Liebster Award!

Thank you, PK for nominating me! It is going to be fun "trying" to answer your questions and not appearing even more nutty than I normally am.

Here are the Rules:

1  Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.

2  Display the award on your blog - by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a "widget" or a "gadget". (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.)

3  Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.

4  Provide 11 random facts about yourself.

5  Nominate 5 - 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have less than 1000 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)

6  Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

7  List these rules in your post. Once you have written and published it, you then have to:

8  Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)

Here are PK's questions for me:

1  If money were no object, how many children would you have had?

I would've liked four children but it wasn't possible. I am very lucky to have one of each. So far I have two adorable grandchildren - both boys.

2  What were some of your favourite books when you were a child?

I have had a life-long love affair with horses and as I child I read nothing but "pony" books and my favourites were by the Pullein-Thompson sisters, and also by Ruby Ferguson. I discovered Sci Fi at the tender age of thirteen, and started with The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I read all his books and then went on to Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein. Since then I have read literally hundreds of Sci Fi books and these remain my greatest love to this day.

3  Do you (or your husband) have any nude pictures of you?

It's funny you should ask this question, because as you know, we moved recently, and when I was sorting through a drawer in his study I found a small box and when I opened it I was astonished to find several photos of me he had sneakily taken during some of our holidays. They are mostly quite old and fortunately my below waist bits are not on show, but that blessed man must'e sneaked up on me sunbathing and in hot tubs when I thought I was alone and clicked away with the camera.  I don't even want to think about what the people who developed the photos thought!  Horrors!

4  If you had to pick a state (not the one you live in now) in the US, what state would you choose?

This is difficult for me to answer as I haven't visited even half the states of America.  I have loved everywhere I have been, but I think perhaps I would pick the Gulf coast of Florida as it is hot, sunny and the water is warm to swim in. I also love walking along the beach collecting Sand Dollars.

5  How does spanking work in your relationship?

By providing fun, enjoyment, entertainment and a means by which Dan can relieve me not only of my stress, but keep me and my attitude in check. Every month our dynamic evolves in one way or another - it is never boring and we both realise its value in our marriage.

6  What's your best marriage advice?

Probably too much to write down here. Be prepared to be flexible and don't put up walls. You both need to be tolerant and sometimes just grit your teeth and get on with it. You must say "I love you" on a regular basis even if you find it difficult to put into words. A marriage is a partnership and must be worked at, but I would urge all wives to let the man make the final decisions. Although I am fond of letting Dan know exactly what I think about something, (and he sometimes gets quite testy with me because of it), the final say is and always has been, his. There is less friction that way, and if he is wrong, at least I get to go round with a smug look for a few hours.

7  What's your best parenting advice?

I would hesitate to give anyone advice as we have had more ups and downs than most with our children. Luckily they are now adults we are very proud of, but there were times in the past when I could've strangled the little toads! Maybe my advice is to keep the sugar levels down and ensure they eat proper food cooked from scratch and not all these takeaways. I also had very strict limits on TV time and later on when we had a PC they were not allowed to play games on it. Instead they mostly played outside, participated in various team sports and rode horses. My main parenting advice is "Just do your very best."

8  How would you feel if your daughter told you she wanted to be in a spanking relationship?

Delighted!  I don't think my daughter is - but her husband has openly admitted that he is the head of their household and both Dan's and my jaws dropped. He doesn't let her get away with much and she is a feisty little individual. They probably live a life similar to how Dan and I lived before I discovered spanking. So who knows what the future may hold.

9  How many different countries have you been to?

You have to remember here that Britain is an island nation and to go anywhere you have to travel, whilst if you live on a continent the states are like countries as in the US or Australia, and if you live on the European continent the countries all seem to blend into each other.  We are lucky to have been most everywhere in Europe.  We've travelled a fair bit in the Middle East and the North of Africa. I lived in Canada as a child and we have visited both coasts of the USA. We took a trip to Brazil and want to return to South America as it is so fascinating, but our favourite place on Earth is the Maldive Islands off the coast of India, and we love Sri Lanka too. Travel is a most important thing as it broadens the mind and allows us to get to know lovely welcoming and fascinating people. It helps us understand how other people live and think. I hope we manage to keep travelling for a good few years yet as it's a big world out there and I love it so much.

