Is there any time during the holidays (or the rest of the round) when you'll be away from home for a significant period and it'd be best not to send anything by mail? Dec 22nd to Jan 3rd.

 

Speaking of which, how many Browncoat witches do we have?? And if you are, would you be interested in getting a Kaylee parasol? If not, would you be interested in getting a paper parasol hand painted with your favorite colors?

I love Firefly, and I'd adore a Kaylee parasol or a painted paper parasol in other colors.

 

Hand beaded jewellery, yay or nay? Yay.

 

Would you personally rather get handmade jewelry or the beads to make something yourself? The finished jewelry.

 

Everyone who wants a beaded potholder, please to be raising the hands! Sure.

 

To make up for the fact that I probably won't be able to send my witchee homebaked goodies, will Tim Tams in any number of varieties be an acceptable replacement? Definitely.

 

Which witches would like hair accessories: clips, scrunchies, hairsticks, headscarves, etc?

Yes to all. Especially hairsticks and clips -- either the tiny butterfly clips (they can go around a bun) or fairly large ones (my hair is really quite long at this point, approx thigh length). I like the clips that snap into place and function sort of like barrettes, too. And decorative hair pins. But hair sticks are probably safest.

 

If your witch were to send you cookies, what kind of cookies would you like?

All cookies are treasured. When left to my own devices, I choose peanut butter, chocolate chip, butterscotch chip, spice, almond, shortbread, russian tea cookies... But there are lots outside of these that I love, so.

 

Anyone else a total nerd like me and would like DnD/Roleplay stuff (Dice, minis, books, corny tees, etc.)?

Yup! Dice and books, definitely, but I'll pass on the minis. Corny tees only if they're babydoll or women's tees, and in dark colors. And I've played most of the major roleplaying systems, but more D&D, White Wolf (Exalted, WoD and nWoD, Adventure, Trinity), and Shadowrun than anything else.

 

Cat hair? No worries.

 

Who (of course excluding Schackjj ) would like a pair of handknit socks? Size? Color preference? Cabled, ribbed (for your pleasure), stranded colorwork, etc.?

I would adore tall tall stripey socks. I wear 8/8.5 in shoes and have quite thick calves. Dark rainbow; blues, purples, aquas, dark greens or olive, dark orange, browns, red (on the darker side), wine, extremely dark pink, black.

 

What witch would like a cloak? Cloaks are awesome.

 

Since we're talking about warm winter wearables, who likes hats? Mittens? Arm warmers?

Sadly, I live in San Diego and there is no winter here. Hats and warm mittens are pretty much a no-go. Though, I do occasionally like to wear very light gloves, and arm warmers aren't actually a bad idea. I enjoy leg warmers, too.

 

So, question all- how do people feel about unusual ornaments? As in, for holidays other than Christmas? Amused and curious.

 

On a similar note, who likes yarn? What kinds/colors/weights/fibers? Handspun? Glitter? Funky art yarn made from shredded jeans, fake flowers, lace, sequins, and the tattered souls of your enemies? Other craft supplies you desperately want more of and can't live without?

No yarn for me, please -- I don't really craft. Stationary, origami paper, and visual art supplies are probably my limit.

 

Question for future witchee: Would you like to receive ATCs or would you prefer something more usable, like bookmarks or something? It's all good.

 

Who likes tshirts? What about homemade tshirts? Like with transfers I made myself....

As long as they're a style I'd wear (babydoll preferably), having unique stuff on them sounds awesome.

 

Another question! How does everyone feel about steampunk? (It's my new obsession, so I thought I'd ask.) I adore it.

 

I love burning mix CDs, since I have tonnnns lying around and they're cheap and relatively fast to make. Problem is, 90% of my music is not English; I have a lot of Japanese, Korean and even some songs in French! Would my potential Witchee be up for some stuff they'd never heard before if they couldn't understand the words? (I have some veeeery catchy songs I've caught even my mother humming along!)

Hell yes! Especially the French, and especially stuff that's not toooooo pop. And thanks for asking this question -- I've got a bunch of underground Chinese rock, punk, sort-of-folk, and post-rock I acquired over the summer that I might make mixes of to send, come to think of it.

 

What kind of candy/sweet treat would you like to receive?

