Blogger of the Week : Laura

Laura of That Grrl, Word Grrls and Doodle Week is the blogger of the week. Read all about her and then go visit her blogs and say hi!

Tell me a bit about your blogs:
Word Grrls which is about writing and publishing on the Internet and Doodle Week which is for anyone who thinks they can't draw or for those who can to show us what they can do. Mainly for those who think they can't draw but really wish they could. I'd like to see more people trying it and realizing they really can draw if they stick to it for awhile. There is always someone who thinks what you have drawn is great, even when you don't feel that way about it yourself.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?
I'm babysitting my sister's 3 kids today and skipped breakfast. I often skip breakfast and just have a coffee when I get something on the go later in the day. My favourite thing to do for breakfast is go out somewhere and let someone else get splashed by the bacon cooking.

What is your favorite childhood book? I just found "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" by Shirley Jackson again. It is a book which haunted me, the story of those two sisters living in a huge house with all that hanging over their heads. Did she or didn't she? I gave the book I found to my nephew who is about the same age I was when I read it for the second time.

What is your favorite work of art? I'm not someone who spends a lot of time looking at art or poetry. But Mona Lisa comes to mind because of the small smile and the mystery behind it. I don't think I'd really call it a favourite. I've seen hand sewn quilts I feel in love with. I was in awe of ASCII art when I was new online and then with the help of Joan I began to make some of that myself. I really admire people who can draw whole murals of castles and dragons and cityscapes. There is so much art, a painting is just tip of the iceberg.

What is your all time favorite quote? "The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts.

What's your favorite super secret website?
Adventure Quest and/ or Kingdom of Loathing - I really like role playing web games.

What is your favorite and least favorite chore? Anything called a chore isn't my favourite. I like sewing though and mending is ok. My least favourite is everything else.

What makes your house uniquely your home? It isn't my home. It's been a long time since I had a home of my own. Briefly I had a small basement apartment in the city, right downtown. It was nice coming home to that while it lasted. I think what made it uniquely my own was just being able to do the housework when I wanted to and in my own way. I get tired of having to do what others want, as they like it, when they want it.

Will you share a favorite recipe? My favourite recipe is for icebox cookies. I make them each Christmas. No recipe. I just add red and green candied cherries, non-salted peanuts and some ginger to the regular recipes. You wrap them in was paper as logs which you freeze and then chop into slices and bake when you want them.

What first sparked your interest in writing? I started writing when I was able to print. My Mother kept a journal and I started doing the same. Not much to read in those really early ones, but I still have them. I like to blog now cause I feel I can babble away about anything and someone, some where is listening to me. Even if I never meet any of them. I like feeling I am heard. It helps I grew up as the oldest of 4 kids and I'm just used to explaining things to people. I have never out grown the feeling of trying to teach the world.

What homemade project are you most proud of? Home made bread from scratch. I am most proud of the first time I did it all myself when I was newly married. I just like knowing I can do it and have it turn out great.

What got you interested in doodling? I always wanted to draw. I took art in grade nine but felt I was no one cause everyone else seemed to be drawing so much better than I was. Everything I could see so clearly in my head came out as a muddle on paper. I got discouraged and stopped trying. Later, several years later, I began making ASCII art which is creating a picture out of the standard keyboard characters. Once I started that and liked what I was able to do I began making sketches of other things I wanted to do as ASCII art when I got home again from where ever I was out. At some point I drew a rabbit from an ad at a store. My husband said it was really good. So I did a little drawing again, just for myself. Several more years later I was nearly run down by a car in an intersection when I had the crossing light to walk. I came home and illustrated the whole thing, using a stick figure as myself. I had a lot of feedback about the drawing from bloggers I was talking with then. So I began drawing an illustration to go with each of my blog posts then. All stick figure women. I don't illustrate as much any more. But we did start Doodle Week.

Barbara here:
I took the liberty of grabbing one of my favorite doodles to showcase, she has a lot of them and you can see them all on Flickr: