Distracted and Tagged

Perhaps I have ADD. I am very easily distracted. Like when I saw this little amigurumi penguin on the internet. I just had to make him. It is so cold that I figured he would feel right at home here. I had lots of other things to finish, but I couldn't help myself. I just had to make him. And then Eileen from Eileen's Attic tagged me! Well, what could I do but drop everything and get started on that?

It seems I have to tell you eight random facts about me. I think I have done something like this before. I'll try not to repeat myself. Anyone not interested can log out now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

1. I have been married for 42 years! Gosh, is it that long already? It doesn't seem like it.

2. I have a daughter who is 37 years old and a son who is 35.

3. I love gardening. Indoor and outdoor. I can hardly wait for spring to arrive. A couple of my orchids are in bloom right now. They stay inside, of course. It is too cold in our climate, but I still love to grow things.

4. I went back to university when my kids were in school full time. I was a stay-at-home mom until then. I endured York University long enough to earn a BA in psychology with a B+ average.

5. I spend twenty years working with mentally challenged children for the Toronto District School Board. The first 15 years were with kids aged 11 to 14. The last five were with kids aged 15 to 21. I loved my job. I was stressed to the max, but those were the best years of my life. Believe it! It's true. I took an early retirement about four years ago. because.........(see number 6)

6. I planned to do a lot of travelling in my retirement. But so far I have only been to the Caribbean a few times on cruises. I love going down there when it is cold here in Toronto. Unfortunately I was not able to go for the past few years because..........(see number 7)

7. I am recuperating from a rare auto-immune disorder at the moment. My body had destroyed all the nerves in my back and legs. It was horrible. I was not able to walk anymore. I had to depend on others for everything. I could not even use my sewing machine. I had to give up driving and just about every other thing in my life. Not fun! That was until last summer when I had a course of steroid treatment. That seems to have halted the disorder. I would not even have mentioned it, but it seems that I am getting better and that demands to be shouted about! I have been walking around the house, using only a cane. I can't do it for very long, but I am getting better every day. It's kind of like a small miracle! Or maybe a big miracle!

8. I believe in miracles! Is that okay for number 8, or should I come up with something else? I can't think of anything at the moment, Maybe I'll ask Mimi to help me.

Hey Mimi! What else can I tell people about myself?

"Did you tell them that you're easily distracted?"

Oh, yeah, but that wasn't part of my tag. Can't you think of anything else?

"Meow! Okay. You are easily distracted. You have forgotten to buy Fancy Feast for several weeks, you don't pet me enough and you pee in my drinking bowl!"

Okay Mimi, that's enough. No one wants to know any facts about your drinking habits! So there you have it. Eight random facts about me.

I guess I am now supposed to tag eight other people. I don't want anyone to feel as if they have to do this and I don't want anyone to feel left out, so I am going to leave it up to each of you, my fellow bloggers. Take the tag if you want it. Leave it if you don't.

I'm having a 'Duh' moment!

I was just sitting here at my computer, idly wasting time. I really didn't have much to say at the moment. And goodness knows I haven't been very prolific in the creativity department lately! I was just sitting here thinking about the comments on my blog posts, wishing that there were more of them. Out of boredom I began reading some of them over again. And - DUH! - I realized that Aim from bumpydoink.blogspot.com wrote that she had tagged me. I kind of remember reading that before, but I didn't know what it meant, exactly, and it was a long time ago. Then my computer was down and I forgot all about it. Sorry Aim! I will try to fix that now.

Here are the rules:


1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers' blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Six Unspectacular Quirks of Mine

1. I am almost totally and completely computer illiterate! I don't even know how to link stuff on my blog. Have you ever seen links on my blog? Of course not! Because I don't know how to do that. It was quite an achievement for me to get my camera program to work and for me to hook up my printer after I had to get my computer reformatted. Maybe I should take a course sometime. That would probably be a good idea.

2. I love Japanese food, especially sushi! Before I began hosting Japanese students, I knew nothing about sushi or even Japan for that matter. But over the past years I have become enlightened during their visits! I must admit that trying to eat sushi for the first time was rather scary! After all, it is raw fish, you know, and I was afraid of anything raw. Thanks Mom! (She taught me that!) But once I tried it I became hooked! Now I love it. My favourite is sashimi! But I also like to try something new every time we go out for Japanese food. And that is often!

3. I have a rather strange sewing needle preference. I like to hand sew with one special needle. I have been known to throw a fit if I can't find my favourite needle. I have turned to house upside down to look for it. The last time I was at the Sewing and Needlework Festival I bought several packages of the kind of needles that I like. But there are only two of the size that I prefer in each package, so I still tend to throw a fit every now and then!

4. I like to make stained glass objects. Not quilted ones, but stained glass pieces using real glass. I like to make lamps, vases, bowls and other three dimensional pieces. But at the moment my stained glass is down in my workshop in the basement. And I can't get down there! I still have to use a stairglide to get up 4 steps to the main level of our house. I have no idea when I will be able to go up and down the 10 steps to the basement, but I hope it will be soon.

5. I love nature and I love the great outdoors! If I can't hug a tree every once in awhile, I get cranky. I have always enjoyed going camping and canoeing in the great wilderness that is northern Ontario. I love the coolness of an early morning dew rising off the lake, the taste of wild blueberries, picked in the old airfield in Algonquin Park and the haunting sound of a loon on one of the quiet interior lakes. I get high when I see the colours of wild flowers growing along the roadside. I love the changes of the seasons and would probably not be happy living in an environment that only had one season.

6. I have several acquisition disorders. I have FAD - Fabric Acquisition Disorder! Also YAD - Yarn Acquisition Disorder and PAD - Pattern Acquisition Disorder! Those are the tree main ones. But I have lots of others. I like to collect stuff - any stuff - from shells on a beach to rocks to leaves to, well, just stuff.

Well, that's six quirky things about me. There are probably a lot more, but thank goodness I don't have to admit to them! And now I have to tag 6 other bloggers. That is going to be difficult. I don't even think that I know 6 other bloggers. I used to have a lot of blogs on my 'favourites', but they were all lost when my computer was reformatted.

So here they are - in alphabetical order.....

Catherine at quiltobsession.blogspot.com

Martha at mybestfriendcallsmemartha.blogspot.com

Nicolette at devliegendekoe.blogpost.com

Nynke at thedutchpurplerabbit.blogspot.com

Opal at alkamaiknitter.blogspot.com

Oiyi at oiyi.blogspot.com

I am not sure what will happen if any of these people don't want to take part in this. Probably nothing. I won't threaten you with bad luck or some other malady. In fact, I doubt if anything bad or good will happen as a result of this, except that I will get to know you better. So, just do it if it moves you. Thanks.