It's All About Me! Me!

I have been asked by Tuesday Kid to compile a list of eight pointless things about myself. As I am going to Darkest Wales tomorrow I will comply. For I may be some time away. Don't wait up.

1. So gently reared was I, that I had never heard the word 'fuck' uttered until I was twelve years old. I first heard it in Saint Louis Convent Grammar School, Cullybackey Road, Ballymena. By jings, my da was right when he said the nuns would give me a good education.
2. I was seventeen and a half, and a student nurse working on a psycho-geriatric ward, when I formulated my first opinions on euthanasia. 
3. I prefer dogs to children. Except, of course, the Young Banjos, and my own when they were younguns, and a few other well-mannered ones and, last but not least, my future grandchildren which I prefer over every creature alive.  
4. I prefer children to guinea pigs and hamsters.
5. I never had a perky bust. I went from having a flat chest to being the reluctant owner of a low-slung and matronly bosom. Overnight.
6. I think Christmas is over-rated. That's when I'm feeling positive. When I'm depressed I think it puts a blight on the whole year.
7. I'm ashamed that I once found Bono attractive.
8. I've never been to Wales.
   

Book Meme

Interesting, if complicated, meme found at Seeking Xanadu.

The BBC say that most people will have read only six of these. But we're not most people, are we?

Instructions:
1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you've read only a part of.
3) Add a '#' to those you were supposed to have read in school, but didn't.
4) Underline the ones you LOVE.
5) Set small those you plan on reading.
6) Set large those you did not read, but saw the movie!
7) Strikethrough those you really didn't like.
8) Tally your total at the bottom.

• 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

• 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

• 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

• 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

• 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

• 6 The Bible

• 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

• 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

• 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

• 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

• 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

• 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

• 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

• 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

• 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

• 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

• 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

• 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

• 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

• 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

• 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

• 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

• 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

• 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

• 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

• 26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

• 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

• 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

• 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

• 31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

• 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

• 33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

• 34 Emma - Jane Austen

• 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

• 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

• 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

• 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

• 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

• 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

• 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

• 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

• 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

• 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

• 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

• 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

• 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

• 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

• 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

• 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

• 52 Dune - Frank Herbert

• 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

• 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

• 55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

• 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

• 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

• 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

• 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

• 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

• 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

• 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

• 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

• 65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

• 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

• 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

• 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

• 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

• 70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

• 71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

• 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

• 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

• 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

• 75 Ulysses - James Joyce

• 76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

• 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

• 78 Germinal - Emile Zola

• 79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

• 80 Possession - AS Byatt

• 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

• 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

• 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

• 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

• 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

• 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

• 87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

• 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

• 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

• 91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

• 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

• 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

• 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

• 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

• 96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

• 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

• 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

• 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

• 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
  

• 
  

So 47 read completely.
12 partly read
1 only watched in cinematic form
12 I loved
2 not so much

I'm adding a category. I own at least 69 of these books, which gives some indication of the number of books in the 'to be read' category.

One other thing. I thought this list was slightly skewed towards women's reading preferences.

Q&A

Meme on loan from Grannymar

Only one word can be used in your answer and it can NOT be used twice.

1. Where is your cell phone? Bedroom

2. Your significant other? Whistling

3. Your hair? White

4. Your mother? Home

5. Your father? Dead

6. Your favourite time of day? Morning

7. Your dream last night? Confused

8. Your favourite drink? Coffee

9. Your dream goal? Grandchildren

10. The room you’re in? Kitchen

11. Your ex? English

12. Your fear? Fire

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Garden

14. What you are not? Young

15. Your Favourite meal? Breakfast

16. One of your wish list items? Health

17. The last thing you did? Hugged

18. Where you grew up? Drumkeeran

19. What are you wearing? Sleepwear

20. Your TV is? Off

21. Your pets? Dogs

22. Your computer? Table

23. Your life? Busy

24. Your mood? Overhung

25. Missing someone? Katy

26. Your car? Battered

27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes

28. Favourite store? Charity

29. Your summer? Light

30. Your favourite colour? Red

31. When is the last time you laughed? Ten

32. When is the last time you cried? Thursday

33. Your health? Robust

34. Your children? Three

35. Your future? Hopeful

36. Your beliefs? Many

37. Young or old? Old

38. Your image? Ordinary

39. Your appearance? Ruddy

40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? Yes

A Barefoot Colleen*

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

*That's what Matty used to call me when I was a girl. It embarrassed her that I liked to run around in my bare feet. I think she was worried that people might think she couldn't afford to keep me shod. Despite this result, these days I like my shoes and boots and have plenty of them. I love shopping at TK Maxx and the outlet stores. I rarely spend more than fifty pounds on a pair of shoes. I like them to be fairly plain, reasonably stylish and, above all, comfortable.

