I am trying to give some attention to some lovely nominations and tags I received recently.
You all know how long these award posts take to prepare, but I do love them. I have been thinking about them while they have sat patiently in my drafts folder. I feel like I need a break away from my lap-top after the BAKE-OFF. So I think I am going to be content with publishing one a post day, maybe two if the mood takes me 🙂
The wonderful Teresa, better known as The Haunted Wordsmith has nominated me for THE MYSTERY BLOGGER AWARD, as you can see from her post below:
https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/mystery-blogger-award/
What is the Mystery Award?
“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.
– Okoto Enigma
Rules
Put the award logo/image on your blog.- List the rules.
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
- Answer the 5 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
- You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
- Share a link to your best post(s).
Three Things About Me
I am trying to think of three new things to tell you. Hmm…
I was once dragged through the snow on my stomach by a sledge pulled by a team of husky dogs. I was on the back of the sledge (I was supposed to be “steering” the sledge) and I fell off. I had asked the owner of the sledge and the dogs, what happened if I fell off. He told me there was no way I was going to fall off. I fell off. I was clinging with all my might to the handle bar of the sledge, terrified that my friends were going to end up crashing into a tree. I was dragged along on my tummy for some time before eventually my strength gave out. I could hear my friends screaming. The owner…well it’s such a funny story, I should probably save the entire saga for another post.
I was a first aider from the age of sixteen. Every three years I went on a refresher course to re-qualify. My last certificate expired about a year ago. For the first time in twenty years I am not a “qualified first-aider” which means I cannot be used as a first-aider on a lot of the voluntary projects I work on. It feels like a real shame. I think I need to go and do another full first aid course (I can’t do a refresher course because my certificate has lapsed). I have been a first-aider on many construction projects and at major events for many years. It seems a shame to not be one of the team.
I am so so excited about watching the final of the BBC Masterchef show. I will be at work tonight when it is broadcast, so I will have to wait to watch it on BBC i-player. I can’t wait. I have been so fond of the contestants and am so impressed by what they have accomplished. Please don’t tell me the result!!
My Best Post
One of the very first posts (I think it was the first) I ever published is the one that is closest to my heart. I wrote this poem twenty years ago. I have worked on the middle section a couple of times, but the start and finish are exactly what I wrote when I was a teenager. I have a huge soft spot for it.
Five Questions From Teresa
What are your plans for this fine spring weekend?
On Saturday I will be walking out in the spring sunshine and enjoying all of the wonderful blossom that is on so many trees at the moment. The forecast is pretty good at the weekend. My friends and I will be walking from Hampstead to Richmond. I am going to a party on Saturday night. It is after a ceremony (I am not going to the ceremony, just the after-party), so it will be a late night for me.
Sunday – I am doing some volunteer work for most of the day, and then in the evening I am going round to the home of some friends from Bulgaria. I am taking a chilled chocolate cheesecake (which I will have to make first thing on Saturday morning, or maybe I can risk leaving it til Sunday morning – nope, I am going to be too tired after the party). People love that thing, I am asked to make it regularly. I daren’t eat it because I am not good with dairy.
What kind of museum would you create if you could (what would you put in it)?
Oh…that’s an interesting question – never have thought about that. So many museums in London that I love visiting. I guess I would love there to be a museum packed with all our family memories.
All the different cars Dad has driven over the years. Mum’s dresses. Swatches of the different curtains and wallpapers we have been through. Our toys and books from childhood. My collection of sunglasses from childhood and my roller-skates. All the family photos of course.
I think I would visit the museum regularly, as would all of my family. But I don’t think anyone else would be interested! We are not going to be able to get the tax-payer to fund this museum are we!
What is something best served cold?
Custard.
I really like hot fruit crumble with cold custard (dairy free for me). My friends like cold crumble with hot custard which I think is odd. Custard is so nice cold!
I know there will be some who disagree with me. My friends and I seem to be 50/50 split on this issue. But that seems to be the trend in the UK at the moment – to be 50/50 split on important subjects like whether custard should be cold or hot.
What can always bring you out of a slump?
What kind of slump? Are we talking about feeling a bit low?
Normally, being with people cheers me up enormously. I really thrive on being with people. I am from a big family. I have worked on projects with hundreds of other volunteers. I love people. I am with people a lot. But I like being alone too. It’s important to me to have some alone time.
There are other things I might do if I am on my own for some reason and feeling down. Sometimes I am forced against my will to be alone due to the intense pain I have since I received head injuries. At times like that, I do sometimes feel a bit sorry for myself. I mentioned some of them in my SHARE-YOUR-WORLD post this week:
- ring my mum, one of my sisters, or a good friend
- type an e-mail to Goldfinch
- go for a walk, there are beautiful parks nearby my accommodation
lie on the grass in the park and doze under the warm sunshine- listen to some music that always makes me feel good
- walk to a nearby artisan bakery on the high street and buy myself the gooiest cake I can find
- iron any laundry that is stacked up, it’s something I really enjoy
- work on the little book I am writing for my niece
What recently read book do you think everyone should read?
