Eight things about me...

Rene tagged me with this :)


1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Things About Me

1. I put a hairline fracture in my right hand slamming it on the piano keys while learning to play Music Box Dancer (Frank Mills), when I was about 12 or 13 years old. (If you click on the link, make sure your speakers are on - it sounds different than I remember, less complicated. Hmmm.)

2. One of my favourite TV shows is a Canadian production called History Bites - each week they examine a different period/event in history. The premise is that tv existed and they channel surf. Hard to describe, but oh, so much fun.

3. I've been reviewing books for The Historical Novel Society
for the last seven years and found out recently I'm one of their top five reviewers from North America. That really set me back on my heels - I'd no idea I'd read and reviewed so many books!

4. I worked as a Buyer's Clerk (or Assistant - the term I preferred) for the Canadian Forces for five years. My immediate boss was fantastic - I still send him and his wife a Christmas card each year. From him I learned a lot about retail buying and about life in general. Even though the job literally raised my blood pressure (my boss's boss wasn't quite so, well, um, how do I put this - nice), I don't regret the time I spent there, learning new skills and making friends across the country.

5. I love family history and by default, have become the unoffical family historian. One of my mum's cousins did a lot of work in England, so we can trace one line back into the 17th century - my many times great-grandfather went to London from either Portugal or Spain (we're pretty sure it's Portugal). Through the GRO site I found my great-grandparents' marriage certificates (both sets of GGPs) and ordered copies of them, which was very cool. I also have a transcription of my paternal grandparents' (babcia and dziadek) marriage certificate from 1922 as well as my babcia's high school graduation certificate.

6. My dad taught me to ski when I was really little, first on the front of his skiis, then with my own little red wooden ones and small leather boots. Ironically, I'm still only an intermediate skiier (at least by West Coast/Rocky Mountain standards *g*).

7. One of my favourite holiday spots ever is Osmington/Osmington Mills in Dorset. My aunt and uncle had a caravan there for years and when we went to England in the summers of '74, '76 and '78 we went down there to stay. It was heaven - fields, cliffs, the sea and long walks with my cousins.

8. I've been writing for as long as I can remember - short stories, poems, half-finished novels (in high school), essays, and now reviews, articles and, of course, my mss. I can't imagine not writing. My babcia saw that in me and always encouraged me to follow that dream. And my nana, through her love of books as well, also inspired me to write.

Now, eight people to tag may get tricky, as so many people I already know have been tagged - here goes: Annette, Susan, Jen, Sarah, Nienke, Kit, Katy and the Doubtful Muse.

Teresa

Currently Reading: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Also Currently Reading: Dark Angels by Karleen Koen
Link of the Day: Journal of Matthew Vienneau whose sister, Nicole, is missing in Syria