Thanks to Grannymar for this meme.

After All I Am Famed For My Farting

You Are 36% Lady

And 64% Pure Savage You tend to make up your rules of etiquette, throwing all conventions aside. And while you try to be a lady (sometimes), your behavior is often quite shocking.

Are You A Lady?

Bonnie Speaks Out

Bonnie got tagged by Hails's super-intelligent cat Kat! And being a good, dutiful and obedient dog she has composed the following for me to copy to Nelly's Garden.

First - the rules

1. link to the person who tagged you.

2. post the rules on your blog.

3. share six non-important things/ habits/ quirks about yourself

4. tag at least 3 mammals at the end of the post and link to their blog

5. let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Bonnie's post

I don't actually have a blog which is why I'm using Nelly's. I do have a Bebo page but I hardly ever look at it as Bebo's a bit naff. Nelly uses it to hunt out recent photographs of her old boyfriends on their children's Bebo pages. But hey! that's one of Nelly's quirks, not mine. She'll bloody kill me for telling youse about that Bebo stuff.

1. They don't know what age I am. See they 'rescued' me about 15 months ago when I was on the scunge with this Labrador. Truth is they know damn all about me. They'd heard I was ill-treated and sure I wasn't in the best of shape. But then who'd be in great shape if they weren't getting enough grub? Nelly wasn't that keen on keeping me at the start but I could tell she liked me. I took a bit of a notion of her too so I did that thing us dogs do on soft people like her. I just kept looking at her with big, sad and googly eyes and had her by the third day.

2. Unlike those other two eedjit dogs I don't do the scunging thing any more. Don't get me wrong - I like a bit of a run out as much as the next dog - but knowing my luck somebody would nab me and keep me just like Nelly did and maybe next time I wouldn't like my dognapper so much. Another thing about not doing scunging is that when the other two get away Nelly says things to me like, "At least we've got one good dog," and gives me lots of extra attention. I like attention. Anyway Nelly takes me out every single time she goes for a walk. Them other two have to take turns.

3. I'm a bit of a cat fan. Their cat is a total arse but you couldn't help but love it. Even Bert likes it and he totally hates cats. He calls it His Wee Titty.

4. I'm a bit affronted to be telling you this but I'm not actually that brave. People associate us German Shepherds with aggression and security and fearlessness. But strange dogs frighten me. What I really hate are those dogs that slippytit out of gateways and start attacking me when I'm out walking with Nells. I actually get scared going past gateways and walk as far away from them as I can.

5. I like pigs. But they don't like me. I like chasing them even if they just run round in boring circles. Nelly laughs and says, "If Clint could see her running the bacon off them!"

6. Before I get into a van or car I need to run around it once or twice to make sure that there are no enemies hiding underneath it. I don't know what I'd actually do if there was an enemy lurking there. S'pose I'd just bark a lot and hope somebody'd come and poke at them with a sharp stick.

I'm tagging

Gracie

Paddy

Tycho

Although I don't think Tycho will oblige. I hear his master never lets anybody near his oul blog. Then Tycho is a pedigree and probably too snobby to mix with us hoi-polloi. And of course he's awfully young. Probably doesn't even know about blogging yet. Or Bebo.

Nineteen

Courtesy of Ronni & Baboon Pirates.

I thought 7 of these were crap. Five were OK, six were pretty good and American History X was the best of the lot.

One or two of the others I've seen bits of but not watched all the way through. Forrest Gump is one of those. The most recent film I watched was the 4o year old virgin one. It was shite. Waterworld was shite too.

