My new addiction

No, it’s not a new drink. Or more textures. Or even mosaics. And although I love all the aforementioned addictions I seem to have, this is something I’m addicted to READING. And it’s a blog. (And I am not addicted to drinking. I just like drinks).

When we learn to listen to little silences, they tell us profound stories.

This is the opening sentence of an ongoing blog I began reading shortly after the holidays. It's called Leif ~ A Voyage. And nearly every day, there's an entry. Sometimes it's only a few paragraphs and other times it's a small chapter, but it's always intriguing.

The blog author doesn't post anything personal about themselves, only the story.

The story takes place in Iceland or Norway in ancient times. We are on a boat full of men and a fish-girl and we are fleeing, branded as outlaws. We’ve been banned for three years from our homeland.

I’m not going to reveal anything else about it, only that you have to start at the beginning, which is the very first post.

I interviewed the writer of this blog recently and here is what they had to say.

CG: Your blog is really unique in the fact that it's not a personal blog, which are the types I usually read, but more like a small novel. Why did you decide to set up a blog that's a story?
Author, Leif: I took an unpaid leave of absence from work this year to fulfill a longtime dream of serious writing.  A novel is to be my second work to submit to agents and publishers this year.  To submit, you need a minimum of 80,000 words.  I'd NEVER written that much before, and was nervous I would not do it.  So I chose to do it in a public forum, where, even if I had only one reader, I'd have to be  faithful to writing every day. 
Now, since it's already published publicly, that may ruin chances for a book once it's finished and I submit to agents.  But I figured it was worth the risk and the learning experience.  Plus, I have two sequels planned already.

CG: How do you know so much about the way of life in that time period, the clothing they wore and their rituals? Did you study history in school?

Author, Leif: I never, ever thought about it at all.  Never was particularly interested in this time period or subject.  The whole story just came to me in a flash one day.  I started shaking, and felt squeezed . . . honestly, kind of like a birth experience! .  . . and suddenly the whole plot was in my head. 
. . . about a topic I wanted to be historically accurate as well as educational, and knew n o t h i n g.  I have one thing to say.  Thank God for Google.

CG: I love the fact that you dole out small chapters, and sometimes as little as a single paragraph daily. Is it your intention to drive us all mad waiting for the next chapter? I'm kidding. You don't have to answer this.
Author, Leif: Yes, mad, I tell you, MAD! 
No seriously; it comes intuitively.  I work every day to translate the plot in my head into words and sentences and a story line that makes sense.  Sometimes it feels right to do a very short one.  Sometimes it wants more.
But I'm delighted to know that it drives anticipation! :-)

CG: Is the narrator of the story Leif?
Author, Leif: No.

Hmmm. Well, on that note, I’ll have to check today’s offering. Readers, this may be something you might enjoy. But remember, to begin at the beginning.

 

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

I am interviewed by Le Jarden girl

As many of you have noticed, there's this little thing called the Interview Meme that's going around right now. I've already interviewed several people and it was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. You can visit them here.

And just in case you don't have enough information about me, there's more to come. So if you've already heard enough, I can honestly understand. Today, I'm being interviewed by Beth over at a wonderful little blog that I've just discovered. It's Le Jarden girl and I'm enjoying her photography very much. I also love the fact that she lives in Montana. My husband always wanted to move to Montana, to start a dental floss farm.

(I'm kidding you know, but extra points if you can name the artist that wrote that song).

So here goes.

Hello Kate, here are your questions I have for you.

I can tell you love to photograph from your blog, what is your all time favorite subject matter?

It's nature, Beth. I'm just drawn to it. Landscapes, flowers, mushrooms, seashells.

What got you started with your blog?

Originally, I had thought to just have it as a personal website for my sisters and I, after our mother passed away. We e-mail each other several times a week, and I always added pictures to my e-mails. I thought it would look nicer if I put my letters in a different format. And it sort of took off from there.

Have you always lived in Maryland, and if not where have you lived?

I was born in Philadelphia and my family moved around quite a bit when I was young. My father was an executive for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. We lived in Pennsylvania and then in New Jersey. After I left home, I lived in Florida for awhile, then back to Jersey, Pennsylvania for years, Virginia for a year or so, and I've been living in Maryland since 1996.

