It’s time for questions over coffee with Rory at Earthly Comforts again. Here are his fifteen questions.

What actions do you take if you can’t sleep naturally?

When David was in hospital and I was first living alone I did find it hard to get to sleep at night because I was so worried. I started to listen to classical music on the radio and I found that calming. I don’t normally have a problem sleeping but if I do need something to help me drop off, I listen to an ambient sound recording like rain, a clock ticking, a cat purring or a distant train.

Can you easily recognise if you are suffering from stress, and if so, what do you do to reduce it? Are you able to see signs of stress in your friends or your family more than you?

I think I can probably see it in others more easily than in myself.

The West holds firm concerning the war in Ukraine. However, how do you feel about it all now? Do you believe we are providing too much or too little support?

I feel that Ukraine should be supported by the west even though it looks like this may go on for a long time. I am afraid that Putin has no boundaries and might do anything and that we are closer to World War than we have been in many years. However, it feels wrong to me to turn our backs on Ukraine and let them be destroyed.

How much black-and-white honesty from your best friends do you believe your friendship with them warrants? Should friends be brutally honest with you or provide support without question?

Inspired by Should Friends Offer Honesty or Unconditional Support?

I don’t mind friends questioning my actions but I hope they would still be supportive. I don’t like the sound of brutally honest if it means they would argue or fight with me in an aggressive way.

Do you think you have an addictive personality?

No.

Why are so many of today’s online/television advertisements so cringey? Are you ever influenced by the comedy or corniness of them?

I don’t really see a lot of ads as I stream most things I watch and skip through the ads. Online I use an ad blocker. I do think that television ads today are not as funny as some of those I remember from the past and I also find it a lot harder to work out what they are actually advertising sometimes. An ad that is funny or corny is more likely to be remembered which is why I can still sing jingles from ads of the 1960s.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Mortein+Advertisement&docid=603507514297046848&mid=950DA6891006F848BA25950DA6891006F848BA25&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

What five vegetables do you use the most each week or month?

Potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower.

Do you ever need help responding to some comments left by readers on your blog posts, as in not knowing how or what to respond with? Why is this, and what usually throws you off?

No, I don’t ask for help. If I can’t give a good answer at once I would come back to it or if I needed to say a lot then I might write a post on the subject.

What is the most outrageous thing you have ever done?

Me? Outrageous? I don’t think so.

Have your blog reading habits changed since you first started to blog?

Not really. I probably read fewer blogs from people I don’t follow now because I don’t have the time after reading all the ones that I do.

Have you ever felt frustrated from reading blog posts because they are perhaps not piquing your interest?

What have you done to prevent the boredom from biting deep if this is the case?

Inspired by bloggers

No, I have never felt that. There are so many blogs to read that if one doesn’t really pique my interest I just move on quickly to the next. The bloggers I follow are all funny and interesting anyway.

Do you find it easy to make difficult decisions, and do you have a process of elimination for making those tough decisions?

I don’t always find it easy to make difficult decisions. Some have been easier than others. Moving to Tasmania was one that we thought about carefully, weighing up the pros and cons. I think it is important to do your research and look at the problem from all sides, but sometimes I just have to go with my gut feeling.

What’s the longest you have gone without a shower?

About a week. We only have tank water here in Sisters Beach and we’ve had a lot of trouble over the past year or two with blocked gutters and leaking downpipes. We’ve got them fixed now but because of this we have been very careful about showers cutting back to a couple a week each. That’s not been so bad in the cooler weather as we don’t go out all that much but hopefully when the repairs are all done, we can increase the frequency a bit.

Between the choice of a deep-fried insect sandwich or a raw earthworm hamburger with no option of declining either, which would you choose?

Inspired by a conversation at the Nature Reserve

Bleah! If I must I’ll take the fried insects but then I’d scrape them off and just eat the bread.

How would your family and friends react if you started to talk to another person one day that no one else could see but you? Do you speak to yourself regularly?

Inspired by the film – Just Like Heaven

I do talk to myself occasionally and to the pets a lot. I think everyone who lives alone does that. I don’t know what family and friends would do if they thought that I had an invisible friend. Maybe they would just think I was eccentric. I remember how when mobile phones first appeared I often saw people talking and thought they were speaking to me or talking to themselves. Turned out they were just on the phone.

How far can you be pushed before annoyance becomes full-blown anger and what is your anger style?

I try not to let my temper get the better of me. Usually, I bottle it up for fear of saying something I may regret later. If I’m home alone and frustrated by something like folding up one of those collapsible cat enclosures I may let rip with a bit of yelling to get rid of the frustration.