Feel-Good Friday--Bob's 500th Post!

I just got back from the 5ooth Post bash for Bob T. Bear, (esq). He's asked me to spread the word: you're invited! Go ahead. Run over to Bob T. Bear, (esq.)'s Diary. Delectable cakes are waiting to be eaten. (I believe Mummy is pulling the second batch out of the oven right about now.) Ginger beer to go around! Chocolate of course. And biscuits. (What they ever-so-oddly call cookies in the UK.)

And how could I forget the joke competition and the pole dancer? Warning: You have to be 21 in bear years to watch the dancer. But, hey, who's counting?

Feel Good Friday: More Juicy Lemons, Superior Scribbling, & My First Award from a Non-Human Blogger!

Lori of the tranquil Skoog Farm Journal has seen fit to bestow this Sweet Tart of an award on me--the lemonade stand. A few months ago Suki honored me with the same and I passed it on to several bloggers who are adept at transforming those mouth-puckering lemons that life throws their way into delectable, thirst-quenching lemonade. And today I would like to add another name to that list: the lovely Kaizabella of Finding Mad Dog. The "mad dog" in question is her birth father, who, you guessed it, would prefer to remain lost. I will also invite any other reader who would like this one to grab it by commenting. Pipe up and it's yours. Yes, I mean you!


Then lovely Mary Ann of Blue Sky Dreaming wandered over with this adorable thing. The Superior Scribbler Award. I'm to pass this on to "five others whom I have found to be thoughtful, creative and most importantly, entertaining." Only FIVE? Then again, so many superior scribblers already have this award. So I'm going to pick five relative newcomers to my blog, five bloggers whom I'm becoming acquainted with. And if you already have the award, my apologies. Here are the five, who now have their work cut out for them. They are to link back to me, and pass the award on to five others, linking to them of course, who will link back to them, and link to five others, and on an on an on and on...before we know it, every single writer in Blogland will have the Superior Scribbler Award. What the hell? We are one superior, scribbling bunch. The five:

Clarissa Alverson, who writes The Curious Hazards of Being Human. Uplifting, heartfelt reflections on what else? The curious hazards of being human. It just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Janette of Contented Colour. The title of Janette's blog says it all. A color-infused spot in Blogland, a place to wrap oneself in a comfy blankey of color and feel...well...content.

Adaelamoon of Ruminations. Gentle ruminations. Blessings counted.

Sally of Being mum, being me. A single mom writes about her frustrations with a quiet hilarity. Yes, there is such a thing. Didn't you ever stifle a laugh in church? That's quiet hilarity. Mum's the word.

Paisley of Ever After: Dead Weight. She's on a healing journey. And sometimes has to summon that healing phenomenon--the good, healthy rant. Damn, I respect that.

And since--who's counting?--a sixth blogger should receive this. Leslie's Textures Shapes Color. A feast of all three. Touch the surfaces. Bask in the color.



And now (drumroll), my very first award from a non-human blogger. And a royal non-human at that. A beautiful princess dragon who lives at Dilly's Castle. In her most gracious (and pwincessy wagon way), Dilly had this to say about me: "San be luvly kind laydy, do pwitty payntins, lots luvly cullers." Wow, Dilly, you make me feel like a pwincess too! The award is described thus: "This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY --nearness in space, time and relationships! In other words, blogs that receive this award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement." And I'm to pass the award to two bloggers. I offer you two exceedingly charming bloggers:

Karen of Threadstory. An artist who assembles the bits and pieces of life into dazzling quilts.

Carol of RoseCreekCottage. A wise woman who counts her blessings and transforms them into things of quirky beauty. Ragamuffin dolls, for example.

And since...who's counting?...a third exceedingly charming blogger is Kate of Kate's Corner. Delivers the mail by day. Shares her art journals by night.

And, please, even though this award is to be passed to two (only 2?) bloggers, everyone who visits this blog is a friend. Please, please, if you want this award, just say so. Own up to your "exceeding charm" and grab it! On your mark. Get set. Go!

Feel-Good Friday (on Thursday): A Sleighful of Awards!

(Photo "courtesy of" aka "stolen from" How Stuff Works.)

So shoot me. I'm a slacker. Several have bestowed lavish awards at my feet. And I've just kicked back and basked in their radiance, never acknowledging them, let alone passing them on to worthy recipients. I am going to try to remember which awards came from whom and if I falter, please assume the generous spirit of this season and forgive my forgetful heart--it's in the right place--I just can't remember where I put it.

