Thursday 28 October 2010

Four things about me

Hello, lovelies (oh, and hello to the newbies - thanks for joining us on this crazy planet!). Well, today we didn’t have any disasters happen, unlike yesterday. I really appreciate all your supportive comments and it was comforting to know that a lot of you have similar horror stories.

On a brighter note, I have been the thrilled recipient of some blog love this week (more on that next time). To start with, a few days ago, the delightful Amanda at Homely One kindly tagged me in her post Four Things. Amanda has been blogging for just over a year and writes engagingly about her loves for her little daughter, Grace, cooking, crafting and decorating. Do stop by her blog and say hello if you have a chance. So, here goes! Here are some titbits about me.

Four things that are usually in my handbag
1. My trusty blue floral Envirosax fold-up shopping bag (fabulous when running errands or stopping by at the supermarket for a quick top-up shop, especially when I have heaps to carry as well as hold the pixies’ hands)

2. My favourite MAC matte lipstick, Eden Rocks, a brilliant all-rounder which fits in with my busy life and never lets me down

3. My small navy and white Studio Antic spiral-bound notebook for jotting down web addresses, blog ideas and names of books I’d like to buy (usually used on the rare occasion when I’m sitting down, relaxing at the hairdresser’s and reading magazines)

4. My Ego SunSense Toddler Milk 30+ roll-on sunscreen (I’m always prepared, like a good Girl Guide, to ensure the pixies don’t get sunburnt)

Four things that are in my bedroom

1. My little collection of pottery colonial cottages (made in Hobart by Pauline Shugg of Moonpenny Pottery – they are mainly based on houses found in Hobart. I love the sense of connection they provide to our colonial history.)
2. A pile of my treasured books (most of my books are stacked “somewhere in the shed” according to Mr PB. Sigh. These are more recent purchases reflecting my love of all things French, interior design, etiquette and cross-stitch.)
3. My delicate paper replicas of the graceful old shops in the Prinzipalmarkt in Münster, Germany which I posted about here (I made them back in 1989 and they have travelled around the world with me ever since. They’re now a bit worse for wear but still precious to me.)
4. My treasured button collection which belonged to my grandmother (I played with these endlessly as a child, sorting them into shapes and colours and making patterns with them. The pixies love playing with ‘Nanny’s buttons’. I’ll do a post on them one day.)
Four things that I would like to have done but never did

1. Sat down with my grandmother (my Dad’s mum) long before she died and chatted to her about her childhood and our family history (I am fascinated about tracing our family trees and so much knowledge and memories died with her.)

2. Done the same with my grandfather (my Mum’s dad) as he was very interested in researching our family history. I could have introduced him to the wonders of the internet as a research tool and helped him work past the dead ends he had found.

3. Climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower in 1989 (I only managed to get to the second level as the lift wasn’t working properly)
Isn't this a spectacular view over Paris from the Eiffel Tower?
4. Met my grandfather (my Dad’s father) who died of an accident long before I was born (He had seen and experienced so much – looking for work to support his young family during the Great Depression, serving with the Royal Australian Air Force in New Guinea during the Second World War and coxing an Australian rowing team at the 1948 London Olympics.)

Four things that you don’t know about me

1. I am a navy blue girl, through and through. It took me many years before I wore any black at all. Now I wear them both but my heart will always remain navy.

2. I wear contact lenses. The best invention ever. Especially when I’m surrounded by little people who delight in pulling off my glasses on the rare occasions I wear them (and which are now both scratched and damaged owing to the actions of a certain nameless daughter. Hmm.) Yes, contact lenses were definitely designed by a parent.

3. I adore eating Niederegger Schwarzbrot marzipan from Lübeck in Germany. I can make it last for days, savouring every sweet mouthful. For years, I only received it when my host parents sent it to me for my birthday and Christmas. Now I can get in Hobart which makes me a very happy camper. 
Sehr lecker (very delicious!)
4. I was one of the last people allowed to walk to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in July 1989 before it was closed for restoration work and to stabilise its tilt - it reopened to the public in December 2001. It was the most curious sensation to walk up a spiral staircase with a tilt – I alternated between leaning inwards to grab the central column and outwards to grab the wall. Oh, and there was the most cursory of metal guardrails at the top!

So there you have it! Is anyone else a marzipan lover? Or a contact lens wearer? Do you have any treasured mementoes from your travels? Or conversations you wish you’d had with someone? Do share – it’s fun to learn more about what makes us all tick, don’t you think?

I’d like to tag the following four fabulous bloggers to play along if they’d like:

• Felicity at Gifts of Serendipity

• Melissa at Miss Sew & So

• Sarah at Oesch & Doots

• Tina at Rubies’ Place

Do visit these lovely ladies and their delightful blogs if you have a chance. You’ll enjoy yourself!

