I've been nominated for the Leibster Award :)

Now I've got to be honest with you, and tell you that, until I got a lovely message from Lizzy Allen, from the http://muddleheadedmamma.blogspot.com.au/, I hadn't ever heard of the Liebster Award - but then that wouldn't be hard, as I rarely have the chance to look around at the many excellent Blogs I'd love to keep an eye on :)

Reading Lizzy's post about it, it appears to be an award that acknowledges up-and-coming new bloggers, with the aim of encouraging them to continue writing, and work at making their blog grow - something I'd be quite happy to see happening :)

According to Lizzy, the word Liebster comes from the German, and means approximately the following: sweetest, kindest, dearest, beloved, lovely, endearing and welcome - definitely words that I'd love to be associated with :)

I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to do now that I've been nominated, except to follow the rules Lizzy wrote on her blog, and answer the 11 questions that Lizzy set for myself and the other nominees but, as I feel very honoured to have been nominated, especially as new as I am to the blogging scene, I'll do my very best to follow the rules, and to answer the questions as well as I can :)

To be nominated for a Liebster Award you should have less than 200 blog followers and less than 200 Facebook likes.

Here are the rules:

1. Answer the 11 questions set for you by the blogger who nominated you

2. Post 11 things about yourself 

3. Choose 11 bloggers who fit the criteria above and link them in your post

4. Create 11 new questions for your own nominees to answer

4. Visit their blog and let them know you have nominated them

So, here we go with my answers to Lizzy's questions:  

1. What is the best holiday you've ever been on?

I think it would have to be the 2 weeks I spent in the Lake District with my best friend Alison, and her family. I'd only ever had caravan holidays in Great Yarmouth before this, and so the Lake Districts were an amazing, beautiful, and eye-opening delight for me :) I used to wake up every morning to the sound of cow bells, as a herd was driven past the little cottage we were staying in. I had more new experiences on that holiday than at any other time previously in my life, and so it has stayed with me, even after going to many other spots afterward - it was wonderful :)

  2. Do you have/have you ever had a recurring dream? What is/was it?

Ooh, yes I do as it happens - I've had this same dream periodically throughout my life, and it used to scare me silly as a child:
I'm very small, and for some reason, I'm walking in a wheat field, with the wheat so high it's over my head. I can feel the hot sun beating down on my head, and can smell the ripeness of the wheat, and all I can hear is the whisper of the wind as it blows through the wheat stalks, and the chirping of crickets and birds. I then hear the sound of an engine in the distance but, because I can't see over the ears of wheat, I don't know what it is, until I suddenly step out from all the wheat onto a path of sorts. I look around and, there in the distance, I see a big yellow harvester slowly coming towards me. I don't feel any panic, as it is going slowly, so I step out into the path made by it's first sweep, and decide to follow it to the end of the row. I'm walking quite quickly but, because I'm only little, it's not very fast really and, before I know it, the harvester is getting closer and closer. Suddenly I trip over a loose sandal strap, and I hurt my ankle so I can't get up, and I'm watching the harvester coming closer and closer to me until it's almost upon me. I can't see the driver as he is so high up and, despite me shouting and waving, the harvester keeps on coming. Just as it gets to about six feet away from me, my great-grandmother appears out off the wheat rows, snatches me up, and steps back into the wheat, and I'm overwhelmed with the sounds and smells of the harvester as it goes by. That's always when I wake up :) 

  3. If you had to live on a deserted island for one year and you could only pack one book, which one would you pack?

It would have to be the Bible, of course. Despite being a sci-fi and fantasy buff, I've found that there are more tales of adventure and derring-do, of love, hate, passion, war and peace, in this amazing book, than anything I can find on the fiction shelves. Anything that can be attributed to the human condition is there if you look, so it would be a great companion for me - plus there's all kinds of wisdom to be had to survive almost anything life throws at you :)

  4. If you had to live on a deserted island for one year and you could only watch one film in that time (there happens to be a TV and DVD player on this island!), which film would you pack?

