Saturday, August 11, 2007

Eight Random Things About Me

My friend Waverly at Living in Season has tagged me and here we go.

1. I once trained to be a classical musician and almost made it, but fell in love and left my budding concert career behind - I have no regrets about it at all. The instruments are long gone (to pay off orthodontists and make mortgage payments), but one of these days I shall have another cello - lugging one around everywhere is a fine form of exercise, and what a rich and resonant music it makes! While I wait for a good cello to pop out of the ether, I play the recorder badly, and I have splendid dreams about conducting a symphony orchestra. In those dreams, the music I am conducting is the overture from Fidelio, and the orchestra (of course) is the Berlin Philharmonic. I would also like to learn to play the sitar.

2. On our first date many years ago, my soulmate and I spent most of the evening talking about art and literature, and somehow or other I landed up reciting almost the whole of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat to him - for the simple reason that he didn't believe I knew it, let alone knew the whole thing. I can still recite it from memory along with vast chunks of Yeats, Rumi, Hafiz, Basho, Rilke, Neruda, David Whyte, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry and William Stafford. Perhaps I was a bard in a former life.

3. I learned to read when I was three and have had my nose firmly planted in a book ever since - could cheerfully part with my whole wardrobe and the family silver, but never my library. Owning a book shop and/or a stationery shop would be a dream come true and a truly celestial experience. I nurture the dream.

4. There is a slight bend in my nose which is not noticeable because of all the freckles on it. As a teenager, I was always falling out of trees and off horses, and my poor nose now lists permanently to port. Nobody ever seems to notice, and I don't usually volunteer the information.

5. My favorite items of footwear (on the rare occasions when I cop out and wear shoes these days) are my purple lace-up Doc Martens. I feel like Xena in those boots, invincible and as though I can do just about anything, but I don’t have a sword or breastplate to go with the boots.

6. There are four places on this earth I should like very much to visit before I shuffle off the mortal coil this time around: the Himalayas, China, Japan (Kyoto) and for some strange reason Iceland. I plan to make it to all four places in the next few years.

7. Having been quiet, shy introspective, freckled and rather easy going all my life (and about as intimidating as the Easter bunny), I secretly aspire to become a commanding presence in my elder years, someone who is wise, compelling and a little scary. Boo!!!

8. If I do have a vice, then that vice just has to be tea. There is a whole cupboard of exotic teas here in the little blue house, and I love every single one of them. The tea kettle is always whistling on the hob, and there is usually a pot(ion) of tea in progress, lemons neatly sliced up and waiting to be floated gracefully on fragrant china cups of amber.

In my turn, I am tagging Rowan at The Circle of the Year.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first words my weary eyes espied today were your commonly unknown things about yourself.
Delightful,delictable,daunting,dear words.
I will be in Saco Maine from November 8 - 13, 2007. I would reliquish my dearest possesion to be able to meet with you at some halfway point and have a wild visit for at least one day.

Two of my dreams, a bookstore extrodinare w/herbs and all manner of mystical goodies and to learn to play the cello....oh my.

Sandi

sandramhagan@yahoo.com

Lil said...

LOL ~ Cate you and I are more alike now that I see your list...

~ grew up in a musical family and DO play the recorder, but have always turned into a puddle when listening to the cello...one day I'm going to learn how to play one as well

~ there is no scent sweeter than bookstores...I would give up chocolate :-0...and I've often dreamt about how blessed it would be to work in/own one too

~ our tea shelf is a joke in my family...I have the most diverse selection and the kettle is always warm from the last cup. When you come to my home the questions you get asked are: would you like some tea, herba or otherwise and woudl that be a small, medium or large mug? all social gatherings, planned or not involve a teapot...

~ when asked about which countries I'd like to see, the majority of them are north vs south...Iceland is on the list...and I can't stand the cold! go figure...

thank you for sharing these bits of yourself with us...I enjoy knowing just that little bit more about one of my favorite writers! :-)

Lil

kate smudges said...

This was great fun - I like the idea of the purple Doc Martens. Ah, to Iceland ... I would love to go there too.

The violin affects me the way the cello does you ...

Anonymous said...

I've read a lot of posts on this meme recently, but yours has been the most delightful, insightful, and informative. Maybe its my fondness for tea or the sound of a cello. Someone tagged me for this meme months ago. I suppose I should respond.

Rowan said...

This was such an interesting set of facts about you - I've actually just done a set of Random Facts on Circle, will that suffice or shall I wait a week or so and dredge up some more?:) Given time to think I can probably rake up another set

K Allrich said...

Oh fun! Thank you for letting me know you did this, too! I'll add you to my post.

As always, beautiful!

xoxo

Karina