Baubles's blog

I have been too busy to blog lately. The humans, for reasons only known to them, have uprooted me from my home! One day, after I noticed they had been putting a lot of things in boxes, they picked me up and brought me to a strange house. They locked me in a room (this really annoyed me) and I could hear all sorts of noises - things being lugged around, doors opening and closing, humans talking to each other - and when they finally let me out I realised they had moved all my stuff to this new place. My food bowl, water bowl, bed - all in this new strange smelling place.

Let's make a list.  What are 20 things in your life that you're grateful for? 
Inspired by wyndslash.vox.com.

1. a warm bed to lie in
2. a comfy chair to lie in
3. sunshine
4. Dine seafood selection in a tuna mornay (those humans are mean because they only let me eat this once a week)
5. running water, which tastes much better than stuff that sits in a bowl
6. did I say a warm bed to lie in?
7. having the spots behind my ears scratched (since my accident I can't scratch myself too well)
8. Purina One biscuits (but none of that lowfat muck!)
9. Dine seafood selection in a tuna mornay... mmmm....
10. getting the water in my bowl changed whenever I ask for it
11. having a safe place to live (I don't like cars)
12. roast chicken
13. cheese
14. having a clean litter tray
15. warm laps
16. my sharp claws (very handy for making a point to the humans)
17. my sharp teeth
18. that wicker chair with the rough seat - perfect for lying on and scratching my back
19. the doona I can sleep under in winter
20. Dine seafood selection in a tuna mornay...
    

What was the last game you played?

Bed mice.

This is a good game even out of bed.

What books are on your nightstand?

1. The good women of China - Xinran
2. Tracing it home: Journeys around a Chinese family - Lynn Pan
   
3. A suitable boy - Vikram Seth (not very good in-bed reading: too bulky)
   
4. Writing down the bones - Natalie Goldberg
5. Su Doku: The utterly addictive number-placing puzzle
6. The complete Yes Prime Minister - Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay
7. The unconscious civilization - John Raulston Saul
8. The lighthouse - P.D. James
9. Superluminal - Vonda McIntyre (I've finished this; should put it back on the shelf)
10. Earthfasts - William Mayne (and this!)
11. White dog - Peter Temple (this one, too)
    
12. Schooling - Heather McGowan
13. The whispering mountain - Joan Aiken
14. Swallows and amazons - Arthur Ransome

Whew! I should learn from Her Majesty, who has her priorities right when in bed, I think:

What was the last wedding you went to?  Were you in the wedding?

My own, last year, in March :)

Although it was stressful getting all the preparations done, I enjoyed it once we were in the thick of it. We wanted to have a big party for all our family and friends, and that's what we had. Nice food, pleasant surroundings, and everyone there!

I wasn't blogging at the time, I wonder how I would have blogged it...

What magazines do you subscribe to, and why?

1. New Scientist. It's just so full of interesting stuff, and it arrives weekly!
   
2. National Geographic. Lots of pretty pictures. Lately I have been considering not renewing when my subscription lapses at the beginning of 2007. Maybe I should get The Monthly instead?
3. New Internationalist. For a clearer view of the lives of the majority of people in this world.
4. Quarterly Essay. Does this count as a magazine? It's always thought provoking, and because of the length of the essay, each issue is covered quite extensively.
   
5. InCite. I get this one because I am a member of ALIA.

What is your current computer desktop image? Let's see it!

It's a National Geographic image.

At work, I use this one:

I love the reactions I get to this image!

--bh

Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?
Question submitted by cruftbox.vox.com.

Oh, no contest for me here - I'd definitely LOVE to be able to speak any language.

German

• Rilke
  

Spanish

• Almodovar movies without having to rely on subtitles
• swearing sounds cool
  

Japanese

• manga
• Kurosawa movies
• Haruki Murakami
  

Dutch

• half my family speaks this language
• being able to say Van Gogh correctly

Russian

• Tolstoy
• Chekhov

Finnish

• coolness factor
  

Shanghainese

• coolness factor
  

Tamil

• sounds intriguing
• love the look of the alphabet
  

Korean

• Hangeul is cool
  

Vietnamese

• amazing sounds
  

French

• ooh la la!

Xhosa

• amazing click consonants
  

Italian

• I'd always know what all the different pastas were: orecchiette, manicotti, capellini, farfalle, cavatappi...
  

Swedish

• Henning Mankell

Arabic

• alphabet is beautiful

And then there's Greek, Hindi, Basque, Thai, Welsh, Yoruba, Inuit, Turkish... yep, I'd love to be able to speak them all!

-- bh

Tell us a little something about your first girlfriend/boyfriend.

I'm glad he got away! It was in Year 11, I was still completely ignorant of the ways of boys and men, and all JN wanted was ONE thing.

I suppose he was cute in a gawky sort of way. I remember his big hands and big ears and big...

-- BH