Oh so loverly
Way, way back in February, amidst the supreme craziness of my life, Heather Day Gilbert bestowed upon this blog the “Lovely Blog Award.” Do these things expire? If not, here’s my attempt at redeeming it by following the rules and sharing seven interesting things about myself:
1. When I was eight years old, my secret dream was to be the only Clancy Sister. I had a tape of the Clancy Brothers’ Songs of Drinking and Rebellion which I would listen to every night; I had every song memorized, along with a really terrible Irish accent. I’d go around crooning, “O Whiskey, yer the divil, yer laiding me astray...!”
2. Ironically, considering that I’ve written a novel about a vineyard (not to mention the number of Irish drinking songs I know), I rarely drink. But when I do, I really really enjoy the North Country Red from the Thousand Islands Winery in upstate New York. It’s very sweet. Since it’s not sold in Connecticut, it’s a rare treat.
3. I have a terrible fear of killer bees.
4. My guilty pleasure reading is P. G. Wodehouse. It doesn’t plumb the depth of human emotion like Jane Austen, but as a good friend from college said, it’s “brain candy.”
5. My favorite kind of candy is Sweet-tart Jelly Beans. They only sell them at Easter time, so we usually buy a few bags during the after-Easter sales and try to make them last at least through the summer.
6. I love making apple pies, especially if I’ve picked the apples from an orchard myself.
7. My very favorite food is Chicken Tikka Masala.
Happy spring, everyone!
Hi Faith. It's nice to "meet" you. I'm always so excited when I find other writers that live nearby :)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to get to know you better :)
oh and I LOVE Chicken Tikka Masala.. so yummy!
So nice to meet you, too, Cristina! Maybe we'll run into each other at some writing event in CT sometime!
DeleteI love baking apple pies, too. Mmm, now I want one!!
ReplyDeleteI love the Starburst Jelly Beans at Easter time. Easter is coming up fast so I think it's time to stock up on candy and chocolate! :) :)
I enjoyed learning more about you. Hope you're having a great week, Faith!
Mmm, Starburst jelly beans are good, too.
DeleteAll this talk about candy is making lent a little longer. ;)
It's almost nice when a favorite candy only comes around once a year, because then you love it all the more. :) Mine is the Hershey's kisses that have white chocolate and peppermint chunks.
ReplyDeleteOh, those are good, too.
DeleteYou know, it's only in reading the comments that I realized that several of my seven things were centered around food... I guess I was hungry when I wrote it...
Congrats on your award.
ReplyDeleteChicken Tikka Masala is delicious! Love Korma too. Indian food is delicious. This is the second blog in a row that's talked about food. It's 8:55 am, and I've already been enticed by steak, wine, french fries, masala, and apple pie!
Oh, I'm sorry! :) As I commented above, I think I must have been hungry when I wrote the post...
DeleteGreat album! And one of my favorites from that same album was "Nell Flaherty's Drake"... and I would croon:
ReplyDelete"May his pig never grunt, may his cat never hunt,
May a ghost always haunt him in the dead of the night,
May his hen never lay, may horse never nay,
May his goat fly away like an old paper kite;
May the flies and the fleas may the wretch ever tease,
May the piercing March breeze make him shiver and shake,
May the hump of a stick raise the lumps fast and thinck,
Of the monster that murdered Nell Flaherty's Drake."
But... my very favorite... the one that every good Irish Catholic would have known in the early part of the 20th century... (even if I have no Irish blood in me I can still feel the persecution):
"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;"
Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"
The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!"
I love both those songs, too. The Minstrel Boy gives me chills.
DeleteAs far as bees, we are twins, although they don't have to be killers for me to fear them.
ReplyDeleteI love to pick apples from the orchard, but I prefer eating them just as they are. I make a mean apple crisp, however. :)
I'm glad I'm not the only one afraid of bees! The regular sort only put me into a mild panic--and I've never encountered the killer variety. It's just the idea that gives me nightmares!
DeleteSo glad you did this--I don't think they expire, since your blog is still lovely! Great to learn more about you. My husband, a rather cerebral chap, loves Wodehouse and laughs out loud through the entire Jeeves/Wooster books.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I have a friend who owns a vineyard and I know they're TONS of work!
Ah, it's blog official... you're a North Country Red lover! ;) Yum. :) But to be entirely accurate... well, the folks at Thousand Islands winery would probably make fun of you (in the good-natured country way of people up here, of course ;) ) for referring to their location as "upstate NY." It's called North Country Red, after all. ;)
ReplyDeleteApparently, the long, bitterly cold winters and short, cool summmers of the North Country provide a perfect environment for excellent wine grapes. as well as incredibly flavorful maple syrup. North Country Farms produces my all-time favorite maple syrup, and I haven't tried a Thousand Island Winery vino that I didn't love. I will miss them both dearly when we move! :( I think a winery tour (or several) may be in order when you come for your next visit........... :)
... I'm typing in the dark, and didn't notice that I'd typed in a period instead of a comma after "grapes." Argh. :P LOL
DeleteAnd yes - I love Irish music!!!! I'd listen to Irish Songs of Rebellion while doing algebra... :)
ReplyDelete