Friday, May 08, 2009

First year roundup

 
James, from 0 to 1 in no time at all.

The pictures are so you can bear the long long post that follows. I’ve recently been tagged for three (THREE) memes. An unusual number, considering the last time I was tagged in my eons/aeons of blogging was never. If you don’t mind, then, I’ll be babbling on about myself and my opinions even more than I usually do. I promise I’ll try to add unrelated pics each time to keep it interesting.

This meme is from Eurolush, via Duvyken.

What are your current obsessions?
Digital SLRS (to buy or not to buy, which one, and when?), the impossibility of keeping a house straight and toys in it, asparagus.

Which item from you wardrobe do you wear most often?
My red flannel pjs. Luckily in Prague it stays cold until June so I can wear them at least 9 months of the year.

What's for dinner?
Pho soup doctored with tomatoes, spring onions, dried mushrooms, and extra bits of chicken and ham; eaten with chopsticks.

What's your greatest fear at the moment?
I’m flying to Arizona at the end of the month on a business trip and it will be the first time that I've left James overnight. Will he remember me when I get back? Will he be wearing clothes when I get back?

What are you listening to?
The hum of the fan belt in my computer (everyone except the computer and myself is asleep).

If you were a goddess what would you be?
Does a muse count? I’d like to be the muse of music.

What are your favourite holiday spots?
France, particularly the Ardèche and bits of Brittany. I also love visiting European cities for long weekends. Copenhagen, Dresden, Zurich, Vienna, Bratislava all make wonderful weekend trips. I am currently looking forward to visiting Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Berlin soon.

What are you reading right now?
I’m reading Swallows and Amazons to Caroline right now, and Keeping the World Away, by Margaret Forster, to myself. I picked up a new mountain of books in Switzerland over Easter and have felt like a kid ripping through a pile of presents ever since. Gleeful gluttony is what it is.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Reading books when I should be doing everything else, not having to fold laundry, taxis.

Who or what makes you laugh?
My family for sure - Caroline in particular is very funny and dramatic. And Will has a wonderfully dry sense of humor.

What is your favourite spring thing to do?
When spring arrives, my first thought is "Time to go on a trip to Germany to buy fresh asparagus!!" In March I start checking German news sites to find out when it will be in the markets. Also, spring in general means travel to me, and lots more light for photographs.

Where are you planning to travel next?
Berlin. It is only a few hours away by car and I can’t believe we haven’t visited yet.

What is the best thing you ate or drank lately?
It would have to be the Colombian meringues from Essen. Also, a wonderful muesli cereal made with grated apples, white yogurt, and oats soaked overnight so they turned fluffy and delicious. Yum! And, of course, the deviled eggs from last weekend.

When was the last time you were tipsy?
Probably last Saturday, though I could still feel my toes so I'm not sure if that counts.

What is your favourite ever film?
I adore Singing in the Rain. Music, physical comedy, no plot and dancing - what more could I want? I also really love the movie Once. I could watch the scene where the couple first plays music together over and over.

What is the biggest lesson you've learned from your children?
That stubbornness is most definitely inherited. Also, that reading out loud is much more fun than I could have imagined.

What song can't you get out of your head?
“Ghost,” by Neutral Milk Hotel. Very rocky, but I love it.

What book do you know you should read but refuse to?
Ulysses, by James Joyce. I’ve bought the book and every James Joyce day I pick it up, determined to read a chapter, but never get through it. Maybe this year?

What is your physical abnormality/abnormal physical ability?
I have never lost a limbo contest, even when I was 8 months pregnant. I’m pretty flexible. Of course, this might also demonstrate a certain competitive streak I'm rumored to have.

What is your favourite colour?
Red for small goods, orange for accents, light sea blue for walls, dark blue and burgundy for shirts, green for grass and trees, white for plates at a table, silver for candlesticks and gold for rings. I love color, but have never been able to pin down a favorite.

Following the rules of the meme, I tag Poppy in Provence, Meg, Lucy, Liz, and my sister, Ee. I'm leaving her unlinked until/unless she accepts the challenge!

9 comments:

countrypeapie said...