Sandi of Holding Patterns passed this lovely thing to me on August 29. I had to go to her blog and do a search for awards to find it. There she was, apologizing for being behind in acknowledging her own awards. Thanks, Sandi. That made me feel even better than the award:

Since this is such a shimmering photograph, I will now pass it along to some shimmering photographers:

Anna of A. Bananna (Great shots of the desert and her own photogenic brood.)
Randy of Santa Fe Daily Photo (You might say I'm rather close to his subject.)
Anna of My Only Photo (In her own words, "photography spiced with stories, essays, opionions, and snippets of knowledge.)
David of authorblog (Needs no introduction. If by chance, you've been hiding under your mousepad, then climb out and click over to his place. Not just dazzling photos but tips on making them.)
Hilary of The Smitten Image (Yes, I'm smitten.)
Celine of Indica-in-Q8 (Interpretations in word and image of the mysterious landscape of Kuwait.)
Lori of Skoog Farm Journal (If this one doesn't make you want to move to the country and take up farming and the slow pace, well then, at least slow down long enough to linger in this peaceful space.)
Daryl of Out and About in New York City (If this one doesn't make you want to move to a huge, exciting city and hop on a bus, then at least hop over here and take Daryl's tour.)

Then along came Spark of No More Casual Nonchalance and gifted me with this bit of whimsy. I was contemplating whom I might pass it on to, thinking Fe of Coyote Road would be a great recipient. While I was dragging my feet, Fe up and gave it to me. Thanks, Spark! Thanks, Fe!

I pass the I HEART Your Blog award to:

Todd of Peace through Pottery. (A blog with lots of heart, plus he's thinking about buying a house in my neighborhood--I HEART that idea!)
Diane of Forks off the Moment. (Diane lives her life with passion and gets us all fired up too.)
Moody of Life in the Land of the Rising Sun (As lived to the hilt by a contemporary American Renaissance man relocated to Japan.)
Bruno of Morning Java with Bruno LoGreco (Generous, inspiring tips from a life coach. Don't miss his series on weathering this daunting economic cycle.)
Maggie May of Nuts in May (The oh-so-identifiable-with ups and downs in the life of a wife, mother, and grandmother.)
Lee of Chrysalis Dreams (Expressions of faith in God, friends, and her own lovely self.)
JS of Influx Transposer (Expressions of faith in God and family, with the occasional rant to the Almighty.)
Cath of Cath's Cradle (A gently tilted look at life.)
Jeanne of Life or Something Like It (A head-on look at life--or something like it.)



Recently Suki of Paint, Poems, and Ponderings posted the lemonade stand to her blog and said it was offered to anyone who felt like making lemonade. I grabbed it. And I pass it on to the following bloggers, who have the extraordinary gift for turning those life lemons into magical elixir. (The secret's in the saucy attitude):

Meg of Becoming Whole
Jo of Celebration of Life
Whim of The Babblings of a Whimsical Brainpan
Indi of The World According to Indigo
Casdok of Mother of Shrek
Mima of Mima's Doings
Aims of Big Blue Barn West
Peg of Angel Voices.

And Kim of Creating Space as well as Suki of Paint, Poems, and Ponderings honored me with this award, which I find rather elegant (and flattering):

The PREMIO DARDOS award is "given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing." Thank you, Kim! Thank you, Suki! I now pass this award to:

Fe of Coyote Road
Michelle of House of Lime
Katherine of Views from Raven's Nest
Paschal of murat 11
Doris of Poetic License
Carol of Carol for Peace
Jeff of A Word in Edgewise
David of authorblog
Sandi of Holding Patterns
Akelamalu of Everything and Nothing
Spark of No More Casual Nonchalance
The Elementary of Crumbs from the Corner.

And now an award I am tempted to re-name the In the Nick of Time Award, since it's time-dated:
When Ora Lea at One American Dreamer graciously awarded it to me, she warned me I'd better post it soon. And I believe that was a couple of months ago!

Then, the ever-generous Fe of Coyote Road sent this joyous little butterfly winging its way to me:


Since I keep thinking of fabulous bloggers whom I've left out of this awarding binge, especially the many visual artists who visit so often and are an enormous source of support and encouragement, and since I now have a checkbook to balance, I am going to leave the Butterfly Award up for grabs. It's here for the catching. So grab your butterfly nets and make a comment if you want this one. It's yours. (Don't forget to pass it on.)

Feel Good Friday: Talk to the Animals!

Elephant Brand, mixed media on canvas

private collection, Iowa City

The maniacal, not-so-borderline nut case Crazy Cath of Crazy Cath's Reflections went on one of her award rampages. Seems she grabbed a slingshot (I mean blingshot), loaded it with first one award, then the other, and proceeded to shoot, willy-nilly, into the vastness of cyberspace. Lucky me, I got caught in the crossfire. This award that looks like an itty bitty TV struck me right in the crown chakra. Yes! Cath has honored me with the Must See Blog Award.

