I was tagged by Clare, Beth and Maryc, so I decided I would try and come up with eight things about me. The rules of this tag are:
Each person posts the rules before their list and then they list eight things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to other people; then visits those people’s sites and comments, letting them know that they have been tagged, and to come read the post, so they know what they have to do.
1. I love popcorn … the homemade kind that is slathered in butter with a smidgen of salt. And every summer, along with popcorn, I find myself consuming vast numbers of sunflower seeds. Every summer, I also vow that I will forego my seed-eating activity since I find shells everywhere for months afterward.
2. Jigsaw puzzles are my friends. I am currently working on a series of cat ones that are really cool. I should post a picture of them.
My biggest challenge is keeping Lytton, the big, brown dog, from walking over them, since I always do puzzles on the floor. Maybe it has something to do with all the jigsaws that I have put together over the years with my younger sister, Caroline, and the good memories I have of those times…
3. Since the late 1970s, I’ve collected cool art greeting cards, bookmarks, wrapping paper, stickers, rubber stamps, embossing powders, glitter glues and postage stamps. It’s a bad vice, although they are coming in handy with my latest projects.
4. I think I’ve already mentioned this in a past blog entry, but I find filling wood surfaces and sanding them incredibly therapeutic. This popped to mind since I am covered in sanding dust from my garage wall this afternoon.
Thankfully I discovered sanding and have no doubt saved myself beaucoup de dollars in psychotherapy. And to further my sanding endeavours and as a salve for my broken heart this summer, I invested in a Dremel … now that is one cool little tool because it sands, cuts, polishes and drills and comes with all these cute little attachments.
5. Oh, and I have a mean streak. This past summer, I watched tent caterpillars stripping trees of their leaves and so, when they marched along the fence I was building a trellis on, I simply cut them in half. That didn’t stop their brethren from marching right behind them to meet the
same fate. Let’s just hope that I don’t come back as a tent caterpillar in my next life!!
6. For not having a smidgen of interest either in Canadian or in American football, I now have an encyclopedic knowledge of both courtesy of my fourteen-year-old son.
What we mothers sacrifice for the sake of our children, huh? I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my son lost interest in hockey several years’ ago, although, to my horror, I think the interest was rekindled this past NHL hockey season.
7. Since I can remember, I have always had an insatiable desire to read – anything, anywhere, anytime. Never content to read one book at a time, I have stacks of books that I delve into depending on my mood and latest interests.
8. I rarely remember the names of movies I’ve seen, although I doubt I will ever forget The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film I saw recently. It was powerful beyond words.
Now it’s my turn to tag but I think I will do as GottaGarden, Jodi and Layanee have … if eight people who next read my blog would like to write eight (or seven) random facts about themselves, please do so. Just remember to quote the rules and to keep the tag going!
in the autumn light 
I like jigsaw puzzles too. I think it’s because each piece represents a problem (relatively) easily solved. When you fit it into the proper place, or get a little section worked out, it’s supremely satisfying!
Hi, Kate, I enjoyed reading this. We have a few things in common: I love popcorn and jigsaw puzzles, too!
Hi Kate – just caught up on your posts of the last couple weeks – your gardens are looking great – I love the blue delphinium – my blues didn’t really do anything this year, just the purple. Hope they come back next year.Loved your post – I love popcorn too – my mom used to make popcorn and fudge every Sunday night when we were little – still one of my favorite taste combinations!! Thanks for sharing fun things about you with all of us!
A great list, Kate! I, too, have more than one book going at any one time. I love re-reading old favorites as well.
Dear Kate,It is so good to know you better. I will need to look into your archives to examine your broken heart? Perhaps your love of jigsaw puzzles is really a therapeutic device. You are mending very well, I think.You write so well. Your heart is open and you are so generous, even when your “mean streak” rises :o) We all have one!!!Thanks for sharing. I’ve been tagged also and I will share, too, when I get out of this funk. And, I will.Enjoy your son. Boys his age are full of life and a good distraction from the mundane things! Yes?
A Dremel! Now you can drill holes in nuts and string them as holiday decorations like Martha Stewart… I could never figure out how she could do it without drilling her fingers. What a fun post, Kate – thanks from your fellow scissor-using friend, Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Beth – I hadn’t thought of jigsaw puzzles in that way. It makes sense though.Christa- Eating popcorn while putting together a jigsaw is even better (as long as you don’t get butter all over the puzzle pieces)!Kris – The blue Delphiniums are making a good showing this year. Last year, I had mostly purple ones and a pink one, which seems to have morphed into a blue/pink electric colour. I’m glad you’re back from your holiday. The thought of fudge and popcorn together is one that I certainly would never forget. Chocolate’s another one of my favourite food groups.Nikki – I like reading favourite books more than once … and it would feel quite strange if I didn’t have a bunch of different books on the go at one time!Mary – It’s good to see you and I will be looking forward to learning more about you from your tag. But, take your time getting back to writing and photographing … a break is always good for the soul. And so true about sons – they are a great distraction. Oh Annie, if I ever tried drilling holes in nuts like Martha Stewart, I’d probably end up stringing up my severed fingers (that is plain gross!!) Wherever does she come up with these ideas from? It does my heart good to know that I’m not the only scissor-wielding fiend!!
