Chelle
My blogs
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Keeping myself occupied. |
| Location | Pacific NW, United States |
| Introduction | I’m Michelle & I'm married to Michael. Yes, I know that's cute. I hear it every time I write a check at the market. Along with our cats Cotton, MaGoo, & Zilla, we live in the Willamette Valley, in what Sunset magazine calls "Oregon’s wine country" & all our neighbors have enough animals that we can enjoy the pastoral side of farm life without having to do any of the work. I grew up in suburbia, so I love it here. My advice to someone moving from a sunny climate to a rainy one: have a working fireplace (we’ll have one soon), paint the walls of your house with Benjamin Moore's Bryant Gold from the Historical Colors collection (crisp white for trim and ceilings), learn to enjoy a good cup of tea (I like Peppermint, he prefers Earl Grey), & pretend you’re in Ireland. You'll be fine. I earned a grad degree in communication from Westminster College in '95 & I’ve been communicating ever since. Before that I went to USU, majoring in both English & Doing-As-Little-As-Possible -to-Graduate. I’ve meant to blog for years & now I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s revived the writer in me, & everything is now viewed as potential blog matter. You've been warned. |
| Interests | Reading a great book with my cat snuggled on my lap, A sparkling clean house not necessarily cleaned by me, Road trips, Driving fast with the stereo blasting, Hanging with friends, All things Michael, Not doing laundry, High thread counts, Staying up late, Sleeping in late, A really good laugh, A satisfying swear word, Having my toes polished red, Esthetics, Finishing the addition on the house (I'm wicked good with the skill saw), The coast, The mountains, The city, Motorcycles and Mini-Coopers, Writing, Teaching, Design, Art, Culture, Creativity, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Adventure, Possibilities. |
| Favorite Movies | Little Miss Sunshine, Fight Club, Memento, Spinal Tap, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Waking Ned Divine, O' Brother Where Art Thou, When Harry Met Sally, Young Frankenstein, The Godfather, To Kill A Mockingbird, Chocolat, Little Big Man, Truly Madly Deeply, Amelie, Sense & Sensibility, Raising Arizona, Harold And Maude, Almost Famous, The Others, The Sixth Sense, Il Postino, The (original) Parent Trap, It's A Wonderful Life, Jaws, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Groundhog Day, Cinema Paradiso. Dumbo & Bambi still make me cry. Can't stand The Wizard of Oz—Judy Garland gives me the creeps. Favorite actor: Alan Rickman. |
| Favorite Music | Pretty tough to find a genre where I don't like anything at all. If it speaks to me, I like it. Fairly random order: Dave Matthews, Foo Fighters, U2, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lyle Lovett, Django Reinhardt, Johnny Cash, Diana Krall, Chris Botti, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Prince, Nickel Creek, Hank Williams, Roseann Cash, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow (not her hits as much as the rest of her stuff which is really good), Patty Griffin, Norah Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Jack Johnson, Jack White solo, Jack White with The White Stripes, & Jack White with The Raconteurs. Love lounge, old jazz, classic R & B, funk, WWII era stuff, bossa nova, & honky tonk. Three important songs: "Somewhere, My Love" was my grandparents' song. "You Are My Sunshine" was my parents' song. "Harvest Moon" is our song. Current but not necessarily permanent favorites include Jet, Bat For Lashes, Seether, Dropkick Murphys, Finger Eleven, Corinne Bailey Rae and KT Tunstall. Gave up on Radiohead--I love "The Bends" but I couldn't get past that one. Have decided it's time I investigated opera. Hmmm...what don't I like? Celine Dion? Top 40? Oh! I know: NEW AGE. |
| Favorite Books | I love the short story more than any other literary genre. Favorites: Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", Saki's "The Open Window", Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" & "Desiree's Baby", Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall", William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" & anything by Edgar Allen Poe. Dorothy Parker. Edward Abbey. C. S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce" is one of the most amazing books I've ever experienced--it has changed my perspective on life. Of paperback fiction, I love authors like Elizabeth George or Robert Crais. Most bookclub fare aside from Chick Lit. Given the choice of a movie, television, or a book, I'll choose a book every time. I cut my teeth on Tolkien & yes, I love Harry Potter. |