The Coveted Liebster Award

To be perfectly honest with you, I had never heard of the Liebster Award until I was nominated for it, but once I knew what it was all about, I definitely coveted it!  It's an award for new bloggers with under 200 followers, and I was very proud to receive the nomination from Sue of A Colourful Canvas. Make sure you pop by to say hello to her!

First I have to answer the 11 questions that Sue set for me, then add 11 random facts about myself and finally I have to make my own nominations, setting 11 different questions for my nominees.

Sue's 11 Questions for me:

1.  Katharine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn?  A tricky one for me as they are both actresses that I admire and they have starred in some of my favourite films.  As I have always been a bit of a tomboy, Katharine Hepburn's style is probably closest to mine, though sadly I don't have her tall, slender elegance and at times she seems a bit intimidating.  When I was younger, I wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn as she appeared in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sabrina, and she seems more fun - so I guess Audrey has the edge.
2.  Summer at the beach or winter on the slopes?  Neither, as I would prefer winter at the beach or summer in the mountains although I have a slight preference for the mountains.  My answer therefore has to be summer on the slopes.
3.  If you could be any character from a Disney movie, who would you be? Snow White, as it would be great to have seven men running around after me - plus the opportunity to look tall in comparison!
4.  What is your perfect Sunday afternoon?  A walk in the countryside with my husband John and our dog Lisa on a sunny, but not too hot, afternoon.
5.  Chocolate or Lemon?  Another tricky one as I love both flavours - can I choose dark chocolates with lemon centres? Or lemon mousse with dark chocolate grated on top?
6.  Are you content to sit in traffic, or do you feel compelled to find a jam-free route? I don't drive, however I don't like being stuck in traffic so I would ask whoever was driving me to find a jam-free route. Quickly.
7.  Would you rather read a book or watch a movie?  I would rather read a book, though I do enjoy watching films.  I like the fact that I can pick up a book when I want and put it down again to finish at another time, though if it's a really good story I often read it in one go.
8.  If you could travel back in time, what era would you choose? Yhe Regency period, as I have always enjoyed reading books about that period so it would be interesting to see how accurate they were. I think I would choose Brighton as the place to visit and enjoy seeing it in its hey-day.
9.  What did you have for lunch today?  As it was Easter Sunday (when I wrote this), we met some friends in a local bar for lunch. We had a selection of cold and hot tapas including gambas, calamares, sepia and mushrooms, followed by different main courses, in my case swordfish with grilled vegetables, and I had a coffee flan for dessert. All washed down with an excellent local red wine.  Today (the day I am publishing this) I had green pepper tortilla, washed down with herbal tea, followed by a banana.
10.  What is your idea of a perfect picnic?  Food choices and location please?  Somewhere in France, maybe on the bank of the river Seine. I would have a goat's cheese salad, grilled prawns and vegetables, crème brulée, fresh strawberries and champagne. With dark chocolate truffles to finish.
11.  If you went on a trip and had to utilize three different methods of transportation, which three  would you choose? A boat along a river (so it's not too rough, as I'm a fair weather sailor!), a horse (as I loved horse riding when I was a child, though it's a long while since I've ridden one) and a train, preferably the Orient Express.  
    
    
    

11 Random Facts about me

1.  I lived in Canada for three years as a child, them moved back to the UK when I was almost five.  I joined the WRNS when I left school as I wanted to travel. I was stationed in Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, where I first visited Spain and loved it. It's hardly surprising therefore that I decided to move to Spain when I retired.

2. Talking of travel, I have flown around the world twice, visiting Los Angeles, Hawaii, Auckland, Brisbane, Dunedin, Queenstown and Christchurch on my first trip.  Second time round we stopped in Singapore, then Auckland and Brisbane again, after which we visited Sydney, Wellington, Nelson, Cook Islands and San Francisco.

3.  I don't like tomatoes.  This made life a bit tricky when I was a vegetarian as it's hard enough finding vegetarian meals when you eat out, but almost impossible to find one without tomatoes.