Hmmm, that's a hard one, as I have so many films that I love. I guess it would have to be one of my favourite disaster and survival movies - probably The Day After Tomorrow, which I never tire of watching :)

  5. What's your favourite meal to cook when you have a guest over for dinner?

I'm quite experimental with my cooking, and always love trying out new recipes on my family and friends - when I'm able to cook nowadays - but I guess the two menus I cook most often, as we all love them, are either Kedgeree, or my Indian food spread, probably with my homemade Profiteroles, or Tiramisu, for afters :)

  6. What's your funniest childhood memory?

I think it's got to be my baby sister's Christening party - I'm 10 years older than her, so that must have been my age -and this was when we lived in London. Without a drop of booze in the house, we started the party quite soberly, and it ended up with half the street doing a conga in and out of everyone's homes - while picking up the local Bobby into line as we went! 
I still remember how exhausted with laughter we all were when it was over :)

  7. What is the most challenging job (besides being a parent) you've ever had?

Hand's down, it has got to be when I worked with my hubby, as we would be painting and decorating one week, gardening the next, and then laying miles of hedges, or felling dangerous trees, after that! It was all hard, physical graft, but we loved working together, and I got quite proficient with the chainsaw :)

  8. What was your favourite movie when you were a kid?

The first one that came to mind was Mary Poppins, as I found Dick Van Dyke very funny as a child, closely followed by Bedknobs and Broomsticks :)

  9. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done?

I think it must have been the time when I arranged a lovely picnic for my, then future, husband and I. We sat on a small island with the river running all around us, and fed the ducks, and talked, and laughed, until the sun set - we still think back to that one particular time, as that's when we told each other of our love.

  10. If you could have one extreme talent, what you want and why?

I've never even thought about this much really, so I'm not sure what I would choose - I dreamt of being a world-class singer as a child, and I've always wanted to write a book, but I can't think of anything extreme that I might like. I guess I've read too many sci-fi stories, where people with extreme talents tend to have things go wrong! Lol

  11.What's something about yourself that most people you know in real life don't know about you? 

The only thing I can think of here, is the fact that, with my total love of books, I desperately wanted to be a librarian as a child - until I realised that I'd have to let people take my books out! No way would I let that happen! Lol


11 Things About Me:

1. I can be very OCD about things that I do - they've got to be done in a certain way - as long as it's my way!
2. When I'm in the kitchen cooking, I can't bear anybody else being there - if someone comes in, they're quickly scooted out again.
3. I've still got the terrible habit of biting my nails when I'm anxious - not something I do much now, but it's a habit I haven't managed to break.
4. I never learned to ride a bike, due to inner ear problems as a child - and I'd really love to have one of the adult tricycles I've seen around - amazing things! Lol
5. I can't bear seeing a piece of writing where there are lots of spelling mistakes - I've just got to correct it, or it drives me nuts!
6. My favourite toy as a child was a Gollywog my mum got by saving up coupons from her Robinsons Marmalade jars.
7. I can't bear the smell, or taste, of celery - if there's celery in a recipe, I'll always leave it out - putting leeks in it's place!
8. All of my books are not only in alphabetical order, but I've even put the authors in order, too.
9. I can't resist collecting ever more yarn, and crochet hooks, and patterns, even though I've got enough of them to last me a lifetime, there's always something new, and prettier, coming out.
10. I'm a chocoholic!
11. I bought a second-hand sewing machine months ago, determined to re-learn how to use it, and haven't touched it since :/

My 11 Nominees:

Lindsay @ Crochet d Lane

Candace @ CraftiCandi

Joy @ Food Diary of a Teacher

Doris @ Ideal Delusions

Martyn : Inside Martyns Mind

Lynnette @ ManicStitcher

Kari @ Miss Bloggypants

Mel @ My Diary of a Cat Owner

Jesselle @ Oh For Sweetness Sake

Hannelore @ Paper Beads Inspiration

Milly @ Millyanatrees


My 11 Nominees Questions:

1. What was the very first thing you made in your chosen craft?
2. What is your favourite TV show?
3. Do you drink Tea, or Coffee - or something else - all day?
4. Who is your favourite TV Chef?
5. Where is your most favourite place to eat out?
6. Have you got a bucket list, and if so, what's at number 1?
7. Do you have a favourite pet?
8. If you had a choice from all over the world, where would you prefer to live?
9. Do you play any sport and, if so, are you any good at it?
10. Are you a morning person, or a night person?
11. If you were stranded with a flat tyre, could you change it yourself?

       So there you are - all done!

       Now let's see what answers come back :)