10  What's your dream job?

Until last summer I taught for most of my life and I loved most of my teaching career, but the best job I had was working for the managing director of a very high class jewellers. Although I was his secretary/PA and did not work in the shop selling jewellery, I was allowed to wear whatever I wanted during the day. Some of the pieces were worth thousands of pounds and I learned all about good quality diamonds even if I couldn't afford them. We had many celebrity clients, some of whom bought diamonds strictly for investment and to lock away in vaults. I was only in my early twenties and I can remember they had several international soccer players who used to frequent the premises buying jewellery for their wives and girlfriends. It really was a lovely place to work.

11  Do you think spanking is a possible parenting tool?

I hope I won't bring an avalanche down on my head, but I think a quick spank around the legs never hurt anyone.  I kept a wooden spoon and a riding crop in my kitchen and our son still has fond memories of them. LOL. It was the time when spanking was widely used. I remember our children went to a school where the 'slipper' was the favoured means of punishment. Then in the nineties everything changed. Now when I inform our eldest grandson that he is working his way up to a spanked bottom he tells me it is illegal, and he is only six. I tell him that if he is a naughty boy my hand will find a way to make him good again, and we laugh, but he knows I mean it and so far has only crossed the line a couple of times. The main thing is that I am very liberal with my hugs and kisses, and Grandma is the first person he runs to when he hurts himself or gets upset. So my answer is 'Maybe.'

Eleven random facts about myself:

1  I pierced my own ears during a holiday in Canada at the age of 16.

2  I love making cakes and my favourites are Lemon Drizzle Cake, Devil's Food Cake and Victoria Sponge.

3  Every autumn I make homemade wine out of ingredients such as Damsons and Blackberries.

4  I am a lark not an owl and by 10pm I am exhausted and longing for bed.

5  I love old-fashioned roses, in particular shrub roses, and we have a large collection in our garden. I adore the scent and the way they look so seductive and blousy.

6  My horse once broke every bone on the left side of my head from my skull to my jawbone.  A lovely surgeon put me back together again.

7  My eyes are neither green nor blue but the colour of cold sea water.  My left eye has a large blob of brown in it.

8  Until I read 50 Shades I knew nothing whatsoever about spanking or BDSM. Dan just wishes I had read it years earlier as he says it has improved his life beyond imagination.

9  I have an Australian penfriend I have written to since I was fifteen. We email each other these days.

10  Just like PK I now sleep in the nude, but until I came out about spanking I wore not only a nightdress but knickers as well.

11  I adore peanut butter and raspberry jam on toast for breakfast.

I'm going to nominate Jan at http://dancinroses.blogspot.co.uk/, Katie from http://thiswholething.blogspot.co.uk/, Meredith from http://newtwistafteralltheseyears.blogspot.co.uk/ and George from http://georgeshangar.blogspot.co.uk/. If any of you have been nominated before, forgive me, send me the link to your answers.

Here are their 11 questions:

1  If you could go back in history, which character would you like to be?

2  Do you ever sunbathe in the nude?

3  Do you prefer active holidays or are you a beach-bum?

4  If money were no object, where would you like to go on holiday?

5  What is your favourite alcoholic drink?

6  Have you ever dyed your hair an unusual colour?

7  Is there a secret little kink you would like to try out if you could summon up the courage to discuss it with your other half?