4.  I have completed two marathons: the London Marathon and the Seven Sisters Marathon, which is mainly off-road with lots of hills.  After that, I decided to give up running marathons and concentrate on shorter distances including 100m and 200m sprints.  I last competed in track and field events 5 years ago at the age of 60, running 200m as well as throwing the hammer and doing the long jump.

5.  I am a complementary therapist with qualifications in Reflexology, Indian Head Massage, On-site Massage and the Bowen Technique.

6.  I enjoy dancing, though when they were younger my children described my style of dancing as embarrassing.  I am now learning Sevillanas with my friend Juana María.  Sometimes we do more laughing than dancing!

7.  I learnt French at school, as did my husband John, however we decided to move to Spain in spite of our limited knowledge of Spanish.

8.  I like challenges (see 7. above) so I am currently taking part in a Blog Challenge as well as the April Style Challenge.

9.  My scariest moment was when I was working in Gibraltar and I went to Morocco for the weekend in a small converted fishing vessel.  On the way back, the engine cut out and the ship-shore radio also failed, so there we were at the mercy of the sea, getting soaked as huge waves crashed over the bow of the boat. Eventually,  much to my relief, the sailors fixed the engine enough to get us safely back to dry land.

10.  Neither of us drives, as living in London we didn't need to drive. Obviously it would be useful now, but we live on the edge of town so we can walk to the shops and the bus station.  Anyway, we both enjoy travelling by train and the local bus takes us to Murcia where we can catch the train.

11.  Although I had several articles and short stories published when I was younger, I was very excited when I had my first book published, at the age of 61. It is called "Retiring the Olé Way", so you can guess what it is about!

My Nominees:

1.  Jacqui was a contributor to my book and is a keen blogger.  We haven't met yet, but I think of her as a friend and, who knows, maybe one day we'll meet! So why don't you make yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy having a chat with her?  http://acoffeeandachat.blogspot.com/

2.  I am honoured to say that Callie is a good friend of mine and one of the most inspiring women I know.  She invites you to have a cup of tea, while you enjoy her blog at  http://createavity.com/.
(I think I should add another question: 12. Coffee or tea?)

3.  Meagan is someone I "met" through the Dressing Your Truth community.  She is an American blogger who is very creative: I loved the posts she wrote about the four different types within DYT and the way she interpreted them. Do have a look at her blog: radiantandrandom.blogspot.com

4. Madelaine is another member of the DYT community, who lives in Australia. I love reading about her DIY projects and refashioning ideas - if only I was more creative! http://bitsquareblog.blogspot.com.au/

5. Anne Friston is a blogger, though she has only been blogging since March. She also has M.E.  Are these two facts connected?  Well she mentions the M.E. on her blog but, like my dear friend Callie, she has a positive attitude.  I am enjoying her posts and I like her light, natural style.  I'm sure you will too!  http://annefriston.wordpress.com/

6.  Are you addicted to self-help books like me?  Then you will enjoy Maureen's enlightening blog: http://theyearofme.me/.  Follow her journey starting in January this year and ending, presumably, in December.

7. I  have taken the liberty of adding Juhli who, like me, is an "Early Boomer".  I know she is off-line at the moment so I can't ask her permission, however it's worth having a look at her blog if only to read her "Suggestions for Aging Well" and her 13 "Happiness Commandments". Hope you don't mind, Juhli! http://boomergirlsguide.blogspot.com.es/

11 Questions for my Nominees:

1.  What has been the proudest moment in your life so far?

2.  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose to live and why?

3. Who is your inspiration?

4.  Classical music or rock 'n' roll?

5.  What is your favourite meal?

6.  What is the first thing that you do in the morning?

7.  If you could be somebody else, who would you like to be?

8.  What do you do to keep fit?

9.  If you had a magic lamp, what would you wish for?

10. Is there one thing about yourself that you would like to change or are you totally comfortable with the way you are?

11. What is your favourite colour, and why?

Please visit the blogs of the nominees and leave a comment. I'm sure that you will enjoy reading their blogs as much as I do!