Another Meme

It's been a while since I've done any memes, and this is one I hadn't encountered before. Becca's invited anyone who wants to to respond, so I'll take up that offer. If you'd like to answer these questions, please do, and let me know you've done the meme, won't you?

Rules~
1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.
2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OBSESSION? Obsessed might be too strong a word, but all I know is, with lots and lots of music to choose from, I still keep finding myself listening to Fred's album, Go God Go, much more often than anything else. Even when I've switched the iPod on with the intention of trying something new. I think that's close to obsessed.

GOOD FIKA (coffee) PLACE?. Cafe Blend. They know I like a cup with a handle I can actually fit my finger in, and they oblige. They serve fairtrade coffee and the most amazing Tunisian orange cake. And great nutroast with salad. We're very lucky to have such a great place in our town. They know customers' names. They watch for when you've finished eating, and bring your coffee at just the right time.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU HUGGED? My friend Denise, saying Goodbye and Happy Easter, after we'd met for coffee yesterday at the above-mentioned Cafe Blend.

DO YOU NAP A LOT? I love an afternoon nap! I get up early on workdays, have to travel 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours each way, and come home mid-afternoon some days totally drained of energy. I surround myself with cushions, a chennille throw and a soft mohair throw, and put on some nap-music... 20 minutes is enough usually. Sometimes longer. I love it.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? I have no idea. I'm travelling back to my hometown today, staying at my Dad's. Usually I have something fixed by my sister, or get a takeaway on the day I arrive, but today, I have some leftover Shepherd's Pie I could bring with me. I think my Dad would like it, because I made it with lamb (his favourite meat), not my usual beef.... So yes, maybe that's what's for dinner.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? In the supermarket yesterday afternoon - carrots, onions, frozen petits pois, cholesterol-busting spread, coffee, a pack of hot-cross-buns, some sesame-poppy-seed thin crackers, and three bargain easter-eggs, to make sure I'll have enough to share with nephews and little niece.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Occasional traffic. Wind in the trees and the chimney.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WEATHER? Sunny, not too breezy. A perfect May day.

WHAT’S ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE? I don't have a bedside table. I have a deep shelf behind my bed. There you'll find a gooseneck lamp, a daybook of Baha'i readings, my gratitude notebook and 3 pens, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (started it about 2 weeks ago, but haven't gone very far yet for some reason), box of miscellaneous jewellery, tube of cream for hands and feet, a little colour-changing egg-light...

SAY SOMETHING TO THE PERSON/S WHO TAGGED YOU? Becca, I'd love a chance to hear you play your music somewhere, sometime!

IF YOU COULD HAVE A HOUSE TOTALLY PAID FOR, FULLY FURNISHED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU WANT IT TO BE? This is not easy, but assuming I'd also be given a means of travelling to that house often, then Northern California it is for me. Sea or mountains, don't mind, or in the Sacramento delta. I've seen so many places there that I love... Just pick me up and plop me down over there, and I'd be happy!

NAME THE THINGS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT. Well... there's nothing I absolutely cannot live without in reality, but some of the things that make my life so much more full are: all my family, friends, poetry, SoulCollage,

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW? A magical cream that cures psoriasis and dermatitis.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GUILTY PLEASURE? I don't feel guilty about it - Chocolate, these days.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET RID OF OR CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF ? 35lbs. OK. So I should feel guilty!

IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD FOR THE NEXT HOUR, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Haifa, to visit the Baha'i Shrines.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BECOME AS A CHILD? A teacher, and as a teenager, a psychologist. Many years later, when I found myself facilitating creative writing classes, it dawned on me that my first ambition had been realised in a roundabout way, and when I graduated with a degree in psychology age 48, my second one was achieved. Now I teach psychology part-time, so that's both combined!

WHAT DO YOU MISS? Because I now live alone, sometimes I miss having someone there in the moment, to comment on something exciting or interesting I'm reading, think about or notice. I watched President Obama's inauguration alone, and would have loved someone there to share the moment. [But mostly, mostly, I am perfectly happy in my own company. There are just those moments...]

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (stalled, as mentioned before). Just about to start The Power of Now by Eckhart tolle, having finally read and gotten why people are raving about A New Earth recently.

WHAT DO YOU FEAR THE MOST? Dementia.

FAVOURITE MOVIE THIS PAST YEAR? Mamma Mia! Four cinema visits, and got it on DVD too. The first thing that made me feel happy after my mother's death last summer

FAVOURITE BOOK YOU’VE READ THIS YEAR? Water for Elephants. Loved it enough to recommend it even to people who are very fussy about their reading matter.

[oops... I answered them all, and forgot to replace a question, so I'll add one... hmmm]

A CHILDHOOD COMFORT FOOD THAT YOU STILL HAVE SOMETIMES? Mashed potatoes, baked beans and fried eggs.


Thanks, Becca! No specific tags…just join in if the spirit moves you
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Update Tuesday 14th April. This meme was borrowed and posted on Sunday Stealing - a meme blog, and there are 57 other participants linked there... so if you're interested, go on and see what Judd has put together over there. Thanks, Judd!