Rocky Horror Picture Show
Grease
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
Boondock Saints
Fight Club
Starsky and Hutch
Neverending Story
Blazing Saddles
Universal Soldier
Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Along Came Polly
Deep Impact
King Pin
Never Been Kissed
Meet The Parents
Meet the Fockers
Eight Crazy Nights
Joe Dirt
King Kong (1933)
King Kong (1976)
King Kong (2005)

Total so far: 4

A Cinderella Story
The Terminal
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Passport to Paris
Dumb & Dumber
Dumber & Dumberer (filmed right here in May-Retta!)
Final Destination
Final Destination 2
Final Destination 3
Halloween
The Ring
The Ring 2
Surviving X-Mas
Flubber

Total so far: 5

Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Practical Magic
Chicago
Ghost Ship
From Hell
Hellboy
Secret Window
I Am Sam
The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 5

The Day After Tomorrow
Child’s Play
Seed of Chucky
Bride of Chucky
Ten Things I Hate About You
Just Married
Gothika
Nightmare on Elm Street
Sixteen Candles
Remember the Titans
Coach Carter
The Grudge
The Grudge 2
The Mask
Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 5

Bad Boys
Bad Boys 2
Joy Ride
Lucky Number Slevin
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Twelve
Bourne Identity
Bourne Supremacy
Lone Star
Bedazzled--the 60s version
Predator
Predator II
The Fog
Ice Age
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
Curious George

Total so far: 5

Independence Day
Cujo
A Bronx Tale
Darkness Falls
Christine
ET
Children of the Corn
My Boss’s Daughter
Maid in Manhattan
War of the Worlds (1953)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Rush Hour
Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 8

Best Bet
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
She’s All That
Calendar Girls
Sideways
Mars Attacks!
Event Horizon
Ever After
The Wizard of Oz
Forrest Gump
Big Trouble in Little China
The Terminator
The Terminator 2
The Terminator 3

Total so far: 8

X-Men
X-2
X-3
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Sky High
Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers 2
Catch Me If You Can
The Little Mermaid
Freaky Friday
Reign of Fire
The Skulls
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions 2
The Hot Chick
Shrek
Shrek 2
Shrek 3

Total so far: 9

Swimfan
Miracle on 34th Street
Old School
The Notebook
K-PAX
Krippendorf’s Tribe
A Walk to Remember
Ice Castles
Boogeyman
The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Total so far: 11

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 11

Baseketball
Hostel
Waiting for Guffman
House of 1000 Corpses
Devil’s Rejects
Elf
Highlander
Mothman Prophecies
American History X
Three

Total so far: 13

The Jacket
Kung Fu Hustle
Shaolin Soccer
Night Watch
Monsters, Inc.
Titanic
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Shaun Of the Dead
Willard

Total so far: 15

High Tension
Club Dread
Hulk
Dawn Of the Dead
Hook
Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
28 days later
Orgazmo
Phantasm
Waterworld

Total so far: 17

Kill Bill, Volume 1
Kill Bill, Volume 2
Mortal Kombat
Wolf Creek
Kingdom of Heaven
The Hills Have Eyes
I Spit on Your Grave, AKA The Day of the Woman
The Last House on the Left
Re-Animator
Army of Darkness

Total so far: 17

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage, AKA The Ewok Adventure
Ewoks: The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 18

The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Animatrix
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Team America: World Police
Red Dragon
Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal

TOTAL 19

Could Be Worser

62%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Los Angeles Singles from Mingle²

Found at Ed's place.


Ganching - you must do this

Randomness

I've been tagged by Ronni to do this meme. I've maybe been here before but I disremember.

1. I know all my times-tables up to 13. This is thanks to my primary school teacher Cassie who, literally, battered them into us.

2. When I was ten I read a book about a pious child called Elsie Dinsmore. This inspired me to fantasise about scenarios in which I led Elsie into all kinds of mischief and evil. In my imaginings Elsie would cry piteously as I encouraged her to do all kinds of wicked things. I don't think this was the effect that the author had hoped for.

3. Since childhood the song I loathe more than any other song ever written is 'I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair.' I think I may have heard it scraiked by one tuneless Aunt too many. It didn't help that I have a sister with a name not dissimilar to Jeannie and who had a head of glossy, light brown hair. I wonder if my detestation of the tune stems from my disliking her getting a bit of the attention for a change. Bert is currently learning this melody and I fantasise hourly about doing unspeakable things to his clarinet.

