I saw this meme on my friend's blog, http://runswithsword.blogspot.com/
(hi Jean!) and have shamelessly stolen it.
First off, the rules (which, me being me, are pretty much going out the window):
1. Link to the person who tagged you. (Kinda done)
2. Post the rules on your blog. (Again, kinda done!)
3. Write six random things about yourself. (See below.)
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post. (Sorry, don't tag others)
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged. (See 4. above.)
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up. (One more time, kinda done!)
Six random things about me:1. I am a lazy gardener. I love planting things, I get all excited about the garden I'm going to have, but once the poor little plantlets go in the excitement wears off way too rapidly. I can't count the number of times I've let things die for lack of water or care or time, or allowed the weeds to strangle them. A couple of times a year I have an ENORMOUS garden clear out, hack back all the rampant weeds, prune all the shrubs to within an inch of their lives, chop at the overgrowing trees, break my back and give myself blisters on my blisters. Every time I do it I vow that THIS TIME I'll keep on top of it. But I never do.
2. I am a lapsed quilter. Or maybe I'm a quilter on an extended break. A really extended break.
3. I am addicted to acquiring stuff off other people's nature strips. I LOVE hard rubbish collection time. My garage groans at the seams trying to contain all the junk I cart home. I've been known to hit the brakes, slam the car into reverse, and go back to check out an interesting box or pile of junk. The sheer waste of re-usable stuff that gets munched up by the council trucks and hauled off to the tip appals me. And the fact that it's actually illegal to remove items from the piles of junk infuriates me. Given the current panic about carbon footprints and dwindling natural resources, plus the economic gloom, there must be a way to redeploy all the things people no longer want and get them to the people who could use them.
4. I collect - way too much, not just hard rubbish :)
Aliens, hats, lps, fabric, found objects, beads, art materials, plastic containers, polar bear related items, shoes, newspaper/magazine clippings, cat hair. Okay, the cat hair is an unwanted by-product of having cats, but there's plenty of it. Want some?
5. I hate housework, nay, I LOATHE housework. I do as little of it as possible, and seldom invite people to my house just to avoid the shocked gasps at the decrepit state of the place. The only time the bed is made is when I change the sheets. My dishwasher is one of my most cherished household items. I might choose the dishwasher over a cat, if pressed.
6. For five years I lived without a car. Now I have one, I do love the convenience of being able to go anywhere at a moment's notice, but sometimes, just sometimes, I miss the enforced slower pace of walking and catching public transport. Without a car, I experienced the changing seasons more intimately: the way the trees change colour day by day in autumn, the colour of the sky not filtered by the windscreen, the wind, the behaviour of the birds - there was a hawk I often saw while waiting for the bus but now I almost never spot him, the changing flowers in gardens. I miss the people watching opportunities, the casual exchange with a stranger gardening, the neighbourhood cats, the ebb and flow of the local area. I should do more walking.
A couple of days ago, Bel interrupted my breakfast with a peremptory "rrowwrrr!" and indicated that there was a matter of importance requiring my attendance (also known as, "follow me, right NOW!"). She led me to the windows along the back of the house, which are floor to almost-ceiling, and her brother, Pye, frantically pawing at the glass and fluffed up to twice his usual size. On the other side of the glass was a completely unfazed rodent, peering in at all of us fearlessly. Hmm, big mousie, thinks I, squinting - nope, on closer inspection, little rat. I rapped on the window but he didn't even flinch, just sat up jauntily on his back paws and washed his face. I suspect he may have been an escaped pet, being a pretty grey with a snowy white belly and obviously not unfamiliar with people and cats. I went outside to investigate further before a cat or two got so enthused they pursued their new friend right through the glass, but he was wily enough to make himself scarce. In the past, I've considered a pet rat - they are cute and intelligent - but this one might have found himself on the feline menu had he joined the family. I hope he survives in the great outdoors.
Drawing 305
Drawing 306
