My Favourite things

My Favourite Things

"Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...."

As the song says, these are a few of my favourite things, as I write this, anyway. Actually, though i like kittens, whiskers on same aren't overly enthralling. I love their little faces more! And i don't really fancy roses. My very favourite things are Coronation Street and Traveling, which have their own pages on this website but these following things are also part of my life and are my interests, hobbies and things that I fancy.

So in random order ....

British History:

A grade 9 teacher inspired me and ever since I've had an enduring love for British history, especially the Tudor era. I read historical books, I read historical novels and love historical "period costume" movies and shows, even if they aren't very accurate! I find the stories fascinating, the characters compelling and I wonder sometimes if maybe I lived in England in some other era in a former life! London of course, is my favourite city and one I know I will return to many times.

William Shakespeare:

This is sort of an offshoot of the history thing but it also goes back to the same Grade 9 teacher, Mr. Ralph Dockrill who not only led us through the annals of history but brought Shakespeare to life. He used the play, Love's Labour's Lost as our introduction and managed a class trip to Neptune Theater in Halifax for a live version of the play. although I still find it a bit difficult to read, I really enjoy seeing and hearing the lilting and rolling language of William Shakespeare on stage or film! I am not familiar with all of the plays but the one I admit to liking least is Romeo and Juliet. Just a bit too over the top "gushy" for me. Here's a link to a site I found that has the text of most of Shakespeare's works! But there are lots and lots of web sites about the man and his works on the internet.

Travel:

I first had the opportunity to travel in high school on a trip to Rome, Paris and the French Riviera during spring break. I was hooked but didn't have the wherewithall to travel for years after. Combining my love of History and Shakespeare i knew my first real trip would have to be to the U.K. and in 1993 organized a bus tour of the U.K., England, Scotland and Wales. Here's the travelogue of that trip. It was a smashing success and I've been fortunate to travel a fair bit since, both for personal and business. My Travel Page has links to my travelogues and photo albums. I've been back to London 4 times as of 2001 and it's always on my list of places to visit but future wish list trips include visits to Spain, Portugal, Austria, Greece, an Alaska cruise, Australia, New Zealand and maybe someday even more exotic locations like Singapore or Hong Kong.

Writing:

Isn't it obvious? LOL! I've kept a journal for years, though didn't write in it daily or even weekly. I now write an online journal over at Livejournal. The writing that i like to do, in spite of my over active imagination, (and yes, I was always pretty good in school in Composition class) is non-fiction. I was writing Coronation Street episode summaries for a few years and love to write travelogues.

The Ocean:

I was born by the ocean and grew up by it. I miss it terribly when I lived away from it. There is nothing like the crisp tang of salt air after a rainstorm or the rush of the water and crash of the surf on the rocks.

Reading:

Reading really isn't a hobby or passtime, it's just part of my life. I have always been a reader. I heard a line out of a movie trailer on tv that said: "Sometimes we don't pick the books we read, they pick us". That's so true! I read a lot, and I usually have several books on the go at any given time. I read a lot of different types of books, depending on my mood.One book from my childhMainly i read women's fiction authors but i'll try a wide variety if reccommened. Some favourite authors are Diana Gabaldon, Fiona Walker, Anne McCaffrey, Anita Burgh, Penny Vincenzi, Jilly Cooper, Pat Booth, Barbara Erskine. I try to read some of the classics now and then including Jane Austen, Anthony Trollope, Henry James and Dickens, with varying success and enjoyment.

I also read non-fiction books, some biographies and lots of history books. The history books get started and put aside for fiction but I get back to them in between novels. And novels get put aside for library books because they have to go back. Sometimes I have to put a moratorium on myself and vow to buy or borrow no more books until the stack in the bedroom is finished! Some of my favourite genres are historical fiction and modern fiction about a woman or group of female friends making her/their way in life but as I said, it just depends on my mood. However I don't go in forwesterns, Harlequin romances, or horror type novels although I have read Robin Cook and Stephen King in his early days (his wife Tabitha King writes good books too!)

Hobbies and Passtimes

Painting:

Recently i have started painting in oils. I have created a few small and some larger paintings, largely inspired by photos i took or have seen or by prints i've admired. I've taken a few lessons but mostly figured it out on my own. I quite enjoy it although with oil painting, you need to let it dry in between sessions.

Cross Stitch:

I started cross stitching about 15 years ago, beginning with a kit that came with all the materials in one bag. I now usually buy all my supplies separately. I love the complicated patterns by such authors as Teresa Wentzler. I have created quite a few and given them as gifts and have a few up on my own walls including a pattern of the Rovers Return, the pub from Coronation Street that was a pattern made from a scanned photograph. No I don't have the pattern anymore! Since i started painting, however, i haven't taken the time to sit and do cross stitch.

Computer Geek:

I probably spend a good percentage of my free time on the computer now. The internet has opened my horizons and i have made a large number of friends through it all over the world. I keep in touch with my net friends via Mirc, MSN messenger as well as email of course. I help support Corrie.net by answering the site email, uploading episode updates and helping to maintain the profiles section. I have my own website, obviously :) where i post personal info, Coronation Street related info, photography in different online photo albums at Fotopic and KodakGallery , and i post on a weblog, Livejournal where i've met even more great people. I use the net to do travel research including booking airline tickets, hotels, and tickets for plays. I use it at work to research IT related information.

Something New:

I don't make New Year's resolutions but i do make an effort to set a goal to learn, or do something new or travel to someplace new every year. It's a goal i've been able to keep. Sometimes work provides the means as we are brought into the 21st century and learning new technology. Past "new things" included starting a gym program, trying various fitness classes at the gym, getting a tattoo (celtic cross, left shoulderblade), tai chi, line dancing. oil painting and work always provides some new opportunities too, recently learning how to program in java and how to use CSS (Stylesheets).

Postcards:

I collect postcards. This hobby is an extension of my love for travel. I began by asked friends who were going on trips anywhere to bring me or send me a postcard but the collection wasn't growing very quickly. Then I found a newsgroup shortly after I first got on the net that was aimed towards postcard traders, both amateur and professional. I joined a trading roster through a mainling list and happily exchanged postcards for a few years. I have since dropped off as the cost of postage has risen but I still buy cards when i travel and enjoy looking at the four shoeboxes full of cards i have accumulated! There is an FAQ for the postcard group here.

Photography:

If you've seen my travel pages and photo albums you can see I love taking pictures. People or places, it doesn't matter! I'm nowhere near professional standards and usually I use the automatic settings because invariably I'll mess up if I try to experiment but It's something I've always enjoyed. I can pretty much guarantee I'll shoot a roll of 24 a day or more when I'm on vacation. Here's a link to a list of all my online photo albums

I have been interested in photography since I was given my first camera at the age of about 12, a Polaroid. I graduated through various pocket type cameras and now own a Canon EOS 3000 after many years with a Minolta X-700. I have entered the digital photography world and currently own an older model Sony Cybershot P72 digital camera. I'm not ready to give up my print camera completely, not just yet. There are still things i prefer about a print camera and it's still better for quick and action shots, though i'm sure that will change down the road. Indeed, the very expensive digital SLR's are on the market now and are improving all the time.