A few things about moi that you might find interesting or not

This is inspired by Author Kelly Barnhill (The Mostly True Story of Jack) who just posted a few interesting facts about herself on her site. (Like her, by the way, I have always had a hard time remembering my right and left).
NOTE**I am so excited to read her book because I’ve read her blog which is funny, heartfelt, whimsical, and often magical. You should all be excited too because it is getting stellar reviews in Kirkus, and Booklist among others.

Anyway it’s been a while since I revealed any weird facts so here goes:

1) the 2nd and 3rd toes on both my feet are partially webbed. This means that rather than have their own independent stalks there is one stalk which branches out after 1/4 an inch or so to make two toes. I didn’t find this out until a doctor who was examining a corn pointed it out. It runs in my family. My kids both have it, niece but not nephew, sister, mother, grandmother. I don’t know if it denotes anything special but my husband was once told he had ‘peasant’ feet so I do know that I do not have ‘peasant’ feet.

2) I was a big fan of the TV show The Man from Atlantis. My sister and I used to practice swimming without using our arms and flapping our legs together as if they were tails. The webbed toes didn’t seem to help much.

3) Migraines and thyroid disorders also run in my family. We are a hormonal set of women.

4) I learned how to tattoo myself by watching a punk rock movie. Me and oh about 10,000 other bored kids. (It was the Decline of Western Civilization directed by Penelope “The Beverly Hillbillies” movie Spheeris).

5) I have seen cows, and pigs being slaughtered. Thus I am a vegetarian.

6) I like to use words which are unfashionable now like: thus, heretofore, forsooth, hence, bloke, ducats, and blimey. Also crikey.

7) I adore earth scientists David Attenborough and Farley Mowat. My childhood dream was to be a naturalist and study animals in the wild. Also to marry David Attenborough although he is about 50 years older than me. And married already. Then I discovered writing. Luckily enough both Mowat and Attenborough are gifted writers so I can continue to fangirl them.

8) My daughter was nicknamed The Maggot when she was a baby because she ate everything. We shortened it to Maggie which causes endless confusion since her actual name is something quite different.

9) I overcame my fear of heights by drinking a couple of shots of tequila and spending the night on a billboard which loomed one hundred feet over a freeway.

10) I am very superstitious. I knock on wood, toss salt over my left shoulder. I would spit through my crooked fingers into the devil’s eyes too but spitting is icky. However I believe that the number 13 and black cats are lucky.