Skills you're most proud of

[Susie]

I was watching the news the other night and there was a woman in a wine bar in the City being interviewed who was trying to defend bankers' bonuses, 'because they could very easily just go to another country! They have skills that are transferable internationally!'. When I had stopped laughing, I started thinking about the skills I have that I'm proud of and that enrich my life - not actually that many, and mostly acquired in the teeth of my education and jobs! I wondered what other ishers' were (and as soon as the first person says they can kill a chicken or mend a roof or something, I will slink away in a pool of inadequacy, so you'll have that on your conscience, be warned ;-) ).

Here are mine, show me yours ;-).

1/ I can knit well enough that the things I make are better than the things I could buy,
2/ Sewing ditto,
3/ I can thread an overlocker without turning to gin more than once in the process,
4/ I speak French well enough to chat to (patient) people and read novels
5/ I can do very basic DIY
6/ I am a good cook
7/ I can make soap and basic cosmetics (OK it's not that hard ).

And skills I would like to acquire in the near future:

1/ GARDENING!
2/ Ability to play more than 5 chords on guitar and at least 1 barre
3/ Spinning (of wool), just can't get my head round it! I even bought a drop spindle!

Pls share .

[Big Al]

My abillity to use diplomacy and be diplomatic !

[greenorelse]

Here are mine, show me yours ;-).

1/ I can knit well enough that the things I make are better than the things I could buy,
2/ Sewing ditto,
3/ I can thread an overlocker without turning to gin more than once in the process,
4/ I speak French well enough to chat to (patient) people and read novels
5/ I can do very basic DIY
6/ I am a good cook
7/ I can make soap and basic cosmetics (OK it's not that hard ).

And skills I would like to acquire in the near future:

1/ GARDENING!
2/ Ability to play more than 5 chords on guitar and at least 1 barre
3/ Spinning (of wool), just can't get my head round it! I even bought a drop spindle!

Pls share .

Susie, you shouldn't post things like that - you'll have a queue of men at the door in no time.

Things I'm confidently skilful at:
The fiddle.
Major DIY, most types of woodwork and intermediate plumbing (+ electrics to a certain extent).
Cooking.
Tree felling.
Graphic design.
Building and repairing stringed instruments (but I don't any more).
Jam making.
Grammar.
Taking good ideas and improving on them.
Touch typing.
Thinking about energy-, species-, biosphere- and money-saving ideas.

Things I can muddle through:
Repair clothes.
Building work.
Renewable energy capture (ok, that last one's constrained by money as much as knowledge).
Irish.

Things I'd like to do properly:
Row 'Oxford/Cambridge' style.
Buy a mini digger and hire myself out using it.
Debate.
Be imaginative.
Getting other people to think about energy-, species-, biosphere- and money-saving ideas.
Lose 10kg.

Sorry about the last one.

[boboff]

Well this is interesting as a subject.

I am good making spreadsheets up for bespoke things.
I am good at Budgeting in the home
I am good at cooking with what I have
I am good at splitting logs
I am good at remembering things
I am good at procrastination
I am good at seeing the big picture and not being phased by a big project
I am the God of Sweet Love in the "off" house........

Things I am rubbish at.
Measuring things
Hitting nails
Remembering to use a spirit level
Coping with guilt and self and others criticism

Things I would like to be good at
writing
photography
seeing health and life choices though to the end
Using Capital letters and full stops approriately.

[Millymollymandy]

I'm good at gardening, knitting, cooking including cakes/jam/chutney although have my fair share of disasters , and can write in grammatically correct English (seems to be a rarity these days!). I can also spout Latin names for plants.

Ummmm I'm sure I can do other things, just can't think of any more offhand!

Rubbish at absolutely anything technical/electrical/electronic or DIY. Though I can paint neatly with straight lines.

And I can kill a chicken, or rather it's my hubby who does it with the air rifle, I just hold the bird in place. I'm actually rather proud of the fact that we can, as it's purely to put old/sick birds out of their misery, but it was something I never thought we'd be able to do. I can't kill them to eat them!

[greenorelse]

I'm good at gardening, knitting, cooking including cakes/jam/chutney although have my fair share of disasters , and can write in grammatically correct English (seems to be a rarity these days!). I can also spout Latin names for plants.

Ummmm I'm sure I can do other things, just can't think of any more offhand!

Rubbish at absolutely anything technical/electrical/electronic or DIY. Though I can paint neatly with straight lines.

And I can kill a chicken, or rather it's my hubby who does it with the air rifle, I just hold the bird in place. I'm actually rather proud of the fact that we can, as it's purely to put old/sick birds out of their misery, but it was something I never thought we'd be able to do. I can't kill them to eat them!

I never thought of being able to write grammatically correct English as a skill, Millymollymandy. I'll add it to my above cv - but I'd never follow an exclamation mark with a bracket then a full stop...