What a cutie pie! I especially like the sweet shot in the middle of the two of you.

So glad I could fuel the camera obsession. Thanks for your help today, and for tagging me -- I'm it!

lizardek said...

Curly little red-haired cutie! And you know, I love memeing in other people's comments, so here you go! (PS: LOVE Swallows & Amazons!)

What are your current obsessions?
http://www.addictinggames.com/mindtheblox.html

Which item from you wardrobe do you wear most often?
Black jeans

What's for dinner?
Grilled salmon :)

What's your greatest fear at the moment?
That I won't be able to walk much this summer. ARGH

What are you listening to?
The sizzle of pancakes that Anders is cooking in the kitchen.

If you were a goddess what would you be?
Totally music! Or maybe poetry :)

What are your favourite holiday spots?
Netherlands, Germany, Michigan :)

What are you reading right now?
All Creatures Great & Small by James Herriott (comfort reading!)

What is your guilty pleasure?
Sleeping in on weekends

Who or what makes you laugh?
People. They are so weird.

What is your favourite spring thing to do?
Lie on the trampoline in the sunshine

Where are you planning to travel next?
Up north on the west coast of Sweden (near Smögen) and then the Netherlands for a week.

What is the best thing you ate or drank lately?
The ham roll-up appetizers I made last weekend, and the pineapple salsa Laurie brought.

When was the last time you were tipsy?
I've never been tipsy.

What is your favourite ever film?
It's a toss-up between Ladyhawke and My Fair Lady

What is the biggest lesson you've learned from your children?
That I have both more and less patience than I expected.

What song can't you get out of your head?
Holly Jolly Christmas. (and in case you didn't hear, oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas this year!)

What book do you know you should read but refuse to?
War and Peace

What is your physical abnormality/abnormal physical ability?
I've never broken a bone, does that count?

What is your favourite colour?
ORANGE. But green for my home, and eggplant purple for clothing :)

Roderick Robinson said...

So that's what a tag/meme is. Lucy did me but I didn't realise there was a pyramid-selling aspect to it. Guess I flunked. So much stuff here, but especially the photo of J on the rh side where the openness of his mouth suggests he's just discovered his potential for mischief. As to being the muse of music well that's already happened. Astonishing that S&A, which my mum read to me, full of pre-war middle-class English values, still says something to a completely different family. Ulysses: I say this, hand on heart, no ponciness: the greatest novel ever written. Difficult, yes; funny, yes; a tear-jerker, yes; contains all other books. It's the Grosse Fuge, Cosi, the Wanderer Fantasy, Quartet for the End of Time, and The Boxer all rolled into one. One solution is to get a good crib. Anthony Burgess's "ReJoyce" will help.

Mary said...

The middle shot is gorgeous and the colour of his hair is sublime.

I love Swallows and Amazons and re read it as an adult when I visited the Lake District.

Anonymous said...

I love that you'd choose to be a muse! That is so inspired;)
Red flannel pajamas--always good. Flannel is one of my favorite things to wear.

Lynn said...

Your favorite film is my children's favorite film. They quote/sing from it often. (Love the little damp-haired newborn photo in the middle!)

eurolush said...

Am sighing here over the multitude of adorable James photos. He's got to be the cutest kid in Prague. I can't imagine topping that smile and shock of red hair...he's heart melting.

As for your meme, I'm particularly delighted to read about your limbo prowess and competitive streak. I would've paid money to see you at 8 months pregnant winning a limbo contest. In fact, I think pregnant limbo contests are a great idea. What better way to spend an afternoon than cheering on our favorite ladies as they maneuver under the bar. Limbo! Limbo!

PS-Amen to asparagus in the spring! I can't get enough Spargelsuppe.

PPS-Does this mean your twin sister is also blogging???

Lucy said...

What a lot of delights - happy birthday to James, the most photogenic baby on the web!

How nice to know children still like Swallows and Amazons - I read somewhere a while ago that it can't possibly appeal to them now.

The limbo dancing at 8 mnths made me gulp somewhat. I'll pick up the meme sometime soon; still wading through trip photos!

deedee said...

I think I've done a version of this before...I love the photos.