Being versatile

Some days ago, I was more than honoured to discover Helen Hollick, Pirate Admiral extraordinaire, creator of heartthrob pirate Jesamiah Acorne, author of I don’t know how many books spanning everything from King Arthur to King Harold, had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award. Seeing as Helen is, per definition, versatile, I did a little hopping about with glee. And if you haven’t discovered just how versatile, I recommend you pop over to her blog ASAP (but not yet: you may miss out…)

Now, this blog award comes with certain expectations:

1. Display the Award Certificate (cut and paste it from my post) – DONE
2. Write a post and link back to the blogger who nominated you – See above & Read on!
3. Post seven  interesting things about yourself – Phew… caused me some headache, but I think I nailed it.
4. Nominate up to fifteen other bloggers (and why you’ve nominated them) – Will come later
5. Inform them of their nomination  (probably via comment on their blog unless you have their email!)  –  Will do!

Maintaining a regular blog is at times somewhat daunting. You see, sometimes, I have no idea what to write about. After all, some things one doesn’t share on cyber space – firstly because no one else necessarily cares, secondly because some things should remain private. I know; such a strange concept, isn’t it, in a day and age where some people seem to present their entire life on social media.

However, to not be personal – at some level – is no longer an option. The challenge is to balance the personal touch with the subject matter. Sounds easy, is hard…

Anyway, today I thought I’d share with you some recent reflections I made while having my legs waxed. Thing is about waxing, it sort of keeps you very awake, and there I was, lying on my tummy while my favourite skin therapist was doing her thing, when I suddenly asked her, “Who do you think I’m doing this for?” Ouch! She yanked off a patch of wax before responding.
“Doing what?”
“Waxing my legs.”
Her hands came to a halt. Moments later, she was crouched beside me, dark eyes burning into mine. “I sincerely hope you’re doing it for you!”
I mulled this over for a while. “Men don’t wax all that much.”
“That’s because men are supposed to be hairy,” she said. Well, I have a little surprise for you all: most women are relatively hairy as well by nature, but apparently we’re not supposed to be? Yasmine laughed.
“Come off it; women have been depilating for thousands of years.”
“Yeah, by now one would have hoped Mother Nature had caught on,” I muttered. Any further thoughts were interrupted while I gritted my teeth when she attacked my thighs.
“So who do you do this for?” she asked once she was done.
“To placate thousands of years of tradition.” I ran a hand down my smooth legs and smiled at the sensation. “No,” I added, “I’m doing this for me.” And I do. Very few people get close enough to my bare legs to have much of a vested interest in whether they are waxed or not – a state of affairs I am very happy to maintain. In actual fact, only one person other than me ever runs his hands up my legs, and he’s also the man who will kiss my brow and tell me he loves me just as I am. Actually, most men I know seem to love their wives just as they are. The wives, however, rarely love themselves as they are: either they’re too fat, or too hairy, or too pale, or too grey, or too…Ergo, the waxing – to make us feel better. Ergo, the multi-billion beauty industry, which further underlines our insecurities – but offers hope of overcoming them.

Us women have a great capacity for wallowing in our physical shortcomings. Men seem to take them in their stride. I wonder why – do mothers raise boys with more unconditional love than girls? Or is it female peer pressure – the same pressure that makes us feel like awful mothers when we’ve bought the birthday cake instead of baking it – that has us constantly assessing our physical exterior? Sometimes, it seems to me us modern women are elegantly trapped between the preconceived notions of what a woman should be, as expressed by our mothers, and the time constraints of our day to day. It is sort of difficult to juggle full time jobs, kids, the practicalities of life, and still find time to ensure the negligee sits just so over a svelte and buffed body as we welcome hubby home with a dry martini. (I wish! – or rather he wishes…)

I guess the only comfort in all this, is that we’re following an age-old tradition. Since woman first caught sight of her reflection in a still pool of water, she has expended considerable energy on improving what she sees, whether it be with coal round her eyes and carmine on her lips, or sophisticated laser treatment. Interestingly enough, very few of us expect our men to expend the same energy on their exterior. Why? Because we love them just as they are!

Right; after this little meandering excursion into the why’s of waxing, here come seven interesting things about me:

1. I dream in Latin – which is weird, as I don’t know Latin.

2. I have a thing about drawing “nekkid ladies” while stuck in boring meetings.

3. I call my husband Heathcliff

4. I only drink coffee when I’m pregnant – which means I won’t be drinking any more coffee in my life.

5. I have a thing about whisky and lug home bottles every time I’m overseas – but I have never tasted a drop. I just like the smell and the colour…

6. My home is full of red stuff: red lamp, red chair, red computer, red vases, red Nespresso, red toaster, red blender, red teapot. I do believe red is my favourite colour 😉

7. I skinny dip whenever I get the chance.

And now on to my nominees:

• Flashlight Commentary . Erin Davies excellent review blog. I know Erin lives a busy life, with small children and a full time job, and still she posts excellent reviews at such a rate I think she inhales the books.
• The Seventeenth Century Lady. What ms Zuvich doesn’t know about William & Mary is probably not worth knwing. Same goes for that flamboyant man, the Duke of Monmouth. For some odd reason, she has a crush on Prince Rupert, which is sort of sad, seeing as the dude in question has been dead for well over 300 years.
• Barbara Gaskell Denvil – because this lady writes blogs almost as beautiful as the prose in her books. And as to her books – wow!
• Kim Zollman Rendfeld – her blog is an informative venture into early medieval European history
• Always Wanted to be a Reiter – Jacqui Reiter’s impressively erudite blog about John, Earl of Chatham and older brother of William Pitt. Besides, who can resist that blog name, huh?
• Layered Pages – Ms Stephanie is beyond doubt one of the more generous bloggers around, always offering to host and promote others. Her author interviews are great!
• Judith Arnopp – a blog dedicated to history, need I say more??? Ms Arnopp is not only an excellent novelist, but she also writes insightful posts that shed new light (at least to me) on the intricacies of Tudor life
• Before the Second Sleep – the name itself makes me smile. Ms Zlitni may not post often, but when she does, her poetic language leaves me wanting more. Much more.
• The Freelance History Writer – Susan Abernathy maintains an impressive blog – and she is a generous lady who gladly shares her knowledge with those in need.
• A day in the life of patootie Lori Crane is an excellent writer, and a truly versatile lady, what with her combo singer/writer routine.

Right; after all this writing, I shall now drag myself off for a nice cuppa. I have no idea why writing makes me so thirsty, but there you are, yet another odd little fact about me – I drink tea by the gallon while typing 🙂