15 comments:

  1. What a lovely blog.
    I picked you as a navy girl and just thought the thought as I saw your navy shopper bag and navy spiral book :-)
    Love MAC makeup.
    Love roll on kiddies sunscrean.
    I can't wait for a little blog entry on nanny's buttons. Now you mention it, I can remember playing with many wonderful, colourful buttons when I was little. How sweet you saved your nannas.
    Do you love nougat with marzipan? (A little Danish Chrissy treat)
    xx

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  2. Glad to hear a little something personal about the person behind the blog! Looking forward to the button post. Have a beautiful day, Kellie xx

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  3. I was a bit concerned about you after your last two posts, so I hopped on Planet Baby as soon as I got up this morning just to see how you were travelling. Lovely to read this post. Wishing you a lovely Friday - sun's shining so it's a good start!

    Is that the chocolate covered marzipan? A friend brought me back a chocolate box version from Germany a few years ago, as a thank you for lending her my Germany Lonely Planet. It was so good, and in little controlled portions!

    I love your little pottery houses, so lovely in all their rough-around-the-edges-ness.

    And I think it's beautiful that you have your grandmother's button collection, and that the pixies can run their fingers through them, just like she would have. I treasure the things my grandmothers have given me. We have an old family piano and Georgina is now using it for her piano practice. She's the fifth generation to play it. It's a bit worse for wear and it doesn't really tune up very well, but all those fingers on the keys before her - I just love that image!

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  4. So great to learn more about bloggers. I too wish I had more time to talk to my grandfather who had some great war stories ... he recently passed this year and I regret not being able to have known him more or spent more time with him.

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  5. Oh I love all your little treasures! I too have regrets and sadness about my grandparents. I got to Pisa, just after you!... when it was closed! A-M xx

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  6. What a fun post...I am a navy girl tooooo...it really is my black.

    Just read where you are from...I visited Hobart many years ago..love that city.

    xoxoxo..hugs

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  7. Really cool post Jane!! You have to frame those houses you drew & carried around Europe. Maybe in a memory box frame, so they can still stand up (not flat) in the frame. Is there a German or lover of all things German who doesnt love marzipan?? My Austrian sister-in-law buys it every year for my mummy. Beautiful work, love Posie

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  8. Hi Jane. It was fabulous to learn more about you:) I love your drawn houses, they are gorgeous and special:) Thank you so much for tagging me, it may take me a little time to put my post together, I struggle to find anything interesting when I have to write about myself, but I will try. Hope you have a wonderful weekend ~ Tina xx

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  9. So nice to read about you Jane... and I just caught up with your post about yesterday..OMG how stressful... Glad all is well and hope your weekend is much less eventful. Take care Kym X

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  10. Hi Jane, have just found your blog and am thoroughly enjoying it! Lovely to find out a little more about you. Glad to see that even with your recent dramas you still have a smile on your face! Looking forward to reading more. Have a great weekend.

    Christine xo

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  11. Oh, my! After my usual hectic Friday (ie all three pixies at home), I've plonked myself down with a glass of bubbly (yes, I've opened that bottle) to find all your fabulous comments. You know how to make a girl's day!

    Hi Louise I'm so pleased you stopped by. I've just become your 3rd follower ☺. You have such an eagle eye - I'm impressed (am I really that much of a giveaway?!). Nougat? Marzipan? Count me in! The Europeans do it so well.

    Hmm, it looks like we have some button lovers out there. I won't keep you in suspense for long!

    Oh, Sarah, you sweet darling. Yes, this week on PB has been one of the more 'challenging' of late (love those euphemisms). Yes, the one and the same. I found it at Salamanca Fruit Market - maybe your house guest would like some!

    Hi Koralee I'm now following you! A girl after my own heart. Navy lovers of the world unite!

    That's not a bad idea, Posie. They're looking a little worse for wear now, though. Oh, they were in a competition run by the local newspaper in Muenster. You received the cardboard with the design printed on it, coloured it in, then folded along the lines and stuck them together. A nifty idea.

    And Tina, anything you write will be wonderful. I can't wait to read it (no pressure, mind you. You have enough on your plate with your little family and studying!).

    Thanks, Kym. Yes, we made it through the week ☺.

    Hi Christine! Thanks for following - I have returned the favour and look forward to following your life in the West. J x

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  12. Love to learn all these things about you. I would have loved to walk up the leaning tower of Pisa was closed when I visited in 2008 too!

    I am off to visit your blog recommendations xox

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  13. Thanks, LLCAOBT. Now you'll just have to return to Pisa! I hope you find some new bloggy friends. J x

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  14. Thanks for playing along Jane and for your sweet words about my blog that put a smile on my face. I love your little pottery houses in your bedroom and oh how I would love to get my hands on some of those books in your collection - 'Handmade Soirees' and 'Made In France' are two I've had my eye on for a while now. I can understand how you wish you'd gathered some information about your family history from your grandparents - I sat down with my Nanna a few years back and did this and am glad I did as her memory now is definitely not as it used to be. I really enjoyed getting to know you more xx

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  15. Thanks for tagging me, Amanda! Yes, they are delightful books. Now to make the time to read and savour them, let alone use them...I'm so pleased you've done that with your Nanna. I have to hunt down a tape recording my parents did of my Scottish great-grandfather speaking when he was in his late 90s - what a treat that would be to hear! J x

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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, you gorgeous soul. You've just made my day! J x

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