International Women's Month Collection: Anne Stenkjær
Let's say a warm hello to Anne who we met last year. I had to invite her back since we've grown closer since last year. 😍
Kaylyn Gabbert: Last year we talked about so much, but the reason I had to come back and interview you again is because we've stayed in touch, and I feel we've become closer. First off, how did you feel when I interviewed you last year?
Anne Stenkjær: It was fine. I don't remember all of the we talked about last year.
*reminds her*: We caught up on how we spoke on our different diagnoses of Cerebral Palsy as well as our battle scars. That was the big one we caught up on though our previous interview was about more.
KG: So I know you're an animal lover. You have a big family (yes, I'm counting humans, cats, and chickens). How do you handle it all?
AS: I don't know. We just survive day by day. One of the cats is in fat camp; on a diet, we exercise ten minutes, he's been sent outside to get more exercise, and the vet calls once a month on the cat's progress. (6 kilos (about 13 pounds) is preferred weight; 7.7kilos (about 17 pounds); he gained 300 grams (11 oz) recently) Then I have another cat who is in heat. Another cat who is chubby, and he only needs to lose 500 grams (about 18 oz.)* And the fourth cat is stressed because he's avoiding the cat in heat. Pearl, a broody hen that was turned around in a snowstorm, was believed to be dead, but my dad found her on a beam under the roof of the henhouse. When Dad pulled her down there were a lot of eggs, but none of the eggs were fertilized. She kept going back up there for a while to the point where I was considering clipping her wings, but now everything is back to normal.
KG: You live with your father, and it sounds like you're the main cook of the household. Does he have any requests? Do you have any favorite dishes you just love to make?
AS: He never has any requests, but since he's Danish champion in heavy lifting so right now he's requesting some fat free foods to maintain his weight. Yeah, I love to make combinations of food: meat, potatoes, carrots, vegetables, roasted together; Irish stew. I don't make Irish stew with lamb though it's traditionally made with lamb. I make it with ox or cow's meat, cabbage, potato, and carrots.**
KG: When did you adopt your first cat?
AS: When we were born we were all assigned a cat. My mom thought it was a good way to respect animals if they got us an animal that drew blood if we were too rough with them. One of my first life lessons was don't fuck with a cat.
KG: Other animals that could have taught you that lesson: chickens, turkeys, pigs… Wait… They go too far… *the conversation got darker from there starting from stories I know about pigs being opportunistic to the darker path to cannibalism*
KG: What started your love affair with chickens?
AS: That's a funny story. My brother married a woman from the Congo. She worked at an elderly, nursing home. They had Easter chickens, and she offered to bring one home to us. When we're offered chickens, our thoughts are they're dead, ready to be put in the freezer, but she brings home this live chick. And live chicks need friends. So we got more. That one ended up being a rooster who unfortunately ended up in the belly of a fox. But we still had the other chicks. I was cross breeding chickens to see what came out of this.
KG: *Head Hunters' convo* No. No. No. I have the perfect character type for you if I ever get back to my Head Hunters' universe. *rolls eyes* You'd be my enemy… But you'd definitely be worthy. You remind me of another friend who was like, "I hope I win against you." My response, "You know that means I'd be dead then, right?"
AS: *laughs*
*miniature dinosaurs; chickens remembers that; random shark fact about how long they can go without food*
AS: One of the cats brought me a mouse in the morning, but since I don't eat rodents so early I tossed it out the window. Within a few days, maggots came alive in the mouse. I tried to teach the chickens to eat them, but the chickens refused. So my idea was to rub soap on it, and maybe the soap would dry out the maggot. That did not happen, and then the chickens ate them. So for weeks we didn't eat their eggs.
*As she lives in Denmark and I live in the U.S. I made sure to convert the weight before posting this.
**This made this interview hungry.
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