That’s a thoughtful list, Kate! We are cooling down with a few rainy periods up here in northern SK, but we did have one scorcher of a weekend. The plants revelled in it, but so did the weeds.
Boy kate, you have been busy! I haven’t visited for way too long!We don’t have squirrels here – how cute, but we do have possums!Meganx
Memes are too much like those ‘what’s your favorite…” books girls used to pass around in grade school a long time ago. Oh, don’t be such a grouch, Ki.The photo of the pink looks lovely. I noticed you use pea gravel for mulch. Is there any advantage to using it over the more commonly used bark?
Hi KateYour garden is looking lovely! I love popcorn (prefer homemade too) and jigsaws (but only when I know that all the pieces are in the box!).Kimx
Gardenista – it’s too bad that the weeds flourish as much as or more than our flowers in hot weather. Megan – I wonder if possums pull the same kind of tricks in gardens as do squirrels. My cute squirrel is busy burying things – someone must be feeding him peanuts because I keep finding them. Ki – Well, I figure once in awhile, I can participate for fun. I used this gravel because it looks good and keeps off the weeds (and I finally finished emptying the aquarium. that was the gravel from it … it’s only taken me a few months to empty the aquarium this year!! Too much to do with fish and ponds, I think sometimes!). I really like the intense colour of this Pink.Kim – I so know what you mean. When I was doing a puzzle a few months’ ago, I was missing one piece… this is the problem when Lytton musses up the puzzle. It turned out that the piece was hiding under a rug. grrr…
LOL about your mean streak.. I bet my kids would say mine is a ALOT worse than yours.. although I don’t collect cool greeting cards, I hand make mine as another hobby I dabble in..
Just visiting you Kate. I love your boungaville flower. Mine is done flowering.
Hi Kate! Thanks for playing along with the tag — I enjoyed reading your answers! I like lots of salt on my popcorn along with lots of butter, and I love puzzles too. You are daring to do them on the floor with Lytton around — I could never do that with the Moose. He has a habit of dropping to the floor and rolling on whatever happens to be under him. Your mean streak with the caterpillars made me gasp, and then laugh hysterically. I love how you wrote that part! And I’m really glad that sanding has been healing — I am so sorry you had to go through a broken heart. It does help to have something to throw ourselves into when that happens. I love how handy and creative you are, too. You are very cool, Kate!:)
thanks Kate for leaving a note at true dirt so i could come visit your lovely smudges of thought
Hey what a fabulous post!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s such a true picture of you (you left out one part though…by failing to admit that you love to do the “exciting” parts of the jigsaw, (might I remind u of the “babies”) and then you tend to lose interest in the boring parts such as the millions of white pillows the babies are laying on… believe me, I speak from experience on that one!!!! LYL C
Dirty Fingernails … Cool that you make your own greeting cards. It was fun visiting your blog. Lady Seashells … thank you for visiting again. I can’t believe the bougainvillea is blooming as much as it is!Clare … That is what Lytton does to my puzzles, though I can mostly barricade him away with a table and chair. I wasn’t sure if I should admit to my treatment of caterpillars. But then, I figured it’s a part of me so why not share ? Briggs … True Dirt is a great blog. Your piece on roses was amazing. And I love the Shelley poem. Caro … ah yes, the baby puzzle… one that is best forgotten! There were just too many squares of white blankets to do and we had so many other puzzs that needed our attention. I think I’m going to figure out a way to ditch that puzzle.
hahahah your pup’s little friend is cute! i bet you have the best collection of stationary and stamps, i love that stuff too. i buy so much more than i use!
Kate,I love reading these posts. It is so much fun to find out about people you know you share an interest with and whom you communicate with on a regular basis but who you really never get to see face to face.BTW I’m a jigsaw puzzle freak. I don’t keep them in the house because if I did that is all I would do and I don’t have the time. Isn’t having boys fun?
I will not be indulging you with 8 things about me cuz I can’t think of 8…lol…I would still like to say I enjoyed reading the 8 things about you! Thanks for reading my special needs home educate blog as its a new adventure and a real challenge for me! For your son to have a great team like that at school is fabulous! I’m so jealous…LOLMy son started with a great team, just a bad principal…LOL
Loved your random things and now I want some popcorn!