Lisa at Greenbow tagged me for the 8 Random Things meme. The rules are:
When tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you, then post the rules before your list, and list eight random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to eight other people.
But first, a photo:
So, eight things about me:
1. I am a second-generation Italian-American hillbilly. All my relatives came from the same town on the top of a mountain in Southern Italy, and had been there since Roman times. I have purer blood than the crowned heads of Europe, or, to put it another way, "I'm the product of inbreeding, what's your excuse?" My face has turned up at least twice before: once during the Roman Empire (a bust from Pompeii), and again during the Golden Age of Naples, 17th century (a painting).
2. I studied in Rome for a semester at Loyola University's Rome Center. By the end of the semester, I was fluent in Italian, and was even dreaming in Italian. (Sadly, my language skills have since gotten very rusty.)
3. I am an elected official serving on the Board of a public body. Hence my need to retain some anonymity, as I don't want to get my entity in trouble when I criticize things about the community in which I live.
4. I have a talent for painting faux-finishes, including marbleizing and rag-rolling. I did the walls at a coffeehouse in Chicago's Roger's Park neighborhood, but that was 15 years ago, and it has probably been remodeled since. My current "commission" is to help my dad paint clouds on his Great Room ceiling.
5. I hate to cook, but I don't mind baking. My secret recipe chocolate chip cookies won a blue ribbon at the county fair when I was 13.
6. I grew up in a small town on the Fox River and am the youngest of five children. (It was like that Madness song "There's always something happening and it's usually quite loud.")
7. If I could live anywhere in the world (won the Lottery, kids are grown and moved away), my husband and I would live in the Italian Lake District, preferably on Lake Como. If you aren't familiar with that area, watch Star Wars Episode 2 (the wedding scene was filmed at a villa there).
8. My secret ambition is to be a supernumerary at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.
Gina at My Skinny Garden, Healing Magic Hands, Kim at Blackswamp Girl, Layanee at Ledge and Gardens, Pam at Digging - An Austin Gardener's Diary, Robin at Robin's Nesting Place, and Shady Gardener at Does Everything Grow Better in My Neighbor's Yard?, you're It!