Ann M. Martin

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

May 2006

Time of day: Around 5:30 p.m. when the day is winding down.
Day of the week: Friday, when I have the whole weekend in front of me.
Season: Winter – and I always hope for a lot of snow.
Holiday: Christmas.
Way to waste time: Watching television.
Dog breed: I love mutts and mixed breeds.
Dog name: Definitely Sadie!
Cat name: When my father was little, he had a cat named Itty Fitty.
Hobby: Needlework.
State: Maine.
Board game: When I was growing up it was The Game of Life. I hardly ever play board games now (but I want to learn how to play Mah Jong).
Composer: George Gershwin. I love “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Seat on an airplane: The aisle.
Vacation ever taken: On Monhegan, an island off the coast of Maine.
Vacation spot: Martha’s Vineyard.
Gift ever received: The gifts that mean the most to me are things that once belonged to my ancestors. Over the years, my relatives have passed down to me, among other things, my grandmother’s watch, my great-uncle’s spelling bee medal, and a set of butter knives belonging to my great-aunt Belle Teal. (Does her name sound familiar?)
Gift ever given: For my father’s 75th birthday, my sister Jane and I sent out a blank sheet of paper to friends and relatives and asked them to fill it in any way they liked with a memory of Dad. We received written notes, photographs, and even drawings (Dad is a cartoonist), and then we had the sheets bound together in a book. Dad loved it!
Flower: Lilac.
Childhood memory: Going to Avalon beach in New Jersey in the summer.
Vegetable: Peas, especially the ones I grow in my vegetable garden.
Disney movie: Pollyanna.
Television show: The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Television show as a child: Lassie.
Celebrity I’d like to meet: Ellen DeGeneres.
Fast food item: A vegetarian sandwich from Subway.
Junk food item: Potato chips.
Healthiest food item: Tofu. And I select organic food whenever it’s available.
Grade in school: 3rd grade with Miss Kushel. She read wonderful stories aloud to our class.
Kind of party: A Christmas party.
Way to travel: By car – with someone else doing the driving!
Winter Olympics event: Figure skating.
Summer Olympics event: Gymnastics.
College memory: Taking a road trip to Sanibel Island in Florida with several of my good friends senior year.
Picture of me: A picture of me holding my dog Sadie when she was seven weeks old.
Magazine: Creative Needle.
Movie of all time: To Kill a Mockingbird.
Book recently read: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
Author now: Elizabeth Berg.
Book as a child: It’s impossible to choose because I read so much. But my favorite genre was light fantasy.
Author as a child: Light fantasy authors such as L. Frank Baum, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, and Roald Dahl, plus Marguerite Henry, who wrote books about horses.
Store to shop at: Any kind of sewing store. Before I visit a new city, I do a little research to see if there are any good sewing stores for me to check out.
Way to shop: Catalogs. (I get lots of catalogs!)
Way to dress up: Black pants, brightly colored top, black shoes.
Way to dress down: Jeans, turtlenecks, sneakers.
Ice cream flavor: Vanilla. (It used to be cookies ‘n cream.)
Color: Blue
Cookie: White chocolate chip with macadamia nuts.
Dessert: Cake. No one particular kind, just anything on the menu that looks delicious.
Fun snack: Terra chips.
Breakfast: Granola cereal.
Lunch: Anything that’s left over in the refrigerator. I seem to eat a lot of Boca sausages!
Dinner: Chicken. Boring, but true!
Nickname: Annie.
Boy’s name: Traditional names like William, Charles and Henry.
Girl’s name: Mary. It’s simple and classic.
School subject: English. I’ve always loved reading and writing.
BSC book: It used to be #6: Kristy’s Big Day, because I loved writing about a big cast of kids. Now it’s #1: Kristy’s Great Idea, because it was the start of all the series.
BSC Character: Kristy, the founder of the BSC (and my alter ego!).
LS Book: #1: Karen’s Witch.
LS Character: Karen, of course!
Non-BSC book: A Corner of the Universe, because it is the most personal book that I’ve written.
Non-BSC character: Adam from A Corner of the Universe. I felt very protective of him.
Thing to do with my dog: I love our daily walks. Sometimes it’s just the two of us and sometimes we meet up with other dogs and their owners.
Thing about my cats: They make me laugh every single day, usually by suddenly going crazy in a way only a cat can.
Baby animal: A kitten. Or a bear cub. Or a baby chipmunk. Okay, I love all baby animals!

So there you have it. If you had fun reading this, why don’t you and a good friend ask each other some of the same questions? You’ll probably laugh a lot at some of your answers, and I’ll bet that you even learn something new about each other. And now for my favorite sign off:

Happy Reading!

Love,
Ann