25 Things About Susy

If the bio was a bit too dry and professional for you, I offer some quirky personal stuff in the form of 25 Random Facts.

1. I’m an advanced skiier and can handle double black diamond runs, but…
2. I’m super clumsy and can barely walk upright. I often run into door frames and have bee n known to suddenly lurch sideways and almost fall while simply standing still.
3. I love how books feel, smell, and sound.
4. My favorite movie of all time is Man From Snowy River.
5. My second favorite is Winged Migration.
6. I’m not a gourmet diner; I like comfort food like grilled cheese or tuna sandwiches.
7. My dad was a Texas cowboy.
8. I grew up on the back of a horse. My favorite horse was Harry, a half-Morgan, half-Arabian bred by the woman who provided the Wells Fargo stagecoach horses. He was super smart and could open his stall door.
9. I was once interviewed by Forbes magazine.
10. Someday I want to have a secret garden, complete with walls and a hidden gate with an iron key. Inside? Roses, foxgloves, D’anjou pear trees, and birds. Lots of birds.
11. When I retire, I want to learn the harp and hire myself out to play at rich people’s parties.
12. I fell in love with my husband at the age of 18 over a bottle of Fix beer at sunset on the Greek island of Santorini.
13. I love birdwatching and treasure my marked up copy of Peterson’s Field Guide to Western Birds.
14. Because I adore and idolize writers, writing, and books, I always thought of writers as a separate, highly evolved race of which I could never be a part. Surprise! (God is good.)
15. Books are my first language.
16. I’m notoriously absent-minded and can look straight at someone who’s waving and smiling and talking to me and not even notice them. Or hear them.
17. I would rather attend a U2 concert than do most other things (including church. Sorry, God ! I’m pretty sure Bono is a Christian, though!)
18. One of the highlights of my life was exploring a crumbling Irish castle on the stony beach of a foggy Irish lough with Robert, Ethan, and Teddy. It was built by the O’Dochartaigh clan in County Donegal, where my mother’s ancestors are from.
    
19. I LOVE doing counted cross-stitch. I’m working on a huge piece right now, just in the beginning stages, and I’m really intimidated by its difficulty.
20. I’m quite shy and sometimes stutter in social situations. Yet I can easily do talks for large audiences.
21. I’m so bad with numbers I forgot to add #21-25, so I’m adding them now. Want me to balance your checkbook for you? (I didn’t think so.)
22. I love animals and am always dreaming about what dog I want to get next. Recently we got an adorable chocolate lab named Eli, and I’m pretty much in love. My next dog will be a Border Collie, with a red bandana around her neck.
23. Women who dress really well intimidate me.
24. One of my favorite places in the world is a newsroom. I feel at home there.
25. I still have my Breyer model horses. I think they come alive at night and romp around my office.