I see you love to read...give me a list of your top ten books.

A top ten list? That means I would have to actually remember all the books I loved the most. I'll start by saying that as a child, Black Beauty was my all-time favorite book. I read it over and over. In my early 20's, I discovered Stephen King and I think I read The Stand about 8 times. I love all of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone mystery books and I gravitate towards mysteries. I couldn't put down the Harry Potter books, either. And then there are all the classics. I love Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. There's probably 10 books in there somewhere.

Last of all, what inspires you most of all about your life?

Mulling over this question, I finally realized that what really inspires me is people. Photographers (such as yourself) inspire me, friends inspire me. The children and the teachers at my school inspire me. People I hear about on the news inspire me. And my husband, my sisters and my family do as well. So it's people.

Ok, people, listen up. How this meme works is that now I get to interview you. However, I've already done 13 of them and my brain is reeling from all of the thought-provoking and pondering I've been doing. Here's how I see it: This is a meme to let us get to know each other, right? So let's get to know some of the brand new people out there. What I'll do is offer to interview the first 3 new bloggers (blogging 3 months or less and who I have not yet interviewed) who comment asking me to do so.

Here's the directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

My Interview with Daryl

I have just completed my first-ever interview as a blogger with New York City fashionista, Daryl, and here it is.

 

D: Do you think I would know you if I ran into you on the street? Why?

CG: Yes, I think you'd know me. You've seen my little picture on my blog. And besides, I'd probably have George with me. Everyone knows the George Clooney of the Dog World.

 

D: If you could live anywhere in the world, assume finances were not an issue, where would it be? Why?

CG: Well, I'm not a world traveler such as yourself, and in fact, have never even been out of the country so I don't have that knowledge to draw upon. If finances really weren't an issue, and in order to be somewhat close to my relatives, I'd be living somewhere on the East Coast, in a home with character and a lot of land with a view of a body of water. I'd have horses and breed them. And my husband wouldn't be sick.

 

D: How did you come to work at your current job? Why?

CG: I run the main office at a K-12 private school and I'll be there 10 years as of next week. Back in 1999, my sons attended this school and we lived less than 10 minutes away from it. My husband had just been offered a position on a horse farm that was a half hour away. At that time, I was selling advertising space at a daily newspaper in Wilmington, DE and my husband was picking the boys up from school and I was dropping them off in the morning. A position became open in the office and I accepted it, taking a pay cut in order to get our kids to school every day. At the time, I thought it was an answer to my prayers. And today, I still think that. I love the people I work with, the children and the ethics we teach.

Ok. I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

D: If I gave you unlimited access to free music, what would you choose?

CG: This is a difficult question because it's so hard to list everyone I like. It's part of the reason why I've neglected to fill in all those spaces on my Blogger profile. I like so many artists. So I went out to my car and looked in my CD holder and chose the first ten I saw: John Mayer, Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne, Sarah McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Nick Drake, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Shawn Colvin, John Prine.

 

D: What is your favorite food? Why?

CG: Sushi. Really good sushi. It's an explosion of fresh wonderful tastes in my mouth. I love it.

 

Would you like to be interviewed by me? C'mon, don't be shy.

Here's the directions: 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

 

Have a great day and until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Keep warm!

Random musings, a Giveaway elsewhere, and I won something!

I recently entered in a Giveaway over at Drivin' 55 and was surprised to find that I had actually won. The prize was to be a Christmas Memory Book that was being handcrafted by Deb, the blog host. And guess what just came in the mail?

It's a beautiful little book, ready for me to paste in my own photos. In years to come, I'll open this treasure and think back not only to my holiday this year, but to the new friend who made this for me.

Look how intricate the box lid is. The inside is completely lined in a rich holiday red and the little accordion-style book sits inside.

Deb personalized the front of the book as well as some of the inside pages.

Look at all the detail that goes into this little gem. I'm thinking of maybe getting a couple of these for gifts next year. And Deb, if you're reading this . . . why don't you have an Etsy shop?

