First of all, I’ll extend my thanks to both Esther and Guylty for nominating me and I’ll try to answer the questions from both of you.

About The Mystery Blogger Award:

The Mystery Blogger Award is an opportunity for a blogger to share a little about themselves, while providing links and a similar opportunity to other bloggers who write interesting posts.

In the words of Okoto Enigma, the creator of the Award, “This is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates, it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging and they do it with so much love and passion.”

The Rules of the Award:

1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.
2. List the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
6. You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
8. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
9. Share a link to your best post(s).

OK… so here goes!

Three Things about Myself:

1. When I was 13, I sang for the Queen at the opening of a civic building. I was part of a choir of students selected from all the public schools in the city. (Picture: The Queen at the opening; image from Virtual Reference Library.) Over the two years I was in it, we sang some interesting music, even singing in Latin! We learned at least two songs from the Stabat Mater sequence by Pergolesi, and I can still sing a bit of “Stabat Mater Dolorosa” and “Fac ut ardeat cor meum”. (Why a public school choir was singing 18th century Catholic sacred music, I’m not sure, but it was a pleasure and a challenge to sing.)

2. My name is Sue and I am a Starbucks addict. I am known by my name and my espresso-based drink(s) at at least 3 Starbucks locations. This is why I have no money.

3. As a teenager, I went to the Judy Welch Modelling School and learned to do the model walk, among other things. I was a normal-sized teenager, but I was told that I would need to lose 10 pounds. That seemed ridiculous to me and eventually I stopped going. (If they could only see me now! Suffice it to say that I didn’t lose 10 pounds.)

Questions from Esther and Guylty: (Wow! Couldn’t you guys have had some overlap?? OK… short answers…)

1. Your favourite genre of book or movie? Name 3 examples of each. This first question is actually the most difficult. I’m not all that consistent in terms of genre, I think, although I like them to be done well. In books, I like good chick lit (Sheila O’Flanagan), autobiographies (currently reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime), human interest stories (Brain on Fire), mysteries/thrillers (currently reading Lily Alone by Vivien Brown), and whatever else grabs my fancy. Pretty similarly, in movies, I like good romantic comedies (which are few and far between these days, although I’d like to see Home Again with Reese Witherspoon), stories with a heart (I’d like to see Boston Strong with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany), thrillers (The Girl on the Train), and whatever else I or my family might want to see (went to see Thor: Ragnarok today).

2. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life and who should play your partner? (If you don’t have a partner, you can make up a mystery one! Even if you do have a partner, you can make up a mystery one. 🙂 ) If she were still alive, I would say Suzanne Pleshette, with her dark-haired beauty and husky voice (as long as Bob Newhart doesn’t have to play my husband!). Modern-day, maybe Zooey Deschanel, who also has the dark hair and deeper voice. I love their sassy attitude and sarcastic sense of humour. (Images from IMDb.) And let’s just go with Richard Armitage as my partner. (Just because, and despite the dissimilarities between the suggested and actual partner.)

NEW GIRL: Jess (Zooey Deschanel) helps Nick at the hardware store in the "Guys Night" episode of NEW GIRL airing Tuesday, March 19 (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Ray Mickshaw/FOX

3. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight, or night? Please explain why. I am definitely a night owl. I wish I knew why, but all I know is that I am more alive and more productive at night.

4. If you won the lottery what would you do? I would hand in my notice at work, for sure, giving them enough time to find someone. I would love to have more time to just be — to do what appeals in the moment, to do things around the house or with the kids, to read, to watch TV and movies, to write.

5. Tacos for life or sushi for life? While I like other Japanese food, I just can’t make myself eat the raw fish. So it would have to be tacos.

6. If you weren’t living where you are living now, where would you like to live? Somewhere warm and sunny. I love the sun, even though it doesn’t really love me. Unfortunately, I burn or get a sun rash, so I have to use the high SPF sunscreen.

7. What’s the last thing you bought that made you really happy? Richard Armitage’s reading of The Lords of the North, with the memorable character of Uhtred Ragnarson, which I wrote about here.

8. If you could dress RA/your favourite artist, what would you put him in? It’s a toss up between a well-fitted suit or blue jeans and a jacket… or maybe just au naturel 🙂 .

9. What would you like to receive as a Christmas gift? Hmm. Well, there are definitely some Richard Armitage works that I haven’t seen yet. I’d really love to have and watch Sleepwalker, which sounds like it would be something I would really enjoy.

10. Which artistic talent would you like to possess? Why? I’ve always wished I could draw or paint, probably because my mother could but I really can’t. This is about the best I can do.

Nominations and My Questions:

So, this is the toughest part, especially since so many wonderful bloggers have already been nominated by others. Here are a few I would like to nominate… no pressure… and if you would like to self-nominate, please feel free!

• Good Woman Going to Waste
• KellyDS at Getting Caught up in the Mechanism and Nowhere in Particular RA
• Fatima at Stacks and Ranges
• Carly Quinn

And as for the questions:

1. What is your favourite kind of food and do you make it at home or go out?
2. Coffee or tea and what is your favourite time or place to drink it?
3. Who would you like to have dinner with, what would you eat, and what would you talk about?
4. What is a favourite book that represents your favourite season?
5. If you could be anyone else for a day, who would it be?