I haven't been the same since. Talk about the big head. Now I have the gift of tongues. I find myself fluent in baby dwagonese, bwogging cat lingo, gween wagonese, and Bob T. Bearalect. I beg of you. Do not envy me. It's a curse to be so talented.

You haven't really plumbed the depths of mental hell until you've began to think in dwagonese. You wook at a bwog and wead evuhwy r and evuhwy l wike a w. Itz scawy. Itz cweepy-cwawly. I am despewate. I am a wag. A wimp, wifewess, dishwag. In a moment of wunacy, I have decided to pass this Must See Bwog Awawd on to my bwogging animal fwiends. Maybe they will begin to talk wike human beings for a change:

THE ENVEWOPE PWEEEEEEESE.

OK. Duh winnuhs of the Must See Bwog Awawds (dwumwoll):

Awex duh Bwoggin' Cat of Alexicon: A Kitty Kat's Life with His Hooman. Spiritual nememis of wetired minister Sometimes Saintly Nick. Goes through all the jokes people send for Nick to put on his bwog Nick's Bytes, cweans 'em up wif his paws, and duh ones dat are too waunchy (wevolving awound duh theme of wawdwobe malfunction), he puts on Nick's othuh bwog, the UCC on the Net.

Bob T Bear, (esq) of Bob T Bear (esq.)'s Diary. A debonair British dude about town. Wooks kickarse in a red Pendleton coat. Filmmaker. Horticulturalist extraordinaire. (His secret's in his fertilizer.) Creative challenger. Statistician of the Daily Serprizity Score. Tabulator of the Gills/Simpsons/Tesco frequency. Lyric poet whose obsession is poo, which rhymes with loo. I told you he has a knack with fertilizer. Nemesis of:

Dilly, of Dilly's Castle, a bootiful gween wagon. Gwaceful. Pwetty in pink. Pwincessy. Pwissy. When Dilly picks up her awawd, I know the first show she will tune into on that pwetty wittle tv (except she calls it a tewwy). Miami CSI.



Dilly fancies wedheaded dudes. And dudes who can dwaw weally well.









And a dwagon who can dwaw weally well is Dilly's soul mate. Dat would be Chuck aka Meanie the Baby Dragon. Chuck dwew Dilly's potwait as a medieval dwagon-wady.

Is Chuck in wuv with Dilly? I hope so! Dwagon wuv is the tweetest. But I digwess. Chuck is getting the Must See Bwog Awawd for his timewy weporting on newsworthy events. Duh Enquiwing papawazzi know where to go for the weally big scoop.

And now you do too.

Feel Good Friday: Just Plain Fun!

With several calulated clicks of her highly talented fingers, Daryl of Out and About in New York City created this charming award: the Just Plain Fun to Read Award. Isn't that one of the sweetest, most original blog awards you've seen? I am thrilled to report I am one of Daryl's bestowed-upon. And Daryl made it clear the recipients are encouraged to pass this coveted piece of bling right on to other just plain fun bloggers. So here goes:

I pass the Just Plain Fun to Read award to:

Dar of The Back of My Headboard
Celebratory gestural abstracts, haiku, photography, and here is a woman in Massachusetts who looks kickass in cowboy boots.

Kim of Creating Space
Art-in-progress accompanied by generous sharing of process, recommendations of books to kick-start the creative juices, interviews with artists, deer sightings in the back yard. Kim has created a comfort zone in which artists can kick back and sip a cup of tea.

Babs of OFF THE WALL ART
A lifeful blog replete with well-told stories and celebratory art that mesh beautifully.

Mima of Mima's Doings
Adventures of a beautiful, brave spirit.

Lori of The Skoog Farm Journal
An oasis of calm maintained by a talented artist/curator/farmer. Talk about a Renaissance woman.

Akelamalu of Everything and Nothing.
A Pearl of a blogger who takes a little bit of nothing and builds it into everything. A great wordzzler.

Angel of Life Is a Gift from God
Angel's having a baby!

Maggie May of Nuts in May
Well-told tales of domesticity.

Jeanne of Life or Something Like It
A sunshine-suffused blog. A sunshine-suffused blogger.

Sandy Carlson of Writing in Faith
I believe she already has it, but she is so, so much fun to read (and see).

Laura, of From the Couch
Dreams are just plain fun.

Spark of No More Casual Nonchalance
Writes a post every single day of the year, and every single one of them is entertaining.

Lynette of Original Art by L. Clay
She has a way with trees. And the magical spaces between their limbs.

Daphne of Five Foot Under
A self-described "smallish" woman whose spirit is anything but.

Andrea of Colouring Outside the Lines
Fanciful paintings and photo collages which belie their creator's fascination with amputated feet found scattered around Canada. Shudder.