My favorite page! I can put a picture of George right here! She even personalized my dog's name in this book. Can you tell how excited I am?

And while we're talking about Giveaways, I've found one on a new blog called Cottage Farm Villa that's going on until the end of next week. You can enter to win on this post. Tell Cheryl that I sent you.

Readers, please remember that A Giveaway A Day has just that. Every day a different giveaway. I've got a direct link on the sidebar on the right, but you can click the link right here as well. I go there when I remember to do so.

And while we're talking about new blogs, I was wasting away in Bloggeritaville one day recently and came across the most interesting story. It's a blog that reads like a good book and every day there's a new little chapter. I haven't left a comment yet because the new google comment thing confuses me (and I'm easily confused). The blog is brand new and looks like it may have started over the holidays. I am just finding the story SO VERY intriguing. Head on over to Leif and see what you think. It's just so well-written! And mind you, begin at the first post. It won't make sense if you don't.

And, as always, thanks for your support.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

I get by with a little help from my friends

While having my coffee before work this morning, I read a wonderful e-mail from a woman who visited my blog when I first started writing it and just happened to return recently and she began reading my back posts. She wrote me about her husband, whose situation sounds so similar to that of mine. These are men who were strong, who hiked and biked and built things. They cooked wonderful meals. Her husband built their house. And mine was stallion manager at the biggest thoroughbred breeding center in the state when he got cancer.

This isn't the first time I've received an e-mail from someone who is in a position where they are caring for their spouse. And it makes me feel so not alone reading them. Writing this blog makes me feel less alone, too, and I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful comments, your support, and for all the funny things you say.

Austin Powers is on in the background and I have finally, finally!!! finished the paperwork for disability for my husband. So I am breaking my rule of no drinking during the week and having one single glass of wine to celebrate.

Whoowee!!

I'm sure more paperwork will come in the mail for me to fill out, and when I get that done, I'll drink another toast.

My husband had the camera out today, and late this afternoon, he took a picture of the house with the Christmas lights he'd strung on the widows walk. It was pretty blurry because it was getting dark, so I ran a couple of actions on it, sharpened it just a tad and then ran a watercolor filter to make it look a little like a painting. I hope he likes it.

Notice, if you will, that the big hemlocks which were at the front of the house are now gone. A tree company came last week and took them down. They also took one from the back of the house. I think it looks nice.

Now about that vase of my mother's . . . Sad to say: I have no idea how our family came to own it. I've sent out an e-mail to my sisters and have heard back from one and she tells me that she has no idea how we acquired the crystal vase. I grew up with this thick glass crystal vase and when we moved my parents from their little home in Florida, it took nearly a week to pack. It was exhausting work because, to put it mildly, my mother was a bit of a collector. She was asking us to take some of her special things but I had come on a flight and couldn't take much back with me. But I did want the vase. She mentioned to me briefly that it had been smuggled out of Poland during the war.

Now busy me, unfortunately, did not stop and ask her anything else about it at the time. I figured we were so overwhelmed with packing and sorting that I'd ask her later. Well, here it is years later and now it's too late. I don't know why Poland because none of us are Polish. So I'm sorry to say that there's no story. I still am waiting to hear from the other two sisters, however, so I'll keep you posted.

This is just a little candle that I lit tonight because I like candles.

When my husband came out of the hospital after the first brain surgery in 2004, he had an almost unnatural fear of the flames from my candles. So I collected all the ones I had and gave them away to a friend and told him I'd never burn another. He's fine with them now, but is still just a little funny about them. But he says that as long as they're in what he deems a protected area, then it's ok to burn them.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

A tale of two trees

I took this photo last weekend of how people in the city go out to get their tree. We've got tree farms near us that we could visit, and there are big lots where trees are sold. But in the city, this is what you have available.

And you don't want to go too far because you have to get it back to your apartment. And you can't take it on the subway. So you walk. And you keep on walking.

I saw a lot of people lugging their tree down the sidewalk, laughing and I remembered a story my son told me around this time last year.

