Thirteen Un-interesting Things About Me

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back what you are." ~Thomas Dreier

Some people have bats in their belfries . . . we have sparrows in our eaves. I go to sleep at night whilst listening to them settle down for the evening and I wake up in the morning listening to them chitter and chirrup away. I am sure they are nesting and the eggs have now hatched . . . between the baby sparrows and the peacocks down the lane there is not a lot of sleep going on early in the morning these days! (Peacocks are very noisy birds!)



Alison of The Rabbit Hole has tagged me to write down "Thirteen Un-interesting Things About Me." I love this sort of thing, but don't know how un-interesting I can be. I have always found that reading these things about other people is very fascinating, and so I'm sure someone will find these things a bit fascinating about me as well! (I could be wrong, but who knows!) I'll try to make them as boring and uninteresting as I can!

1. I'm an early riser. I am up at the crack of dawn every day. I try to sleep in, but I can't help myself. If that sun is a rising then so am I!

2. I'm an early to bedder. (See number 1) It just stands to reason that if I am up at the crack of dawn then I'm to bed fairly early as well. Who was it who said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise?" I'm still waiting!!

3. I love animals and watching television shows about animals. I'm so excited because Bill Oddie's Spring Watch is about to begin again next week. I love watching all the nesting birds and fledglings and other animals he has on the show, especially the foxes and badgers. I don't like watching animals killing each other though. My head tells me that they have to do so in order to survive, but my heart doesn't like to see it.

4. I was once in a local summer school talent show with my sister, where we sang some stupid song, up on the stage, that I can no longer remember. What I do remember though, is hogging the micro-phone. I was such a ham and glutton for attention. It's kind of embarrassing now . . .

5. I love to read and always have done, although these days it generally puts me to sleep, and so I only have about a fifteen minute time slot to get it in before I am nodding off . This means it takes me months and months to get a novel read, although I do accomplish it eventually. It also means that I am no good as a member of a book club . . .

6. I miss snow. I always found the first snow fall of the year so very exciting! It would make my heart dance to see those first few flakes falling. It usually meant that Christmas was not far behind, my most favouritest time of year! We only very rarely get snow here it seems and we NEVER have it for Christmas . . . sigh . . .

7. I used to be an ardent counted cross stitcher. I always had a piece of work in my hands, the more complicated the better. I especially loved the patterns put out by Shepherd's Bush. They are lovely and include a lot of beading and intricate stitches. I love doing samplers, or I did at any rate. My old eyes don't co-operate so well these days so I very rarely do it anymore, but I have a box full of finished projects that need framing.

8. I get motion sick at the drop of a hat. I cannot even sit on a swing, as it makes me feel rather ill. I was real fun to go on long trips with as a child. I think I have vomited my way all across Canada and back again and now I'm starting on Europe! Wait . . . we lived in Germany when I was a little girl . . . so I'm fairly certain I've vomited across a fair bit of Europe as well. Two years ago when we were on holiday up North we went to go on a day trip across the Yorkshire Dales and Todd had to stop the car halfway across as I was feeling rather violently ill. I had forgotten to take my motion sickness medicine. I took it then and there and we had to wait about 20 minutes before we could proceed. It was rather nice though as we found a lovely trickling brook by the side of the road to explore and some sheep to watch.

9. My dad was in the air force, as was my ex husband, so I have done a lot of moving and travelling in my day. I have lived in every Canadian province except for Newfoundland, Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, although I have been to all those provinces at some point, if only to visit. I've also lived in Germany and now England. I love travelling and seeing new places and meeting new people!

10. I've been Baptised three times. Once when I was fifteen in the Baptist church back home. All my friends were doing it and so I thought to myself why not! You got to wear a white gown and everything. The water was cold and smelly and I was freezing afterwards. The second time was when I was in my late 30's and I wanted to make a commitment to Christ and to maybe help my ex to make the same commitment. This was in a Fellowship Baptist church. It didn't work. My ex never did make a commitment. The last time was in the church I belong to now, and I consider that one to have been the only one that truly counted, for it was the only one where I actually felt truly changed as I came out of the water, and touched to the very heart of me. It was a pretty wonderful feeling.

11. I love chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies, and chocolate candy . . . but I cannot stand chocolate milk or chocolate ice cream . . . I know weird! Todd is the opposite. He likes hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream but can't stand chocolate in the cake/cookie/brownie form! He does like chocolate candy though.

12. I have been married three times, which is not something I am proud of. I wish I could say that I had gotten it right the first time, and only been married once and was getting ready to celebrate my umpteenth anniversary, but alas . . . it took me three times to finally get it right. I think that the reasons you get married for at 45 are completely different than the reasons you get married for at 19. Back then I was going for cute and sexy . . . the last time I was going for someone I actually had something in common with, and who liked to do the same things as I did and who I enjoyed being with on a great many levels. I often wish we had met each other a lot sooner so we could have had a family together. Never mind . . . he gets to enjoy my children anyways, and he considers them to be his family too. It's just too bad there is a whole ocean between us all.

13. (Whew!) I like to eat almost as much as I like to cook, maybe even more! (unfortunately for my waistline!) I've always been a pretty good cook and that could be because I love food so much. I sometimes wish I didn't . . . love food so much, that is. But I guess I can only be me, and that is a part of who I am, and I love being me. I just sometimes wish there wasn't so much of me to love. My son, Bruce, always used to say to me, "Mom, you're not fat. You're just fluffy!" I like his way of thinking.



I see Jam Jams were the winner of this past weeks Make Me Bake poll so look for them real soon! They're one of my favourite cookies so you guys did well!

Someone recently gave me the "You Make My Day" award. I am so sorry that I can't remember who it was. Do you think you could possibly jog my memory? (I feel like such a cad!) I really want to accept it and to give credit where credit is due! I need to write these things down from now on. This menopausal brain of mine keeps letting me down!



We had the missionaries over for supper last night and enjoyed a wonderful meal with them. I made a delicious Strawberry Rhubarb pie for dessert. I just love this time of year when the rhubarb is in season and the strawberries are starting up. Rhubarb and strawberries are the perfect combination! The recipe that I use is actually a combination of several recipes that I have made and liked. I love it and I hope that you like it too!



*Strawberry Rhubarb Pie*
Makes one nine-inch pie

This is a delicious pie that combines the sweetness of fresh spring strawberries with the tartness of rhubarb all encased in a delicious egg custard and topped with a yummy cinnamon and brown sugar streusal. This truly is to die for!

1 9-inch unbaked deep pie shell
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch slices
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
TOPPING:
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Line your pie dish with the pastry, trimming and crimping the edges. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.

Beat together the eggs, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg, mixing well. Mix together the chopped rhubarb and sliced berries. Place them into the prepared pie shell. Pour the egg mixture evenly over top.

Combine the dry ingredients of the topping. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle this evenly over top of the fruit.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the filling is barely set and the crumbs are crispy and golden. You may have to shield the pie with some foil if the crust is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold, cut into thick slices, with either ice cream or pouring cream. Delicious!