Saturday, January 26, 2008

Things/Habits/Quirks About Meme

Another meme! I love these things (thank you Sally and Pacha) they make me think and then I have fun checking out everyone else's answers, which always make me think too. I tag Annieye, Aliqot, L-Plate Author, Leigh, Gonna Be a Writer (if you haven't been tagged already by the time I get to post this ... crazy here as usual at this time of day!)

The small print: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on his/her website.

Perhaps not an interesting thing about me as such, but an incredibly interesting thing to do: I home-schooled youngest daughter last year (mostly because she was being bullied at school) and learnt so much fascinating stuff. It was fun to go back to old-school 'project' work, taking a topic of her choice (Horses/Australia/The Farm) and using it to study as many different subjects as usual. We even looked at RE for the Horse project!

(Youngest daughter back to (a very lovely new) school. I miss it. I miss her.)

I worked as a labourer on the Canary Wharf building site (many many moons ago when I was very fit, in the old-fashioned sense!) As the only female labourer on site, I was spoilt rotten (even the tradesmen would down tools and rush to help me out with something or other!), something that drove the younger (very independent, staunchly 'feminist', and thoroughly stroppy) me completely nuts! (Would love to be spoilt now!)

I have a total weakness for books and music and it's a good thing I live a fair distance from town, or the girls would starve (reminds me of Jenny Joseph's 'brandy and summer gloves'!) and nobody would be able to get into the house. I am terrible at not getting rid of books 'way past their use-by date' too. I still have ladybird books from when I was at school, and the complete Beatrix Potter set, all falling apart now and some are mostly illegible.

I have to have windows open all over the house, even when the fire is on, and my bedroom window is never closed.

Youngest daughter and I raised a baby sparrow and a starling last year. Both of which we rescued from the horrid cat! (I know. It's natural. And she always looks so offended when I don't accept her lovely gift very graciously. I just can't help freaking out.)

I nearly always make the gifts I give people, ranging from textiles to clay. My favourite gift to make for anyone is a 'Passion Pebble' ... inspired by the collection my daughters and I have built of heart-shaped stones we have found over the years, they are made in clay, painted, then I write a word or saying on them, special to whoever they are destined for.

I began by making them in salt dough, when we went through a sudden period with NO money (thank you, Inland Revenue!) I threw myself on the flooor and howled for a while, then realised that wasn't really going to help, and that I had to actually do something to earn some money, very quickly. The solution kept us fed and warm for more than two weeks!

(Eerie story: One of the students I was working with at the time, had a dream about me picking up heart-shaped pebbles from the beach, at almost the very same time that I thought of it!)

10 comments:

Casdok said...

Love the sound of your passion pebbles!

Pacha said...

Oh! I really enjoyed reading this!

We collect heart shaped stones too from our shingle beach too. Then the kids colour them in. Isn't it amazing how many heart shaped stones there are out there?

Ha! I contemplated home schooling recently. But I don't think I have the patience with my eldest. But it sounds as though you and your daughter had a very special lovely time that will stay with you forever. *sigh*

I also do the open window thing. Although now I am more careful since I kept forgetting to close them before (when we lived in town) and a thief entered our flat and stole all our money - not much but all our money since we still didn't have a bank in Italy at the time -(the person knew exactly where to find our money...so he must have been watching for days. *shiver*)

Really enjoyed the read! Thanks honey!

aliqot said...

I really enjoyed this glimpse into your life.

The passion pebbles are a lovely idea.

Well done with the home schooling too. And I'm impressed that you managed to raise those birds - they usually die on us. :-(

HelenMWalters said...

The home schooling thing sounds great. That must have been such a special time for both of you!

Moondreamer said...

Thank you, Casdok!

They made everyone at work laugh one day, when one colleague said "Hey! have you seen Dianne's Passion Pebbles?"

Have you been tagged yet?

:o)


Pacha, you're such a sweetie!

Yes, nature always amazes me too! There's a lovely ad on telly at the moment, for a mobile phone I think ... a man is using the camera on his phone to collect pictures of heart-shaped things, to send to the woman he loves. (So romantic!)

Home-schooling wouldn't have worked with my eldest either, for the same reason! But I so enjoyed it with my youngest daughter, and consider myself blessed to have had the experience.

How scary that someone came in your home! And rotten that he took your money too. Worst of all I imagine is the thought he'd been watching you (send shivers down my spine too!) It's so sad that we have to be 'careful' ... Home should be sacrosanct, a refuge from the rest of the world, without being all trussed up.

Big hugs! :o)


Aliqot, thank you for your lovely comment!

I need one of those little blushing icons now, because i have to fess up ... the baby birds didn't survive to be released. (I couldn't bring myself to put the sad bit in my post!)

The sparrow was less than a week old, just a smudge of fluff on his head, but otherwise totally naked, when we rescued him from Tizzy. Weeks later, he was as bright as a button and beginning to fly. But he didn't keep himself clean and so in the end i had to bath him, because I was so worried he would get an infection or something from the muck.

Sadly, I didn't realise how easily he would get cold ... oh I feel so bad! And the next day we woke up and he had died ...

Learnt from that and raised the starling in a fleece blanket nest in my plant propagator. Worked a treat but stupidly put it on top of the cupboard the telly is in, and he jumped out one day and hurt his wing fluttering behind the cupboard before i could get to him. Not sure if it was the injury or shock, but he dies on the way to the vets the next morning.

I'm actually dreading this year ... and the blackbirds in our garden have been very lovey dovey recently. Lots of babies soon, will have to get Mrs Tizzy Winkle a bigger bell (like one of those Swiss Cow bells ... that'd fettle her!)

:o)

Moondreamer said...

It was Helen, I loved it and I do miss it a lot. But GCSE maths is definitly way beyond me ...!

And it's maybe just as well, youngest daughter starting with the horrid teenage girl stuff now (though thankfully just general hormonal behaviour, not the totally tearaway behaviour of her big sister!) :o)

Lane Mathias said...

Hand made gifts are the best!

And I can't walk along the beach without pocketing a few pebbles although I know it's against the law... oo-er:-)

Moondreamer said...

I agree, Lane, both making them and receiving them from someone else.

Scarborough has sand beaches, so the stones we have found have been mostly while gardening or walking in the countryside round here. But if we had a pebble beach, I wouldn't be able to resist either!

:o)

Annieye said...

I can't believe I missed this lovely post yesterday. Your passion pebbles are a smashing idea. I admire you so much for teaching your poor daughter at home after she was bullied. It was lovely that it was such a good experience for you both and that it's turned out OK in the end.

I love reading these memes.

Moondreamer said...

Thank you, Annieye, what a lovely comment!

It's a shame I can't come on Wednesday, I could have brought you all a Passion Pebble ... you've got me thinking now, which words I'd choose for them!

Yes the schooling thing has worked out beautifully, it gave Meghan a year to take a breather and nurture her self-confidence, and she is now in the school of her choice, widely considered the best in Scarborough ... I certainly think so, not just from an educational view, but perhaps more importantly a social/emotional perspective.

In fact, I think this wonderful school is probably unique in the way they integrated Megs back into school. Perhaps one day I'll write a post about it!

Anyway, me too! I love memes, it's fascinating to read the different answers ... too much reading, not enough writing! :o)