Wednesday 21 April 2010

I've been tagged

Karen at Random Reflections tagged me on her blog last week. I've been a bit slow getting round to writing this post but here goes :) Ten things that make me happy:
  • Family Jon and I both have large families (Jon was one of 10 children and I was one of 5) and we enjoy getting together with them. Unfortunately some of the family live overseas and we don't get to see them as often as we would like but when we do, we make the most of it.
  • Friends I've never been one to have lots of friends, I tend to have a smaller group of friends that I enjoy getting together with. Growing up I had one or two close friends, the number grew as I got older but I can still count good friends on my hands.
  • Photography My Dad has always been a keen photographer and I think I picked up my love of photography from him. I certainly remember having a camera from a young age and taking loads of photographs. Nothing has changed, apart from the cameras ;o), I still love to take photos and consider them one of my most treasured possessions. One of my worst nightmares would be to lose my photos.
  • The Seasons Growing up just outside Durban in South Africa, we had warm weather virtually all year round. I didn't own a coat until I came to live in the UK. Now, I love the changing seasons - Spring and Autumn for the colour they bring and Summer for the warmth (hopefully). Winter I enjoy until we get to about February and then I'm ready for Spring to start ;o)
  • Warmth My circulation is not very good (hence the chilblains) so I love warmth. Not central heating but warm sunshine. I love walking barefoot on warm grass and by February that is what I long for. Once the sun starts shining and warming up, the socks and shoes come off and sandals/flip flops take their place (again, hence the chilblains ;o) )
  • A good book While we were growing up, Mum was the chief librarian in New Germany. We spent a number of hours in the library - after school, during the holidays, etc. We got to read the new books first and loved when there was a book exchange. I find it strange that I don't use the library here more often - perhaps it's because I forget to return the books on time and end up with fines!
  • Crafting Again, for almost as long as I can remember I've enjoyed different crafts. My main ones at the moment are sewing, knitting and scrapbooking. Quilting and patchwork and Scrapbooking are the ones I've picked up in the past few years and I'm so glad I did!
  • Travel My first overseas trip was when I was 22. I flew from SA to the UK on my own, I met relatives I hadn't seen since I was 3 and did a Kontiki tour around Europe for two weeks. I saw so many places and it was such a wonderful experience. Since moving to the UK we've still managed to do some travelling but not for the last few years :o(
  • A job well done This may seem a strange thing to put down but doing or making something that turns out well makes me very happy. I get great satisfaction from I job I consider to be well done.
  • Being outside Back to the weather ;o). Having grown up in South Africa, most of my childhood was spent outside. I don't remember having lots of toys because we didn't need them. We had our bicycles and would ride around the neighbourhood and went on "adventures" with our friends. As I grew up time was still spent outside, at the pool, on the beach, out and about with friends. To this day, when the weather is warm enough, we spend a lot of time outside having braai's with family and friends or just sitting in the garden. I love it!

Five Random Facts

  • I was born in Scotland and moved to South Africa with my parents and siblings when I was three years old. I lived in South Africa for 26 years before moving back to England.
  • I used to be a very organised person before I had children. Somehow it all went downhill but I would love to be organised again ;o)
  • I enjoy my own company. I can spend hours on my own without ever being bored. I enjoy the times when I have the house to myself and will happily switch off all tvs/radios/music to have peace and quiet.
  • As a child/young adult, I used to blush terribly. Needless to say this used to be a great source of amusement for some of my friends/work colleagues who would say things just to make me blush. I'm glad I've outgrown that phase (most of the time).
  • I started crocheting when I was about 8 or 9 and used to crochet baby matinee jackets and sell them to the teachers in my Primary School.

I'm supposed to tag 5 people but seeing as Karen and I read a lot of the same blogs, I'm going to leave this one open to anyone who would like to give it a go. If you take part please leave me a comment so that I can come and read your post :o). Thank you Karen, I thought it was going to be more difficult but it was fun!

xx