The Sunday Roast

Magpies, Magpies Everywhere But A Quintessential One Was Not In Sight! . . . . . until now!

Ah! . . . . shh! . . . she's just landed!  I know both David and I have been trying to entice this very popular lady onto the show for quite some time.  Now at last Mrs Magpie has landed on my roast post . . . that elusive Magpie was very diffficult to catch for my roasting spit. Just as I got very close, brandishing my bird net . . . . she chattered, "Can't catch me! Can't catch me! . . . . and whoosh! - she was off again!

This little fledging Magpie in the making told me, "I am, of course, reading here which has always been a big part of my life.  Thanks to my parents, particularly my father, my love affair with books began at a very young age. :-) 

. . . and here is her familiar calling card . . . . yes I think now we all know who she is:

This week's interview is with Mrs Magpie
who writes the blog, The Quintessential Magpie
  

Thank you for the interview - we have been looking forward to this.

Thank you, for having me, Eddie.  I'm very honored! :-)

A very warm welcome to you and your followers

Here are the standard questions. Why do you blog?

I blog because I enjoy having a creative outlet to express myself, and it's not fattening, illegal, or deadly. But the main reason I blog is because it allows me to point to other bloggers who have more china than I do when my friends and family accuse me of being a one-woman relief act for Wedgwood and Mottahedeh! ;-)

(Very nicely put!)

What's the story behind your blog name?

The story behind my blog name involves my husband.  You see, when I shop for things I love, my eyes light up like Christmas trees.  My husband, who thankfully has a marvelous sense of humor (particularly when I'm raiding his wallet), once quipped, "So little time, so many shiny objects for a magpie!" At the time, I was hyperventilating over the booty to be had in one particular antique shop with only a few paltry minutes before the shop closed. And from that moment on, he started calling me "Mrs. Magpie."  Then before I had my own blog, I'd been reading design blogs and wanting to comment.  So I thought about a screen name. We played around with the name Magpie, and me being the quintessential lover of all things "shiny" (be they animal, vegetable, or mineral),  we thought The Quintessential Magpie would work well.

(And it works very well, Mrs Magpie . . . . . . Listen everyone, put all your shiny things away or she'll swoop from the sky and nick 'em)

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Oh, by far the best thing about being a blogger is all of the interesting people I've met and friends I've made.   The Blog world is a microcosm of the world at large, and in a single day, you can entertain people from all over the world in your living room or be entertained in theirs'.

(Those who don't blog don't know what they are missing . . . . are you listening, Mrs Bluelights? LOL)

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

It depends on why you're blogging, but if you are blogging for enjoyment and to meet people you enjoy, an excellent way to do that is to participate in the memes.  I participate off and on in several memes and have made some wonderful friends that way. Some friends have actually come to visit us in Florida from other countries (Claudie and Julie) and from other states (Jeanne and Teresa).  While other blogging friends have come to visit from other towns in Florida (Becky, Deborah and David), and a few have actually moved to this area of Florida (Rhonda, Lisa and BG).  I know one Kim and have met another, and Smiling Sally and I met half way for lunch!  It's delightful knowing them both off and on the blog circuit. To that end, I would tell newbie bloggers that they need to visit other people's blogs, take the time to get to know them, and respond on their posts.   The best way to make a friend is to be one and to treat others as you want to be treated.  Blogging is a reciprocal process, and it's that give and take, as in all of life, that is key to it being a rewarding experience. So go out of your way and visit others, particularly the people who are kind enough to visit you, and you should always leave a shiny comment.  You never know whose day you just may brighten or vice versa.

(Excellent advice and I wish I could devote more time to this myself)

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

There are SO many, and I have a hard time limiting this.  However, one comes to mind immediately. The post is by my beautiful young friend Carrie of The Vintage Wren who wrote a very personal post about her battle with clinical depression called The Sad Truth . She did this in an effort to help other people who are battling depression to know that there is help available.  This post was significant to me because one of my favorite friends took her own life when she was struggling to get a handle on clinical depression. I felt Carrie's post was important enough to post a link on my sidebar.

(A very real problem is clinical depression - my blogging friends will know that my Great Grandfather took his own life because of depression, alas)

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

Oh, that's a good question. I'm not sure I've written it yet.  My blog is basically very light-hearted because I feel that people need a place where they can escape and celebrate their inner child. I also think some of the comments I've received outstrip anything I've ever written.  But if I must pick one post, I once wrote about a photograph I took of a star and it reminded me of two scripture verses about the star of my own life, the Lord.  One thing lead to another, and I mentioned that the photograph also reminded me of a song my sister and I sang to our mother as she lay dying and included links to the song as found on You-Tube. This inspired me to write the post, Sunday Solace: The Light Of The World which was posted on a Sunday (usually a slow blog day), and I was surprised at all of the comments I received on that post.  David McMahon of Authorblog also gave it an Honorable Mention as a Post of The Day.  Later on, a friend of mine told me how much the post meant to her during her daughter's brush with death and how she had sung to her daughter as well.  You just never know whose heart you've touched and how you've touched it through blogging.