8  What advice would you give someone who wanted to try out spanking but was too nervous to ask? 

9  What is your favourite animal?

10  Are you a 'lark' or an 'owl'?

11  Do you speak a foreign language?

These are a few of my Favourite Things

I thought it would be fun to list some of my favourite things.  It was much more difficult than I thought it would be.  I could easily double this list and more.  I love Dan, and I love our kids - and I love these things too:

• The smell of freshly laundered linen blowing in the wind.
• The smell of linen that has been ironed with lavender water. 
• The smell of newly mown grass, and freshly baled hay.
• The sound of a skylark.
• Looking up to see fluffy white jet trails in a clear blue sky and wondering where people are headed.
• The smell of a hot horse.
• The creak of leather when you are galloping hard.
• The first pale yellow primroses sprinkled liberally under the hedges.
• Finding a Robin's nest, full of bright blue eggs, in an unexpected place like an old watering can.
• The smell of hot earth after a sudden shower.
• Watching forked lightening flash across a night sky.
• The sound of Church bells after a wedding.
• The sounds of small children playing.
• The feel of a baby's downy head as you gently kiss it.
• The sound and sight of crackling logs on our fire on a cold winter's night.
• Although she is long gone - the love and trust in the eyes of my golden labrador.
• Being tucked up in a warm bed and hearing raindrops spattering on a skylight above.
• Listening to the barn owls in the old pines outside our house at night.
• Feeling warm sand between my toes on a beach holiday.
• The feel of my grandson's little hand in mine.
• The exhilaration of galloping a horse very fast.
• The exhilaration of driving a fast car on a German motorway.  (They seem not to have much in the way of speed limits!)
• The feel of silk underwear against my skin.
• Cuddling up with Dan to watch a scary movie.
• The goosebumps I get when Dan says something that I am about to say.
• The sound of a cockerel calling in the dawn.
• The sound of a skein of geese crossing overhead.
• The first snow flakes of the winter.
• The first snowdrops of the winter bravely peeping above the snow.
• Lying on my back looking up at a palm tree whilst on holiday.
• The sound and sight of the crashing surf.
• Waterfalls - big or small.
• The sound of water chortling in a brook.
• Seeing happy children.
• My mother in law, who I have now known for twice as long as my own mum.
• Watching my children now they are adults.
• Off-road driving.
• Travelling - anywhere.
• Using proper cotton handkerchiefs with pretty embroidery.
• Wearing Light Blue by Dolce and Gabanna.
• Standing looking at the night sky on a clear night when the stars spread across it like liquid silver.
• Having such good friends.
• The taste of very dark chocolate.
• Drinking large lattes.
• Cooking meals for men.
• Christmas tree lights.
• The smell of pine forests.
• Stamping in puddles.
• Peanut butter and raspberry jam (jelly) sandwiches.
• Playing "Pooh sticks"
• Marmite
• Rainbows
• Sunsets
• Watching the moon rise

I could go on and on.  What a beautiful world we live in.

Riders

This has nothing to do with the sexy novel by Jilly Cooper - although I remember it well. It is one of the very few books I have ever managed to get Dan to read. This has to do with re-starting our spanking dynamic now that Dan is virtually back to normal.

I rode horses all my life, for both pleasure and in competitions. One of the most important rules I was given as a child, was that if I fell off, to get straight back on again. 

The only time I ever deviated from that rule was when I was so badly smashed up I got carted off to hospital instead.

I am happy to report that Dan is feeling and looking great.  As soon as he got rid of that nasty catheter his temperament improved and he felt more positive.  So far he has suffered no side effects (touch wood) which we are all viewing as pretty much incredible.  I told him it was because so many people had him on their prayer lists, and I know he is very grateful for everyone's good wishes and support.  It has been a very trying time, but we are now getting on with our lives and putting it behind us.  Hopefully the procedure will have worked, but if he has to repeat it at some time down the line, at least we know what to expect.

I can now tell you that I am still getting over my own little incident.  Just four days before going to London for Dan's operation, I fell down the stairs from the top to the bottom.

