Tag: Tags

Whosoever Tag

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I was most kindly tagged by Mr Holiman back in September. He’s happily married to Mrs Holiman – who also has a blog – and he loves to help others and put a smile on people’s faces. Please do go and check out his blog which, among other things, has some great advice for healthy living.

Now, I’ll be honest, I was a bit surprised to be nominated for this Tag as I’m somewhat of a religious sceptic but if asked to describe myself I would most probably say Christian, so here goes……….

 Tag Origins

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ~ John 3:16

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ~ Mark 8:34

Nominees

If you’d like to join in with the tag, please do, all denominations welcome!

Tag Questions

1. How old were you when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?

I did when I was younger but only because I went to Sunday school with my god-mother quite probably to give my parents a bit of a lie in and a peaceful start to the day. I’m much more sceptical these days.

2. How many times have you been baptized?

Just the once, that’s enough isn’t it?

3. What Bible story or verse puzzles you most?

I’m not sufficiently familiar with the Bible to say.

4. What is something you would like to know about Heaven?

I jokingly tell my beloved husband that when he dies and goes to heaven, he’s going to be sorely disappointed as no one will ever look after him as well as I do. I would like this to be confirmed.

5. Who is the first person you knew on earth that you will look for or you hope will be waiting to greet you at the pearly gates?

My parents.

6. Why do you think the streets in Heaven are made of gold?

But I don’t, why would they be?

7. What is the ONE burning question you can’t wait to ask Jesus?

If, and it’s a big if in my mind, I get to meet him I’ll ask him about injustice and inequality.

8. Other than Jesus, what person from the Bible are you most interested to meet?

Noah, I’d like to know how he managed to get two of everything in his Ark.

9. What are 3 things you won’t miss about being on earth?

Mr H’s answer was: “The people, racism and violence!” and I’m inclined to agree with him though I will miss some people, just not all of them.

10. What is the best spiritual advice you have ever received?

These pearls of wisdom were both from my Father, a man of few words.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you

If you can give someone a helping hand, you should.

Tag Rules

1.This tag is for any follower of Jesus who wants to do it. If you love Jesus and are a “Whosoever”, you are tagged.

2. Link the original post (The Whosoever Tag) and give credit to the creator of this tag (Purple Rose) https://reluctantpreachersdaughter.wordpress.com

3. Answer the 10 original questions asked by Purple Rose

4. Share the link to at least one Christian blog post or blogger you love (you may share as many blog posts or bloggers as you like).

5. Use the original tag image as the FEATURED image on your post:

 

Tagged: 10 things that make me happy I, II and III

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A couple of months ago – was it really that long? – I was most fortunate to be tagged by three fantastic bloggers: James, Carol Anne and Steve.  If you’re not familiar with their blogs, please check them out and give them a follow.

Ten Things That Make Me Happy Rules

1. List 10 things that make you happy. ( Linking to them, sharing pictures, writing poems about them, jokes etc are all encouraged but not required.)

2. List 10 people who make you happy. ( Notify them of their Tag)

Please note, if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged!

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

1. Well, I’m giving my long-suffering beloved husband top billing. It doesn’t often happen but given that we’ve been together for almost 44 years, and we’ve happily survived over two months in strict lockdown, I do think it’s only fair.

2. Living in France. We moved here permanently from the UK just over 15 years ago and we’ve loved every minute: the gorgeous weather, the fabulous food, the rich culture and the charming French. We wouldn’t live anywhere else!

3. My beloved and I both love watching and taking part in live sport. It’s such a relief to now be able to ride on open roads again. Cycling on a home trainer just doesn’t cut it! Of course we’ll have to wait awhile to watch some sport and even longer to attend a football match but if that’s what it takes to keep us all safe……………….

4. I love relaxing in the kitchen and cooking up a storm at weekends. The more I’m cooking for, the merrier. During lockdown I’ve only been cooking for us though I have slipped some of my isolated elderly neighbours a few baked goodies. I love cooking for and feeding a crowd because it gives me an opportunity to try new recipes alongside a few tried and tested old favourites.

5. Sometimes you just can’t beat curling up with a good book, some quiet background music and a glass of wine. I generally only get the time to do this when you know who isn’t around underfoot, demanding my undivided attention.

6. I love travelling to places old and new. It broadens my horizons. Of necessity, any travel on the immediate horizon is probably going to be a bit narrower and closer to home but, nonetheless, I’ll still enjoy the experience.

7. I really enjoy visiting museums and exhibitions, again because it broadens my horizons and artworks fill my heart with joy. I would buy more if only we hadn’t run out of wall space! My walls are covered in artwork and bookshelves.

