I’m pretty chuffed–Marvelline Marvels has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you Marvelline. 🙂
This is the first blogging award I’ve been nominated for, so I was actually quite excited, even though I hadn’t heard of the award before. So I had to check it out before I could accept the nomination. These are the Official Rules:
- Thank the person who gave you this award.
- Include a link to their blog.
- Select 15 blogs that are truly excellent and nominate them for the Versatile Blogger Award.
- List 7 things about yourself.
I still don’t know why it’s called ‘Versatile’, but I decided to take advantage of that name. Please pop over to my new ‘Community‘ page, and see the versatile range of (more than 15) blogs that are my current favourites. They may have changed by the time you see this post (I’m picturing future readers already), and I know that a couple of them either don’t take comments or won’t accept nominations, so I am nominating the following (slightly fewer than 15) for the award:
Food:
Lifestyle:
(Mainly) Photography:
(Mainly) Entertaining writing:
Education:
Finally here are 7 random (versatile?) things about me:
1. When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a professional classical musician. At one stage, I practised my oboe for 2-4 hours every day. I still have it, but I’m afraid the case now gets rather dusty.
2. Although I genuinely enjoy gardening as an adult, as a child I hated it.
3. Again, in adolescence, I used to fantasize about being an Olympic ice-skater. Fantasy indeed–I never had a single lesson, but I did teach myself to skate backwards.
4. Running against the stereotype for Americans, I’m a bit of a language junkie, and speak several languages. My ‘best’ foreign language is French; I’ve recently discovered I actually enjoy reading French novels for their own sake (and not just for the practice). I’ve got a Spanish sister-in-law, so I get to use my Spanish from time to time. My latest linguistic acquisition is Welsh; I subscribe to a Welsh learners’ magazine (Lingo) to maintain my vocabulary. Other languages (such as Dutch, German and Latin) have been learnt and left aside, or only used when travelling or as insight into ‘interesting’ words (in various languages) from time to time. Opportunity matters. None of this seems particularly odd to me now, since so many of the people I know speak at least two languages.
5. I love dancing. In grad school at IU, I was an officer in the student Ballroom Dance Club.
6. After 30+ years of singing alto, or generally harmony instead of melody when there were multiple parts, I was informed at an audition that my voice is actually soprano. I’d had no idea I could sing so high!
7. I’m a member in good standing in the local bee-keeping association, even though I developed an allergy to bee stings a couple of years ago.
I'm an American living in the UK, combining rural Mid-west ideas about food with a suburban coastal British reality. It's fun!
Creative Economy in the Kitchen 
Congratulations on your first award!!! Thank you very much for the nomination. Will get on it soon!! Tina
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Thank _you_! I look forward to learning more about you soon. 🙂
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I love these kinds of blogs–so interesting!
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Yes. At first glance it’s all about the awards, but really it’s more about getting to know each other more. 😉
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Congratulations Julia, for the Versatile Blogger Award. And, thank you so very much for thinking of me and generous nomination. ❤
There is a saying in Farsi… you are as many persons as the number of languages you speak.
Although I have not danced for 2 years, we have dancing in common. I used to dance ballroom and transitioned to Argentine tango. 🙂
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Thank you, Fae. 🙂 One of the things I find so fascinating about learning languages is discovering how many different ways there are of seeing the world–and how similar such diverse people are in so many ways.
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Great post (congratulations!)…and also thanks for the nomination. I LOVED reading your 7 versatile items! So interesting! I’ve sung alto for…forever too…hmmm, I’d love to increase my range. Any tips? Have a great day!
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Thank you, Lenore. 🙂
Sadly, I don’t have any surefire tips for extending your singing range. About the only thing I can suggest is that you _try_ to sing a larger range, and if it doesn’t actually _hurt_, to practise singing that larger range. In the course of 3 years, my top comfortable note has gone up from E-flat to A-natural (on a good day), and I can hit (but not hold) a B-flat or even a C-natural if we’re singing loud enough (and therefore with plenty of oomph). Good luck!
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Congratulations – and many thanks for the nomination 🙂 I used to play the oboe too but there was never any danger of me going professional 😉
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Wow. Congrats on your nomination.I am proud of all you have done with your life and accomplished.
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Thanks, Sweetie! 🙂
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