Suki of paint poems and ponderings
Paint, poems, ponderings, and more: acknowledgment of the rightness and importance of creative endeavor.

Karina of A Painter's Kitchen
Honest writing. Questions asked. Kicking up a fuss like a dust devil. Beautiful paintings, pared down to essentials.

Jameil of Jameil, etc: Exercises in Fabulosity
She says she doesn't "do awards." This should piss her off.

Gone Back South
A 40-something woman returned to the place where her roots are. Blossoming there.

A Tidings of Magpies
Blog of a fan of contemporary poetry with a great eye and ear. The occasional blonde joke.

Paula of self-taught artist
Puzzle heads, industrial clocks, wonder horses, and everything in between, including a not-so-infrequent rant about the unfairness of it all. How I love to read others' rants! Life's unfair and it's high time someone acknowledged it.

Paula of Second Street Studio
Honest discussion of process and frustrations by an artist who is disarmingly honest. She's as refreshing as her art.

Heather of Bad Kitty Art Studio
Wild, original paintings with accompanying thoughts.

Meg of Becoming Whole
Everything you always wanted to know about thriving through the macrobiotic lifestyle but were too timid to ask.

Lee of Chrysalis Dreams
Everything you always wanted to know about being on the cusp of change and about to leap into one's beautiful, powerful destiny but were too timid to ask. And speaking of Lee, my beautiful friend Lee has given me this beautiful friendship award. THANK YOU, Lee.
Now, back to the Just Plain Fun to Read Awards:

Influx Transposer
Everything you always wanted to know about being a lesbian in a committed relationship raising children and feeling led to the Episcopal priesthood but were too timid to ask. Great pictures of home haircuts.

Jafabrit Art
Dazzling paintings and mixed-media work. Name it. This woman can do it.

Jo of Celebration of Life
Everything you always wanted to know about becoming a motorcycle mama in one's fifties but were too timid to ask.

Carol for Peace
Beautiful photographs and musings by a lovely woman who has made peace with herself. What's her secret?

Patty of Lost in Solitude
She puts together beautiful video montages that are personal and political, always wrought with love.

Debi of Emma Tree
A blog that is as intriguing and lyrical as its title.

Sandi of Holding Patterns
Everything you always wanted to know about the life of a retired female cop/columnist who's taking time to smell her own roses. BREAKING NEWS: As I was awarding Sandi, she was awarding me this:


Awards that pass in the night. That is just beautiful, Sandi. Thank you! Anyone listed in this post is welcome to take this lovely award, since it's intended for all bloggers who make a difference for me. That means YOU! Even if I forgot to mention you, that means YOU! Also check out the blogger who created this award, Memoirs of a Mommy.

Now, back to the Just Plain Fun to Read Awards:


Michelle of House of Lime
Juggling creativity and motherhood. Doing it with STYLE.

Katie Jane of Kate's Corner
Mixed-media celebrations of being alive. Reminders to be at peace. And speaking of lovely Katie Jane, she recently received this award and then offered it to all who read her blog. Thank you, Katie Jane! I will do the same. Anyone who would like this winsome award may grab it and run. Just comment on your way out.
Now, back to the Just Plain Fun to Read Awards:

Raven of Views from Raven's Nest
Everything you always wanted to know about creating a rich, imagination-informed life while being confined to home but were too timid to ask.

A.Bananna
Gorgeous photos of the Arizona sky and Anna's dazzling offspring.

A Creek Runs Through It
Gorgeous photos of Montana. Ellie and her husband, who take to the wilderness at the drop of a hat, have been on the cover of Natural Geographic. Or something. You don't believe me? Well, have a look.

Rubye Jean of Somewhere over the Rainbow
Sister to Jo and Ellie. Mother to Anna. Awesome family ties and Wizard of Oz collection.

Blue Sky Dreaming
The blog whose very title is Just Plain Fun to Read. And the blog is every bit as beautiful.

Crazy Cath's Reflections
Don't let the title of this blog mislead you. Cath is one not-so-crazed, down-to-earth, determined and honest woman. She exudes warmth.

Whim of The Babblings of a Whimsical Brainpan
Everything you always wanted to know about re-embracing life after personal disaster.

Crumbs from the Corner
Adventures in woolgathering and beyond.

Dilly's Castle
Adventures of a green dragon in the UK. A princessy green dragon with a sense of glamor.

Anna of My Only Photo
Not one but many, many photos. Most recently of Anna's highly photogenic son, two-month old Matthew!!!

Doris of Poetic License
I know. I know. Daryl already gave you the award. So use mine and and hers as bookends. Or put mine on your second blog.

