An award!

Well, look at that! My blog received an award!!! Wow! Thank you very, very much to my fellow blogger and dear friend from the stunningly beautiful Almond Valley!

All right. The award comes with 11 questions, so, without further ado, let's go on and answer them!

1. Autumn is coming – what’s the cosiest place in your home?

Probably the kitchen with a bouquet of yellow oak leaves (picked by my daughter), lots of candles and a lantern glowing in the window and, sometimes, the aromas of an apple pie drifting from the oven... I love apple pies, the scent of all those spices is an essential part of autumn. And I love autumns!

2. What sorts of potted plants do you have on your patio right now?

I’m so ashamed to admit this, but... nothing. Nothing at all. I don't have much of a green thumb, and since we spend very little time on the patio this time of year, it just never seemed like worth the trouble. To be honest, only a couple of days ago I did think that we should buy some plants to liven up the place, but then I forgot. I’d love to get some heather, though, they’re lovely! The days are getting colder and the night temperatures are below the zero, so not that many plants would even survive the weather. I think heathers would? Maybe? I have no idea.

Heather (image from Wikipedia):

3. The most beautiful thing you heard today?

Silence.

4. Chocolate or salty liquorice?

Do you even need to ask? Chocolate, of course! I was never much of a salty liquorice fan, although I don’t hate it, either. I just never buy any. But hey, there are some chocolate + salty liquorice combinations that I like quite a lot!

5. Your favourite beverage at the moment?

I’m tempted to say hot chocolate because it would seem ideal in this weather, but I don’t actually drink it that much (I prefer to eat my chocolate. I’m weird that way. If you can eat something, why would you drink it? Drinkable yoghurt? No, I’d rather eat it with a spoon. Smoothies? No, I’d rather munch on the fruits and berries. Milkshakes? Just give me the ice cream!). So I’m going to go with mead. Because, well, Vikings. And it’s actually pretty perfect for cold, dark autumn evenings. And summer days. And sunny spring celebrations. And midwinter. And...

6. Do you hibernate?

Weeeell... maybe a little... If hibernation means that you’re less active in winter than in summer, that you prefer to curl up on the sofa with a good book and wear wool socks, then definitely yes! Winters are beautiful, the snow makes everything look like it’s another world altogether... but it’s hideously cold and the older I get, the less I tolerate the winter weather.

Books and bunny slippers. Essential components of proper hibernation. (Chocolate doesn't hurt, either.)

7. Describe your latest moment of inspiration.

Well, it has to do with writing... Yes, lately there’ve been times when my inspiration seems to have been... well, dead. But I’m currently writing something together with my DH, and the great thing about a shared project is that you can inspire each other... ;) No, what I mean is, sometimes you’re just stuck and don’t know what to do, where to go, but a chat about the text, the plot, the characters (even making fun of them!) can cause that ”Aha!” moment. And then you know what to do... and sometimes the inspiration that hits you is for a completely different part of the story, but hey, I’m not picky. Inspiration is inspiration! I'll take whatever I can get.

8. Would you rather go out for a walk/run or relax on the sofa?

That depends... okay, I can’t run (my body is broken, thanks to a stupid autoimmune disease, and it’ll get worse if I do stuff like running and jumping... which is a pity, because I used to love skipping rope!) and recently walking hurts, too. I know. Depressing. However, I don’t just sit around all day, either. I have a rowing machine and a stationary bike and a collection of dumbbells and weights... Because of the said illness, a workout session these days tends to be an exercise of imagination rather than that of the muscles – but I’m not giving up!

9. You made someone smile today – who was it?

My daughter. Not much of an achievement; she has a very sunny disposition and smiles and laughs a lot. :)

10. A topic you’d love to write a post about?

Um... this is a hard one, since I don’t really plan my posts in advance, just write whatever happens to occur to me. Well, I’ve been thinking of writing a post about my grandfather, because it was from him I inherited my love for stories.

11. What are you grateful for today?

My family and friends.

Now, the idea is that I'll pass the award on, along with a new set of questions, to some other bloggers (the blogs should have fewer than 200 members). So, here were go... these questions go to Wolfwood's Corner, Varicoloured, The Cult of Me and Drawings by Dell. Feel free to answer and/or pass the award on, if you have the time/interest.

Oh, and some more instructions: add the picture of the award to your post and mention the blog where you got it.

And, finally, the questions:

1. What's your favourite book? (You could see that one coming, didn't you?)

2. Your favourite lyrics?

3. If you could meet a historical figure (anyone!), who would that be?

4. Your favourite season?

5. What are you afraid of?

6. Your greatest strength?

7. Your biggest vice?

8. Would you want to live forever? Why/Why not? (Please specify conditions. :D)

9. What's your favourite word/expression?

10. The tastiest food you've ever eaten?

11. If you were to invent a time machine, where would you go and why? (And what would you do and how long would you stay and who/what would you take with you and...)