Do you knit? Bake? Crochet? Embroider? Do you have a secret subscription to Martha Stewart Magazine? 'Fess up, even if it's totally out of character: we won't tell!

-- Dawn (amgraffiti@superplin.com), December 19, 2000

Answers

Oh dear. I do heaps of things, all of which are supremely daggy.

I pickle peaches, and make moroccan lemons, or I did when my mother had under-utilised fruit trees.

I knitted angora jumpers ("sweaters") for rich people to earn a measly $30 during my university days.

And now I put all my old cook books up on the web.

There goes my glam hard-edged image ...

-- Anna (anna@lucidity.au.com), December 19, 2000.

Every year I say I'm going to try canning some fruit, and then I chicken out in the end... next year, I'll have to ask you for tips!

And $30 is far too little for all the effort that goes into making a sw... um, jumper ("jumper" always makes me think of those horrid little all-in-one things I was forced to wear as a kid). Considering how few of mine are ever completed, I would be bankrupt in no time if my livelihood depended on it.

Don't worry, Anna, your secret is safe here: no one will dare tarnish your image as a funky, hip professional woman!

-- Dawn (dawn@superplin.com), December 19, 2000.

I knit my own scarves. I'm not good enough to do anything more; the first sweater I started four years ago is still unfinished. I knit while watching TV, and in meetings where I need to stay awake or communicate a slight distance.

I make killer desserts. I frequently bake shortbread, ginger cookies, Sally Lunn cake, and one of those superrich chocolate cakes. I have just made a Christmas trifle.

Both these things really surprise people since I make a big, obnoxious deal out of my hatred for housework and all things girly. But, really, everyone needs to be able to make chocolate cake and woollen scarves, so they can walk past the overpriced store versions saying, "I can do that better myself."

-- Diana (diana@alum.mit.edu), December 19, 2000.

Diana, I totally agree that the key is knowing how to do things. That way, it's clearly a matter of choice not to be a girly-girl, and not simply a lack of skill.

And television is indeed the best thing for knitting: that way, you don't have to try to become fully absorbed in some stupid TV show, but at the same time the dull repetitiveness of knitting doesn't bore you silly after 30 seconds. I am astounded at the kinds of things I'm willing to sit through on television if I'm busy knitting. The background to that first, eternally unfinished sweater was Remington Steele, if that gives you an idea!

-- Dawn (dawn@superplin.com), December 20, 2000.

Oh, and I think men should know how to do some of those things too. Everyone. They should teach you in school how to make a great dessert (hint: don't just stick to the recipe, put more of the good stuff in).

-- Diana (diana@alum.mit.edu), December 21, 2000.

Dawn, $30 was a lot in (whispering) the early 80's ... I don't get out of bed for $30 these days, let along knitting a white angora sweater in the middle of summer! I had to wear cotton gloves and keep the wool in the fridge to keep it clean - ugh.

-- Anna (anna@lucidity.au.com), December 25, 2000.