I was tagged by Simply Homemade Mum to join in a blog tag: The a-z of me. Very narcissistic, I know 🙂 I loved reading these, I am really very nosy. When I was first tagged, I didn’t think I would be able to come up with 26 things per each letter… but a few hilarious hours after dinner, we managed to fill them all (I do cheat a little considering 8 of those letters are filled instantly with names) The photos have nothing to do with this post, really (just in an abstract way) but I simply couldn’t put up a post without photos, it went against my grain…
I do warn you, this post is not particularly interesting, and in places a little Odd (Bums, anyone?)
A for Anna and Art: Anna, our youngest- and completely delicious; and art which I plan on making my entire life. In fact, I simply cannot see my life without it. Drawing, painting, dolls, crafting… my art practice is just who I am. It’s too interwoven in me to try extricate it, and it brings me utter and complete joy (and so does Anna!)
B for Bowels. I love a squeeze of a bum (love it. If I see a round bum I get an awful insatiable urge to run up and squeeze it. Or just slap it. Grace refuses to walk ahead of me upstairs anymore as I kept pinching her. It’s like a tic. It is a tic) and I am fascinated with bowels and (as they are referred to in our house, amid shrieks of laughter: B.M.s- except frequently have a letter appendage of “E” (explosive), “A” (apocalyptic) or “S” (supersonic) ) bowel motions- the basis of health really, and makes your life thoroughly miserable and uncomfortable when they aren’t regular (or are too regular!). An absolutely fantastic diagnosis tool. Thankfully for my GP she has only ever seen me to confirm a pregnancy as I feel any illness deserves a parallel description of how the bowels are, in order to understand fully what is going on.
(Are you sorry you started reading now? I did warn you)
C for cakes, coconut oil and cider vinegar: essentials in the kitchen!
D for dolls: I love making them, Waldorf, art-dolls, paper dolls (haven’t progressed to Voodoo yet. Yet)
E for Emily: when I was young I only knew two Emily’s- Emily Dickinson and Emily Brontë. Now the name is top of all the baby name lists, and I keep answering calls of “Emily?” in playgrounds all over the place.
F for Fergal: I just love him to bits.
G for Grace: our eldest girl, into all things “girl”: hair, makeup, fashion, dolls, fairies… Apart from the fairies, I feel I’m deeply failing her. She advises me on what to wear (!!) She’s not yet seven (eeek)
H for Homeopathy: I think we say at least once a day “thank goodness for homeopathy”. I read my first homeopathic book when I was 11- the wonderful Dorothy Shepherd- and it resonated with every fibre of my being. I am so thankful for this gentle giant of healing.
I for Instagram: I’m trying to NOT get obsessed. It’s wonderful and exciting and a huge community of pretty amazing photos… You can follow me here!
J for James: this morning he came running out of bed, grinning. “Do you know what Daddy said I was?” “No! What?” “Coot. He yed I wad coot!” James is so feckin cute and affectionate (when he’s well fed and not contrary)
K for Kettle: my absolute favourite piece of kitchen equipment!
L for Liam: Liam is our third boy, third eldest. A more easy-going child you could not meet, and always has been. Laid back (his brothers would say lazy), easy, affectionate, happy. Likes to get up early in the morning to talk at me and tell me his dreams in detail while I’m trying to de-groggy myself and come alive (a true joy, I promise) (Not a hint of sarcasm there)
M for Michael: our second eldest, our current teenager (Although I think we have gotten away with “teenage-dom” very lightly so far) (famous last words) Michael is very witty, very creative. A voracious reader, can visualize and make/build anything, a do-er. He is currently obsessing over physics and teaching himself Russian (why Russian? Haven’t the foggiest. But he dements enlightens us with interesting Russian language facts throughout the day and loves the way it’s spoken)
N for the Nest: this little blog. I spent a couple of years thinking of changing the name, until I came to realise that I love everything that it represents: “a snug retreat or refuge; resting place; home”
O for Obsessions: I have many. Mostly weirdy-ish things- lichens, snail shells, bird nests, folding clothes properly; and a few very normal things like books and art.
P for Painting: I love painting… And yet, it’s torture and bliss in equal measure. My father is an amazing painter and some of my earliest memories are of him painting. I love the smell of linseed oil and turpentine
Q for Questions: I think my children ask a higher than average number of questions per hour. Which, frankly, isn’t really fair. Most of them I have no answer for and we spent vast amounts of time finding answers; and an inordinate portion are food related, as in, what are we having for lunch/ dunch (a “thing” in our house) and dinner… And any possibility of supper? Or tea?
R for Roses: I think my favourite one is Rosa Othello, a very gorgeous, unusual rose with a magenta-burgundy colour. It has a rich, ‘old rose’ fragrance. My grandad had a magnificent rose garden, I can still remember lying down on the grass and being completely enveloped in the scent of roses.
