Okay, so I've been tagged by my niece Kate. This is the first time I've been so honored, probably because only about 5 people know I have this site! Anyway, here are seven weird or random facts.

One: An octopus apparently has three hearts. I just learned that last night from a NYTimes Sunday Crossword clue, so it must be true. If you don't believe it, look it up yourself. (I have not at this point in time.)

Two: Only in the last maybe ten years am I no longer able to make my kneecaps, when my legs are straight out and relaxed, go around in circles. I thought everyone could do that until someone almost threw up when s/he saw me do that while I was relaxing somewhere. I can still do it somewhat, but my theory is that my joints were all pretty loose and age is tightening them up. Ergo, no more bobbly kneecaps. Amazingly enough, that "ability" never affected my walking or running, etc.

Three: My favorite gin of all is Bombay Sapphire. Not only do I like the pretty blue bottle but since every gin tastes quite different from every other one, I really do like Sapphire's flavor. And Beefeater, which might come in second for me, tastes better in a martini (real martinis are made from gin and NOT VODKA!!!) when a twist of orange or lemon or lime rind--rind only--is used instead of an olive. This is because Beefeater is strained through citrus fruit/rind and retains a distinctive citrus tang. I think you have to drink a lot of martinis to discover this. I have and I did.

Four: There was, probably still is, a pond on the island of North Caicos in the Caribbean, quite down near the Equator, that is the site of a past paint factory. The pond, in 1998, was orange in color. The water, that is. Everything around it was dead--no surprise--and I took some pictures of it. When I got the prints back from the photo shop (this was before affordable digital cameras), the technician had changed the color in the photos. I guess s/he thought that the color sensor on the camera or something on the film had gone kerflooey and so adjusted the photo to have water of a more appropriate "water" color.

Five: When you try to grow a garden of anything, perennials or vegetables, your soil is supposed to look like chocolate cake. You can achieve that by mixing bagged top soil, bagged cow manure, and bagged sphagnum moss. Then you remove all the dirt in your garden space that looks like the sandbox you had as a kid, and replace it with your chocolate cake dirt. And then you do that again and again and your garden is a live demonstration of the evolutionary theory of survival of the fittest.

Six: One of the more embarrassing afflictions I've had is tendonitis of the thumb. Thumbs, actually. I had to wear a brace on each hand. I wondered, speaking of evolution, if, since humans are a step "above" (relative term) many other beings because of our opposable thumbs and I (temporarily) had no opposable thumbs, I had taken a step back DOWN the evolutionary ladder. What do you think?

Seven: Running a high fever when you're four years old affects your permanent teeth. It interrupts the development of the enamel and you're more susceptible to cavities. Ask me, I know.

And now to complete my tagging assignment, I'm tagging my daughter, the Pi Lady. She's the only other person I know who has a blog. (If you're reading this and you have a blog, you could let me know.)

1. On your post, link back to the person who tagged you - that would be me, in this case.
2. Post your assignment on your blog - seven weird or random facts.
3. Post these rules on your blog.
4. Post links to the bloggers that you will be tagging.
5. Go to those blogs and give them a comment on their blog to let them know that you have tagged them.

I just HAVE to add this photo. These are my best jeans and I think they do all right by me!