There are others who already have the award I believe, others I'd have bestowed it on--Hilary, Lavinia, Rhea, Jennifer H, to name a few. Anyone whose blog I frequent or who frequents mine, whom I forgot to mention, please snap up the award anyway. You are all treasures!

I didn't name one single guy in this list of award recipients. It's just not a particularly macho image in my opinion. But hey, any guy who covets this award is welcome to make a comment and claim it. Step up to the plate, guys. Don't be afraid to show us your sensitive side. Jeff, Indi, Nick, Paschal, John-Michael, David, Peter, Meanie, Moody, Bob T. Bear, Bruno, all of you. You know who you are. You are Just Plain Fun. And you deserve this award too.

Feel-Good Friday: Jeff Laughs His Head Off, Raven Gets Cooked in Her Own Wordzzle, & Everyone Gets an Award!

Mine was a fitful sleep. I tossed and turned with grotesque dreams. Dreams of a horse's head. A disembodied horse's head that floated over my bed and laughed a maniacal, cruel laughter. I awoke the next morning with the disquieting realization that perhaps I hadn't been dreaming after all. Demonic laughter reverberated from the walls of my bedroom. The horse head scene from The Godfather flashed before my eyes and I began to shake. Closing my eyes, I peeled back the sheets and held my breath. After what seemed like a good five seconds, I managed to pry my horrified eyes open. Horse's head? Nope. Blood oozing out of the comforter? Nope. Blood on my hands? Nope. No blood. No sweat.

Still, the grotesque laughter persisted. It was leading me down the stairs. I walked trance-like, round and round the endless winding staircase, stepping over Trudy's slumbering body at the foot. I seldom envy a dog's life, but in that moment, I longed to trade her existence for mine. She snored in innocent bliss, her dog breath floating upwards from the peaceful depths of blogless sleep. For a moment the laughter seemed to be coming from the mysterious woman in the Marie Larson painting...


Trudy awakened, sensing danger...



I crossed the living room. I counted the bricks in the floor as my bare feet trod over them, wandering into the kitchen. Hypnotically, I lifted a cheese danish to my frightened lips. Funny how simple things--counting bricks, devouring a trans-fat-infused pastry--can keep one from being overwhelmed by hysterics. I wandered down the hallway, one hypnotized foot in front of the other, compelled, counting bricks. The laughter was coming from my studio. I grasped the knob on the door at the end of the hallway, holding my breath.

What awaited me on the other side of the door stopped me in my tracks. The cheese danish stopped in midair, halfway to my mouth. Things were worse than I'd imagined.

The laughter was coming from the i-Book, whose lid opened and closed, opened and closed, in a frantic rhythm. Like a toilet lid in a crazed Tidy Bowl commercial. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. All the time emitting that eerie i-Book glow. Licking my trembling fingers, I sat down and opened Entourage. I held my breath and clicked SEND & RECEIVE ALL.

And you know what? That maniacal laughter? It was just the laughter of Jeff B.


That horse's head? It was only this award he'd presented me over at A Word in Edgewise.

I'd gotten all worked up for nothing.

Thanks, Jeff. Everybody, go to his place and try your damndest to get a word in edgewise. But beware: Jeff lives a bit on the edge, as do his cohorts. It's so easy to fall in with the wrong crowd. Today, a laughing head. Tomorrow a dead one:




I narrowly escaped the horse-head-in-the-bed-fate, only to fall prey to another attack of wordzzle, courtesy of Raven, who actually wormed her determined self into this week's offering:

The heady fragrance of lilacs wafted on the soft summer breeze, entered Raven’s open window, and proceeded to tango with the aroma of Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat Premium Cat Litter sifting from the garbage can. Such a fabulous olfactory contradiction, thought Raven, inhaling deeply. I simply adore the violent collision of unrelated things. Meanwhile, Abraham Lincoln, all elbows, knees, and Adam’s-apple, was pedaling his tricycle up the hill to Raven’s house. He was late! He was late! For a very important date! Raven sighed. Where oh where is that silver-tongued, womanizing aristocrat Abe? LATE AGAIN?? THE NERVE!!! He has toyed with me one too many times. He is not even MY TYPE. Talk about a violent collision of unrelated things. And now he is trouncing on my good name. As God is my witness, when Abraham Casanova Lincoln walks through that door, I will smother him with kisses. Then I will proceed to beat him with the business end of this curtain rod. The door opened….















I woke from this appalling nightmare to learn of two more awards, both of them sweet as daydreams. Both of them from lovely Anna over at A.Bananna...

Anna has outrageously winsome offspring and an uncanny knack for photographing them at just the right moment. Here's her little enchantress Rue looking at the world through her bubble spectacles...


Like mother, like daughter.