S for Swearing: I swear an awful lot. All the time. I take a perverse delight in swearing. And then when I feel guilty I assuage my guilt by telling myself that Irish people just naturally swear, it’s a soft mush of words which fall out and aren’t really swearing swearing in the traditional sense of trying to cause offense: “Ara,forfuckssake, I’ve madeashite of that feckin yoke”
T for Thomas: our eldest. Funny, creative, fascinating, he is our family encyclopedia! Very interested in 20th century history, geography and all things Japanese. An extraordinary illustrator… and procrastinator.
U for Unschooling: myself and the two elder boys went to a fantastic Unschooling conference in Galway at the weekend. Technically, we “Unschool” rather than “Home School” in our way of educating at home. It remains one of the greatest blessings for our family, has strengthened us and given us a generally stress-free, contented and very happy rhythm of life.
V for VW: we drive one. It’s big, tank-like, beast of a minibus masquerading as a car. I love it
W for Willies: I hadn’t planned on telling you this story, it’s dreadfully rude. But I have no other W word and my children egged me on. Depending on the day, I think it’s very funny or just mortifyingly awful: I was in a large Tesco at the meat counter with Fergal, laughing at the fact that pork steak looked like a horses willy. The butcher came up while I was idly looking at everything and I asked for a pork steak. Except I didn’t. I asked for a horses willy. He froze. As did I. And then I pretended to be French (because French people eat horses, and how is he to know, they might eat willies. That was my reasoning) while I felt like DYING inside (and Fergal RAN AWAY)
X for Zavier: yet another Epic Fail for me. When I was expecting Anna, we spent months discussing names. Michael “thought of” a perfect name one of the days: Charles Xavier. Wow, I loved it! Perfect, just perfect. Until Fergal enlightened me as to who he was- some ancient guy, a “mutant son” (so says Google). Michael thought it was all hilarious.
Y for Yawning: I yawn a lot. I’m just not getting enough sleep (and I won’t go to bed in a timely fashion. I need a slap. Or a bum pinch)
Z for Zentangles: a style of drawing that uses structured patterns. I keep meaning to give it a go, properly, but after starting I go off on a (literal) tangent. I’m very annoying.
I tag Jane over at That Curious Love of Green and Joanna at Joanna’s Little Shop (and I will give you a good bum-squeeze if you don’t take part, ho ho ho)
I am so glad the horse’s willy story finally saw the light of blog. It’s too good to keep hidden!
Also, you’d fit right in in Germany. I was recently told that German toilets have a little “shelf” to catch the poo so that you can take a good look at it and see how your bowels are. All the kids are taught to do it from an early age.
Now that is a list and a half!
Lovely reading.
I’ll be sure to never walk in front of you. My arse would be a Billboard of Temptation (BoT, gettit? Eh?)
Christine, those Germans are on the ball 😉
Looking forward to taking a good swipe at your BoT asap, Helen 😀
Love your obsessions, including the ones not under ‘O’. And I really really need to learn more about unschooling, it might be the only thing that will improve life here. Feel free to point me in the right direction 🙂
I’m willing to ignore the tag in order to secure the bum squeeze!!! I’m in stitches after reading this, especially at the Tesco story (or should I say the horse’s willy story!!) and laughing even more that your children egged you on to tell it. But I must admit Christine’s comment about the toilet shelf is tempering the mirth a bit!
Ah I LOVE this Emily 😀
Mind you I’m not so sure about the bum fascination, although my own children do refer to the practice of passing wind as ‘bumps’ – you can imagine the giggles when people refer to bumps in the road and such things!
I’m so glad you held onto The Nest, it’s just perfect.
And delighted to be reduced to fits of laughter at your willies again, a perfect anecdote for the end of the day.
Hilarious and fascinating! I feel I have learnt a lot of new, nutty stuff about you today, Ems
A wonderful list Emily. Your comment on art and it being part of you reminded me of a line from a poem, I think it is from Yeats “how can we tell the dancer from the dance”.
I can confirm the toilet shelf thing. They have them here and in Holland too.
Thex eat a lot of pork here too. I’ll never look at a pork steak in the same way again after that story Emily.
Fionnuala, I have decided I really need a German/Dutch toilet!!
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You are a gas woman Emily! I think the butcher’s story will be doing the rounds for awhile however it’s not the funny bit. And I’ve learnt how far ahead of the Germans I am with my outhouse, sawdust box, humanure toilet – you get to see as much as you want… Oh darn, I meant to put outhouse as my O ‘cos I always loved outhouses as a kid, thought they were really cool in the films and now I have one, with a half door for the breezy days when you don’t want the full door open. Ah well, next A – Z.
I loved reading your A – Z, it’s filled with fun and personality, I love that my connection with Jane from That Curious Love of Green has brought me here to enjoy your writing too, I’ll be back for more 🙂
Thanks Miriam! We need to start an Outhouse Appreciation group for all things bowel 😉