•  From Kate at Views and Mews by Coffee Cat… Describe your dream vacation and besides Zen-Den, is there someone you would like to share it with?

My dream vacation would be going to Australia, New Zealand & Viet Nam.  In Australia, I’d like to see a few major cities, the ocean reef and some of the outback.  In New Zealand, I’d like to see the villages, the sheep and Christ Church, which years ago I remember being dubbed as the friendliest city on earth.  And as for Viet Nam, friends have been there and thought it was amazing to see and to experience and to give perspective on the 1960s.

Along with Z-D, I’d share this vacation with friends of ours, J & E.  They are easy to travel with and enjoy tangents.  Plus they make me laugh like no one’s business so no matter what happened, we’d have a good time.

•  From Beth who I’ve known since 7th grade… What is one great childhood memory of yours? 

I remember hot, humid summers with no air conditioning.  At night, my Mom and Dad and I would hang out on the cool concrete patio at the back of the house.  It was the only place with a bit of breeze and a few lawn chairs.  While they’d be drinking an adult beverage (or two) I’d be playing on my swing set in the yard or coloring with chalk on the patio.  Or, if it was past dark, I’d be catching fireflies to put into an empty glass jar– as my parents cheered me on from their chairs.

Time stood still on those nights.  Nowhere to go.  No wish to be inside the house watching TV.  No rush to get to bed because it wasn’t a school night.  Just hanging out because we wanted to be together.

•  From Margaret at Stargazer… Why do you live where you live and what do you like best/least about it?

The simple answer is we live here because this is where Z-D found a job.  The more intriguing answer is that, although neither one of us ever wanted to live here, fate intervened.  You see, 16 years ago Z-D & I both were unhappy with our jobs, so we both quit them and lived off our savings for a year.  When we started our year off, we figured that after it we’d be moving away from here.  So during our year off we travelled around the USA looking at places we’d like to live–  keeping notes, making contacts, checking out real estate, planning our future.

However, when Z-D started sending out resumes looking for employment, the most amazing thing happened.  A company here offered him the chance to start a department, from scratch, in his favorite area of expertise.  So despite not liking the conservative, non-friendly nature of this area, we stayed.  And that’s how we ended up living here.

•  From Cheri at Naples Girl Blog… If you won the lotto, what would you do with the money? Would your lifestyle change?

If I won the lotto, I imagine that my personality wouldn’t change.  I mean that in the sense of what I’d buy or how I’d go about doing things or how I’d relate to people or what I’d give to the world.

I think that the biggest change would be in my lifestyle.  That is, I’d buy a few pieces of property around the USA.  Like a condo in downtown Chicago, perhaps.  Or a small cottage near a lake or an ocean.  Maybe an apartment in Santa Fe.  Then when suburban life bored me to tears I’d head to one of my other places to live for a few weeks or months.  I’d have lots of homes, not just one– but live the same way that I do now in each of them.

[Tomorrow, Part 2]