The first award from Anna is the Special Scribe Award. Anna says she honored me with it because of my "creativity in tying my art with everyday stuff." Here's hoping the award isn't revocable after she sees THIS unraveled post, its loose ends dangling all the way to Fort Worth.

I now toss this beautiful blossom, the Special Scribe Award, at the following keyboards:

Raven, of A View from Razen's Nest. Mad scientist/wordsmith. Creator of the wordzzle: every week Raven flies over cyberspace, dropping random words on our heads. Our task is to scrape them out of our hair and shape them into paragraphs. Lady Raven practices what she challenges with a diabolical, beautiful frenzy. Like her namesake, Raven finds literary nourishment everywhere, picking every bone clean of meaning and nuance.

Paschal, of murat11. Paschal's MS (Master of Surrealism) diploma was shoplifted from the BAKING NEEDS aisle of the Piggly Wiggly in Jackson, Mississippi, soaked in agave reposado, hung out to dry in Langley, Virginia, debriefed and chopped into pieces, rolled in powdered sugar, fortified with beeswax, then fired from a cannon by Tibetan monks at the top of Mount Everest in observance of International Choose Your Weapon Day. Most of it landed in San Antonio, and now Paschal dishes it up over at his place. It's an acquired taste, but what an acquisition!

The second award, Shine On, I won by virtue of being female. That's right. Anna awarded it to all females who read her blog. I grabbed it and ran with it. No DNA samples were required.


And now this award is up for grabs by anyone reading this blog who'd like it. I am accepting bids in the form of cash, chocolate, and gasoline, preferably all three. Highest bidder gets the award.

Just kidding. If you'd like this award, just post a comment to claim it. And keep shining, all of you. That's the only requirement.

Feel-Good Friday: The Physics of Encouragement

Most of us are clueless. At least that's the way we feel. We stumble around in a zone of unsureness, tripping on our own question marks. Should I? What if? What would they think? Who do I think I am? It helps to get a little encouragement now and again.

One rule of the BIG E is that it can be given to one who has already received it. There are those who collect pig figurines or Happy Meal toys or armadillo drawings (by or of I'm not sure.) I've even read of a collection of celebrity toast portraits. But today I am presenting the Excellence in Blogging Award to a person who's a collector of kudos. And blogging awards. My informants tell me he was a finalist for both a Rhodes scholarship and a Walkley, Australia's equivalent of the Pulitzer for journalism. He's authored several coffee table books of photography as well as at least two novels. His photographs never rely on gimmicky, after-the-fact photoshopping but reflect a painterly eye, one with an unerring sense of composition and color. Not surprising, since he used to be a painter. His first novel was a bestseller in India and his essays have appeared in various publications. Talk about a Renaissance Man, a Citizen of the World.

This character must be insufferable, right? I mean his next book is probably called Full of Myself. Then again, that would be too expected. And this is a fellow who loves a good plot twist as much as the rest of us. So he authors a blog featuring his exquisite photographs, his retelling of odd news events, peppered with his prodigious puns (I forgot to mention--he is a pun-meister's pun-meister), an occasional memoir, all kinds of photography tips, tips on manuscript preparation, etc. etc. Probably the most remarkable feature of his blog is Post of the Day, wherein he lists several blog posts by others which struck him, either for their excellence in writing or photography or art, or their level of honesty, or their hilarity, or their very uniqueness.

My efforts have been encouraged a few times. And yes, I've enjoyed this. But even more so, I've discovered great new blogs by following his tireless hyperlinks. My blogroll continues to swell, in part thanks to David McMahon and his authorblog. As if you didn't know whom I've been talking about!

David McMahon, the blogger who had to install atomic generators to power his site meter.

David McMahon, Encouragement Maven of the Highest Order.

David McMahon, genius in the Physics of Encouragement: pass the Encouragement on to others--they'll keep passing it--then those guys will pass it still farther. Encouragement, it's exponential. It's Einsteinian. It's a wave. It's a particle. It's a boomerang. Pass it on. It comes back.

Feel Good Friday: Awards by the Truckload!

Someone on some wonderful blog--was it The Mother of This Lot?--reported that her blog awards situation is getting out of hand. She is now being followed by paparazzi. I can't say the same. I've left the building. Nobody cares. Yet.

But I do wonder who the hell that was lurking in the junipers behind the dead pinons this morning.

He wasn't snapping pictures, so I am operating under the assumption that he's a Hollywood talent scout.

And National Enquirer has been hounding both my kids, absolutely begging for exclusive interviews about their mother; apparently a Mommy Dearest slant is the intention and cash will change hands. Go for it, darlings. Tuition is high these days.