(A must read if ever I saw one - I remember it and commenting! . . . . but I intend reading it again)

If you were to suggest two people for roasting who would they be and why?

Oh, I am unable to pick between my friends.  I simply cannot.  I think everyone in the world has a story to tell, and everyone's story is worth hearing (or in this case, reading). So, please feel free to ask anyone that you find on my blog list.

(Yes this is a difficult question - I'll have a look at your blog list - thanks)

That concludes the formal aspect of the interview but it would be nice to get to know you a little better while you are slowly turning on the roasting spit.  So while you are screaming in agony above the open fire here are a few more questions for you.

Pick three things you can't live without.

Only three?  Okay. First, I cannot live without the Lord and wouldn't even want to try.  I can't imagine my days without His companionship and the assurance of His grace. Second, I cannot live without family and friends, and if my family were gone, I would want to make sure I had loads of friends and vice versa.  Third, I cannot live without living near water, preferably in Florida which, to me, is paradise.  I find such comfort in the beauty of the ocean, lakes, and rivers. 

Now, on a lighter note (and I know this is four), I cannot live without china.  A girl can NEVER have too much china.  I fancy myself the Imelda Marcos of china patterns.  The difference is that china is meant to be shared, and shoes aren't! That's exactly how I justify my obsession, oops, I mean my passion for china. ;-)

(Now we know your secret!)

If we were to make a movie about BlogLand, what would it be and who would you cast in the leading roles?

Since I love comedies, the movie would be Blog Land's version of "Nine To Five."  I would cast Debbie of Confessions of A Plate Addict in the part of Lily Tomlin because Debbie can deliver a one-liner like nobody's business and is an absolute scream. Then Gloria of The Little Red House With The White Door would fill the Jane Fonda role because Gloria has a sweet, wide-eyed innocent demeanor, but she, too, has Jane Fonda's underlying great sense of humor and loves to laugh. Plus Gloria has a teenage son, and something tells me she could hogtie a boss! Dolly Parton's role would have to be played by Lou Cinda of Tattered Hydrangeas because not only is Lou Cinda a blonde, she is one of the funniest people I've ever known and could carry off the Southern accent and the entire part without batting an eyelash! And just for fun, I would cast you, Eddie, in the Dabney Coleman role, and the rest would be history. No one would remember the previous version! ;-)

Here are the links to their blogs:


Confessions of A Plate Addict

The Little Red House With The White Door

Tattered Hydrangeas

(I am very flattered to be included in this star studded production)

If you could live your life again who would you be, and why?

I would be myself, and I would have all the knowledge and all the life experience (minus the loss of certain loved ones) I have now.  I would have the body of a professional dancer, the mind of Einstein (love that man!), and the sense of humor of my father (love that man even more).  I would be as engaging a speaker as Maya Angelou, would write like Eudora Welty, would sing like Norah Jones or Eva Cassidy, would have a speaking voice as enchanting as Shelby Foote's (only in female form... maybe Vivian Leigh's) and a grasp of history as solid as his, too.  I would finish my doctorate and be a college professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine because it has the most amazing campus I've ever seen.  I would teach history and communications courses and make them come alive for my students, and I would take my dog (the greyhound I've always wanted and haven't had yet) with me to work every single day.  He would sit around, looking beautiful and bored, hopefully unlike the students. ;-) AND I would be married to Mr. Magpie because I have already married him three times - see my post, True Confessions: I Married The Same Man Three Times . Why do I want to do this? Because you asked! ;-)

(Cracked me up to see the huge shopping list of attributes you would require in your ideal existence. And . . . married to the same man three times!!!! - must read this!!  I think you must love him LOL)

You have been given a wonderful talent from above.  This causes you to make your mark on humanity and be world famous. In which area would you prefer: a best selling novelist, a brilliant artist, a gifted musician, a fantastic singer, a charismatic leader, anything you choose, and why?

I would be an evangelist, and I would be an evangelist in the form of a Billy Graham because I think his ministry has done more to change the world for good and to spread the Good News of Christ than any other single person outside of the Lord himself.  Billy Graham has consistently lived a good and righteous life, and I have never, ever heard him condemn another person.  He is a walking, breathing example of what it is to be a good Christian, and he is so sweet and so humble and so kind that he makes me want to be a better person.  Plus, what better thing to do in life than to hand people the key for the transformation of their lives and for their assurance of eternal life?  I cannot imagine anything finer or better. You'd have a front row seat to see other people receiving the best present, the shiniest object, in the world! Talk about Christmas!

