Ask and Tell meme

Originally from eldritchhobbit's "Ask & Tell Memeage," tagged by lynn_maudlin. (For some reason I can't make the lj user tag work for Lynn at the moment. Blargh!)1. Do remember when you started singing? (or to put it another way, do you remember an age at which you didn't sing?)I don't remember an age at which I didn't sing. My earliest singing memories are of singing little kiddie songs in Christmas programs at church, when I was preschool age. I could carry a tune and was loud so I usually got a song. Now, mind you, it wasn't necessarily pretty. My voice was quite nasal. I know because my Dad recorded some of my songs on cassette tape and these recordings not only still exist, but my sister put some highlights on a cd for my Dad's 70th birthday!2. How were you introduced to Tolkien?My cousin Scott, just enough older than me that he seemed godlike in his big-kidness, had read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I was only six, but I remembered that he had recommended The Hobbit, so I begged for it in a bookstore. My father had read and loved Tolkien's works, but it probably wouldn't have occurred to him to get them for me yet. I read The Hobbit and LotR before I turned seven, barely understanding a great deal of it and having nightmares about black riders. All the same, I loved it so much that I could never go back to reading normal kid books after that. I carried the books around and read them at least once a year. I couldn't wait when I heard that The Silmarillion was coming out. I was nine. I still have my original hardback with "This belongs to Ellen L. Denham. If lost, please call xxx-xxxx" printed in huge letters in black magic marker in the inside cover. I struggled through the book, finding it at the time to be a disappointment, though one of those things I was glad to have read. It took me another several years before I was able to appreciate it.3. How did you meet your husband?That's a long story, and I'm going to tell part of it if only to avoid misconceptions people typically have if I say, "I met my husband on the internet!" Back in the dark ages of the internet, 1993-1994, (or perhaps that was the early Renaissance), we both had internet access through work and were experimenting with the social aspects. I was a participant in newsgroups, one of which was soc.feminism. Someone posted asking if women had been harassed on MUDs, and I didn't know what one was. When I learned that there were virutal places where you could interact with others and design parts of the virtual environment, I had to try it. For more information about MUDs, you can visit Delusions MUCK Home Page which also has links to general MUD information. I haven't been on in years but this is where Stephan and I got to know each other. Sometimes you have such a strong connection to someone you just have to meet in person. We did, knowing this was risky and we might not hit it off. Thirteen years later, we just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. :)4. What is your favorite food?Oh gosh, do I have to choose only one? I have lots of favorites, but for now I'll say pasta with some sort of vegetables, whether it's a traditional spaghetti sauce (homemade of course) or Thai noodles with a spicy sauce. Either way, I love mushrooms with my pasta.5. Do you have Botticelli toes? (like your icon Venus does--)No, more like hobbit toes, minus the fur. I wear a size 5 1/2 wide when I can get it!* THE INSTRUCTIONS:1. Leave me a comment saying anything random--like your favorite kind of sandwich or something you remember from long ago or something you bet I didn't know. Something random. Whatever you like.2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.5. It will go on and on and on and that is what makes it a meme!