Good morning! It feels like I've been away for more than two days, a very busy weekend and a hectic start to the week.
The lovely Isabelle (
Notes from Delft) has nominated me for a Liebster Award - thank you! We've found each other recently and it's wonderful to have this new blog buddy on the other side of the world. Isabelle has come up with a mini Q&A for her award recipients - here goes:
What dream would you like to see come true?
Regular readers won't be surprised by this one - to have my novel-in-progress published.
What do you hope to be doing five or ten years from now?
Writing my fifth or tenth book! I'm hoping that when I have all three children at school, I will write at least one book a year. Check back here then and we'll see how I've progressed!
What is your happiest childhood memory?
Tough to name just one! All kinds, ranging from adventures on farms (cubby houses, bonfires, learning to drive, bareback horse riding through the paddocks), to days spent at the beach collecting shells (both in summer and winter, weather regardless), to playing in the park opposite our old house in Melbourne. And reading - always reading - I have great memories of snuggling up with Enid Blyton, eventually moving on to the excitement of Judy Blume.
What is your favourite poem?
Argh! Again, hard to choose one, so I won't! We had a wonderful text book at school,
Seven Centuries of Poetry in Modern English, and its contents still form the basis of some of my favourite pieces - The Broad Bean Sermon (Les Murray), Morning Song (Sylvia Plath), You Begin (Margaret Atwood), Not Waving but Drowning (Stevie Smith), Do not go gentle into that good night (Dylan Thomas), [Because I could not stop for Death] (Emily Dickinson). Others include Stop all the Clocks/Funeral Blues (WH Auden), Late Last Night (Langston Hughes) and When You are Old and Grey (WB Yeats).
What was your favourite subject at school?
The previous post should be a huge hint - English, of course! Although I wish I'd spent more time in the art room too, knowing how much I enjoy making things now.
What major obstacle have you had to overcome in recent years?
Financial constraints have been huge and have only been alleviated by sheer hard work and going without - when we married, we had no idea how hard it would be to get into our own house. We juggled child care between us (formal never worked) and finally moved into our very own first home in 2012, eleven years after we got married. This was a HUGE journey, with many false starts on the way.
Who do you most admire or look up to?
My family! They've been wonderful to Joe and I over the time and I am very lucky to have such steadfast support in my life.
What are your best qualities of character?
That's a toughie! Ummmmmmm I guess a good sense of humour will get you anywhere, although mine isn't always appropriate - I do guarantee a laugh though! I guess you could also say resilient as I tend to be able to brush myself off and keep going.
What is your strongest talent?
Does managing money count?! I've gone from being the girl who kept her money in a cupboard and withdrew it to go to the pub (in Ireland, pre-marriage) to someone who has heavily budgeted and lived mainly on one income. We tend to amaze people with what we've been able to do just by being careful - so much so I'm sure some people think we have a secret source of income - and we don't!!!
How had blogging changed your life?
I started blogging in 2008 and at the time, as a mother of two young children, suddenly I had links to the outside world from the little farmhouse cottage we lived in. It was something I loved but due to financial constraints, had to give up - children's swimming lessons vs the internet connection, and the kids quite rightly won! I began blogging again in 2012 and loved being able to reach out again and be part of that big wide world - modern day pen pals, if you like.
What part of the world would you most like to visit?
So many! There's a lot of Australia I haven't yet discovered, but also France, Italy, Spain, America and more. I'd also love to go back to England, Scotland and Ireland. And of course, to see
my sister in New Zealand (another reason why I love blogging is for that connection to her when she lives so far away).
There you go! Now, I'm not great at nominating people, so I'm going to put it out there and say please consider yourself a contender! If you'd like to answer these questions, please leave a comment below with a link to your post. They're wonderful questions that Isabelle has put together, so I'd be interested in hearing your answers!
Thanks again Isabelle, it's been lovely to get to know you!