His roommates and he went out for a tree, stopping at several different tree selling areas along the sidewalk until they finally came to find the perfect tree at the right price. But, alas, now they had to walk it all the way home. Now, Christmas trees are bulky and heavy, so it wasn't easy but he said it was fun. And when they finally got to the apartment, they still had to get it up the stairs. And the whole ordeal took a long, long time.

Well, I just read an excellent story over at Woman In A Window, in which she writes about the acquisition of her own tree. And the opposities are so profound that I had to share.

Hers includes a journey through a huge forest, complete with deep snow and chainsaws. I was entranced.

This weekend, I hope to get our own tree and find the ornaments and get some holiday cheer going on in this house. I've got a faculty party to attend tomorrow evening and a dish to make for that. Oh, and a gift to buy for the dirty Santa game we always play.

What are you up to this weekend?

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Blogger Friends, Cool Awards and a Hair Cut

Well, that post title encompases a lot, right? I just wanted to thank a couple of people who have sent me awards lately and one of them I'd completely forgotten about. (Sorry Shimmy). As I sit here in my favorite spot in the living room, I need you to know that George says hello. And he's saying hello with a mouth full of toys. He wants me to play, you see, so he goes to his toy box, fetches a couple of toys and then gingerly lays them next to me. I throw the toy, he fetches it, and well there you have it. Geez, he is such a cute dog.

And now, on to the awards . . .

Shimmy Mom passed this award on to me for being her blogger friend. She wrote: "You are one of my longest, non-family, followers, and have always left encouraging comments, even whenmy life has seemed hectic and my posts were dumb. You were the first "blogger" that I considered a friend. Secondly, I wish like anything, that I could do more for you than type, right now! And please know, that you are in my prayers everyday!"

Thanks, Shimmy! That's sweet. Honestly, it made me feel better right away.

And just the other day, EmmyRedneck over at Musings of a Minnesota Girl sent me the Butterfly Award for the coolest blog. Thanks, Emmy!

The rules for this award are to post it on your site, linking back to the person who gave it to you. And then to nominate ten other blogs, link to them and let them know they have an award. Well, even though that sounds like a lot of work, I'm going to get on it. Really, I am.

So here are some blogs that I personally think are pretty cool. And please note that if you don't see your own blog here, I'm sorry. It's not that I don't think you're cool. It's just that I am an air head. And I can only name ten. And some days, I can only count to ten. You know how it goes.

1. Mental Pause Mama

2. Crystal Jigsaw

3. Parvum Opus

4. As My Days Are (need google translator)

5. Out & About in New York City

6. Life At Willow Manor

7. Woman in a Window

8. Quiet Life

9. Little Red House

10. Gardening With Turtles

So go forth and multiply, my friends. You're all cool.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And finally, yesterday I got a haircut. At a new salon. ** Gasp ** And I just don't know how to tell my former hairdresser that I've cheated on her, and that I may plan on continuing to do so. Hell, it's not just a plan, it's how it's going to be from now on. This new salon is quite a drive from my house, but they made me feel like a million bucks. And even though it costs a bit more, I couldn't believe how much I liked it.

I didn't think it would be "me", you know, going into a high class salon in this blue-blood town (honestly, that's where it is). But as I sat there with the latest issue of Architectural Digest, and a giant glass of chardonnay (compliments of the house), I decided that not only was it me, but that I could get real used to this very quickly.

My thanks to the friend who turned me on to this place. You know who you are. And I owe you one.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Surprise package

When I got to work this morning, there was a package sitting on my desk waiting for me with the words "congrats on winning!" on it.

I couldn't think what I had won, but the writing looked friendly enough, so I figured it wasn't a bomb. The teacher whose duty it is to be at my desk manning the phones stayed to see what it was.

I'd forgotten that I'd entered a contest over on a fellow blogger's site, Making Room for Serendipity, by Tiffany. And lo and behold, I won. If you haven't been there yet, check out her site. She's always giving good tips about contests out there in blogging land.

My good friend, Adrienne, will be very happy to learn that I won some more tea! I've got a nice big mug, some Celestial Seasonings tea, some stuff for my tootsies and a book to read. Thanks, Tiff!!

