J-K- Rowling

My Very First Blog Award (the Liebster Award)

liebster award

Many thamks to J. R. Barker for granting me the honour of  nomination for this award it is received with much appreciation.

"Liebsters Award is a way for blogs with less than 200 followers to connect with other bloggers, share a little more about you, and a way to help promote other small blogs"

How does this work? Here are the rules.

Post 11 random fact about yourself.

Answer 11 Questions from your Nominator.

Visit the other 1o blogs that were nominated with you.

Nominate 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers and ask them 11 questions - NO TAG BACKS!

Visit your Nominees and let them know they won the award.

Ring of Kerry

11 Random Facts about myself.

  1. I love to go bushwalking even though I have two left feet which inevitably cause all sorts of problems.
  2. I am constantly on the lookout for more native trees to plant on our property which will help encourage the native birds and animals to feel welcome.
  3. Fairies nest at the bottom of my garden, (ok they are fairy wrens) but it sounds good!
  4. I've hunted for the Loch Ness Monster and skipped stones across the Loch with my sons in true adventure style.
  5. Searched for Leprechauns under rocks and shrubs around the lakes of the "Ring of Kerry" in Ireland.
  6. Sipped champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower like a true romatic heroine.

    Top of the Eiffel Tower

  7. Rode a camel at sunset along Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia.
  8. Swum under a waterfall in an Outback waterhole.
  9. When I am not writing or reading I am creating stained glass windows.
  10. I adore sunsets, red wine, good comapny and a warm fire on a cold winter evening.
  11. When all is said and done, there's no place like home!

Cable Beach

Python pool Millstream National Park.

Questions to me.

  1. What is your favourite children's book? Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French. Simple, yet very cute and clever.
  2. Who's your favourite story tale villain? Professor Severus Snape. J.K. Rowling wrote a fantastic antagonist and Alan Rickman portrayed him superbly. You love to hate him and yet he has a lost soul you can't help but feel sorry for.
  3. Who's your favourite story tale hero? Who else? Harry Potter! Need I say more! Thanks to Jo Rowling so many more kids started reading again!
  4. What's your favourite fairy tale? Rumpelstiltskin (I just love saying that name and hearing kids try to read it), but then I love Snow White and all the seven dwarves. Far too many fairy tale choices.
  5. What's your favourite childhood memory? Family days out in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Where we had picnics, bushwalks, apple picking, BBQ's and toffee apples to munch on all the long drive home.
  6. Sweet or Savoury? Can't go past a bit of chocolate, but I lean more towards the savoury platter these days.
  7. What genre of books do you prefer?  I read an abundance of children's books both for my own writing and when I was a teacher as well as a general love of them, but really enjoy  historical fiction as they take me to places I get to learn about while I immerse myself in the lives of the characters.
  8. Watching sport or playing sport? Definately watching sport. When my youngest son played soccer I really got into being  one of those soccer mum's on the sidelines, (although I said I never would).
  9. Cats or dogs? Dogs, we've always had one of man's best friends in the family.
  10. Name one story book that you feel has touched your life or changed it in some way. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. From the minute I read these as a ten year old and entered through the wardrobe into a world full of fantasy and imagination I knew I too wanted to write.
  11. Name one act of kindness that you have witnessed. I had a flat tyre at the supermarket a while back. A very kind gentleman noticed the problem while I was busy loading the weeks groceries into the boot. He offered to change the tyre for me. In return I offered to buy him a coffee or even lunch to which he declined saying it was all part of his civic duty.

My Nominees.

(I am extremely knew to blogging so my list of other bloggers is quite small. My apolgies if a few of my nominees have gone slightly over the limit.)

http://canberraluxurytours.com/

http://claudiaowen.wordpress.com/

http://blog.birthjourneys.com.au/

http://alisonwriteruk.wordpress.com/

http://tutordoctorofwny.wordpress.com/

http://triotravelogue.wordpress.com/

http://warriorechidna.blogspot.com.au/

http://notyouraveragelassie.blogspot.com.au/

http://hazelwest.blogspot.com.au

http://www.wrevs.blogspot.com.au/

http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

My Questions to you.

  1. What has been your greatest adventure in life?
  2. Who is your favourite Action or Super Hero?
  3. What do you consider to be yout greatest strength?
  4. If you were a Super Hero what would your special power be?
  5. Tea or Coffee?
  6. Name your favourite binge food while reading or writing?
  7. What was your favourite subject at school?
  8. What is your all time favourite movie that you have watched over and over again?
  9. Which is better, the book or the movie?
  10. When do you prefer to read? In the afternoon sun or tucked up in bed late at night?
  11. Who has inspired you in your life?

Did you wear your towel on May 25?

'DON'T PANIC!' in the immortal words of Douglas Adams from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, I forgot too! Never mind, we all get another chance same time next year. For those of you who may wonder what on earth this peculiar idea is all about, towel day celebrates the life and works of the above mentioned Douglas Adams (1952-2001). http://towelday.org/

I was lucky enough to discover his quirky sense of humour as a teenager when I first read The Hitch Hikers Guide and its "trilogy in five parts". I then followed along eagerly each week for the next installment of the TV series and finally the movie when it was at last released in 2005. By then my eldest son had reached his teens and also appreciated the humour of Douglas Adams. It was wonderful to be able to share the experience of  both the book and film with him. I'm sure he didn't forget to wear his towel on Saturday, but as he now lives on the opposite side of the country to me he neglected to remind me. As a starving uni student he had even been known to attend fancy dress parties dressed as Arthur Dent in his dressing gown and towel.

Authors and their characters can have such an impact on our lives. Take J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter for example. Think of how many children all around the world have found the delight of books and reading through her wonderful imagination and story telling. It was amazing to watch thoussands of children dress up as theri favourite characters each time a new book or movie was released.

I believe it is wonderful to see our children reading no matter what the genre.  All fantastic authors need to be celebrated and thanked for bringing joy, imagination, entertainment and knowlede to our youth. Most of us have memories of growing up reading at least one favourite special author. That may change as we grow from childhood to our teenage years, my sons went from Paul Jennings to John Marsden and on to Douglass Adams with a whole lot of other fantastic authors in between including J.K. Rowling. At least their tastes were varied so that they read a wide range of material on offer and kept an open mind to the possibilties of the delights of different genres.

Is there a special place in your heart for a particular author that brought meaning to reading while you grew up? Do you ever take a moment to celebrate or thank that author for their work? I'd love to hear who it was and why?

Thanks to my awesome blogging freind JR Baker for reminding me about this  years Towel Day. http://jrbarker101.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/happy-towel-day-the-awesome-power-of-reading/

I'd like to close with one last quote from Douglass Adams, "So long and thanks for all the fish!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGNcoB2Y4I

Have fun reading.

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