High-quality dark chocolate, especially with nuts or unusual flavors. Though I also like Cadbury's milk fruit and nut bars, so it's not like milk is the anathema or anything. I like wacky asian candies, especially those lychee gummies and jellies, and weird flavors of Pocky. I also like most things featuring almonds or peanut butter, and I like spicy things, and mint, and ginger, and flower-flavored candies. I also like some fruit-flavored things -- Starburst, Skittles, etc... even Smarties. Chocolate-covered cinnamon Altoids are pretty amazing, too. The only thing I can think of that I really dislike is licorice. I guess I'm not that fond of nougat, though I do like Snickers because of all the other yummy stuff in them. Mostly I'm pretty easy to please on the sweets front.

 

It's cold outside - what are your favorite drinks to keep yourself warm and cozy?

Earl grey tea, mint tea, other kinds of tea (chocolate mint rooibus, yum), spicy hot chocolate, mulled apple cider, yummy flavored lattes and mochas...

 

favorite coffee beverage: currently either caramel lattes with real caramel or a double lava chill -- basically a frappe-type frozen coffee drink with two shots of espresso and mexican chocolate.

 

I love Christmas music even though I'm pagany -- how about you? Some Christmas music is awesome, some of it not so much. Obscure gorgeous classical/early music/celtic/choral sorts of things preferred.

 

Anyone else have a sudden and unexpected favorite BPAL lately? Love-in-idleness. It was a frimp, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

 

So ... what other knitters/crocheters/crafters like to reclaim yarn from other finished projects. Nope. Just not really a crafty sort of person. I suppose I could always give it to my housemate, though. Especially if it's really nice yarn.

 

What Winter Holiday do celebrate? Solstice, I guess? And Chinese New Year. But I like Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, pretty much everything.

 

Do any of you like puzzle books? Yup! Of most kinds -- crosswords are great, sudoku is fun (though I like the really complex/difficult ones, by now), logic puzzles are terrific, etc. It's all good.

 

Do you like to cook? if so, what? Would you like things like spices, cookbooks, recipes, tips?

I do like to cook, though I don't get much of a chance to these days. Pretty much everything! Yes, yes, yes to all.

 

Would anyone care for some Jolikia peppers? Sure!

 

What is the biggest problem or sad thing in your life? Of course, I mean the saddest or worst thing you can confess here.

Well, I've been having pretty serious burnout issues with grad school, bad enough that I'm probably going to be taking some time off. I believe that in the end I'll be better off for it, but in the meantime, it's been fairly hellish.

 

And.... what fashion item or style do you like, but never wear?

Hats. I adore the idea of hats, and I've been told I look good in them, but they tend to drive me crazy when I actually try to wear them.

 

Are there any other forums that you frequent? None really besides this and livejournal.

 

Does anyone get help from significant others, children, or others not involved in the forums on their Switch Witch?

I've never done this before, but I probably will!

 

Do you like honey? Will you like to try creamy honey with black sesame or with cinnamon powder?

Oh my goodness. I love honey, and I both love cinnamon and seriously adore black sesame (any candy-like thing that involves black sesame has my automatic approval).

 

Who are your forum friends, person or people your witch can contact for ideas?

/o\ I think I'm too new to have any? At least purely from a bpal perspective. cortneyofeden and I are friends in real life, at least.

 

Houseplants and/or things to put them in: thoughts?

I am an extremely bad houseplant mommy, I'm afraid. Even cacti are not safe.

 

Do you like baskets, jars and other interesting containers? Filled or Empty? I have tons of little boxes that I was thinking of decoupaging and sending along...

Yes, please, I love containers! Especially relatively small containers that might be good for holding imps. I repurposed almost all of my jewelry boxes, but I ran out of room long ago. I love love love boxes, especially. So flat and stackable and full of promise!

 

New question: Shoe size? Style of shoe preferred? Any interest in slippers? mine: 8 or 8.5, wide is often preferred but regular is fine in some brands and styles. I like boots, mary jane style shoes, and sandals (everything from classy strappy sandals to flipflops), mostly, though I've been wearing Mia jelly flats a lot recently. I wear flats more than heels, though sometimes a nice sturdy square or flared heel with good balance will work. I prefer rounded toes, though square can also be good, but I'm not so fond of pointy toes unless they are really extremely pointy in a costumey sort of way. And I like the idea of slippers, of any number of different styles.

 

To my witch: I'm so sorry I don't have a wishlist up yet! The quarter ends early next week and I'll put together a list asap after that and drop a note here. Also, I'm compiling all my answers to questions on my forum blog.

