I was tagged by Michelle about 80 years ago to do that five things meme, and I've really been struggling to come up with five interesting things about myself (beyond my conflicted feelings about Christmas...). Sorry if the pickings are slim...

1. I bake all of my own bread. We haven't brought store-brought bread into our house for almost a year. I usually bake four times a week: bagel day, whole wheat day, challah day, and then a wild card: it could be rye bread, a baguette, or a loaf of crusty Italian. It was one step on our multi-tiered ladder to taking part in a sustainable living philosophy.

2. I once had a guinea pig named Vladimir. When we brought him home, the pet store owner told us that we should make sure that different people held him while he was getting accustomed to his new environment because guinea pigs have a tendency to bond to the first person who holds them. My parents went out the first night he was at our house. I grabbed the guinea pig. I didn't put him down all night. The guinea pig became solely attached to me--all according to plan (apologies to my brother). I loved Vladimir will all my heart and soul. In his old age, he developed stomach cancer (but lived for an additional two years). He was finally in too much pain and had stopped eating so we needed to put him to sleep. The vet said he had never seen a person cry so hard over a rodent. I made Vladimir a promise that I would never get another guinea pig. I deeply regret making this promise because I would like to get another guinea pig one day. But I'll always feel like I'm breaking a promise if I take in another guinea pig.

3. I began printmaking when I was in high school. I went to the Smithsonian program. I first studied intaglio (mostly etching). Then, when I went to college, I got time in a studio and continued with intaglio and also silk screening. When I went to graduate school, you needed to complete six credits outside of your program in a related fine arts program. My college advisor wrote the head of the department at my graduate school and got me an independent study (again in etching). I deeply regret going the independent study route. I wish I had taken a course and learned more rather than just continuing to hone what I already knew. But my happiest moments in grad school were mixing acid in my lab over at the visual arts building. That and eating dinner Friday night with my cousin on the Smith campus.

4. I am a neat freak and I love organizing things (as you can probably tell from my side bar...). Whenever I'm stressed out, I have to clean. It is my number one favourite way to relax.

5. My dental file has me listed as a "heavy gagger." Which just about sums me up. I could not wear a retainer or a mouth guard. I can't even chew gum. I have such a thing about having having stuff in my mouth. Except...well...some things... Like...um...food. Yes, I can have food in my mouth.

I'm not going to tag anyone because it feels like I'm the last person in the world to do this meme and everyone else has moved on meme-wise. But, just in case I'm not the last person, if you haven't done this one, run straight to your blog and post five things. And let me know so I can go read yours too.