  
I didn't say anything, only to one or two people, because I didn't want any fuss. I was more concerned with Dan than with myself. However, it shook me up, gave me "gravel rash" from the sisal carpet on several areas from bosom to ankle, and the rest was quite simply black and purple with bruising - all down my right side.  I looked, and felt, like I had been hit by a truck.  

It was quite early one morning, and I was being inattentive whilst carrying a tea tray and chatting over my shoulder, and I slipped (in some stupid and now forbidden slippers - most aptly named), missed the first step, and went down those stairs like a toboggan. And I was, shall we way, au naturel at the time, hence the gravel rash.  Luckily, although my ribs were badly bruised, and possibly cracked, I didn't break anything. But I lay in a heap at the bottom in Dan's arms and couldn't even cry I was so shocked by it all.

Anyhow, that is in the past, and the bruising is now at the sickly yellow stage.  The main difficulty has been to do with very little spanking.  

We discussed this in depth before Dan's operation, and we even had alternative positions/locations in which he would be able to spank me, all sorted out in our minds. But what with Dan having that horrid catheter, and me being black and blue with gaping sores on my hip and thigh - believe me when I say my right buttock was completely black all over - it has not been a picnic around here.

As an aside, I do have to confess that Dan spanked me three days afterwards, and just before we went to London, because he said he wanted me to be careful with stairs in the future.  It was quite a short spanking and was carried out very carefully and only affected the tops of my thighs and mostly my left thigh, so he wasn't being sadistic, but he felt it had to be brought to my attention that I should wear sensible footwear in future and not stupid slippers with shiny, slidey soles. I have hidden the aforesaid slippers away in the very back of my closet - probably never to see the light of day again, as I did not enjoy that spanking one bit.

But since then, I have had only one spanking, and that ended up being aborted due to difficulty finding anywhere not bruised in order to spank.  Dan noticed I was getting a little effervescent - you know, the stage in which you start to fizz out of the bottle - and decided to put an end to it.  But he caught me on my bruises and it hurt so much I yelled at him to stop and practically crawled forwards down off his lap and on to the floor like a slug.  Unfortunately the deep inner muscle was far more bruised than we'd at first thought. 

So here we are, three weeks down the line, and I can see myself becoming crabby, argumentative and provocative.  Instead of being able to climb back on the horse, I am still leading the blessed thing around by the reins and looking longingly up at the saddle. What a state of affairs.

We did discuss the situation this morning.  Dan discovered, to his excitement and surprise, that one particular side effect he had been warned about, has not materialised.  We were both quite stunned.  But not being ones to turn down an opportunity when it presents itself, suffice it to say that we made the most of it.  Smirk.

Afterwards as I lay face down in a state of exhaustion he gave me a sudden sharp swipe across the bruised part of me.  I flinched, mainly because I wasn't expecting the spank, than from pain, but Dan said that he would wait until next weekend to address my attitude and misdemeanours. Significant attitude and significant demeanours, he said, raising an eyebrow.  

My life isn't simple.  When I get a good stretch, something always gets in the way to agitate the waters. 

Had I not fallen downstairs, Dan could've continued to spank me quite happily, and I would probably been okay with our usual reminder sessions.  But now, it looks as if I am due for a real workout, and the snag is that I know it is going to feel twice, no, three times as bad as it should, due to such a long no-spanking interval, and the deep tissue bruising, of course. I am feeling nervous already, and I have a whole week to go yet.  I shall be a gibbering wreck by next weekend.  
I wonder if there is anything I can do to toughen up a bit? Is there any kind of a pre-spanking arnica I could use?  LOL.  Or maybe I should just run away and stay with a friend who lives abroad, for a bit?

Whilst I am delighted that Dan seems even better in both body and spirit than before his operation, I never anticipated that it would be my butt that suffered.

When the time comes, I know I shall get back up on that horse when instructed to do so

but never in my life have I been so glad that we don't have half the weapons of ass destruction that the rest of you seem to have. It'll be so good to get back to this. 

And this.