8. I find a view of water really relaxing. Our apartment just outside of Konstanz in Germany had a wonderful view of the lake and I could just sit there for hours drinking in the view. Ditto our first French holiday home in Saint Laurent du Var. Water has such a calming effect so much so that our current home was chosen specifically for its view, and its 50 metre outdoor swimming pool!

9. I enjoy writing my blog. It provides some structure and focus to my day something I think I’ll appreciate even more as I age. Plus, of course, I enjoy interacting with you guys. I learn plenty of new things every day which helps roll back the years.

10. Last, but not least, my family. I only have two sisters and since none of us have any children (from choice) we’re the last of our line. I’m closer to my youngest sister largely because we’re more alike and have more interests in common. My younger sister has always driven me to distraction and we’re not so close.

20 Questions

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Back in November, Mrs Suvi most kindly suggested I might like to take part in this challenge. And, you know me, I’m always up for a challenge. Don’t forget to check out Mrs Suvi’s blog, she’s a wife and mother of two from Finland who is into travel, eating out and Prosecco – I get that!.

Feel free to join in!

Your most memorable fancy dress costume?

I’m not, and never have been, into fancy dress. In fact the only time I can recall having to dress up was when I was 10 years old and on a cruise of the Med with my sisters and parents. My mother made us the outfits from crepe paper. I was a playing card and my younger sister was a roman candle. My youngest sister was too young to join in. Neither of us won.

Which social media platform do you use the most?

I dip in and out of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and WhatsApp, generally using all of them to keep up with family, friends and business contacts.

Favourite season

I love sunshine and warm weather, so it has to be summer. I love spending time outdoors after all those years being chained (not literally) to a desk in an office. The days are longer, you can eat outdoors and spend time on your bike in the Niçois hinterland away from traffic.

If you had to choose the beach or mountains, which would it be?

I love nothing better than walking along long sandy beaches and dipping my toes in the water. It’s harder to do here as many of the beaches, our own included, are stony. As you know, I’m not one to sunbathe on the beach for hours on end, I leave that to my two sisters! It’s the water I love, so calming.

What can you play very well?

Like most kids I learnt to play the descant recorder, and read music. That’s it. I much prefered to be outside playing sport and was a pretty good tennis and squash player in my youth. I played a lot of sport at school and university but not so much once I started work. Now I love nothing more than riding my bike.

What kind of cheese do you like?

I loved cheese ❤!! Yes, that use of the past tense is deliberate. I can sadly no longer tolerate dairy and while you can make non-dairy cheese nothing, but nothing, replicates a wonderful ooozing non-pasterised Brie de Meaux.

Life goal

This is the type of question you get asked in interviews and reviews. I always used to confound people when I said I wanted to do something I enjoyed! Now I appreciate that my idea of enjoyment is probably someone else’s headache. However, I loved successfully managing people, processes, projects and big budgets.

How many cities have you lived in?

I was born in the Midlands and our closest city was Birmingham. I went to university in Loughboro’ and lived in Leicester once my beloved and I married. A few years later we moved to London and 15 years ago we moved here to the Cote d’Azur, not far from Nice.

What language do you wish you could speak?

I speak English, French German and Italian. I can get by in Spanish but wish I spoke it better. I’d also love to speak Japanese.

What can’t you stand?

Where shall I start? Indifference, not treating people and animals with respect, people who dither………

If you have an hour to kill on your hands, what would you do?

Whip up something in the kitchen, catch up on my emails, do something on my blog, a spot of yoga, some washing and ironing, a bit of housework, water my plants………… There’s no end to the things I could do but generally it would depend on what needs doing.

Your favourite routine?

My morning ride which sets me up for the rest of the day. During the week it may not be for very long but, during the weekend, I try to ride for much longer. If the weather rules out riding, I’ll happily potter for hours in the kitchen batch cooking to restock my freezer.

When do you become hyperactive?

Most people would consider me permanently hyperactive, I leave many a younger person trailing in my wake.

Text message or phone call?

More probably a WhatsApp message.

Your most precious treasure.

I don’t treasure anything, just people. So my most precious would be my beloved husband.

Your latest foreign language mistake.

I’m sure I make mistakes daily with whichever language I’m using though I don’t know unless someone chooses to kindly correct me.

What’s the best therapy for you?

A bike ride.

If you could be a fictional character, who would you be?

Never really given this much thought and can’t think of anyone offhand.

Where would you like to travel?

Check out my bucket list, it’s still pretty relevant.

Where did you meet your spouse/partner?

We met at university, we were introduced by mutual frends. We started dating and married nine months later. That was over 40 years ago!