Genetic Learning Has Nominated Me for A Liebster – Woooh Wooooh!

 

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award!

I have seen this on other blog sites and thought it was such an interesting way to get to know a little bit more about who is behind the posts you are enjoying.

Genetic Learning nominated me after his Leibster Award nomination, as you can read below.

https://geneticlearning.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/liebster-award/

I do not know Genetic Learning myself…I just know he is obviously a very clever boy! Who would like to be a vet, although I am not sure about his record with keeping fishies!!!

I have copied and pasted the rules outlined in his posts:

1. Acknowledge the blog who nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator asked.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers.
4. Ask them 11 questions.
5. Let them know you have nominated them
   

So these are the questions Genetic Learning raised to all of his nominees:

 

1. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS, AND IF SO, WHAT ANIMAL ARE THEY?

Not currently (my tenancy agreement says “No pets allowed”).  However, I do look after the goldfishies in the house above when they go away on vacation.  I also clean out the Bio-orb fish tank once a month.  I have to admit I really struggle transferring the fish because of the way they squirm around…I am terrified they are going to jump right out of the net onto the floor.  I would freak out!

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK?

Ooooh!  I have to admit I am more a three square meals person.  I do not snack of my own iniative.  But when I have friends over to watch a movie or when I am with my friends I do indulge.  If I have one Pringle…I am tempted to finish the whole tube.

These are my own favourite snack finds of recent months.  I often buy them for my workmates.  They are seriously yummy.  Goldfinch loves them too!

Speaking of Goldfinch…he and I have a very serious point of disagreement.  Popcorn.  He insists it should be salty.  I say sweet.  Or even better, toffee popcorn.  It is the only subject of argument we have really not been able to resolve.  I did buy him a bag of salty popcorn a while back…only because I love him mind (despite his pitiful taste in popcorn).

Still, I do try to remember “Once On The Lips…Forever On The Hips!”

3. ABOUT HOW MANY POSTS HAVE YOU MADE?

I know it is in excess of fifty posts…I had one of those nice little messages from WordPress alerting me to my fifty post marker.  I have deleted a couple though I was not happy with…but yeh, around the fifty mark.

4. ABOUT HOW LONG (since answering this question) HAVE YOU HAD YOUR BLOG?

My friend helped me set it up.  I think it was around the last couple of days of April 2018.  So probably coming up to five weeks old now.  Still kind of a baby…I know I need to make improvements to my site…I am just enjoying the story writing so much at the moment.  I have a basic format to the site that I am content with for the present moment.

5. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A STRAY CAT OR DOG JUST WALK UP TO YOUR HOUSE AND BEG FOR FOOD?

Oh yeah.  The town I grew up in was Cat City.  Cats would come and go all the time.  We always had cats of our own growing up  We wanted a dog, but my parents modestly admitted that caring for seven children and a dog was beyond them.  Cats seemed easier to look after (so independent).  We often had other cats roaming around our garden and trying to eat food we had left out for our own cat.  They would paw at the windows asking to come inside.  Of course as children, we wanted to let them in.  But Dadda said “No!”

6. HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A STRAY ANIMAL?

Our first cat Tamara, was abandoned by our next door neighbours when they moved house.  She was a tiny tabby cat.  My parents took her in.

I have a friend named Katie who has rescued and adopted many cats over the years.  We fondly call her Cat Woman.  We have been out with her on walks in the country several times, when she will detect an animal in distress and zooms in to rescue them.  We often have come home with an injured animal Katie intended to nurse to full health.

7. ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW MUCH DID YOU KNOW ABOUT GENETICS BEFORE READING MY BLOG?

You know your scale should be 0-10!!!  It would be a big fat 0 for me!

It is a subject that kind of fascinates me.  The thought of a written code with the properties and traits of living creatures and plants is incredible, truly awe-inspiring.

Although, this is not a subject I have ever researched, and I have to admit it does seem a bit mind-boggling!  I have enjoyed reading posts by Genetic Learning.  Nice and easy-ish to understand.  I like that the practical value is made clear.  There has been a lot of bad press about Genetically Modified Crops, so it is helpful to understand this subject a bit more.

8. HOW MANY BLOGS OR WEBSITES DO YOU HAVE?

Just this one.  I am entirely new to this blogging business.  I was encouraged by friends to put some of the stories (which were originally letters and e-mails to them) online…and this has motivated me to write new stories with the same feel of the ones I had already written over the years.

9. WHICH IS BETTER, SPICY FOOD OR SOUR FOOD?

Spicy!  I have many friends from India and Pakistan and from other countries famous for a spicy cuisine too.   We also have Punjabi in-laws.  I love curries with paneer or dahls with lentils.  English food is famously rather bland (although I sometimes am perfectly content with a roast dinner, or pie and mash, or vegetarian cottage pie).  I love variety.  I am fascinated by spice.