I'll get my coat.

[Millymollymandy]

That IS grammatically correct! The exclamation mark is relating to the bit in brackets; the full stop is the end of the sentence.

There are so many people who can't write properly that I think that these days it is a skill to write correctly, most especially knowing the correct usage of the apostrophe!

Oh and I can touch type!

[grahamhobbs]

I was watching the news the other night and there was a woman in a wine bar in the City being interviewed who was trying to defend bankers' bonuses, 'because they could very easily just go to another country! They have skills that are transferable internationally!'.

My skills

As a builder
Arithmetic - pretty good
Keeping accounts - fine
Understanding spreadsheets, graphs, projections - very good
Working computers - good
Calculating compound interest - probably ok but might need a quick revision
Creative accounting - fiddling the books, I'm an expert

Not so good at

Betting with other peoples money
Selling loans to people that can't afford them
Wearing Amani suits, driving Ferrari's, quaffing champagne

[greenorelse]

That IS grammatically correct! The exclamation mark is relating to the bit in brackets; the full stop is the end of the sentence.

I never said it wasn't...I just said I'd never do it. Why? Because, as a typesetter/designer, I think it looks cack. That's just me, you carry on.

There are so many people who can't write properly that I think that these days it is a skill to write correctly, most especially knowing the correct usage of the apostrophe!

Aaargh, tell me about it, give me strength.

Oh and I can touch type!

Woo hoo, I'd forgotten about that one. Added to my list. I'll be a right catch now.

[prison break fan]

This is brilliant! I am good at :
Gardening
knitting
crochet
cooking
basic diy and decorating
listening
playing with grandchildren
writing letters
touch typing

I am getting good at:
sewing
turning off the television

All these things need to be done regularly, especially as you get older as your confidence diminishes! pbf.

[Keaniebean]

Good thread Susie, a bit of self affermation always helps.

I am good at

Sewing
Gardening
Cooking, especially when challenged with leftovers
Being fair to all of my children
Cleaning out my Daughter's fishes, so they don't go to the big toilet in the sky
Utilising every spare inch of space in a tiny terraced house and stupidly small garden
Composing stroppy letters for my mum, who likes to complain about everything.
Cleaning, I hate it but I'm good at it.
Giving my children a rounded education, not every skill in life should be an academic one.


I am not good at


Counting, anything past ten and I'm lost.
Spelling, as you may have noticed in my posts
Photography, well it's pants to say the least.
Remembering to clean out the chickens , it's their own fault they haven't laid me an egg for 18 months!
Turning my socks the right way so they get dry . I like to leave them in screwed up little balls.
Being patient with my painfully slow husband, but really should it take 2 hours to empty out a dishwasher.

Things I would like to be good at.

I'd love to learn to meditate.
I would like to discover my VERY well hidden will power when it comes to belly busting.

[oldjerry]

Things I'm good at|:
The stuff that might make some slink off,
Sophistry,
Feeling sorry for myself (closely followed by )
Drinking alcohol
Making pizza

Things I'm rubbish at: Finishing what I've started
Thinkingand expressing myself coherently
Growing cauliflowers
Flying (scared sh____ss)

Things I'd like to
be good at: first 3 of the last 4
Putting and finding peoples numbers in my mobile phone.
Sleeping.

[Berti]

aaaahhh!! :D

I am good at:

quilting
spinning my own yarns
knitting
cooking
playing irish flute (or at least its what i like to think)
baking sourdough bread
basic decorating skills
healing
sharing hugs
proud that english is my second language even though its not perfect

would like to get better at:

growing veggies (picking up again soon)
making jam and stuff
handling my teen daughter
sleeping
generally spend more scheduled days
general housekeeping :P

[Zech]

OK. Things I'm good at:

Teaching Statistics to Psychology undergrads (a bit specialist, this one, but it's a saleable skill)
Public speaking and debating
Looking at a spreadsheet full of numbers and getting excited, not scared ( GEEK!)

Things I'm good at that might actually be useful:

Cooking (leftovers a speciality)
Basic DIY (OK, not that good really, but I'll give it a go, and my standards are low!)
Soap-making (recently learned, hence proud of this)
Wine-making (ditto. Not really that good, but first two attempts have been drinkable)
Not spending money

I'm reminded of a comment my grandma made, "It's all very well being so clever, but what really matters is that you can cook." It annoyed me immensely at the time, but I'm starting to think she had a point

Things I'd like to learn/do better:

Gardening
Sewing (I'm quite good at embroidery, but my ability to sew a straight seam leaves something to be desired)
Knitting
Spinning
Preserving food
Carpentry

Oh, and I can touch type, too!

[Big Al]

most especially knowing the correct usage of the apostrophe!

Wasn't them things something to do with jesus, like?