Love/Hate

Well, this week's assignment is a little more challenging than the last couple.
It was really hard to narrow it down to 3 things I love, so I didn't!



Top of the list of "Things I Love" is my family. I come from a very close family, and even though we're spread over the continent now (sister at school in PA, brother in the west of Canada (AB), me in the middle with my parents (in MB), we remain close. I talk to my sister for hours at a time, every few weeks (when she needs a time out from school), and I see my parents at least bi-weekly, if not every week.
A close second to family are my friends. I have a great group of friends, and I really enjoy spending time with them.

Then, in no particular order, comes Photography, Crafting (knitting, crocheting, sewing, card-making and scrapbooking), books, cooking and baking, and Tea!! (That photo in the middle of the collage is my tea shelf in my cupboard. I have at least 15 different kinds, all of which are drunk on a regular basis, although my favourite is a jasmine-scented black tea, with jasmine flowers. Mmmmmmmm.)

Although I've done both knitting and crochet for equally as long, I used to lean towards crochet. Lately I've swung towards knitting - not sure why, although the "baby sweater that did not want to be completed" and the "never-ending baby afghan" may be souring me on crochet. Most (actually all) of my Christmas projects are knit this year, so I see that pendulum swinging back to crochet in the New Year...!

Photography is a more recent hobby of mine. My family has "milestone" birthdays. Grade 9 was a ring (mine was an amethyst with 2 tiny diamonds on either side, although the amethyst is now missing, and has been for quite a few years), 15 y.o. was a suitcase, and 12 y.o (if I remember correctly) was a camera, so I've been taking photos since I was 12. The actual "photography" aspect started a few years ago, and last year I actually took a few classes to refine my (apparent) "natural eye" for photography, and bought a better, more manual camera. I didn't quite get a DSLR, though, because I didn't want to be bothered with the lens-changing thing, plus I couldn't afford what a DSLR camera body and all the lenses would cost me. I've become the unofficial photographer in my family, and for a few friends, too. Landscapes will always be my favourite, but I also like the challenge of capturing a candid moment that truly reflects who someone is. I HATE being posed for photos, myself, so I don't pose people. I have been known to refuse to take a photo if the subject realizes what I'm doing and looks at the camera. Something about people's posture and mannerism totally changes when they realize someone's taking a photo of them. It becomes artificial, whether in a good "pose" way, or in a bad "awkward" way.

A friend got me into scrapbooking a couple of years ago, and although knitting has taken over recently, I still love paper crafts! I've made wedding invitations for a few friends, and that's something I want to explore the business possibilities of. I also got a box of my grandparents' old photos that I'm going to scrapbook - things like that need to be preserved for future generations.

Baking has always been something I've loved and something I've done well. I credit that to the fact that I'm a science geek, and a really analytical person. Baking, after all, is just chemistry, right? I teased my friends at my old job that they'd miss my baking more than they'd miss me! (Living on my own, if I ate everything that I baked, I'd be 400 lbs, so I share a lot. Tomorrow morning I'm bringing fresh banana-raisin muffins in for breakfast!)

And on that note, we turn to the "things I hate".
A big pet peeve of mine is people who spit - as in "hock a loogie" type spitting - on public sidewalks. Well, anywhere, really, but especially right in front of me as I'm walking on the sidewalk. That's just not needed and really disgusting.
What else do I hate...?

People who are nervous drivers - they're dangerous. I'd much rather be on the road with (or in the car with) a confident, slightly cocky driver than one that doesn't feel comfortable on the road. Especially in the winter here. Roads with ice and snow aren't a place for someone who isn't confident in their driving abilities, or who isn't comfortable with adverse driving conditions.

And smokers. Well, not "smokers" as much as "smoke" (cigarette/cigar/pipe/etc. smoke). It stinks, it's unhealthy, and when you are not given the choice as to whether or not you want to inhale that stuff, it's wrong. Go ahead and smoke if you want to - just do it away from my restaurant table, or the entrance to any building I need to enter, or to my seat at the stadium. You may be ok with having that crap in your lungs, but I really am NOT.

Oooh - and I hate brussel sprouts - the only vegetable I refuse to eat. :)