Thursday 6 May 2010

Seven Random Things, and Lilacs Galore


Leanna so graciously gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award on her blog! I'm so touched, thank you so much! It's always great to hear that people like your blog, especially those people who aren't related to you and stand no chance of being quizzed over dinner one day about recent blog posts.

I never know who to nominate for these, you are all so awesome and I love going to your blogs. So I hope if you are interested, you'll consider yourself tagged! As part of the award, I'm to post seven random things about myself. So here you go!
  • One of my overall life goals is to visit 50 different countries before I die. So far, I'm clocking in at about 19, which isn't too shabby. For those interested, they are in no particular order: Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia & Montenegro (although it was called Yugoslavia when I was there), Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, England, Ireland (both parts), Spain, The Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, and the United States. Sadly I did the vast majority of those in my early twenties, when I was living in Istanbul and travelling a lot more. 
  • Which leads me to my next little factoid- I taught English in Istanbul for two years. I think that having lived in Istanbul is easily one of the more interesting facts about me. 
  •  My husband is British, and he moved to Canada so we could be together. We met here in Toronto when he was on holiday and  had a whirlwind 5 day romance before he had to fly back to England. He asked me to wait for him, because he was coming back for me. I didn't really believe him, but he convinced me by endlessly calling, emailing, texting, msn-ing,.... you name it.  He moved to Canada three months later. I've been ridiculously happy ever since.  
  • Although this blog hides it very well, I actually want to be a novelist and poet. I write things, and then never talk about it except to very, very few people; although occasionally I publish the odd poem here and there. which brings me to another point that this blog hides very well....
  • I'm terrible about self-promotion, or any kind of tooting of one's own horn. Except for things I've knit. Then I'll tell anyone who sees it that I knit that, and isn't it awesome. I really must learn to apply this trait to other areas of my life.
  • I'm a total, full-on green tea addict. I do drink coffee sometimes as a special treat, but it's green tea that I drink from the moment I get up to when I go to bed. Right now I'm crazy about Iron Goddess of Mercy tea. How can you not be ready to face the day after you drink a mugful of something called Iron Goddess of Mercy?!
  • Whenever I'm in a conversation about which superpower you'd love to have (I feel like I've been in a lot of those conversations over the years), I always, always choose invisibility. Of course, I'd like to be able to turn it on and off at will. Then I could totally fight crime or something- I'd be invisible, and filled up with Iron Goddess of Mercy tea. Nothing could stop me!!!
I'm currently recovering (catching up on lost sleep) from a work conference that consumed much of last week. The lilacs in the garden apparently realized I was away a lot and took the opportunity to explode into full bloom, in a bid for total neighbourhood domination. I can actually smell the lilacs in my garden from three blocks away.
Their perfume steals in through the open windows, and at night I love to imagine that they are lulling me to sleep with their scent.And in the morning, in the sunshine, they are quite simply the most beautiful sight to see.



17 comments:

juicyknits said...

It was very interesting to read this, there's quite a bunch of things you hide really well. Wow - to your Istanbul experience and to the poem writing.

Anonymous said...

I for one would like to see some of your writing. :) I'm glad the lilac's cheering you up.

The Sweatshop of Love said...

This was so fun to read! I feel like I've been reading your blog for so long I should have known more of these things! The story about how you and your husband met is so sweet. And good luck with the writing! You could always use the blog as a stepping stone to help you start marketing yourself. Publish stories and poems here and pass them around! It's a great way to get feedback and to help set little writing goals for yourself.

Longest comment ever!

weezalana said...

Iron Goddess of Mercy really needs a "MUA HA HA" after it...

Adriana said...

The lilacs are amazing! I'd been hoping to have wedding pictures in front of them so hopefully the ones in Cambridge will hold on for another 2.5 weeks :)

Unknown said...

Congrats on the award! It's really interesting to learn new and personal tidbits about the people who's knitting I'm so familiar with! I love the lilacs too, they aren't out in full yet here in Montreal, but they're just starting and it smells beautiful.

all style said...

your love story is so romantic, aren't us brits great. oh and i have a super power, its a super human sense of smell. more of a curse than a blessing it has to be said!

Anonymous said...

I love those random facts! Trust me, if you want to write a novel, just start writing.

Maryse said...

Wow! Living and teaching in Istanbul must have been a great experience! Loved the story of how your boyfriend moved to Canada... My favorite tea is Gen Mai Cha. Congratulations for the award!

Michele Saunders said...

Congrats on your award! And thanks for sharing your little known facts. Its always fun to learn new things about someone.

Anonymous said...

How on earth did you do Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia and managed to skip Croatia? : ) Tooting my own horn here, but you should add it to your list of "to go" ; )

Teresa said...

You do have a beautiful blog! Thanks for the lilac photos - they're my absolute favourite.
I encourage your to toot that horn! (Incidentally, I have issues doing that myself, but that doesn't stop me from attempted peer pressure towards others!)

Hania said...

The story about your husband is so sweet! :) Congratulations on the award - keep writing!

Hilary said...

I always love reading these memes! I had forgotten that you lived in Istanbul (I believe you mentioned it in a previous meme), but I think that is just the coolest thing ever. And those lilacs are amazing. Definitely my favorite flower - you are so lucky to have such an abundance of them!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! You have most definitely earned it. And I LOVE lilacs! I hope, if you're not sick of them, that you've brought some inside as well. I don't see many of them here in Oregon, but we had them in Vermont.

I'd be curious to see something you've written. Or, would you at least tell me what authors/poets inspire you?

Ella said...

You ARE a beautiful blogger. And interesting. It is why we keep coming back to read your posts. :D

Your lilac photos are radiant - I love the description of them as well. I loved the read too - it's always fun to learn the fascinating things others have done!

Have you considered a poetry blog? Something separate might give you a bit more freedom...

Just a thought!

Salihan said...

That's so nice for you to share! I've learned a lot more about you Julie! :)