The Infinity Dreams Blog Award

I’m feeling really guilty for not having responded to the nomination for this award earlier. It was September 8th that the wonderful Izzy, at Izzy-grabs-life notified me, and  I replied that I’d get to it once I got back from Malta on September 19th. Well, it will be November next Sunday, and I think I’m just a bit late. So. many apologies, Izzy, and a huge (belated) thank you for nominating me. Izzy is a fantastic blogger and I’d recommend you to have a look at her blog.

These are the rules for this award:

* Thank and follow the blog that nominated you

* Tell us 11 facts about you

* Answer the questions set up for you

* Nominate 11 people and make questions for them.

Now for 11 facts about me:

Having written so many facts about me on previous award posts, I’m rapidly running out of facts – ones that spring readily to mind, at least. So I’ll give my brain a shake up and see if it comes up with anything remotely interesting . . .

1. I hate most seafood, other than fish, which I love. I have salmon and white fish several times a week. Shrimps and prawns remind me of snails (escargots) which I couldn’t eat in a million years, and the thought of oysters slithering down my throat just makes me shudder.
2. I’m a perfectionist in most things I do. I keep at a ‘job’ until I’m absolutely satisfied it’s good enough (in my opinion).
3. I love to bake – I mean specifically baking, as in cake and pie pie making etc. as opposed to cooking meals. I’ve always found baking very relaxing and quite often I’ll go and bake something if I’m feeling bored.
4. I also love to knit and am used to being jokingly called ‘Granny Noblet’. It’s something I’ve enjoyed since I was four when my grandma taught me. Grandma did all the casting on at that stage, and I didn’t move on to purl stitch for a while. But by the time we were being taught to knit at school when I was about seven (as we were in the distant Dark Ages) I was  already quite a proficient knitter. Right now I’m feeling withdrawal symptoms, as knitting is on hold until I finish Book 3. Then I’ll have a knitting spree.
5. I hate pink clothes. I haven’t any pink clothes at all, although I daresay pink might have crept into an odd pattern somewhere. On the other hand I love pink blossom on trees… and pink flowers in general. I just don’t want to go around looking like one.
6. I have boxes and boxes full of both fridge magnets and thimbles stashed away in the loft. I started collecting them years ago from every place I visited, at home and abroad, and gave up a few years ago when I realised the futility of the exercise. I don’t want to throw them out, but they aren’t doing a great deal up in the loft!
7. I love stories about Robin Hood – partly because we live so close to Sherwood Forest and Nottingham, where the stories were set. My favourite dramatisation of the stories was a 1980s TV series, aptly called ‘Robin of Sherwood’, written by Richard Carpenter. It had a wonderfully mythological and mystical feel, with characters like Herne the Hunter making the odd appearance. The ‘greenwood’ always reminded me of fresh, spring green, and the actors fitted the characters they were playing so well. My two daughters loved this series, too, and the eldest, Nicola, bought all the videos, and later on the DVD’s. I rarely watch anything twice, but some episodes of this series I’ve seen multiple times. No other series, and certainly none of the films, can compare to this version to me.
8. My favourite colour is blue. It looks like the sky on a bright summer’s day, and the sea – not around British shores though. The Med. is where I have in mind.  Blue is such a ‘cool’ colour.
9. In winter, I really love an open fire, or a wood/multi-fuel burner, in a room. A fireplace is such a central feature and gives a room a lovely cosy feel. Central heating has its place in other rooms, but in our lounge/living room I am thankful for our multi-fuel burner. We have huge stacks of logs outside from trees cut down by the farmer next door and others around the village.
10. I hate shopping with a vehemence – and the closer we get to Christmas, the more I try to avoid going into town. ‘Town’, for us is either Newark or Lincoln. The traffic going into Lincoln, even before the beginning of December, is a nightmare – and parking is even worse.
11. Like Izzy, I hate really high heels and wouldn’t consider wearing stilettos. I have my hiking boots for long walks in winter, and trainers for the rest of the year, and I love to wear sandals in hot weather – if we get any in Britain. When we’re abroad in hot places, sandals and flip-flops are a must. I don’t have wardrobes full of shoes, like some women. I have just boots, trainers and sandals, with the odd pair of what used to be called ‘court shoes’ – smarter shoes but not a really high heel. Killer heels just aren’t my style. Lol

Now for the 11 questions set by Izzy:

1.  What are you looking forward to (later today or this week)

Tomorrow we’re being invaded by my brother and his wife, along with their daughter (my niece, who is the same age as my eldest daughter) and her husband and two children. They’re over here from Runcorn for the week to stay in a lodge near Sherwood Forest – which they do every year during October half-term. So tomorrow it’s lots of catering to look forward to and I’ve been baking today in readiness. Then, at the weekend, my sister and her husband will be here, too. So, it’s family gatherings I’m looking forward to.