![Wish Upon A Leaf by [Grabs, Teresa]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31zwEMUhIJL.jpg)
I find Teresa’s new book an absolute delight. The main characters are enchanting. I love their story. I love love love it.
My first copy arrived from Amazon yesterday. I am going to buy more copies as we have quite a few children in our family who are the perfect age group for this book, and they all like reading.
I wish Teresa every success with her new book…and hopefully more are in the pipeline.
Put the award logo/image on your blog
1. I love wearing dresses. It’s not practical to wear a dress for some of the work I do, gardening and cleaning. Neither do I wear dresses when I go hiking or running. But I love wearing dresses any other appropriate time. I loved wearing dresses for Goldfinch.
2. I love summer. I love it very much. However, for the last three summers I have had a lot of frightening flashbacks taking me right back to that night in the park. There are lots of things that trigger memories of that night. The heat, the smell of grass, the sounds of animals at night. This year I will be in Australia when that date comes round again. Four years since I was attacked. I will be with Goldfinch. It will be winter in Australia. I am hoping I am alright.
3. I need to get a hair cut! I have shocking split ends at the moment. But it costs so much money to have my hair cut here in London. I am trying to arrange a salon appointment on one of my visits up north. My hair is quite long at the moment, and because it looks a bit tatty when it is down, I am having to wear it up all the time 😦
But I think you said it was for a whole weekend…therefore, I will probably throw in some other activities too. We would probably be camping outdoors and watching the stars at night. We would definitely be swimming. Probably swinging from a rope that was tied to a branch.
I rarely look at photos of myself. I can’t bare to. I am not camera shy, in fact I can be quite a poser! But I am photo shy, I hate to see myself in a photo. Please don’t ask me to explain it, but I literally cannot bear to see myself in a photo. There are no photos of me on display here in my little abode. My family have photos of me displayed, but I know where they are and I won’t look at them.
But I don’t have any problem with mirrors in general. Goodness, I have made myself sound as if I have a phobia. I love the mirrors on the bathroom cabinet in my little abode. It makes my face look so pretty. Also I have two long mirrors and they are very flattering. I don’t know whether it is the softer lighting, or if the mirrors I have here are faulty – but I like what they show.
I have a healthy awareness of my erm, “assets” and I also know which bits of me I could change if I put a little more effort in!
Cleaning. I shall explain further down…
It’s sometimes incomprehensible to me how they can make so much mess. I would like to walk in while they are all there, freeze them, tidy up while they are all frozen and then see how they react when they are unfrozen. I have started to leave notes explaining areas I was not able to clean and stating how they should leave the premises in order for me to be able to clean properly.
I feel safe within a relatively limited number of readers – who are all other bloggers and writers. So far 99.5% of the bloggers I have interacted with seem lovely. There is a nice supportive spirit. But the thought of the number of people looking at something I have written growing like wildfire is a bit frightening.
I know you said to imagine that one of my blog-posts had gone viral and everyone loved it, but it still makes me nervous. I don’t want Jack to find me. Not only physically, but I don’t want him to know anything about my blogging. If there was a dramatic increase in the number of people who were viewing my posts, I would be afraid that it would not be long until he found me.
There was a mistake I kept making for years. I was told again and again that I needed to learn to say no. I think a lot of people realized that for many years I was juggling a lot of responsibilities. Perhaps they could see it was unsustainable.
However, since I was the victim of a serious crime, I cannot go at the pace I was before. My head injuries have limited my abilities. I try to be honest and upfront with people about how much I can commit to. I am busy. But I cannot be busy the way was before. I cannot have lots of people depending on me. If I felt overwhelmed, I would probably just say “this is not going to work, it would be better for everyone if you found someone to replace me“. I try to keep life simpler. I just cannot feel the pressure of juggling too many obligations.
DO YOU FEEL SAFE WHERE YOU LIVE? NOT JUST WHEN YOU ARE INDOORS, BUT WHEN YOU ARE WALKING THROUGH THE STREETS NEAR WHERE YOU LIVE?
I love jam and preserves. However, spots appear on my face after I eat jam. My biggest weakness is morello cherry jam. Yum! I would like to imagine myself in the future having the time to pick fruit and make my own jam. I would love to be one of those people who churns out vast quantities of home-made jam, fruit curds and chutneys, and gives away jars to all of their neighbours and friends and workmates.
During my first ever shopping trip without my parents, I went to Manchester with my younger sister Mandy and the £100 of my pocket money I had saved up for months before. I spent all my money within an hour. We walked past a truck at least twice that morning that contained a bomb, which a short time later exploded, destroying Manchester city center.
I have never been to Australia before.
I think I am going to drive myself a little crazy, and all of you a lot crazy, as I count the days until I am with Goldfinch again.
