Taking my cue from fellow blogger, tinkertoot, thought I’d ask of you what she asked of her readers in an October post, http://tinkertoot.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-joys-of-learning-something-new-a-challenge/ .

WHAT 2 new things did you learn in 2011, and LIST 5 pieces of trivia that might be of interest to others (or not). So, I’ll begin…

Image by marklarson via Flickr

NEW things I learned…

• Wrote flash fiction at an adult ed class at the local college and…
• Wrote a book review, uploading it to Blogging for Books’ website and Amazon.com. Sorry to say the time and effort was mind-boggling…almost a week’s worth. Haven’t done it since. But proud I succeeded.

5 pieces of trivia…

• Bed bug bites are lined up vertically, in close proximity. According to the experts, the bug likes to feed in the same area. Bet you didn’t know, or care to know, that. But if you’re bitten, you’ll know whether or not it was by a bed bug.
• Clicking the red “x” in an unsolicited pop-up might allow a virus to infiltrate your computer. I know. I learned the hard way…to the tune of $199 paid to TechPro to clean out the whole kit-n-kaboodle.
• Sleeping on an air mattress for 2 weeks straight isn’t the ideal scenario for someone with lower-back pain. I found out the hard way. Many visits to the chiropractor and physical therapist, as well as back-strengthening exercises have nearly got me fit as a fiddle…nearly…but not quite there.
• Cats can for sure have human diseases. My Sunkist has renal failure…Sitka has a slow colon…Juneau was pre-diabetic. All 3 are stabilized with the help of pills and special foods.
• Yard work is for the birds. This has not been a good year for getting out in the garden, what with one thing after another keeping me from it. So it’s literally gone to the birds…bunnies…stray dogs and cats…squirrels…and who knows what else. But I gotta love my neighbor. When I saw her at dinner the other night and started complaining about my lackluster yard, she cut me off with “Your garden is always so lovely.” Well shut my mouth…and I did.

See, easy peasy…as my friend Nancy said about posting an image to my blog. So you take a crack at it. Have to admit it was a brain game, trying to dig deep into all the nooks and crannies, sweeping away all the cobwebs that have accumulated over the year…and some.

Image via Wikipedia

Challenge yourself to remember…new things that have broadened your mind…and trivia that you just hoard. You can use the comment boxes on my post…or create your own post…and let me know so I can check it out. But no stresses, remember…

it’s an easy peasy challenge…if there is such a thing…

………hugmamma.  😉