Well, Monica over at Dumplings, Three decided I needed to lighten up. She's absolutely right! I'm supposed to list 6 things that are weird about me. (Only 6?)

1. I sing Italian arias in the shower. "Il mio bel foco" is a standard. Sometimes I switch to Turandot and "Nessun Dorma," if I'm feeling up to it. Except I forget some of the words and end up la-la-ing the melody instead. My mom warped my brain with Broadway showtunes as a child; occasionally one of those will creep in to the repertoire. I've had a crush on Harry Connick, Jr. since I was in junior high school, so sometimes I sing his music in the shower, too.

2. I get a perverse pleasure out of winning Scrabble when playing my husband (who is very good, and a much nicer player than I am). I like knowing all the weird two-letter combinations, and the few Q words that don't need a U.

3. I'm rather proud that my daughters don't like Barbies or Disney Princesses. I personally have a collection of porcelain dolls representing various strong women of history - Susan B. Anthony, Sacajawea, Pearl S. Buck, Marie Curie, Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Tubman, and many others. They stand near my desk like little feminist voodoo dolls. There's not a single Asian woman among them, though, which irks me - and the series went out of production a while ago, so it won't do much good to complain to the historical society that produced them. Anyway, Sarah is hoping to be Medusa (again) this coming Halloween, and we've looked at the Greek myth together. (I think it's a hoot, although tying all those snakes into her hair and spraying it green took ages last time!) Taking Medusa's picture standing next to all her tulle-wrapped, sequined, pink fairy princess classmates is satisfyingly fun, though.

4. I love to garden, but I'm not very good at it. Well, I love the IDEA of gardening, but tend to put off pruning and pulling weeds. I can give you the scientific names of the dead plants, though. :)

5. I have some infrequently practiced, somewhat peculiar talents. I play bassoon, various percussion instruments, and the piano, I can juggle 3 objects, I can twirl "devil sticks," and I can do a pretty good routine with a drill team Tall Flag. Well... I can do most of these after practicing up a little. And don't ask me to wear the short skirt I used to for drill team - my high school figure was a lot better for that! Oh, and I can tie knots in cherry stems with my tongue. At least if the doctorate doesn't work out, I can join the circus. My children find me very entertaining. (That will switch to "embarrassing" once they get a little older.)

6. I find hauling telescopes and optical gear through prickly-pear infested fields in the darkest dark of Nebraskan nowhere to be a fun way to spend a week with my husband. So - we're compatibly weird. :) (We haven't been to the Nebraska Star Party in a couple of years, though - hoping to get back soon!)

Well - that's six. I didn't get to talk about my five cats, my "interesting" crochet projects, my homemade aquarium CO2 production devices, or that I actually enjoy doing minor plumbing and electrical repairs. I'll save those for later, I guess.