7 Random Things...

Copyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.

This entry is a little different than usual. I had the privilege of being tagged for a meme by Ann/Ziggywigs at Life in the Highlands. Thanks Ann! The request is that I list '7 Random things about me'. At first I thought this would be easy. I'd just let people know things like how I collect Portuguese cerâmica, like this pitcher in my kitchen in the photo below.

But making this list turned out to be a bit more difficult than I imagined. It was hard for me to know how much to really share about myself on a public forum like this. Anyway, I gave it my best shot. So without further ado, here are 7 Random Things about Me, followed by the seven people I'm tagging as well...

* I spent my childhood on an 800 acre farm in the Ozark Mountains until my father died unexpectedly when I was 10. We moved to Independence Missouri shortly thereafter.

* When I was 15 I had spinal surgery and spent my first year of high school in a large body cast. This was fortuitous, as I learned to detect fair-weather-friends; a gift which I still use today.

* I wanted to major in Horticulture in college, but was talked out of it by a rather sexist adviser in my freshman year at MU. I ended up getting my degrees in Child Development and Developmental Child Psych instead, doing some of my field-training with autistic children. My training turned out to be helpful in the long run when I discovered, years later, that my son was in the autistic spectrum.

* I love to travel and learn about people in other countries. So far I've visited the Bahamas, England, France, Japan, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Unfortunately I had a very bad flight in 2002, but hope to conquer my flying phobia so I can travel again someday.

* I'm a shameless information junky. I love reading and have tons of books, but instead of letting the piles grow too high I started selling them online via Half.com. Now I buy and sell books as a semi-lucrative hobby.

* As a young person I tended to be gullible. After being burnt a few times, I now examine extraordinary claims with a heavy dose of skepticism. Some of my favorite sites are Quackwatch, Snopes.com and The Skeptic's Dictionary.
*I love Pre-Raphaelite and Renaissance art as well as the Arts & Crafts Movement. Some of my heroes are William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Sandro Botticelli. In keeping with my more idealistic/romantic side, some of my favorite writers are Alfred Tennyson, Henry David Thoreau and Jane Austin.

I'm tagging the following 7 Garden Bloggers. Hopefully none of you have been tagged for this particular meme yet.

Andrea from Andrea's Garden Blog

Annie from The Transplantable Rose

Julie from The Human Flower Project

MSS from Zanthan Gardens

Pam from Digging

Sanni from Villin pihan tarinoita

Susan from South of the River

As stated by Ann, here are the rules for newcomers to this meme:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.

If anyone else decides to make a list of 7 Random Things, please let me know. I'd love to read about each one of you.

In other news, I have a squirrel who's decided she is a hummingbird. She's drinking sugar water everyday from my hummingbird feeder. Forgive the quality of the photo, but I haven't found a way to sneak up on her from outside, so must be content for now with a photo through my window.

I smile every time I see her do this. Hope she gives you a little chuckle, too.

BTW, I hope to visit the APS Pond Tour 2007 on July 14th & 15th. It sounds like a great tour. If I attend I'll take lots of photos and share them here.

"Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives." ~Mary Ann Brussat

Copyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.