Post Number 300!!! A list meme I've never done

Laume put this meme on her blog today. I've seen it around quite a few times, but today, for my 300th post here, I've decided to just do this. Would you like to join in? Let me know if you have!
(my comments are in italics)
******

Here we present a list. Highlight those tasks that you have accomplished in your life. And then add a new task to the list of something memorable that you've done that isn't on the list yet.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain – (Irish mountains aren't that big!)
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 Lights
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. Gotten tipsy 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
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 of both the sun and moon
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. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states (3 down... 47 to go!)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (the downside of not drinking alcohol!)
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland (since I live in Ireland, I guess that counts)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (once... La Bamba... excruciating!!!)
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class (Tai-chi counts, right?)
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced (well... almost there)
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest (I was SOME saloon-girl, I can tell you!)
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted a river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (I figure a riot-zone counts)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children (singular, but that single one took raising too!)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states (easy, when you don't live in the U.S..... England, Scotland, Wales, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel)
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (B.Sc. (Hons) Psychology, age 48... Yay, me!!!)
131. Parasailed
132. touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
151. Organized a HUGE event!
152. Seen something you can't explain with science.

And my addition...
153. Had a book published.

Seems there's still a lot to be added to my Bucket List... although there are many things on there I have no interest in accomplishing!

The 123 meme

I got tagged by Nonizamboni at Peacock Blue to do the meme whereby I'm meant to:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.


Well, the first two books I picked up - "The Gift of Therapy" and "A Perfect Mess" both had chapters that ended on page 123 - with fewer than five sentences on that page! Can you believe it?

The third book is "The Female Brain" by Louann Brizedine, MD, and here are the 3 relevant sentences:

"Using the body odor of men and the noses of women, Jan Havlicek of Charles University in Prague has hatched a controversial theory about pheromones and the female brain. He found that ovulating women who already have partners preferred the smell of other more dominant men but that single women showed no such preference. Havlicek argues that his findings support the theory that single women want nurturing men who will help raise a family..."


Umm... who to tag? I'll name five people, but if you'd like to join in too, please do, and leave a comment to say you've done so! And if you're one of the people who have already done this meme, my apologies for tagging you again.

1...Julie, the Celtic Lady
2....Sharon, at Grey-Haired Coed
3.......The Queen Bee
4... Colleen at Loose Leaf Notes
5.....CJH at It's the Little Things


Would you like to know what exactly is controversial about the theory?

I thought so.

He goes on to say that "...once the home is secured they have the biological urge to sneak around with men who have the best genes." !!!!! Could it be true?

A meme

Diane, at Faith in Community has tagged me for a meme. Bits of it have appeared in other memes, but I'm playing along again:


Rules:
The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


Ten years ago: (Wow!) In May 1998, I was finishing two courses that have had significant impacts on my life. I was completing the 12-week Artist's Way this week (with which I credit major changes in my life, including much of the work I've done since then and the publication of my poetry collection); And I was finishing the coursework for a 6-month Introduction to Counselling and Listening for women - which led me into a Diploma in counselling, degree in psychology, and my current work counselling young people.

[Answering this question has sent me back to the journals I was keeping at the time, and a couple of hours of reading over entries I made during the month of May - Thanks for the trip down memory lane!]


Five things on today's "to do" list:
Hang out the whites.
Take in the other laundry
Pair up the socks
Call my Dad
Get my files ready for tomorrow


Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:
Buy a property somewhere isolated near the sea and create a spiritual/creative retreat space for women; have my back-garden landscaped; fund a fantastic writers' centre in my town; get myself a cabin in California; properly fund my local women's centre; get another dog and pay someone to babysit them when I couldn't be there.

Three bad habits:
1...Daydreaming (about what I'd do if I was a billionaire)!
2...Allowing piles of books/papers to build up on my kitchen table and living-room coffee-table
3...Procrastination of certain tasks (currently tidying the garden, and clearing those two tables!)

Five places I've lived:
1...Newbridge, Co. Kildare (birthplace. Left at age 3)
2...Limerick city (age 3 to 21)
3...Sligo (21 until 38)
4...Letterkenny, Co. Donegal (38 to present)

and to make up the 5th... Hillegom, Holland for the summer of my 19th year.


Five jobs I've had:
1... Bulb-packer in flower factory, Hillegom, Holland
2... Cook in a prison
3... Payroll clerk/ general ledger clerk/ assistant accountant
4... Tutor/facilitator in adult education courses
5... Counsellor

Five people I'm tagging for this meme:
(oooh! Will they want to do it? Will they say "Oh No! Not another meme!"?)

As some bits of this meme have already appeared in previous memes, and as some people may not feel in the mood, I'm tagging five people, and saying from my perspective, participation is totally optional. OK?... (But if you do play along, leave a comment to let me know, would you?)

