Versatile Blogger Award

Auntie K recently received this award (congratulations!) for her blog Auntie K's Garden.  I recently discovered her blog through the picks feature on Blotanical and have been avidly reading ever since.  Many blogs wow me with their photos, some use humour but Auntie K has set herself apart through wonderful writing and ideas.  This is a gardener who questions the many day to day garden practices we take for granted, considers the many positive facets of plants besides beauty and did you know she used to be a synchronized swimmer?!  That's just plain awesome.

This award is to be passed onto others and it seems Auntie K has chosen me as a recipient.  I am sincerely flattered.  Thank you.

The rules regarding this award go like this:

I'm going to tell you 7 things about myself.

Then I'm going to nominate 7 other blogs for this award.  Those awarded shall mention who the award came from and then tell you 7 things about themselves.

I think the idea behind an award like this is that as bloggers we often focus simply on our subject of choice and forget to let the wizard out from behind the curtain.  Our readers would probably like to know a little more about us but are too polite to ask.  With that in mind I tried to find 7 things that I wouldn't normally mention otherwise.

1.  I recently turned 34 years old.

2.  I work full time as a paralegal.

3.  I've been a renter for many years and always dreamed of owning a home.  That dream came true when we bought Canoe Corner.  One of the wonderful aspects of owning your own home is that no one can tell you what to do, you don't have to ask permission if you want pets and you can change whatever you don't like.  Shortly after we moved in a new neighbour told us that "a home just isn't your own until you've put a sledgehammer through a wall".  We took her statement to heart and promptly knocked out some walls in the downstairs bath.

'X' marks the spot

When we were done we painted our new bathroom orange.  What freedom!

4.  I have loved animals my whole life.  As a child I would have given a limb for a pony, instead I got tropical fish.  I guess I should have specified that I love mammals.  The fish died and I admit I was very much to blame.  When I was a teenager my parents went on vacation without me.  While they were gone I bought a rabbit and hid it upstairs.  But not before the rabbit had eaten half of my mother's house plants.  She noticed.  The rabbit was found.  But I was correct in my thinking that once I had the rabbit, there would be little they could do to get rid of it.  The rabbit stayed.

5.  I'm not actually married.  My 'spouse' Jody and I have been together for 8 years this February and we've lived together for approximately 6 of those years.  I've given up calling him my boyfriend, it just doesn't seem appropriate after all this time and people assume we're married anyway so I just call him husband to avoid having to give an explanation.

6.  I met Jody through an online dating service.  If you were to ask him how we met he'd tell you that he double clicked on me.  An email was sent, followed by a phone call.  Then a date.  We went to the Vancouver Art Gallery where, quite frankly, we made fun of the exhibits.  I remember there was an exhibit depicting moving apartments.  I thought the staff just hadn't finished unloading an exhibit because of all the boxes and crap lying around.  Luckily Jody didn't think I was a complete idiot and laughed along with me instead of at me.

7.   I play piano.  Well, in reality, I haven't played in years.  I began lessons when I was 5 or 6 years old and played until my early twenties.  At that time I was busy with school and moved quite frequently and the piano was left with my parents.  A couple years ago my parents downsized and the piano made its way to my home.  But once again I moved and the piano has lived in storage and travelled around a bit.  It did eventually make its way to the east coast with us and tomorrow I have a tuner coming to visit.  Hopefully we'll get the old girl up and running again and see if I can remember how to read sheet music. But don't ask me to play for you because I hate audiences. Oddly, for a blogger with an audience, I dread having to perform for others.

And now for the nominations....

1.  Laura @ The Dandelion Wrangler

2.  Cheri @ Along Life's Highway, The Yard Art Game

3.  Kyna @ Crystal Coast Gardener

4.  Jean @ Jean's Garden

5.  Sandra @ Recreating Eden Landscape

6.  FloridaGirl @ Peace in the Valley

7.  The Garden Ms. S @ Gardening with Latitude

If you have already received this award or simply aren't interested in responding please feel free to ignore this.  If you are interested then I look forward to learning a bit a more about you!