Since I wrote the tea post, and read your wonderful comments, I've been having a cup every day when I get home. Lately I've been enjoying a white leaf tea flavored with peach. Ding dang diddly, it sure is good. And at the end of the day, driving home, I find myself thinking about that nice warm cup of tea. I'm trying not to think of a nice cold glass of charonnay, can you tell?

I wanted to give you a heads up about a sale I'm having on my etsy site. It will begin this weekend and run through most of December. I'm offering a buy two, get one free sale. Buy any two photos and get one (of equal or lesser value) totally free. And if you buy one framed print, you get a free 8x12 print.

Instructions for claiming your free print will be on the site. They're simple. After you place your order, you send me an e-mail letting me know which free print to send you.

I've had such great feedback from people who have purchased my prints. I'd like to share something with you that my blogging friend, Maria (Gardening with Turtles) wrote me regarding her purchase. She had initially been concerned about the the intricacies of shipping framed prints that contained glass, as she had ordered one of the preying mantis. And when it arrived, she sent me this e-mail that I've reprinted with her permission.

"Dear Kate,

You know how I went on and on about how you should minimize selling your framed prints? I changed my mind on that.

I got your print last night and I am all for framing now. I cannot believe how excellent that packaging was, there was no way it could get damaged, scratched, whatever. Impressive. And the walnut frame looks fabulous with your print.

So, so pretty . . . it makes your photo look so good. I love it. I hope this etsy thing becomes a big success. I love, love, love my praying mantis print. When I finally got all the packaging removed and saw the photo for the first time, (this is true), out loud I said, "OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!" The birds can back me up on that. :-)"

I'm so glad you liked it, Maria! The pro lab I use is fantastic and they do an excellent job framing, packing and shipping. And Russell, your prize is on its way. The lab e-mailed me yesterday to say it had shipped. As many of you know, Russell was the winner in the most recent giveaway.

Well, until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Favorite Things: Earl Grey tea with jasmine

I love Earl Grey tea, especially when I buy it loose with jasmine blossoms in it. And today, I used my very last bit.

I love it even more when it's in my favorite teacup, the one with the dragonflies on it, the one my friend Lynn gave me for Christmas one year.

"I'm going to have to go to the little tea shoppe for more of this Earl Grey", I thought. But wait!! I think I have enough tea in my cupboards.

Drinking hot tea is something I do when the weather turns chilly, and it reminds me of a conversation I had with Adrienne exactly one month ago, while I was in the hospital with my husband and she and several others were setting up our house for us, as we'd just moved that weekend.

She called me on my cell and my husband had just been moved into a private room. I'd been sitting there next to him, reading a book. I took the call out in the hallway, trying to be quiet.

A: Hey, is this a good time? How's he doing?

CG: Yeah, it's fine. He's napping. I think he's going to be ok.

A: That's so good, Kate. I'm just calling to tell you that you have a serious addiction.

CG: Me? I have an addiction? What addiction?

A: Your fricken tea, you moron! Do you have any idea how much fricken tea you have in this kitchen? I must have unpacked an entire box of it!

CG: Well, yeah, I know I have a lot of tea.

A: Why do you have this much tea? And more importantly, when was the last time you ever drank a cup of tea? I've never seen you drink tea!

CG: Um, well, I drink it in the fall and the winter. When it gets cold, you know . . . And I drink it iced in the summer, when it's hot . . . so I drink tea.

A: Oh, my God. You and your fricken rules. You have rules about tea? I've told you, YOU HAVE ISSUES!!!

A: And they involve TEA!!! Among other things.

CG: Um, Adrienne, what is the problem? I mean, people give me tea as gifts at school. They know that I, um, like it, I guess.

A: You have enough tea here to put it all in its own cabinet, do you know that? You could open a shop with all this tea! And I even had to throw some out!! Your sister agrees with me.

CG: Char agrees with you about my tea? What tea did you throw out? Not the Earl Grey with jasmine!!!

A: I don't know about your Earl Grey, but I threw a mess of it out. You have too much. I think this is an addiciton you have to quit, Kate. Do you buy tea when you're at the grocery store?

CG: Um, sometimes.

A: I KNEW IT!! I knew it wasn't all gifts!!!

