Accolades and some random facts

Not so long ago, Flower tagged me for seven random facts and so I am now happily obliging. But first I wanted to say thanks for some nice awards and accolades.

I recently was awarded the Butterfly Award by Flower from Flowers at Home who has a very sweet blog chronicling her experiments in the kitchen as she learns about vegan and vegetarian cooking. She has a cute fluffy cat and I am hoping to see more of her cheerfully coloured cups she makes in pottery!

Soon after I was awarded the I love your blog award by Katie of Apple and Spice. Katie does a lot of fine baking and right now is in the middle of a series of posts about baking her Christmas cake. I can’t wait to see the finished product because she has a way of presenting her baked goods with finesse.

I also wanted to mention a couple of nice comments recently that particularly appealed to me. Lucy said I was the Poster Girl for Pumpkin. Meanwhile Bee and Catherine called me the Nut Roast Queen. These are fine accolades indeed as I can’t think of better foods to be associated with than pumpkin and nut roasts.

So big thanks to Flower and Katie for the awards and to everyone who takes the time to write lovely comments on my blog. Your kind and thoughtful words always cheer me up. I know I should pass on awards and I always mean to but when it comes to choosing who to pass it on to, I don’t want to miss anyone out because there are just too many great blogs to choose from. So until one day when I will try and pass on some awards, I want everyone to know your time and comments and awards are appreciated.

Warm gooey feelings aside, here is the 7 Random Facts meme passed onto me by Flower. Thanks (again) Flower for some foodie-free fun.

1. A favourite serving bowl in my kitchen is one that I bought from beside the sea of Galilee in Israel where Jesus was said to have performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. I always feel this bowl should feed hungry hoards even though it is quite small. (See picture above)

2. I don’t give blood at the blood bank any more because the last time I did I sort of fainted and then lay on a bed in so much pain that neither I nor the staff want to go through that again.

3. I was named after my great grandmother. I hardly remember her because she died when I was young. We called her Other Nan – because we called one of my grandmothers, Nan. In my mind she looks like the pretty young woman in a white dress and big hat which is how she appears in a photo on my shelves.

4. One thing I love about summer is being able to walk around barefoot at home. Soon as I get home from work the shoes go off.

5. I was knocked off my bike a few years ago by a local councillor who didn’t see me as he drove around a corner. Luckily I got away with a few bruises and scratches and my bike was intact – but it gave both of us a huge scare. The only real casualty was a pair of woollen tights I had bought in Paris.

6. I love visiting quirky museums – some of the more esoteric ones I have visited have been the Pencil Museum in the Lake District and the Dog Collar museum near Leeds Castle.

7. When I was little, our pet cats lived outside and I had a favourite book called the Outside Cat all about a cat who lived outside and wanted to go inside. Ironically our cat Zinc spends more time inside than out.