I have enjoyed many cookery lessons from my friends.  I am especially pleased with learning to make my own saag aloo – as I love spinach.

Some of my friends make their food so spicy hot I literally cannot breathe and have tears pouring down my face – I am more a mild to moderately spicy person I confess!

Goldfinch loves Thai food, so I am trying lots of Thai dishes recently – yum yum yum.

Oh and our fantastic trip to Texas, where we ate so much Tex-Mex food I thought I would never be able to walk again.  Spice with cheese – wowie!

10. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW?

I am not a big TV watcher.  When I left home I did not have a TV for over ten years.  The accommodation I am in now has a TV.  I watched a BBC series called “Death In Paradise” – a detective show set in the Carribean.  I quite liked the feel of it.  When I had time I watched a few episodes of “Masterchef” and “The Great British Bake-Off”.

There is another show I have liked watching back episodes of recently, “Endeavour”.   My mum used to watch “Inspector Morse” when we were children.  I was too young to follow it really, but I have fond memories of John Thaw.  I quite like that they have a series about the young Morse as he was beginning his career as a detective.

I am shocked though at how much complete garbage is on TV.  I don’t like soaps. Sometimes I will look through the guide of what is on each channel and I am aghast at how much utter nonsense seems to be available.

I do think some of the documentaries the BBC have broadcast are simply incredible – “The Blue Planet” and so many others.  It just makes me yearn for the opportunity to explore this planet for myself though. It fills my head with dreams of knowing everything about this planet and it’s creatures inside out.  Seeing the phenomenal footage of creatures and their habitats that right now are far removed from our every day life…it does fill my heart with inspiration as well as serene calm and wonder knowing that I live on the most magnificent planet in the known universe.  It reassures me that the current way of life that most of us are tied to is not the intended purpose.  My conviction deepens that there is something vastly better ahead for this earth and for it’s inhabitants.

For the present, yes banning plastic straws and cotton buds might seem like a sensible idea, but I do believe a much greater change is needed.  That is like examining a dog that is infested with fleas and then picking off one or two fleas and celebrating.  Nope…this world is infested with harmful practices and habits that are effecting our own health and welfare and the stunning planet we live on and share with incredible creatures and plants.  Drastic changes need to occur.  We are not living in harmony with what it seems both we humans and the rest of life on this planet were designed for.

11. WHEN WILL YOUR NEXT ANNIVERSARY FOR YOUR WEBSITE BE?

Well…I tend to think of an anniversary as being annual event…so that is a very long way off!  The end of April 2019.  A lot will happen between now and then…

_________________

Well, I hope I have answered the questions posed by Genetic Learning in a satisfactory way!

Now for my own nominees, eleven of the bloggers who I have been enjoying reading the posts of – I am going to nominate some blogs that I have only recently discovered:

• indishe@indishe
• bobcb1896@bobcb1896
• Neema Ali@drlipstickgeek
• watchyourlifeinpictures@watchyourlifeinpictures
• averyj0624@averyj0624
• anexpatshome@anexpatshome
• yammymommyblog@yammymommyblog
• atara403808400@atara403808400
• Santosh Namby@santoshnc
• Makafui@makafuisjournal
• amydwestphal@amydwestphal

If you have already been nominated for this award before or don’t have time to take it up…do not you worry.  This is my way of saying, I like your posts, and appreciate the support you have given to me.

Hope you have fun with this…I think that is what it is supposed to be…a bit of fun and encouragement to other bloggers.

And my questions to you all:

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF CANDY OR SWEETIE?

2. WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START A BLOG SITE?

3. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BULLIED?

4. WHICH IS THE BEST WAY TO TRAVEL – BOAT, PLANE, WHEELS?  WHERE WOULD YOU GO? (SORRY I KNOW THAT IS TWO QUESTIONS)

5. HOW DO YOU VIEW PEOPLE WHO CHEAT IN MONOPOLY?

6. DO YOU PREFER POEMS THAT RHYME? (IF THIS IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL A QUESTION – YOU COULD SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE HOUSE-KEEPING TIP INSTEAD)

8.  FANCY DRESS PARTIES – WHAT HAVE YOU DRESSED UP AS?

9. WHICH SONGS WOULD YOU SING IN THE SHOWER WHEN YOU THINK NOBODY CAN HEAR?

10. IS ANYONE ELSE IN YOUR FAMILY A BLOGGER OR VLOGGER?

11. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC BIN FAIRY (WHO COMES IN THE NIGHT AND EMPTIES YOUR BINS MIRACULOUSLY WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING AND WIPES ALL THE SPILLS ON THE BIN AND ON THE WALLS AND FLOOR AROUND IT)???  OR ARE THERE MEMBERS OF YOUR HOUSE-HOLD WHO BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC BIN FAIRY?

Enjoy…look forward to seeing your responses!!