Yes, all of this started rather suspiciously the evening of April 10. That's the day, driving my weary buns into the driveway at 6 Lucero Road, I first spied that guy in the juniper. And that's the day Paula over at self taught artist and Kim over at Creating Space had awarded me this:

That's what I call one hell of a trophy. Liberace meets Winged Barbie with a teensy bit of art nouveau rolled in. Paula and I have both googled arte y pico and something is being lost in translation. Arte. That's easy. "Art." Y, pronounced "ee," means "and." I knew that. I mean I live in Nuevo Mexico. We're talking Spanish here. Espanol por favor. But pico??? Here in Nuevo Mexico we eat pico de gallo. That means "rooster's beak" and it's a salsa of fresh chopped veggies, heavy on the peppers. Es muy picante. Es muy delicioso. (And I'll admit that's not a very logical name either.) I went to the Arte y Pico blog, the creators of this award, and had Google translate their page. According to Google's automatic translation, Arte y Pico means "Art Peek" not "Art and Beak." OK. I'm still a bit confused, but some things you have to take on faith. That's why I'm taking Arte y Pico and displaying her proudly on my blog.

Here's the fine print associated with this award:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte Y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.5. To show these rules.

So now, as per preceding fine print, I distribute this award to five recipients, visual artists who, with their diversity of talents, make me green with envy.



Daphne, of Five Foot Under
Corrine (Do I have your name right?), of Jafabrit's Art
Andrea, of colouring outside the lines
Bridgette, of Contemplating the Moon
Lori, of Chatoyance

And of course, there's more...on that fateful April 10, Cath of Crazy Cath's Reflections awarded me this:

What I LOVE about this award is that Cath created it herself (with a little help from a Google image search) because she said that Daryl (the co-winner) and I are "beautiful on the outside and the inside." That made my day, Cath. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after...and well, the Hollywood talent scout continues to lurk in my juniper.

And of course, I want to pass this one on too. So I'm giving it to ten friends with the requisite inner/outer beauty. These are wizards of transformation. Dar brings gorgeous paintings out of the sweetest place inside her Charlie-Sheen-clad being. Patty wields the stylist's scissors, taming bad hair, one head at a time. Ellie teaches the young ones to climb out of their shells and sing! Jo and Lee are rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of disappointment. Shrinky and Ms. Bones cast magic spells with words. Rubye Jean and Anna are passing on a legacy of beauty and love to their kids and grandkids. Adventuress Celine travels to exotic places and brings us back souvenirs in the form of lovingly crafted travel logs. And Cath, well Cath, got this whole thing started--she's the Fairy Godmother of Beauty. Shall we make that eleven recipients? The awardees, all of them smokin' babes of the highest order, are:

Ellie, of A Creek Runs Through It
Rubye Jean, of Somewhere over the Rainbow
Anna, of A.Bananna
Jo, of Celebration of Life
Lee, of Chrysalis Dreams
Chewy, of The Back of My Headboard
Celine, of Fugue
Ms. Bones, of Bones of the Sky
Patty, of Lost in Solitude
Shrinky, of Shrink-wrapped Scream
Cath, of Crazy Cath's Reflections

And in the spirit of efficiency, yeah right, I tag EVERYBODY for an easy meme, also courtesy of Cath: post a picture of what is on your computer screen. It's called the "I'll Show You Mine if You'll Show Me Yours" meme. Fun, huh? When you've posted your image, why don't you stop by here and let me know? Here's mine:



And, yes, he's beautiful on the inside too. Muy.

Feel-Good Friday: Gratitude with Attitude!

Yesterday I woke up feeling good. When I opened my eyes, I felt well-rested. The first thought that entered this often restless mind: Thank You for this beautiful day. Thank You for this gift of life. I'm not joking. As if Someone had taken these peaceful, all's-right-with-this-tiny-corner-of-the-world sentiments, wrapped them in Kraft paper, and sent them packing in a UPS (United Peace Service) truck to be set on my doorstep. Before my feet hit the floor, before my first sip of French roast.

And talk about cool coincidences: A few minutes later I was sipping that French roast and looking at some blog comments. 'Akelamalu--I haven't looked at her blog Everything and Nothing in a while'--that's what I was thinking. That's when I felt the pull of some gravitational force. I clicked to wander over to her place.

There I learned she'd just been awarded the Gratitude with Attitude Award. Wow, I'd like to have that one, I thought. Reading Akelamalu's post, I learned she didn't want to choose recipients and so the award was for the first 12 commenters. I was number 7. I came, I commented, I collected! It is such a fun-looking award too. It bears the name of Greatfullivin, its creator. Technically, I was awarded it by Akelamalu, who was awarded it by someone else. But Greatfullivin is the one who created it and started it circulating, so it's highly appropriate that that name remain there.

