A lovely thing happened to me this week: the Versatile Blogger recognition was bestowed on me not once, but twice. Massive thanks to my new cyberfriends Julie Kenner/J.K Beck and Carrie Daws for the honour. I think it’s perhaps more a show of blogging solidarity and support as indication of any blogging genius on my part, but it’s very welcome all the same.
Anyway, there are evidently rules associated with this recognition. One must thank and apply links to the person who nominated one (as demonstrated above), reveal seven facts about oneself, and nominate a whole 14 new recipients who ideally haven’t received it already. (Although apparently in some circles one can nominate a mere five other bloggers — and this for me right now is ve-ry tempting.)
First, the seven things to be revealed about me…
1. I have a collection of carnivorous plants. I’ve been growing them since I was a teenager (I remember writing a year 12 informative essay on the subject) and many of the Sarracenia pitcher plants I have now are more than 20 years old! These days I’ve merged them into ornamental combination pots, in which the sticky-leafed Sundews grow like weeds.
2. I’m getting quite good at disposing of dead rodents. You see, I have this devilcat who keeps bringing them inside in the middle of the night (yes, I know I should keep her locked up) and depositing them half-mangled in the middle of my bedroom floor. The most recent one was arranged artfully in the doorway, just where I might stumble upon it in bare feet, bleary-eyed at 6am… (except I didn’t, thank goodness!)
3. When eating out, my favourite meal is breakfast. I’m really lucky where I live, because we have several excellent cafes with even more excellent coffee to choose from. It could be the coffee, or the eggs, or merely the ambience of lazing away an hour or two on a weekend morning (or sometime both mornings!), but I love it and if I miss a weekend I feel really deprived.
4. I love opera. My grandmother introduced me to opera when I was a young adult and there was a spare ticket going. Later, I accompanied her on a season’s ticket, just the two of us — real grandmother/granddaughter bonding time. My favourite moments tend to be duets and quartets etc, when there are wonderful harmonies threaded out of pure single voices. I think Bizet’s ‘In the depths of the temple’ from The Pearl Fishers is one of the all time most amazing sounds. My throat thickens now, just to think of it.
5. Every now and then I get adventurous. It rears up in me at odd times. For example, nearly two years ago I completed the Oxfam Trailwalker charity event (walked 100km in under 48 hours). When in high school I developed a fondness for rock climbing and bushwalking. I’ve trekked in Nepal too (although not as far as Everest Base Camp, which I would love to do one day). Currently I have a yearning to trek the Mont Blanc circuit in Europe.
6. I am fascinated by and drawn to birds of prey. Especially peregrine falcons. I have no idea why. I do remember being entranced by the Catherine Gaskin novel, A Falcon for a Queen, long ago, in which a main character was never to be found without his beloved peregrine. Other than that…? In any case, I will sniff out any bird of prey sanctuary or flying demonstration. And get very distressed if they are stuck in cages and cannot fly.
7. I have a cracking recipe for New York Baked Cheesecake! I came across it from a friend of a friend years and years ago, and it’s never let me down yet. But it’s very very bad for you… although dairy is calcium and protein, right?
Gosh, that was harder than I expected. And now for the part where I pass on the baton of The Versatile Blogger! I nominate:
I’m going with seven for now, and reserve the right (if I’m allowed) to nominate up to another seven in a few weeks’ time. I have a feeling I’m going to be introduced to a lot of cool blogs in the next month or two! But in the meantime, if you’re not following already, check out the blogs of the above fabulous people (and Julie and Carrie’s as well).
E V Gregory 
Thank you for the nomination!! 🙂
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