Wednesday, May 09, 2007

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

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Those are all very neat things you posted..YOu have a great blog. I remember that song from playing piano

Rene said...

Music Box Dancer??? I shudder at the thought. One of my kids' toys plays that song. My ears bleed before I drop onto the floor in convulsions.

Jen said...

Ooohhh this looks fun. It will be hard to come up with 8 things--but you did great!

M. H. said...

What were your novels like?

testglobaltraffic said...

nice blog

Ire said...

Hey these eight things about you are kool! Gr8 blog too! I also want to know what are your novels like.

Tel said...

Cool blog, very intresting, keep up the good work.

Margarette said...

hey, i put hairline fracture in
my right hand at age 11 from a piano. weird.

Unknown said...

I like your blog, your story etc,

A big welcome to my home as well:

http://www.partnership101.net

Goggles Piasano Ritardo said...

what up?

Melissa Amateis said...

History Bites sounds like a really neat show! Sigh...I don't have cable anymore and I can't even watch the History Channel!

Denson Joseph said...

Hi Tess I am quite new to this zone & I am still trying to learns the best way to blog. I love the 8 things tagging business but I do not know how to do it yet. I mean how to tag someone.

May be you could help!

Nabeel said...

hmm, I might have to watch that "History Bites" show sometimes. Here in the US, we just watch the HIstory Channel.

I Beatrice said...

I'm a little bewildered here - wising I could find a place to settle, but not quite finding it. I'm sure there's somewhere I'd be comfortable, if only I knew precisely where to look....

I'm a simple soul you see -just trying the experiment of putting my own fiction out in blog form. It has its advantages, but on the whole I think I was happier in my old ivory tower of pleasing no-one but myself....
Was safer there, certainly. Once there's a comment, even one (and I don't get many more than that!), you find yourself looking over your shoulder every moment, wondering if you're getting it right?

I did love the Bayeux Tapestry link though. How astonishingly clever some people are!

Please can you help me find my way round your very detailed site?

Elaine Cougler Author said...

Loved your 8 things! Blogging is such an intimate thing, isn't it? I learn new ways to look at the world--and my people in it--every time I explore.
And your site is so full of titillating bit that I have to take more time to explore it. Kudos!

Heidi said...

I am really glad your blog was on "blogs of note" so that I was able to find it. I'm enjoying exploring it and will keep visiting.

Ah, yes, the Music Box Dancer - we must all have had to learn that one as kids! After five years of lessons I convinced my mom to let me quit. Now - as everyone said I would - I regret it.

I am a total anglophile and LOVED the tapestry clip.

Also, your blog has reminded me of my love of historical novels, so I've switched back from the non-fiction I've been stuck on for a while now and have picked up Mary Stewart's The Prince and the Pilgrim.

It's good to be back!

Keep up the notable blogging! :-)

Paul said...

But what about Milford Crabtree ?

Tess said...

denson joseph - tagging just means naming people, fellow bloggers. Kinda like a virtual version of touching someone during the game of tag and saying "You're it."

I Beatrice - For the last little while I've been categorizing my posts (see the Labels). You can click on those label titles that interest you. Other than that, the best I can recommend is simply going through month by and look through.

I'll try to come back later this week and talk about my manuscripts - please note, they're as yet unpublished.

Kelly Boyce said...

I looooove music box dancer. That was one of my favorite pieces of music as a kid.

aliceleng said...

agree