So, thanks a lot, Paisley, ol' building and loan pal. I'm having a teensy, teeny weenie martini.... and on with the show. Now, let's see..... SEVEN THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE 1. Fiords (or is that fjords?) -- well, I think that means seeking the Swedish ancestors. Via Paris, of course. 2. Get my grandfather's World War I diary de-coded. Yes! I have it and it is in code. So cool. Alas, what did the lovely man have to SAY? Inquiring grand-daughters want to know. 3. Write something that other people would put on their Top Seven list. 4. Get that something and many others PUBLISHED! In the real world, in print, via an agent in NYC. 5. Sail around the world in a "small" ship (less than 100 passengers), stopping in small ports, taking about a year., 6. Talk my kid into maybe just one teeny, tiny, grandchild. Altho I must say, I'm so not obsessed. 7. Change the world, of course. SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACTED ME TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE... (oh, the current love, of course) 1. Smile 2. Kindness 3. Humor 4. Adventure 5. Wow, can he kiss! 6. He accepted my quirky, eccentric, craziness (thank goodness) 7. Did I say Kindness with a Smile? (and he loves to vaccuum & do dishes & windows) SEVEN BOOKS (this is the hardest, I think) 1. From Here to Eternity - Jones 2. A Soldier in the Great War - Mark Helprin 3. Shogun - Clavell 4. Lonesome Dove - McMurtry 5. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon 6. Harry Potter --- all of them!!!! 7. Prince of Tides - Conroy AND Prodigal Summer - Kingsolver AND Clowns of God - Morris West and one more little book that made me cry a lot: Traveling Light - by Katrina Kittle (just wow... or was it me? hormones?) SEVEN BOOKS THAT I ADORE FROM MY CHILDHOOD (I needed more than 7) 1. King of the Wind - Marguerite Henry 2. Gone Away Lake - and- Return to Gone Away - Elizabeth Enright 3. Seventeenth Summer - Maureen Daly (ah!) 4. Henry Huggins - and - Jean and Johnny - Beverly Cleary 5. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew - Margaret Sidney 6. Onion John - Joseph Krumgold -and- Charlotte's Web - EB White 7. (okay, I'm cheating... I recently read this) The Tale of Desperaux SEVEN NON-FICTION BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE 1. Embracing Our Selves - The Voice Dialogue Manual - by Hal Stone (and Winkelman) 2. Joy's Way - by W. Brugh Joy, M.D. 3. What Your Dreams Can Teach You - by Lukeman 4. The Enneagram - by Helen Palmer 5. The Tarot Handbook - by Angeles Arrien (and her books: Signs of Life, -and- The Second Half of Life 6. Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest - by Christina Baldwin 7. The Artist's Way - by Julia Cameron Whew! that was Tough! SEVEN MOVIES (oh tres dificile, but I shall not go overboard) 1. Young Frankenstein 2. Field of Dreams 3. Dirty Dancing 4. Dancing with Wolves (I paid to see this one SIX times on the BIG screen) 5. Avanti 6. The Shawshank Redemption 7. Funny Girl 8. American Dreamer... it's silly, but can I add that? (see? I didn't think so hard.... and I own a gazillion movies) SEVEN THINGS I CANNOT DO 1. Touch my toes 2. A cartwheel 3. Swim laps 4. Run a marathon 5. Ski (yes, I have so tried... and I always cry, so what's the use?) 6. Speak Spanish 7. Eat cheese (ick! I can't do anything stinky or stronger than Jack, mild cheddar or American) SEVEN WORDS (or phrases) I USE ALL THE TIME (or is that just A LOT?) 1. shit 2. swell 3. helllloooo 4. puh leeze 5. I am so sure! or I'm sure! or Surely, you jest?! (you know... when I'm yelling at the Supreme Court Hearings.... oy, my bloodpressure) 6. And (instead of BUT -- what liberation to consciously realize that I can do more than one thing, have more than one emotion or belief, and not constantly negate the first part of any sentence) 7. fait pee pee (hey, my doggie speaks French) I'm sure this list business is mucho much easier without stopping to refill the martini, but DAHLINGS! Would it be more fun? I think not!

Bonjour! I enjoyed reading your lists ... they made me laugh! Tres bon!

See? That wasn't so hard, now was it? Of course you went into a lot more detail on your book lists! I only had top 7 books.. you sub-categoried them! Egggggggg-sellent lists, mon ami! Tres bon! <-- looky a leetle french guy!

You'e 36 and you have a child old enough to produce grandchildren? Did you start at age 13 or what?:o

STEP-grandchild. I adore older men.