Liebster Award Nomination

I have very kindly been awarded the Leibster award by Lynn at Raising Little Shoots. Thank you, Lynn!  Sorry it has taken me so long to get round to it but better late than never!

Liebster Award Rules  

• Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Display the Liebster Award on your blog
• Share 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
• Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers for the Award and have them answer 11 questions.
• Let the other bloggers know you’ve nominated them.
• Copy the rules into your post.

Here are my 11 Random Facts:

1.  For a time I used to read exclusively non-fiction books but now I read more fiction books.

2.  I used to play the piano really well.

3.  I dream in another language.

4.  I have a deeper emotional connection with the language that I was brought up in.

5.  My memories of my siblings are frozen in time so in my mind's eyes they are still tweens(!), which must really irritate them because I sometimes forget and still treat them as such, even though they are in their 30s now.

6.  I can't be sure about this one, but I suspect I may be a luddite.

7.  I don't mind driving fast but I don't like to be a passenger when someone else is driving fast.

8.  Of the online friends that I've made through this blog, I've only ever met and spoken with two in real life.  It's nice to know that there are at least two real (non-virtual), wonderful people who read this blog.

9.  I have eaten barbecued fruits bats, compliments of a friend and her family in Borneo.

10.  I once saw a burning corpse floating down the Ganges while people were washing clothes or bathing themselves a few hundred yards away.

11.  I once spent 10 days floating down the Nile in a felucca boat.

Answers to Lynn's 11 Questions:

1.  Your favourite season?  Autumn.

2.  The words I’d like to live by are…  Be true to who you are.

3.  Introvert or extrovert?  Introvert.

4.  Your favourite childhood place?  My childhood home.

5.  Which character from a book would you most like to meet and why?  Siddharta from Herman Hesse's Siddharta, because I am intrigued by the character's path to spiritual fulfillment.

6.  What are your hobbies?  Too many to list.  The only hobby I can manage with an acceptable level of consistency at present is reading.

7.  Something you’re good at?  Cooking.

8.  What would your super-power be?  Empathy.

9.  Your favourite drink?  Chai Latte.

10.  Your favourite book?  Siddharta

11.  What kind of day are you having today?  Hmm... that's a hard question to answer at the moment.  Lots of ups and downs is all I can say.

11 Questions for my nominees:

1. What did you do before you became a homeschooling mum?
2. What is your greatest joy?
3. What is your worst fear?
4. What is your dream destination?
5. Why do you blog?
6. What are your personal dreams?
7. What is the most exciting thing you have done?
8. What are your plans for when homeschooling is over?
9. Which book/movie has the deepest influence on you?
10. In what ways has the book/movie chosen in question 9 influenced you?
11. Who do you look up to?

I don't really know of many blogs with fewer than 200 followers, so I am nominating the following blogs in good faith.  Please don't be offended if you already have more than 200 followers and I thought you didn't, because I honestly don't mean to cause offence!  My nominees (in no particular order) are:

1. journey-and-destination 

2. Luminous Fire

3. Stories of an Unschooling Family

4. The Queen of Hats

5. Frolicking Flamingoes

6. Quark Academy  

7.  Laugh, Love, Learn

8. delivering grace

* This post contains affliate links to products that we have used and that I truly recommend.  I earn a little bit of money, at no extra cost to you, when you make a purchase through the link.  Thank you for your support.  :-)

Slowly Making My Way Back

Hello, everybody!  Remember us?

Many things have gone on at the home front since mid-December, which explains my absence on this blog.  There has been much joy, with the birth of my new nephew thousands of miles away (which Tiger is very happy about since he is therefore no longer the youngest member in the family),

and Tiger recovering from his nasty ear infection in time for us to enjoy a wonderful Christmas with all of the family.

As if all these excitement was not enough, my little cozy world was, and still is, somewhat "shaken" by a few remarks and observations that I received both online and offline.  As though being hit by a wave of personal issues all at once, I had to take time off from blogging and from many other activities to think things over, to untangle each interconnected piece so that I can tackle each one effectively.

Meanwhile, one of the issues/topics that have come up again and again over the years in various forms is that of giftedness.  I intend to share more of our experiences very soon.  While you're waiting for me to get my act together, may I direct you to a few related posts that I have written over the years, particularly this one that was written in 2012?