20 Questions with Liz Kidd

1 . What is your full name?

Elizabeth (she prefers Liz) Ann Kidd — only my mother called me Elizabeth when she was mad.

2 . Where and when were you born?

I was born in Montreal, 1969. 3

. Where do you live today?

I live in Stephenville.

4 . What’s your favourite place in the world?

I love to travel. Every place to me is an experience, and I think the best place to say my favourite place in the world is home. And that’s wherever home is. So, when I get off an airplane from travelling to Europe or from the Middle East and I arrive in Deer Lake, and I smell the fresh air and I feel the cool wind, I know I’m home.

5 . Who do you follow on social media?

I have lots of friends. Obviously, I have the standard list of politicians and colleagues. But I think the most fascinating person I find on social media is Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. He’s controversial to a certain extent … but it’s his whole philosophy around changing the world, helping humanity. He seems to be quite the visionary. So, it will be very interesting to see where we end up in 10 years’ time, and how much he is predicting actually ends up happening.

6 . What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I love to cook. But it’s not just about cooking for me. It’s about sourcing food, it’s about buying local, it’s about buying some of the best ingredients. Most of the food that’s on my table is local. I buy everything local, from my eggs to my meat, my vegetables, and I pressure can and prepare.

7 . What’s been your favourite year and why?

I actually don’t have a favourite year. Life is about experiences and I think we’re meant to live. There’s that age-old adage that people say we only live once. Well, that’s actually wrong. We only die once. We live every day. I sort of want to live every year to be one of the best years.

8 . What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?

I would say losing my mom. I lost my mom last year and sitting by her side for about six weeks was probably the hardest thing ever.

9 . Can you describe one experience that changed your life?

I’m going to go back to (losing my mom). You sort of re-evaluate what you do when you’re sitting there watching somebody or spending time with somebody who’s passing on. And you know when we get so caught up in life ... we sort of forget what actually means something at the end of the day. I think learning from that experience with her was how she valued family, how the smell of coffee meant something to her at that point. So, really looking at things in a much simpler way, and simple pleasures.

10 . What’s your greatest indulgence?

Red wine. A definite favourite.

11 . What is your favourite movie or book?

My favourite book would be “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” Julia Childs and it’s the original, it’s the first edition and it was passed down to me by my mom.

12 . How do you like to relax?

Cooking is one of them, but actually I love to run. You know, I’m not fast, but I love to run and that’s really where my brain is able to turn off and I’m just able to do something that’s just for me. I did a half marathon last year and, unfortunately, everything has been cancelled this year due to COVID, but I’m planning on a virtual half marathon in August.

13 . What are you reading or watching right now?

OK, so, I’m kind of embarrassed. You know, sometimes a gal just needs some mindless, scandalous entertainment in her life and I’m watching “Dynasty.” It’s mindless and I think that’s the part that, sort of where I’m at, I need some mindless stuff. It’s something that is so unreal it’s not even funny.

14 . What is your greatest fear?

Heights. Terrified of heights. Good in an airplane, terrible on an open bridge.

15 . If you were singing karaoke what would be your song?

“Here Comes the Sun,” by the Beatles. It’s on my running mix.

16 . What is your most treasured possession?

I’m a minimalist, so, I actually don’t believe in possessions. If you’re asking what I treasure the most, then I would say I treasure my family and the people I love most.

17 . What physical or personality trait are you most grateful to a parent for?

My mother was a strong woman, you might think stubborn. She comes from a strong line of women. My strengths and my independence come from my mom.

18 . What three people would join you for your dream dinner party?

Julia Childs, I think she is absolutely fascinating. She was a spy, she was one of the first women to go to Cordon Bleu. She was eccentric, she was unusual, and she never stopped, and she loved butter until she died at 91. Margaret Thatcher, the iron lady who was loved and hated. She actually said that you don’t follow the crowd, you make up your own mind. It’s something that I pretty much have lived my life by. And then, the third one, who’s slightly controversial would be Catherine the Great. Think about this she was empress of the Russian Empire in the mid 1700s. She basically dethroned her husband, Peter the Third. She modernized Russia. She opened the very first state funded school for girls in the 1700s. She was before her time.

19 . What is your best quality, and what is your worst quality?

My passion and enthusiasm, whether it’s for work, whether it’s for life, whether it’s for everything. For worst, it’s probably the fact that I’m sort of a perfectionist. And can be a little bit stubborn, which I think is the French Canadian in me, which I get from my mom. But that’s mellowing with age.

20 . If you didn’t take this career path, what would have chosen?

I probably would have become a phys-ed teacher. I chose administrative instead of actually going into the teaching profession and I love to teach. I would love to teach.