1... Becca, at Becca's Byline
2... Lila, at Indigo Pears
3... Tammie Lee, at Spirithelpers
4... Ell, at Pomegranate Tiger
5... Rick, at Hamguin's Hide-Not

Friday Stuff

First: This is what I've been playing oh... for hours and hours. It's addictive, educational, and it's helping people. I CANNOT get beyond level 49. Keep slipping back. Then up. Then back. Are you playing?

Next: I don't know the name of the blogger at I'm Over It, but she's gone and tagged me for a meme. She apologised for "being a pain" when she did it, but I don't mind in the least. I haven't been tagged in a while for anything like that, and I'd been wondering what I might write today, so it gives me a start:

- the rules are ...

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.DONE

2.

A. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog;

1....I can neither cycle nor roller-skate.

2....I have to iron bedsheets. It must be done.

3....I don't like cream. I love desserts, but don't like cream.

4....I have a crush on a well-known poet. Not a movie-star or rock-star. A poet!

5....When I'm stressed, I make soup. Chop vegetables. Chop more. Make soup.

B. Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list;

1....Chile. (never been, but there are ideas)

2....Must return to Israel. One visit (1991) wasn't enough

3....Greek islands. Crete probably. Sometime

4....Have I been inspired by my tagger? New Zealand for me too, please!

5....And much more of the US than the corners I've already seen.

C. Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when you were 25 years old.

1.....I got married at 25. I couldn't have pictured us ever parting. EVER.

2....I had dropped out of college, but at 25, was working and gradually acquiring accounting qualifications. I couldn't have seen a total shift in direction, and my late acquisition of counselling and psychology diploma/degree.

3....I was already living 140 miles from my home town, and it felt too far away. I wouldn't have foreseen a move another 70 miles north, and living as happily as I am in Donegal.

4....Poetry? Published? Me? I could not have foreseen this in my future. Reading in public? No way. Running workshops? Helping others find their writing voice? I'd have said it was absolutely, totally impossible.

5.....I couldn't have imagined that daughterlessness would be something I would learn to live with, that i would come to view the many friends I have as my "tribe" and worry less about the matrilineal blood-line. There are two nieces to carry that on. I pass on the spirit of my mother and grandmother.

3.

Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. I'm tagging - and stressing that participating is totally optional - Julie at Celtic Woman, Molly at A Certain Slant of Light, Laurie at Living with... , Taexalia at Taexalia, and Kara at SpiritDoll.

4.

Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do. (It seems you can choose any one of the lists of 5, or do them all!)

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And I'll do my Friday's feast on another post. This one is already too unwieldy!

Have a great weekend.

Poetry Thursday. The Meme

This week at Poetry Thursday, we're invited to complete a meme on what poetry means to us. Well, before I go and read what anyone else has to say, I thought I'd write out my top-of-the-head responses to the prompts/questions.

1. The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was …"Bed in Summer" from "A Child's Garden of Verse, by Robert Louis Stevenson. My mother gave me a gift of this book when I was about 6 or 7, and lots of those poems stay with me. They are part of the culture of my childhood, and remain as reference points for my sister and I. Just a couple of months ago, she quoted from it, when she was on night-work, and had to sleep during the day, and I knew exactly what she meant.

2. I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and … Too many poems, and I've forgotten most of them. The Lady of Shallott stands out. I loved it, but was a bit of rebel when it came to memorisation. I don't even memorise my own poems, and wish I did. I love to see a poet recite their work without needing to refer to "the book"

3. I read/don’t read poetry because … I read because it feeds me. It nourishes me. It brings light into my life. Poetry says so much that I thought couldn't be said.

4. A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is …Primo Levi's "To my Friends", I can't find a link at the moment, but think I used it in one of the early Poetry Thursday posts. Yes.... HERE IT IS Just in case you don't have time to follow the link, here are the few lines that catch my heart whenever I read

........I speak for you, companions of a crowded
........Road, not without its difficulties,
........And for you too, who have lost
........Soul, courage, the desire to live;
........Or no one, or someone, or perhaps only one person, or
........you
........Who are reading me: remember the time
........Before the wax hardened,
........When everyone was like a seal.
........Each of us bears the imprint
........Of a friend met along the way;
........In each the trace of each.
........For good or evil
........In wisdom or in folly
........Everyone stamped by everyone.

5. I write/don’t write poetry, but … I write poetry, but always think my last poem is my last poem, because I have no idea where they come from, and doubt that there will ever be any more, and then... along comes a poem, I write it down, and still doubt it... is it a poem, really? Is it any good? Does it actually say something? And given some time, when I look in my notebook next week or next month, sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to find a poem I seem to have written that I like.

6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature … Yes. I seldom read an entire book of poetry, even of a poet I love. I pick and dip. But then, with fiction I seldom go back, even to books I have loved, whereas poets... Yes, I return again and again. AND... I love to share poems. I'm much more likely to insist that people listen to this poem than that they read that novel.

7. I find poetry … everywhere.

8. The last time I heard poetry … Hmmm. Was it my own voice? Eeek. Yes. I was recording some poems for a radio programme. First time ever. Not yet broadcast.

9. I think poetry is like …sunshine, like rain. It is the stuff of life. What makes us grow.

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Find more Poetry Thursday memes HERE