If you met a Mad Scientist and became friends, what would you ask her to invent for you?

A time machine was my first thought. There would be endless great ideas you and your Mad Scientist friend could work on. How about traveling in space, or deep under the ocean? Figure out the age old quest of turning ordinary metal (lead) into gold. They call that alchemy. Or you could learn how to fly with wings made for people or some kind of jet backpack, not so different from those in cartoons.

So many great ideas. How about putting together your own specialized super computer. A computer that hooks up directly to the Internet and has a connection the speed of lightening. You could play online games with your friends, get all the information you need for your homework and projects in just minutes.

Of course, you and the Mad Scientist could just build your own robot. Give your robot human features, skin and etc. and send him or her out to do all the boring stuff like walking the dog, cleaning the yard and going to school with all your friends. Or, maybe not. Would you really want to miss your friends at school, jumping in the pile of leaves when you clean the yard or spending time running around with your dog? Some things are work and fun at the same time.

I'd still like to try that time machine. First, I'd have to decide whether I want to go backwards or forwards into time. I guess, with our own time machine I could do both, take as many trips as I wanted.

So, where to you meet a Mad Scientist these days?

Would you want to be an animal? Sometimes I would like to be a whale. I could dive into the deepest parts of the ocean where no people have been. Down there I would find sunken pirate ships and chests of treasure. I'd find their maps to secret buried treasure too. When I had all I wanted I would turn into a person again so I could spend all my loot.

Sometimes I would like to be a wolf. I'd run with the pack, howl at the moon and scout around the wilderness until I couldn't walk another step. The wolf can smell and hear things better than people too. I would enjoy experiencing that. What things would I hear that I've never heard before.

Sometimes I'd like to be a seagull. Soaring over the ocean waves, the beaches and the cities, watching everything fly by beneath me. I would perch somewhere high up, on the head of a gargoyle or steeple of a church. The wind would be blowing on my feathers. Soon I'd smell some french fries dropped in a parking lot and I'd swoop down to grab them up before all the other gulls could get them.

It would be great to be a dragon. They can do all of those things. But, a big dragon would have trouble sitting on a small branch or church steeple. True dragons like to hoard treasure but I'd like to spend some of it. I don't think a lot of stores would calmly accept a dragon coming in to buy the latest bestseller. Being a person is all right too, its who I am. But now and then I think about all the fun of being an animal and the special things I could do.

Imagine you're an architect. How would you design the ultimate dream house?

My house would have a lot of land around it. I want a whole forest of trees and wildflowers in clearings here and there. The trees would be oaks, walnuts, pine, maple, flowering trees and an assortment of others. Closer to the house itself I would have big patches of garden for my favourite flowers: sunflowers, violets, sweet williams, tulips and many others. One big patch would have a herb garden and another for some vegetables too.

The house would not be huge, just a comfortable size. A grey brick house with trim, I haven't decided if the trim should be black or dark red. Black looks dramatic but its not a colour I especially like. There would be a garage for cars and a workshop for woodworking on the side, not attached to the house. I'd probably have a greenhouse and gardeners shed too. I almost forgot the pond and bubbling brook. I'd like to live in an area where I could see lots of birds, the odd deer and other wild animals.

Inside the house, the most important rooms are the kitchen, bedroom and the den where I would have my computer and all the stuff I need for a home office. Other than those three rooms and bathrooms there would be just one huge room to be the family room, sitting room and dining room. It would be comfortable with a big stone fireplace and high ceilings. The bedrooms would overlook this room with sort of a balcony space. I could have a few plants up there, they would enjoy the natural light from the skylight. Also, there would be one big window looking down into the street. That would be my Christmas tree window. Everyone would be able to see our fancy, magical tree each Christmas.

In this big room I would have a few couches, the kind you can enjoy sitting in but not sink into and have to struggle to get out of. Some throw pillows and blankets for snuggling up if its chilly. Off to the side would be a dining room table. It would be very heavy, made wood with those fancy feet carvings. The chairs would be wood too but not so heavy. This room would have a hardwood floor and scattered throw rugs. It would be very comfortable and colourful.

Away from the danger of being damaged by the fireplace I would have the media centre with a spare computer for friends, a TV, stereo and all that stuff which I would mostly keep around for having friends and family over. I'd be spending most of my time gardening and writing in the den.

Of course, I would have a great computer in my den, lots of RAM and space on the hard drive for all the games and serious stuff I want. I'd have a futon in the den, just in case I wanted to sleep there myself or needed extra space for someone staying over. I would need space to keep my newspaper and magazine clippings so a file cabinet would be close to my desk. The desk itself would be big enough to hold my computer and give me space to work around it. Half of one wall would be full of bookshelves and books. I'd have a walk in closet also, for storing all the Christmas and other holiday things. Stuff I want to keep around but out of the way. This room would have a walk out to the gardens. A set of French doors and a rock garden patio set up outside. A comfortable chair outside and a bird feeder or two hanging in the tree branches.

This would be where I would see my cats. They are all outdoor cats, seldom ever inside the house. I like my house to be cigarette and livestock free. The cats would be well looked after though. I would have a carpenter make them a house of their own. Lots of space for them and lots of interesting nooks and gingerbread trim to make it look cute for me.

While I'm thinking about interesting nooks, that's how I want the layout of my house to be inside. The den doesn't just come off of the big main room, its in a nook. A bit out of the way and hidden. I'd like trompe l'oeil paintings on a couple of walls in the house. A small one on the wooden staircase leading to the bedrooms upstairs and another one on a wall of the kitchen. Probably a third on the wall or ceiling of my own bedroom too.

The kitchen would be big but not huge. One half would have a sunny area, lots of windows and another set of French doors leading outside. By the French doors would be the kitchen table and chairs. This would be decorated in a lot of sunny, bright colours. The whole room would catch the daylight and reflect it back. All the appliances would be steel or that avocado colour that has lost all its popularity since the 70's. But I like it. There would be lots of cupboard space all in easy reaching distance for me. Any taller cupboards would be for things I hardly ever use but can reach with a stepladder. the kitchen also has a skylight and a few plants in pretty pots by the French doors. In a big kitchen window I would have a small window garden for herbs.

Over all the house I would have paintings or more likely prints of nature and wild animals. I especially like the work of Canadian artists like Robert Bateman and Glen Loates. I'd also have my sister make a picture of my house, she draws very well and it would be very special to have something done by her in my house. Although I have plants in the house they won't be overwhelming, I don't want to feel like I'm living in a jungle. I also keep knick-knacks down or stored attractively. I wouldn't like them to look too cluttered or be in the way for kids to have fun.

All that's left are the bedrooms and bathrooms. Those would be mostly functional with the standard features. In my own bedroom and bathroom I would like skylights to let in more light. The bathroom would have a tub with old fashioned feet. In my bedroom I would have a walk in closet for all the clothes, shoes and other stuff I want to stick in there.

I nearly forgot to give myself a sewing room and a grand entryway into the house. Not much to say about the sewing room. It would be a lot like the den, probably connected to the den so I could make use of the French doors to the outside.

The grand entryway however, would be a display of stone, wood and glass. I'd like my front doors to be kind of gothic, like something you would see in a scary movie but not dirty or broken down looking. An iron wrought fence would be around the house, not the whole property, just a few feet around the house. My entryway would all be a bit on the gothic side. Not at all scary, well maybe a bit with the dragon and gargoyle.

So that's my house, unless I've forgotten something else. What would your dream house be like?