 

What jewelry are you wearing now? Where now = earlier today: dangly earrings (stud post) with small faceted black crystals and teardrop-shaped cubic zirconia at the end and a small round cubic zirconia at the top and black findings, 1 silver and black square ring, 1 diamond-shaped silver and marcasite ring.

 

What jewelry do you wear everyday-or do you change jewelry all the time? My usual pair of earrings is a dangly set with a teardrop-shaped black faceted bead at the end and black findings (leverback, my favorite), but sometimes I wear a small delicate gold wire set that's hoop style with a tiny dangling pearl bead instead. I also often wear my MIT class ring, a fairly hefty burnished gold rectangular ring. And if my top allows it, I wear choker-length necklace made of tiny black faceted crystals and a reasonably large rectangular reddish agate. I always think I'll switch up my jewelry more, but I do tend to default to a few pieces day-to-day. But sometimes I cycle.

 

Which witches would want Bpal boxes? Or imp cases?

Yes! So much yes! There are few things I want more in the world than bpal bottle and imp boxes and cases.

 

Would you like a handmade piece of calligraphy as a gift? Sure!

 

How about a short - or longer - piece of fanfic?

Quite possibly. If you want to go with this option, I'd recommend figuring out some way of asking me for further info.

 

And there was a question about literary erotica? I am generally in favor.

 

What is the weirdest and/or most practical thing you are not buying for yourself right now? The thing that you probably should be buying, but have been putting off in lieu of something else?

Weirdest: Those steampunk blocks (http://www.xylocopa.com/product/mad-science-alphabet-blocks)? Or... a corset? Most practical: Skirts. Financial software. Parallels for Mac. Thing I should be buying but have been putting off in lieu of something else: New glasses. Mostly because I just don't have time, less because I've been buying other stuff instead. Oh, and conditioner.

 

Do you read graphic novels/comics? Which ones? Yes! Current: Runaways, Umbrella Academy, Fables, Echo. Older: Sandman, Strangers in Paradise, Promethea, Blue Monday, Athena, Charm School, JTHM, Castle Waiting, Preacher, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Small Favors, Here is Greenwood, Hopeless Savages, Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind, Persepolis. Read some, will be reading more: Saiyuki, Inu Yasha, From Eroica with Love, Girl Genius, Batman, Teen Titans. Read one volume, want to read more: Y the Last Man, Lucifer. Want to read: Transmetropolitan.

 

What cartoons did you grow up watching? Any animated shows you still watch?

Muppet Babies, Care Bears, Gummi Bears, Jem, Smurfs, Talespin, Ducktales, Animaniacs, My Little Ponies, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, She-ra, Flintstones, Jetsons... I watch the occasional Batman Beyond and Batman: The Animated Series, and I'll probably watch Teen Titans eventually. I also watch the occasional anime (Saiyuki, Here is Greenwood, Escaflowne, Kino's Journey, Kimagure Orange Road, everything Studio Ghibli (Whispers of the Heart, Laputa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, etc)).

 

Are you planning on buying anything off your BPAL wishlist during the round?

I.. might? Once I have a wishlist? But I'll be sure to update the wishlist right away, and drop a note here and in my blog.

 

Do you like baskets, jars and other interesting containers? Filled or Empty? [An addendum to my previous statement of yes, please, especially boxes.] Just a note to say that filled with stuff is also great!

 

Chia Pet, do you need one? Probably not?

 

What are 3 places that you'd like to visit, or re-visit?

Visit: Egypt, Greece, Persia. (Or Morocco! I can't decide!)

Re-visit: Japan (especially Kyoto and Hokkaido), Italy (especially Rome and Venice), Budapest.

*facepalm* It's possible I'm a historian, can you tell? The only reason China's not on the list is because I already know I'm going back there.

 

New question: Favorite animals? Least favorite?

Big cats (especially tigers, panthers), bears (my last name means bear in Chinese), dragons, hedgehogs. On the domestic animal front I'm pretty fond of black and grey domestic shorthair cats, maltese cats, black labs, scottish terriers, westland terriers. Somewhat unusual animals I like: jellyfish, octopi, spiders, and bats. I also like horses. I'm not sure if I actually have a least favorite animal... I like most animals, really. Maybe mosquitos.

 

New question: How do you feel about Heifer International? Or do you have other favorite charities not mentioned in your application?

I really like Heifer International. I'm also fond of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Woman's Lunch Place in Boston, Lambda Legal, CARE, IMPACT Bay Area (women's self defense), and Doctors Without Borders.