A couple of weeks ago, Mimi in Dublin shared her Versatile Blogger award with me. I am honored to receive this one as versatility is very high in my value system. As with any award, there are some dues to pay. This one involves sharing 8 things about myself that you might not have already learned. So here goes:
1. I love to drive. Anywhere, any time. When I was younger, I always longed to drive a truck - the bigger the better. The closest I ever got was to drive the daycare bus full of kids. And it took about 35 years to manage that!
2. I became a constant tea drinker literally overnight. I lived on coffee for years - the stronger, the better - until about ten years ago. Then one morning, my first cup of coffee tasted like mud. I switched to tea that very day. And I've tried coffee off and on since then but no good; it still smells so much better than it tastes.
3. My hair is curly - so short now it would be hard to tell. But when I was in university, my room mate (also with curly hair) and I wanted to be in the mid-60's fashion with long straight hair. Off we would go to the dorm laundry room and iron our hair. This caused great merriment with the other students but we didn't mind. It was well worth the time spent kneeling on the floor with our hair spread out on the ironing board.
4. At about the same time, I wrote poetry. I continued to write for a couple of years and some of it wasn't too horrible. When my daughter was in high school, she proudly took it to share with an English teacher. I understand he was very kind. She came back glowing and I basked in the reflection for days.
5. And since I'm back at university, I'll tell you that I trained to be a high school English teacher. One of those cases of when I started, there was a teacher shortage. When I finally finished, there weren't so many jobs unless you went to the rural areas. This wasn't possible and so, I spent most of my working career in music: retail and wholesale, live and recorded. It was such an exciting time. I think I actually got a better bargain.
6. The teacher training helped later, though, when I worked with kids. First as a school volunteer and a Brownie leader. Later, I turned to adult training. Loved it! That's the best thing in the world to do. Kids are fun and I enjoy working with them. But I think I liked the equality of working with adults. And it helped that they wanted to be there. They even got my jokes!
7. I'm not a great traveler. I like the part where I'm in the place and enjoying the sights, sounds and the people. I like the part where I'm back home. But I really hate the in-between bits: the planes, the airports, the security hassles, packing bags. You know, all the uncomfortable parts. I have always thought that travel would be so much easier if we could just go into a booth, punch in our destination, and voila! I'd be beamed off to wherever. Then I could stay as long as I wanted and come home the same way. Wouldn't that be a lot more fun? If you couldn't guess, I was a Star Trek fan.
8. I love gadgets. Low-tech, high-tech, doesn't matter. I'm constantly amazed at the stuff that creative minds come up with to make our lives easier. I'm not actually buying them all - not enough money for that - but part of me would like to. And all the new electronic toys? I could get very carried away if I had an unlimited budget. But then, how could I do all the other stuff I enjoy? Instead of saving us time, as we all think they will do, this new stuff just creates a whole other level of time-eating.
So, that's it. Now, there is another part to this award and that is sharing it. This comes with no obligation to post - I just want you to know how much I enjoy your versatility. These bloggers are always a treat to visit:
Rudee at A Knitting Nurse tells a great story with often a funny side. And she has a lovely dog in her life - wait'll you meet him.
Ginny over at Let Your Light Shine is an enthusiastic viewer of life. She also tells good stories.
Rachel Cotteril's blog is a super blend of travel, food, crafts and good writing.
Lola ( and Nora) at the Johnston Diaries are in constant motion. This is a high energy blog.
Joanna who writes Up On Haliburton Hill about travel, dogs, gardens and takes beautiful photos is always interesting.
Thank you, Mimi. That was fun.
Thank you so much for your kind mention of my blog, I am so glad you like it so much. O.K., once I hit menopause, my hair curled from the roots down almost overnight! I guess change of life scared me just enough to turn it curly but not white!! I used to write lots of poetry when I was a young mom! And I love all the new gadgets and HATE to travel, I like seeing new places, but hate the getting there and going back! Home is where my heart is.
ReplyDeleteDid I recognize myself in item number 3? I remember the ironing board routine well! Thanks for the memory.
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much for thinking of me! I'll check out your other recommendations over the weekend :)
ReplyDeleteAnd, I think blogging is a great way of travelling instantaneously between different worlds! Don't you?
You are an interesting and diverse woman. Thank you for the added insight into what makes you tick. You're right about the gadgets. My work Blackberry makes me insane with the sheer amount of emails.
ReplyDeleteBless your heart for including me. I'm honored. I wish I were more presentable right now to accept this award. Currently, I have bed head, I'm wearing 10 year old fleece jammies and I'm lacking a second cup of coffee. Still, I'm honored.
p.s. I have curly hair, too. Really curly.
Well, Stephanie, it's lovely to get to know you a little better!
ReplyDeleteAnd you were very quick compared to how long I took to do your last award to me.
I'm fascinated that you worked in music, but also trained as a teacher - my limited brownie experience tells me that your training would come in useful!
I love to drive too!
And I agree that air travel has become a pain, security and all that stuff has taken any pleasure from it, though i wonder if it was pleasurable being cooped up for hours in a tin box in the sky? I do like to go by boat, eg to the UK, it's much more pleasurable even if it takes longer, though when you add in the hours spent at the airport, queuing, it can be almost as quick in the end.
Lovely post!