(Fantastic answer - Billy Graham is one of my all time favourite human beings and I admire him for the same reasons.  You may be interested to know I have just joined a group of Christians and we are starting a Healing Ministry - very exciting to be an instrument for The Lord)

If you were an ice cream cone, which flavour would you prefer and who would you most want to lick you?

Oh, hands down I would want to be a chocolate ice cream cone (double chocolate or triple chocolate... the good rich kind, preferably with nuts, the kind that makes your eyes roll into the back of your head), and I would want my late dogs (an incorrigible pair of terriers/terrorists) to lick me. Why? Because those two silly dogs loved treats more than anything on earth.  I know that chocolate isn't good for dogs, but I would be sure that I wouldn't poison them. As a matter of fact, I am certain they are eating chocolate ice cream out of golden bowls every day in Heaven!  Wouldn't you?

Describe in one sentence your perfect day:

One Sentence: I laughed.

(Mission impossible - eh!)

One Faulknerian Run-On Sentence:

My perfect day would be to wake up early on a bright summer morning after a late night at the theatre in London as well as a previous day of touring the British Museum, spend time with the Lord, have a fabulous breakfast with kippers and the works at the Russell Hotel (we stayed there years ago, and the breakfast was out of this world!), catch the train to Scotland where my husband and I would meet some friends at the station in Edinburgh who would then drive us to St. Andrews to have an early dinner in a delightful restaurant (whose name I can't recall) that serves the most incredible barley soup and trout I have EVER eaten, and attend a classical concert at the University of St. Andrews before strolling to the flat we've leased for the summer where we play a rousing game of Pictionary (of which we reign supreme and which is fun no matter who wins), say my evening prayers of thanks, and sleep tight, hopefully without bedbugs biting!

(Sounds good to me!)

If you were a fictional writer which one would you be and why?

I would be Eudora Welty (or I wouldn't BE her, but I would write like her) because she had the most amazingly witty way of looking at life and seeing the humor and the pathos all around her and expressing that on paper.  Her humorous stories are funny without the least bit of vulgarity, and she was as eloquent and as literary as any writer who ever lived.  Her short stories are unsurpassed, and I prefer them to her novels.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

I have two, and fortunately, I can laugh about both!  The first one occurred when I was a small child in a Christmas pageant at church and forgot my lines. You can read about it HERE  as I did a blog post about it.

As an adult, the moment of moments would have to be when I went to city hall for an important meeting. I overslept and was rushing, and fortunately I got there and saw some friends who were having cigars on the front steps.  One of them looked at me rather oddly, and I jokingly said, "What's wrong?  Do I have my clothes on inside out or something?"  And he replied, "Yes, unless those are supposed to be there!"  With that he pointed to my shoulder pads, and they were sitting on top of my shoulders like epaulettes! I had my sweater on inside out, and it was in the days of "Dynasty" and Joan Collins' shoulder pads! We got quite a chuckle out of it. 

If you woke up and found you had changed gender what would be the first thing you would do, and the second thing.

Well, the first thing I would do is see if Mr. Magpie had changed into a woman, and if he hadn't, I would go straight to the nearest monastery and sign up!

(It's about all you could do LOL)

Your turn to ask me a question if you wish.

Of course I want to ask you a question!  Magpies are very curious creatures, you know.
"So, Eddie, if you could perform any death-defying feat that you knew you could safely do, what would it be?"

(I've performed a few non safe death-defying feats trying to catch the Quintessential Magpie for this show.  I've climbed ladders, walked the plank, climbed trees and goodness knows what!!!

But a little more seriously . . . . . . if it was guaranteed safe it would not have the same the same charisma because I would know I would be OK and there would be no sense of danger. So here I go without a safety net!  I would have a go at walking the tight rope across the Grand Canyon  without a parachute or a First Aid kit!  Do you think I should write my will now?  If I couldn't do that I would jump into a lions' den and say, "Boo!".  Do you think they would be scared of me?

But to be really serious . . . . I would say I have already done the ultimate death-defying feat.  I have given my heart to The Lord and He has promised me Eternal Life.  All I had to do was to walk from the world of darkness into His world of light)

Well, we have come to the end of this delightful interview - thank you Mrs Magpie

_______________________________________________

Today's Sunday Roast with The Quintessential Magpie is the 142nd in a weekly

series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

________________________________________________

This interview will feature in The Roll of Honour

for all published Roasts. To view press  HERE

________________________________________________

Please keep your recommendations for The Sunday Roast coming.
For those who would like to know a little more about it, how it started, the nuts and bolts of it etc, press HERE