I learnt British sign language when I was sixteen, and for around ten years I was an interpreter for those who were deaf. That was mainly when I lived up north. When I moved down south, I interpreted just a handful of times, so I became rusty. But then when I started working in pharmacy, we had a few deaf customers, so it was very useful. I don’t use sign language regularly now, but I still find that I sometimes “think” in sign language, especially when I dream. Sometimes Milly and I will have conversations in sign language. (Milly is still an interpreter.)
There was a stage in my life when I had to clean out the tank regularly that was the home of eight stick insects. Those little guys would chomp their way through a lot of foliage and then there was lots of stick insect poop in the tank and shrivelled up twigs that needed clearing out. It was really hard to make sure they did not escape. I had a couple of afternoons when I was searching the kitchen high and low for stick insects. Boy can those things move!
Most of my clothes and shoes are from charity shops. I buy underwear brand new. I also buy work shoes brand new, because they need to fit well and they need to be good quality. Other than that, second-hand is fine for me. There are six charity shops on the high street here and it is not unusual to find beautiful designer clothes with the original retailer’s labels still on.
I have to admit, it is a long time since I made time to watch any Olympic event. I am drawn to swimming though because for years my sisters and I were competitive swimmers. And diving too.
My favourite colours make me happy – blues and greeny blues and bluey greens. I like a little yellow and a very little pink. But what makes me happy is colours that compliment each other. I love to see a mix of colours that dance together. There’s nothing quite as pretty as a rainbow.
I would not say it makes me mad, but I don’t get on well with orange for some reason. I attribute to this to my Dad painting the ceiling orange in the bedroom I shared with my sister Mandy when we were very little girls. Dad felt colours would impact our personalities and he thought orange was a happy colour. Staring up at an orange ceiling just seemed to make me averse to orange.
I love karaoke
Candles scare me. In the town I grew up in there were a lot of deadly house fires due to accidents with candles or cigarette stubs that had not been extinguished properly. The houses on the council estate I grew up on would burn up like cardboard. Whole families have been lost in some of the fires that occurred. Very upsetting. Whenever anyone gives me candles as a gift, I give them away to someone else, normally a charity shop.
I used to swim competitively. From a young age I swam around ten hours a week. I am a complete and total water baby. My happy place is the water. I love diving down and dancing in the water. I love to swim up and down and up and down and feel the thrill of gliding so fast through the water. In recent years, I have taught several adult friends how to swim, including three women from Pakistan who had never been a swimming pool before they came to England.
I love my food processor. I use it almost every day to make something. I love making my own hummus, pesto, coleslaw and how much easier it is to make parts of other dishes – for example a biscuit base for cheesecake. It’s really hard to imagine not having a food processor now.
I do believe that you often reap what you sow. If you have healthy habits, you should reap the benefits, whereas if you choose harmful habits, it is likely that you will experience poor health in time. However there are other reasons why people suffer. Sometimes someone just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes people who have lived very healthy lives experience devastating illness. Righteous people have experienced all manner of cruelty from those who are clearly unscrupulous. Often unprincipled people prosper and live in luxury. I think it is incredibly cruel and frankly outrageous when some intimate that anything bad that befalls a person is because of something bad they have done previously. It’s preposterous and shocking. And just as foolish as pointing to the wealthy and presuming their riches are blessings for being good. I scratch my head at how anyone can think that way! Suffering sad things is bad enough without thinking it is pay-back for some mistake you made, but not even being sure which mistake it was!
I never know what will be of any interest to anyone else. So I am going to try to have the theme of SEVEN to give me some inspiration:
I take a UK size 
I live on my own at the moment but I have 
When I was 
I found out recently that Kristian, the creator of 
It depends on them. I need to find out what they are interested in. I would need to identify which genre at least might tempt them.
There is a new development in my character that is troubling me. I don’t believe it was ever part of my personality before the events that have changed my life and taken me away from where I want to be. I have noticed I am more likely to take certain risks that I did not before.
This risk-taking side of me is new. So far things have worked out just fine. But what if one of these riskier more daring decisions does not work out?
I do understand them worrying, but I want everyone to know that since this all happened, I have been taking one step after another, one day at a time. I am doing alright. I am enjoying life. I might be a long way off from where I want to be. But what can I do? except keep taking one step after another, one day at a time?
Well, I mainly read the classics to be honest. I read them over and over. There’s enough of them. I really want to read Mrs. Gaskell’s “North and South” again soon.
I think there should be more provision to help teenagers recognise their own emotions like anger, jealousy, inadequacy and stress and practical strategies to deal with them.
We had cats for years growing up. But one pet I always wanted was a fluffy rabbit! I just wish it could run around all over the garden safely – I wouldn’t want it to feel trapped in a cage all the time.
I send a text message to Goldfinch because it will be lunchtime for him.
Caramel 