2.  What is the last book you read? Who would you recommend it to?

The last book I read was a while ago now, but it was called The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. It’s set in Amsterdam in 1687 and has an added element of fantasy. I enjoyed it because it was a little different to most historical fiction I read.

3.  Are you a planner or a go-with-the-flower?

I generally like to plan things carefully, but am happy to go with the flow at times – like when we’re on holiday and so on. I plan my books carefully and ensure I’ve researched things thoroughly.

4.  Have you ever traveled?

I’ve done quite a lot of travelling but still have a very long list of places I’d like to visit. We love to travel around Britain, particularly during the summer, when there’s a chance of good weather! We often go into Wales and up to Scotland and the Isle of Man, as well as to various places in England.  We’ve visited several other countries over the years and here are some of them: France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Malta, Ireland (Eire), several Greek islands -including Crete, Corfu and Rhodes – Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Australia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The only place we have planned for next year at the moment is Italy again. We’ve been to Sorento, Sicily, and Aosta in the far north, but never to Rome or Venice. So next year that’s where we’ll head.

5.  Do you listen more than speak, or vice versa?

I do talk a lot, I admit that, but I’m a very good listener, too. As a teacher (and mother) I had to be.

6.  Would you rather lose an arm or a leg?

If that were an actual choice, I’d be very hard pushed to come to a decision. I’d really hate not being able to walk and losing a leg would be awful for me. I know you can get artificial/prosthetic legs, but still …  As for losing an arm, I don’t know how I’d cope without my right hand if I were to lose the right arm. I can do a lot of things with my left hand, but in many things, like writing, I’m very right-handed. And so many things in life need both hands and arms to do – simple things like tying shoe laces, and getting dressed on general. In reality, if we were to have an accident, or an illness that resulted in the need for amputation of leg or arm, we’d have to make the best of the situation.

7.  Do you have or want kids?

I always wanted children and ended up with six – although they’re certainly not ‘kids’ any more. The eldest is 42 and the youngest, 31. If I’d started earlier I would probably have had more. But in my day, when I was having my sixth child, I was considered an ‘older mother’ and didn’t particularly like that title.

8.  What is one thing your family/friends do that warms your heart?

I suppose the nicest thing that family and friends can do for me is to simply come and visit. I think it’s sad when families/friends drift apart and lose touch.  After having a house full of people for so many years, now that the children have all left home, it gets quite lonely – and quiet – at times. Most of our children live in this area, so we do see them quite often, apart from the youngest, Christopher, whose job takes him all over the world. Other family and friends live further away, but it’s nice that they keep in touch, and we try to visit each other whenever possible. I also have some close friends in this area, and we meet up regularly for coffer and the odd meal.

9.  What is one thing your family/friends do that annoys you?

I hate people to turn up late when I have a meal ready. I hate keeping food warm – just a fad of  mine.

10.  What is your favourite breakfast?

I have very simple tastes for breakfast. I very rarely have a cooked breakfast (as in bacon and eggs and such like) even on holiday. I like those foods, but not for breakfast! I generally have fruit, the type depending on what’s on offer, but at home it’s usually grapefruit or orange. Then I just love my porridge. I’ve been a porridge-lover since my mum made it when I was a child.

11.  What is the last movie that made you cry (hooked you enough to feel such emotions)?

I haven’t been to the cinema for years, or seen too many films on TV, as we tend to go for series or serials. I become emotionally involved  all too easily with characters in both books and films. So much so that I tend to get boxes of tissues thrown at me at the first hint of an emotional scene. The only films I can put names to right now are: Titanic, PS I Love You, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Lovely Bones. I found the last two totally disturbing. Both really upset me.

Now for my questions for my nominees:

1. What is your favourite season /time of year and why?
2. Were your schooldays really ‘the happiest years of your life’?
3. Does your personality/character suit your sign of the zodiac? (Even if you don’t believe in all that stuff, I’m sure you’ll know which characteristics your star sign assigns to you.)
4. Which is your preferred way of expressing yourself creatively? (Do you prefer the written word, photography, art, drama …or what?)
5. Do you prefer to read an ebook (on tablet/Kindle) or the hard copy version?
6. What is your favourite genre in books and what do you particularly like about that genre?
7. Are you a thinker or a doer?
8. Which type of holiday/vacation do you prefer (e.g. the beach, the mountains, skiing, fishing – or any other sport – sight-seeing etc.).
9. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
10. Coffee or tea for you – or neither?
11. Another nice easy one to finish: do you have a favourite colour?

Here are my nominees:

Andy at Fife Photos and Art

Jay at J.C. Wolfe

L.T.Garvin

Morgan at The Secret Diary of a Computer Science Student

Chevvy at Chevvy’s Studio

Yinglan

Asealskhaki at randommusings

I now have 3 more award posts to fit in over the next couple of weeks, so I’ll leave my nominations at 7 for this one. Apologies to anyone I’ve nominated whose blog is award free. I have looked, and hope I haven’t missed anything obvious.