4. The first time I ever went to the cinema (to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in Randalstown!) my sophisticated, urban cousin Kathleen did not explain to me or my sister that the cinema seats pushed down and allowed us country cousins to perch most uncomfortably on the edge of the upturned seats. Fair play to her she perched there too . Despite this I still enjoyed the film although my arse didn't.

5. I'm not much travelled. I was over 40 before I got a passport. The first place I ever visited outside the British Isles was South Africa. The last place was the USA. I've never even been to France or Spain.

6. Apparently I'm barred from working for the NHS. When I was an 18-year old student nurse I walked out of Holywell hospital after a row with Matron. She spat at me as I walked out the door, "I'll see to it that you never work in a hospital again!"

7. I was a breech baby and weighed 5 and a half pounds at birth. I stayed at a low weight for quite a while. When I was about nine months old I got pneumonia and was admitted to hospital. Matty signed me out because I got serious nappy rash. When I was about a year I got hold of the dog's worm tablets and dosed myself. Matty said I never looked back after this.

No tagging as is my custom. You canna if you wanna.

A Good Read?

This meme I've borrowed from El Capitan and Ronni. I've made my own variation in that I'm not just bold-facing the ones I've read but highlighting in red the ones I own and haven't read (yet). It's a funny old list. I don't think Mr Bolan will think much of it.


1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (J. R. R. Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (J. R. R. Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (J. R. R. Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J. K. Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J. K. Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (J. K. Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J. K. Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
21. The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. The Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (George Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J. K. Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’s Diary (Helen Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Márquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E. B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Michael Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I didn't list any additional books, as my friends from Texas did, but I have read huge amounts of Stephen King, John Irving, du Maurier and all of the Narnia books plus a few other CS Lewis including his SF trilogy.

I've also read almost everything Steinbeck published (not Travels With Charley), a fair bit of Fitzgerald, loads of Dickens and all but a couple of Kingsolver.

Some I've started and not finished - the Bible, Ulysses, LOTR, War & Peace to name the most notable.

Some of the books that I have read were diabolical wastes of time. Dishonourable mentions to Rowling, Fielding, Brown and Archer.

The Last Of Christmas

Christmas Meme

El Capitan tagged me with this. It’s still Christmas so...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. This year I didn’t have to buy any as I’d loads left over from last year and I remembered where I’d left it. And I bought hardly any presents.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Real. We have thousands of the buggers growing in the fields. They are starting to get rather big.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Awfully close to Christmas unless some darling person, like Hannah, does it for me.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Holly de Cat is already working on the dismantling. I’ll finish the job next weekend. This weekend I’ve got the young Banjos coming to stay.

5. Do you like eggnog?
It’s vile beyond belief.

6. Favourite gift you received as a child?
My first tricycle.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No. I’m going to ask Zoë to knit me one for next year.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Katy. Amazon won’t let me send her present.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Bert. He’s happy with anything.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I haven’t sent Christmas cards for more than ten years.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
This is a public blog. I loved all my gifts.

12. Favourite Christmas movie?
Don’t have one.


13. When do you start shopping?
In a bad year the week before Christmas

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes.

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas?
Turkey, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, pudding, trifle, chocolate, mince pies, cake….

16. Clear lights or coloured on the tree?
Coloured

17. Favourite Christmas song?
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Home.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeers?
Not without googling.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
The kitten chewed the angel so it was a star.

21. Open the presents on Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The commercial aspect of Christmas. People buying cruddy crap that nobody sane should want. Shopping frenzies.

23. Do you have Jesus in your heart this Christmas?
No. Too many people have preached at me this year and I’m feeling peeved with God-botherers.

24. What would you like for Christmas?
Exactly the same as El Capitan. A ball of money to pay off debts. Then I’d live within my means for ever. Swear I would.

I shan’t tag anyone. Only if you feel like it.

Have You Ever?

Have you ever? My yessirs are in red. This meme found at anyresemblance.

