A to Z to Distract Me (hey, that rhymes!)

In order to distract myself from this:
I'm going to do a light meme post that Ian had on his blog. And by the way, that's going to be our weather in Michigan for the funeral. I had to buy things that most people own like gloves and a coat and boots.
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The meme is an A to Z type thing and goes like this:

A – Allergies: Cats (I know, that's crazy!), house dust and mountain cedar.
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B – Bed size: Queen and twin (guests should get a hotel)
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C – Chore you hate: sweeping. It hurts my back, which means I am probably doing it wrong because mopping doesn't hurt my back.
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D – Dad’s Name: "Pappy" to the grandkids and "Dad" to me
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E – Essential start-your-day item: Diet decaf Pepsi
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F – Favorite actor(s): Kevin Spacey, Jodie Foster, Thomas Hayden Church, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Mason, William Powell
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G – Gold or silver: Gold for jewelry, Silver for Tequila, specifically Herradura Silver:
H – Height: 5’ 4" I used to be a half inch taller but have shrunk a bit because of gravity and settling.
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I – Instruments you play(ed): The kazoo. I can play the melody from "M*A*S*H" on the harmonica and I bought a violin and will take lessons before i croak. Really I will.
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J – Job title: Graphic Artist when I used to work.
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K – Kid(s): One daughter Kate who is 25 and really fun to be around.
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L – Living arrangements: I continually arrange to be living and am doing so right now.
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M – Mom’s name: Mom (Well what else would I call her?) The grandkids call her "Grammy."
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N – Nicknames: Sweetie, Bunny, Squirrelio (and too many more to mention - maybe my husband forgot my name)
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O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Car accident, abdominoplasty, pneumonia (and did that mean MY birth or Kate's birth or both?)
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P – Pet peeve(s): My current one is people saying "Having said that" and "That being said" instead of "However" although the "your"/"you're" thing still irks the bejeebus out of me.
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Q – Quotes you like: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana
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R – Right- or left-handed: I write right-handed but probably do about 65% of stuff with either hand. Watch people play backgammon. Some people, like me, roll the dice and move the pieces with either hand and some people do every single thing with only one hand. It's like their other hand is dead (sleeping? lazy?). It's funny.
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S – Sports you played: I never played organized sports but I did play a lot of disorganized ones. I really loved all the kiddy yard games and then basketball when I got older. Tennis is fun too.
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U – Umbrellas: Jazz pointed out that the word "umbrellas" is hardly a question, but for me it was evocative. I've been in dozens of dance performances, but my very first one was to "Singing in the Rain" and we tapped around with umbrellas. So umbrellas always remind me of of my very first dance recital.

V – Vegetable you dislike: yellow squash, except I'm not sure if gourds are actually vegetables.

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W – Ways you run late: This one is easy. I have an anxiety disorder and the main, okay, only reason I am late is because I have a hard time getting out of the house. I'm pretty good about professional appointments though.

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X – X-rays you’ve had: Oh my. Hmmm. I can't think of anything that hasn't been x-rayed. Yep I'm pretty sure every square inch has been covered. Maybe my right elbow was never X-rayed.

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Y – Yummy food you make: Pretty much everything I make is good, but because like some cooks, I do not limit myself and like to experiment, I do sometimes make something that calls for an apology.

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Z – Zodiac: I'm an Aries although everything says I am a Taurus. I'm a cusp person. Mom used to really be into astrology in the 70's and do people's charts. I found one she had done for me years later and it sounded just like me. I've also always been pretty good about guessing people's signs but I'm only really good at guessing fire signs (Leo, Sagittarius and Aries). I can pick those people out in a second.

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Thanks Ian for this idea and the rest of you, feel free to steal it if you can't think of a post idea or if, like me, you just don't want to think.