My friend Eeva nominated me for a Liebster Award 2015 for this blog - thanks Eeva!
Alas, as per award stipulations I can't nominate hers back and I don't really browse others' blogs often enough to have a favorite 11, but here are my responses to Wander the World's questions:
1. If you could visit one destination in the world, where would it be? Iceland. Their culture has been proudly self-contained for ages, and their geography and landscape is dynamic and beautiful, and yet the land is small enough I can perhaps "do it all" in one go.
2. Which book is your favourite and why? "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal", by Christopher Moore. I find it accessible to anyone who doesn't mind a humorous take on Christ's unaccounted-for years, and it's silly, but also thoughtful and well done.
3. Can you speak another language(s) and if so, which one(s)? A bit of German, enough to get by, and Grade 11 Canadian French, though is a bit rusty.
4. What is the most bizarre food you’ve eaten? "Bizarre" is relative. I've eaten eight feet of raw stinging nettles in an hour at the Stinging Nettle Eating Championship in Marshwood, England. They're high in vitamin D and would pair well with a Sauvignon Blanc.
5. Would you travel solo? I prefer travelling solo. Less people to consult/cater to every decision.
6. What are your 3 essentials you take with you when travelling? Passport. Water bottle. Little toy bunny on my bag I can talk to when the going gets rough.
7. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Years ago I would've said sweet, but nowadays I find savoury more satisfying, less of that cloying mouth-feel and sugar spike-crash. I sometimes convince myself that they're more healthy too.
8. Is your preference beers, wines or cocktails? Wine.
9. How did you start blogging? It was recommended as a tip for marketing and exposure to get a career foothold as a 'professional'... in whatever my profession is. Hmm. Some folks think I should court the travel mags to see if they'd like to publish my articles - any takers?
10. How many languages can you say “thank you” in? Five. I can say "cheers" in more.
11. Where have you experienced the most extreme culture shock? Maybe Mexico, as many practices there we would consider unsafe here, especially with cars. Safety features like rear view mirrors and seatbelts and even seats are merely a suggestion!! Most of my travels have been to countries with cultures similar to mine (Europe, and I'm English blood), so perhaps slight variations in gender roles, how ladies should dress and how macho the guys are. A wise man told me "People are pretty much the same, wherever you go" - the differences are amusing, but the similarities are just human.
Thanks for the nomination!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Silver for the season
As I write this, the grey rains have returned. When I was younger I always disliked November as "nothing good happens" or ""I have nothing to look forward to", yet now I see it's up to me to make my own fun and make the choice to burn brightly despite the blah. And so we start winding up for the Christmas season - not the frantic commercialism that'll set in like a panic the week before, but the positive festive aspects.
One of my most anticipated tasks is decorating a tree. Big or small, real or fake, it doesn't matter. I'll decorate anyone's tree who will let me, that way we can enjoy it all December.
So here is one done; she has two steamer trunks full of ornaments accumulated over years that won't all fit onto a tiny tree, so I can pick and choose what I want to use each year. This year's motif was sparkly: glass, crisp white, shiny silver, soft grey, and a few hits of red to catch the eye. It'll go with the sparkling wine for her party.
I recalled years ago hearing a German folktale about silver pinecones; while not specifically for Christmas I enjoy the thought of benevolent and charitable spirits in winter.
Silver Pinecones
Once upon a time there was a man and woman living in their home near the forested mountains, and they had many children. The man worked as a miner, but fell ill and was confined to his bed. The family soon ran out of money to feed their children, but more pressing was the dwindling firewood to heat their home in the cold nights. The wife set out into the woods to collect pinecones that would burn brightly and perhaps she could sell for some food.
In the dark woods she was afraid as she began to collect pinecones, and even moreso when one of the forest folk appeared and demanded to know why she was taking his pinecones. When she explained her situation he suggested she instead collect the pinecones in the next forest over, just a bit further up the mountain. She climbed there, and was so tired she set her basket down and immediately pinecones rained down around her and filled her basket.
As she carried her full basket back down the mountain she thought the load seemed to get heavier with every step. When she finally poured out her basket, the pinecones had turned to solid silver!
She had enough to buy food for the whole winter and medicine to heal her husband, and they had so many silver pinecones left that the family was never poor or hungry again.
To this day, many still keep a silver pinecone in their homes for good luck.
And I just found this one today, though a few variations on the tale:
Christmas Spiders
A woman was cleaning her house before Christmas and the spiders around her home fled lest they be swept away. The watched from high dark corners as she set up the Christmas tree, and when she'd gone to bed they raced along the boughs and excitedly admired the ornaments on the decorated tree, trailing their dusty webs behind them.
When Father Christmas arrived, he was glad to see that the spiders were so happy but knew the woman would be heartbroken to see her tree covered with webs, so with one touch he turned the webs to silver and gold. The tree was even more beautiful than before.
One of my most anticipated tasks is decorating a tree. Big or small, real or fake, it doesn't matter. I'll decorate anyone's tree who will let me, that way we can enjoy it all December.So here is one done; she has two steamer trunks full of ornaments accumulated over years that won't all fit onto a tiny tree, so I can pick and choose what I want to use each year. This year's motif was sparkly: glass, crisp white, shiny silver, soft grey, and a few hits of red to catch the eye. It'll go with the sparkling wine for her party.
I recalled years ago hearing a German folktale about silver pinecones; while not specifically for Christmas I enjoy the thought of benevolent and charitable spirits in winter.
Silver Pinecones
Once upon a time there was a man and woman living in their home near the forested mountains, and they had many children. The man worked as a miner, but fell ill and was confined to his bed. The family soon ran out of money to feed their children, but more pressing was the dwindling firewood to heat their home in the cold nights. The wife set out into the woods to collect pinecones that would burn brightly and perhaps she could sell for some food.
In the dark woods she was afraid as she began to collect pinecones, and even moreso when one of the forest folk appeared and demanded to know why she was taking his pinecones. When she explained her situation he suggested she instead collect the pinecones in the next forest over, just a bit further up the mountain. She climbed there, and was so tired she set her basket down and immediately pinecones rained down around her and filled her basket.
As she carried her full basket back down the mountain she thought the load seemed to get heavier with every step. When she finally poured out her basket, the pinecones had turned to solid silver!
She had enough to buy food for the whole winter and medicine to heal her husband, and they had so many silver pinecones left that the family was never poor or hungry again.
To this day, many still keep a silver pinecone in their homes for good luck.
And I just found this one today, though a few variations on the tale:
Christmas Spiders
A woman was cleaning her house before Christmas and the spiders around her home fled lest they be swept away. The watched from high dark corners as she set up the Christmas tree, and when she'd gone to bed they raced along the boughs and excitedly admired the ornaments on the decorated tree, trailing their dusty webs behind them.
When Father Christmas arrived, he was glad to see that the spiders were so happy but knew the woman would be heartbroken to see her tree covered with webs, so with one touch he turned the webs to silver and gold. The tree was even more beautiful than before.
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