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink

02. Swam with wild dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said “I love you’ and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern/Southern Lights (Northern)

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s nappy

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Got drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Visited all 7 states and territories in Australia

40. Taken care of someone who was drunk

41. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

42. Watched wild whales

43. Stolen a sign

44. Backpacked in Europe

45. Taken a road-trip

46. Gone rock climbing

48. Midnight walk on the beach

49. Gone sky diving

50. Taken a train through Europe

51. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

52. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table, and had a meal with them

53. Milked a cow

54. Alphabetized your CDs – did it with books

55. Sung karaoke

56. Lounged around in bed all day

57. Gone scuba diving

58. Kissed in the rain

59. Gone to a drive-in theatre

60. Started a business

61. Taken a martial arts class

62. Been in a movie

63. Crashed a party

64. Gone without food for 5 days

65. Gotten a tattoo

66. Got flowers for no reason

67. Performed on stage

68. Been to Las Vegas

69. Recorded music

70. Eaten shark

71. Buried one or/both of your parents

72. Been on a cruise ship

73. Spoken more than one language fluently

74. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

75. Walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge

76. Had plastic surgery

77. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

78. Wrote articles for a large publication

77. Lost over 50 kilos

79. Piloted an airplane

80. Petted a stingray

81. Broken someone’s heart

82. Broken a bone

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Parasailed

86. Skipped all your school reunions

87. Shaved your head

88. Caused a car accident

89. Pretended to be "sick"

90. Surfed in the ocean

91. Saved someone's life

92. Fainted

93. Been in the room while someone is giving birth

94. Hitchhiked

95. Adopted a child

96. Been caught daydreaming

97. Been to Ayers Rock

98. Called off a wedding engagement

99. Donated your blood

100. Become a follower of Jesus Christ

Four Things

I’m really gutted that no-one has tagged me to do this.

Four things which may or may not be true about me.

a) Four jobs I have had in my life.

· Barmaid

· Nurse

· Market Trader

· Clerical Officer

b) Four movies I would watch over and over again

· Midnight Cowboy

· Shrek

· Flash Dance

· Trainspotting

c) Four places I have lived.

· Antrim

· Belfast

· Holland Park

· Stoke-on-Trent

d) Four TV shows I love to watch

· The Simpsons

· The X-Factor

· Big Brother

· Lost

e) Four places I have visited

· Lisbon

· Hogsback

· New Orleans

· Malaga

f) Four websites I visit daily

· Zoe

· Hannah

· Walrilla

· Ganching

g) Four places I would like to be right now

· Tinkertown

· Botswana

· Darwin

· Texas

h) Four of my favourite foods

· Chocolate

· Pilchards

· Spinach

· Avocado

I) Four bloggers I would like to respond

^Anyone

There is one untruth per section

Recap

I read this here and here thought it might be fun.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Started a blog

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yes. I gave up smoking on 15th March 2004. An unexpected consequence of doing so was that I drastically reduced my usage of cannabis. Sadly I increased my weight by about 20lbs so hopefully that will come off next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes - my beloved dog Danny at 16 years old

5. What countries did you visit? None. But I did visit North Yorkshire for the first time.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? A waistline.

7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 17th March because I got my dog Paddy on that day.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Giving up smoking.

9. What was your biggest failure? Forgetting to grow brussels sprouts.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I lost a dearly loved tooth.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Paddy.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Bert for being an all round brilliant fellow who cooked not one but two Christmas dinners.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? David Beckham, only joking. No-one I know.

14. Where did most of your money go? Ebay. But I’m over it.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Blogging.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004? The Lyre of Orpheus – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fat as f**k.
iii. richer or poorer? Much poorer as I reduced my hours at work.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Walking.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Chocolate and jelly babies.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Working, eating, drinking, spending, family, friends

22. Did you fall in love in 2004? Yes – with Paddy.

23. How many one-night stands? None

24. What was your favorite TV program? Goodness me, I don’t really watch TV except for the news and the occasional ‘reality show’

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No. Hating people is bad for me

26. What was the best book you read? They were all damn good. I can’t be arsed reading crappy books any more.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? That it is never too late to take up a musical instrument

28. What did you want and get? A vegetable garden

[Hey! Where the hell is #29?]

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Shrek 2. I don’t get out much

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I ignored it. 51

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A holiday

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Outsize

34. What kept you sane? Seroxat

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Catch yourself on.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The War, the US election and the pathetic posturing of local politicians.

37. Who did you miss? Katy & Hannah.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I'm in agreement with Lawyer Guy who I quote “All of my faithful blog readers. *wink* Thanks so much!!”

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: Keep cool. Don’t worry.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Skippy,
Skippy,
Skippy a friend ever true

Skippy,
Skippy,
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo