sometimes it's my stories'. But I'm the one who says, "I'd better find out about X because my characters would know it." Nobody tells me I have to read about Y instead.

4. What would you change about your kitchen, if you had complete liberty to stretch both your finances and the laws of physics?

Larger for sure. I'd like slate floor and granite countertops. (retrobabble: please feel free to jump in and say, "No, no, you don't want that, and here's why.") I would like the granite countertops to be at varying heights: we have people 5'6", 6', and 6'2" using them on a regular basis, and you will be shocked to hear that the eight inches of height difference between the extrema there actually makes some difference to the desired countertop height. Also there are things I want to do lower than other things (kneading, for example). Those refrigerated drawers look awfully keen. I dislike our stovetop (it has two heats, off and extremely hot). So.

The pantry that opens into Narnia can stay. I love that pantry.

5. Are there consistent, identifiable differences between the kinds of stories you regularly enjoy reading, and the kind you like to write? (I mean, other than frequent connections with snow and/or Finland.)

The stories I like to write are a subset of the stories I like to read. There are all kinds of things I like to read and couldn't write, or if I did, it'd come out differently. In terms of genre/sub-genre, I like a great deal more non-speculative stuff than I can write. Aliens keep landing on my mental lawn. I do have a couple of non-speculative mystery novel ideas, but I am deliberately putting off writing them for the time being. They're the sort of thing I will try if I decide that I need a genre change for whatever reason, I think.

There are some things I don't see quite enough of, but I have a talented friendslist; I am not resigned to my fate in that regard.

Comments

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

4. Gosh yes. When I kneaded, I used the kitchen table, even though wood is not the optimal material for kneading. Neither for heat transfer nor cleanup.

[ksumnersmith.livejournal.com]

Slate flooring is beautiful, but it takes a lot of maintenance to keep it looking that way. The slate needs to be re-sealed every year, which is apparently quite the (fume-intensive) ordeal.

Granite countertops are most definitely worthwhile, IMHO. But they can be twitchy, too, depending on the colour of stone. You have to be careful when wiping/cleaning the countertops, because there is a tendency for the darker kinds of granite to show water spots. (The water spots, oh my, the water spots.)

(Just a few of the things I learned during the building of New House.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Re-sealed every year?

Hell with that. Ceramic tile, then!

[ksumnersmith.livejournal.com]

Ha, that's what my mother said, too. They'd narrowed it down to a few different slate tile styles, my favourite of which looked as if autumn leaves had melted and swirled into the stone, when someone mentioned the need to re-seal yearly.

New House is now full of ceramic tile. *g*

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Your mother is a sensible woman.

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

Nonono. When I bought this apartment it had ceramic tile. Anything dropped on it *shatters*. In tiny little pieces, hard to find before they get into paws and bare feet. Sweeping doesn't get them all. Neither does going over the floor with a wet paper towel.

Re #4

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

So you want to make sure that any time you drop anything remotely breakable in the kitchen, it breaks?

Re: Re #4

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It does anyway; I might as well enjoy the aesthetic experience.

[von-krag.livejournal.com]

Tile, stone and such for flooring are easy to keep clean, properly designed look great and will not show wear easily . But, & this is important, #1 do not heat well in Minnesota winters unless a radiant system is under them. #2 Can aggravate & induce knee/back/hip pain. #3 This material is very live & echoey to sound making it harder to hear. I like either a laminated floating wood floor (Belawood, Bamboo etc) or cork planking. Granted they aren't quite as easy to keep restaurant clean but they just feel better underfoot, shod or barefoot. They are natural nonconductors so they feel much warmer to your tootses on cold mornings. A good idea IMO.