NOW, I will blindfold myself and twirl drunkenly through cyberspace. I will do this 12 times, and each time, when I open my eyes, the first blog I see will be awarded the Gratitude with Attitude Award:

1. Jo at Celebration of Life. Excellent choice, my gods of randomness. Jo suffered a series of setbacks a while back that would land many of us in a padded cell. The suicide of a spouse. A car accident she miraculously survived but with numerous serious injuries and dizzying bodily pain. A boyfriend who walked away from the accident and the relationship. The death of her mother. And look at what Jo's blog is called. Celebration of Life! She loves life and her family and her work and her home in Wyoming. And she has lost ONE HUNDRED pounds by focusing on living sweetly. That she is an inspiration is a study in understatement.

2. Meg Wolff, of becoming whole. After losing a leg to cancer, Meg took the time to grieve. Then she got back on her remaining foot, had a prothesis fitted, and put that new foot in front of the other. She kept on. Then she lost a breast. The doctor told her to make her peace with God. She did, but she knew she hadn't completed her work here on this earth. She wanted to be the strongest, healthiest Meg possible, so she began learning all she could about nourishing her body. She started eating a macrobiotic diet. She began to radiate health and happiness. She authored books about her experiences with cancer. She authored cookbooks about her new way of eating. Several years later, after that close call with death, she says she feels healthier than she ever has in her life. Yes, she glows!

3. JS, of Influx Transposer. I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds in calling attention to a blogger who chooses to author her blog anonymously. A few months ago we were talking about animal spirit helpers here at A Life with a View. JS commented that she was curious as to what hers might be. I immediately thought of a giraffe. JS sticks her neck out to live her life as authentically as possible. For one, she's a lesbian who has chosen to raise a family with her partner. For another, she's a devout Episcopalian who feels led to the ministry. Now, the Episcopal church doesn't officially condone gay clergy. Why does she remain in such a church? Why, I assume, to lead by example. That's what I call courage. That's what I call "GREATful living."

4. Mima, of Mima's Doings. A world traveler and adventurer--she's the one who gave Bennie and me the hint about snorkeling in the Yucatan--Mima was diagnosed with MS a while back. Now, because of immobilizing pain, she seldom leaves the house except for doctor appointments and the occasional, heavily medicated visit to relatives. But she writes a blog about her "doings." She is still quite the adventurer, although her journeys now are more often of the reflective, interior kind. She also regularly circles the globe, calling on blogs, dropping off dazzling comments that make us grin from ear to ear. An unselfish bearer of good cheer, Mima is a woman who is determined to live well. And yes, she does!

5. Angel, of Life Is a Gift from God. Need I say more? Angel's blog title says it all.

6. Whim, of The Babblings of a Whimsical-Brainpan. Survived a horrific fire. Sustained equally horrific losses in body and spirit. Writing a book about it all. Cheering on the rest of us bloggers.

7. Calamity Jane, of Medication Time. Hilarious ROFLMAO writing by one who is cooling her heels, awaiting a kidney transplant. No, I'm not kidding.

8. Jeff, of A Word in Edgewise. The kind of guy you'd love to have living next door. An unassuming family man who loves baseball and writes about it beautifully. As a kid, he endured countless operations for a cleft palate and instead of looking back on his painful childhood with self-pity, he jumps for joy to be "average-looking." He's modest. He's very cute.

9. Heather, of Bad Kitty Art Studio. Like all of us, she's had her share of troubles. Right now her loving husband is working his a** off to find work. You see, the family recently pulled up roots and relocated for him to take a particular job, but now the company's had to cut back and so that particular job is gone. So Heather is churning out paintings at a frantic clip as well as clearing her studio of unsold pieces. There are kids to be fed, rent to be paid. Rather than assuming the Injured Artist pose, Heather is rolling up her sleeves and having a garage sale. Incredible buys on wonderful things.

10. Sometimes Saintly Nick, of Nick's Bytes. Retired pastoral counselor. Recently had to begin using oxygen. Posts hilarious jokes on Mondays. Looks unflinchingly at the injustice and pain in the world and reminds us to Do Something. Writes with great love about his boss and spiritual nemesis, Alex the feline. Come to think of it, Nick is more than sometimes saintly. Try frequently.

11. Sandi, of Holding Patterns. Retired cop, wife, mother, and grandmother. Dealing with RA. Celebrates the fact that gun-carrying is no longer in her job description but is not too sentimental to deliver a well-placed left hook when it's called for.

12. Carol of Carol for Peace. Like Nick, Carol reminds us to do something to right the wrongs in the world. She also shares her beautifully written reflections on the natural world, accompanied by photographs that celebrate the quiet beauty in the world. That goes for Carol herself. Hers is a quiet beauty.

Wow. That's 12 already? So many "greatful" bloggers left unsung. You know who you are.