Making a list.

It was around this time last year that I, like many other people on Facebook, completed a list of 25 Things About Me. When I wrote the list in December 08 I decided that it would be fun to scrap each of the 25 items I came up with and I did. I really did.

But do you know when I actually, finally, got all 25 completed? August! Yes, eight months later. I know.

Prior to this bout of extreme tardiness, I had thought it would be good to repeat the process each year. For obvious reasons, I wouldn't necessarily repeat the scrapping side of things, but keeping a record of things about myself each year is certainly my kind of thing. I've been keeping diaries, notebooks, 'About Me' books, journals and scrapbooks ever since I could write and the 25 Things - with its entirely random nature - can capture whatever is at the forefront of your mind on the day you respond.

That said, I was really pleased to get a message from TinkerTailor [at The Inked Edge] saying that she'd passed on a blog- tagging thingy - in which I have to list '5 Things I like Doing'.

I was happy about this for a few reasons. Partly because TinkerTailor is one of the rare, rare breed of online crafters who I've actually met in the flesh and she's great! And partly because listing a mere five things sounds feasible. Five's so much easier to handle than 25.

In fact that's four fifths easier. Or 80% if I'm being precise. On that scale, if I did choose to scrap them at the rate I managed the task this year, it'd only take me until February to complete .... errrm, sorry, didn't mean to drag you back into GCSE Maths ... here's those '5 Things I Like Doing':

1. I like wearing high heels when I'm doing housework. This was me last week, breaking-in the shoes I bought to wear on Christmas Day, after a trip to the bottom of the garden to sort out the recycling:

Maybe it's because when I'm in heels I feel prepared, grown-up and ready for battle. Maybe it's because I'm small and they give me the edge over the mountains of ironing. Or maybe it's because they're just darned pretty things which make a fantastic noise when I storm through the kitchen!
Please note: despite the rumours spread by Shimelle and Clair regarding my favoured heels / chores combo, I am [almost] certainly not a Stepford Wife. ;)

2. I like to read 'metafiction' [fiction in which books feature as parts of the plot/story]. In the past I've worked my way through titles such as House of Leaves; The Alchemist's Apprentice; If On A Winter's Night A Traveller; The Name of the Rose; all of the Thursday Next novels ... and many more - I find they gravitate toward me. Currently I'm reading this:

... a novel about illuminated manuscripts [I'm only on Chapt2 but it's going OK so far ..]. Several times I've attempted to read the classics of the genre - Tristram Shandy and Don Quixote - and while I may have given up on Tristram I'm persevering with Don!

3. I like sitting in front of the fire with my laptop.

Not only is that what I'm doing in the photo - it's what I'm doing as I type this. Warmth + internet = perfect contentment.

4. I like not taking myself too seriously. It's why I got James to take a photo of this street sign in York this month after it struck a chord with me: Call it one of the pleasures of getting older, not only can I admit to not being perfect ... I really don't care that I'm not. In fact, I've recently realised that I enjoy sleeping too much to strive for perfection any more! Little? Yes. Shambolic? Sometimes ... and that's fine by me. [Well, that's how I feel this week ...]

5. I like to watch stand up comedy. In 2008 I made this layout to record the comedians I'd seen: Then, during 2009 I saw more in one year than I'd seen before then. For the second time around I saw: Dave Gorman, Dylan Moran and Count Arthur Strong. Then then there was Steve Coogan, Ross Noble, Dara O'Briain, Jimmy Carr and and Jon Richardson all whom I saw for the first time this year. Now we have plans afoot to get tickets for Chris Addison and John Bishop in 2010 ... and that's just for starters.

There you go then there's my five ... you? If you share any of these proclivities I'd be interested to hear about them. Within reason.

Let's not allow things to end up as a fully-blown confessional .... expecially if it involves the inappropriate wearing of heels ....
:)