CG: Adrienne, just don't throw the Earl Grey out. It's in the white cannister.

A: Oh, don't worry about your precious Earl Grey. It's on the counter. But THE REST OF IT is in a cabinet. An entire cabinet.

CG: Why are you so upset?

A: I'm not upset. I'm just messing with you! Hahaha! Hey, I gotta go. Your sister's drinking all the wine. See ya!

I looked at the phone. And I shook my head. I would have rather been at my new house with them, laughing over my addiction to fine teas, among all the other issues Adrienne says I have. But I was here with my husband. And I was so lucky to have family and friends who were moving us into our new home.

And laughing over all of my things!!!

The Earl Grey with jasmine really is my favorite. Oh, I know! Maybe Adrienne will give me a box of it for my birthday!

Not!!!

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Back to work

Hickory at Twilight

I returned to work today, leaving around lunchtime. I can't tell you how good it felt to be with my 'other family' today. And I wouldn't be as calm as I am if I didn't have the support of our Head of School and our faculty.

After the morning began, I quickly slipped out to grab a little cup of coffee from the break room at the end of the hall. I heard the children in the 4th grade classroom next door and went in to see the teacher because it's been so long since we've spoken.

I nearly cried after walking into her classroom and seeing those children stand up and clap for me. Had they noticed I was gone? If I could bottle this feeling: the laughter of children, the kindness of those I work with; there would be no need for anti-depressants.

Okay, enough of this mushy stuff. I'd like to tell you something that I've decided is a really good idea and one that was started by fellow blogger, Chuck Westbrook. I first heard of him while visiting Dlyn's blog last week, and I like the idea he's got going right now.

Here's the idea: There are millions of blogs out there. And some of those blogs are so excellent yet they receive very little traffic in the form of comments. Chuck has devised a plan to aid these bloggers in getting their word out to a bigger audience. Every two weeks, he'll highlight a different blog and along with a number of others, I've elected to go and visit that blog every day for two weeks. After the two weeks, if it's a blog that I'm finding that I really enjoy, I'll continue to visit it. But if not, I'll just move on. The blogger's traffic will increase and the end result should be positive.

The blog that he's chosen for the next two weeks is one that's written by Zoe Westhof, a young American writer currently living in Thailand. Her blog is called Essential Prose. Her writing is superb. She's funny, and goofy sometimes, and I think I'm going to enjoy visiting her every day.

And because I can't let this stop here, I'd like to tell you about a blog that I, personally, am finding really interesting. She's left several comments here, and many of you may already be familiar with her name. Her blog is Woman In A Window, and it's written by Erin from Northern Ontario. She's a wife and a mother of two young children. Her writing is what keeps me going back. She writes from her heart and although sometimes it's dark, it's always real. Give her a read if you have a moment or an hour or two.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

George gets a new toy and I get an award

I took a different route home in order to stop at the Hallmark store and I happened to drive by a pet store. I realized that I hadn't bought George a new toy for quite some time now and so many of them are getting pretty ratty, so I turned my Honda Element into the parking lot and went in. I came out a short time later with a couple of fun new toys and a new ID tag for my favorite dog. When I came home, my husband was doing the dishes. You have no idea how much I love seeing a tall, strapping man doing the dishes. And then he started getting out pots and pans to begin cooking dinner and I had to get outa there before I just got way too excited! I took George outside and let him choose one of the toys. I tossed it and he caught most of them and kept bringing them back for more. These pictures are not blog-worthy as far as I'm concerned, but they're all I got tonight! It is pretty difficult to toss and snap at the same time and there was no way I was going to disturb the dinner process by asking my husband to come out and toss while I snapped photos. Then it was walk time and George decided to bring his new toy with us, dropping it just ahead of me so that I could keep picking it up and throwing it to him. By the end of the little 20-minute walk, he was tuckered out. And as I'm writing this, it's an hour and a half later and this dog is STILL playing with this toy. He loves it!


And now on to the award. Ever since I started fooling around with the little black box, I've been getting visitors from all over the globe on both this site and my Picture A Day photography blog. And some of them are becoming regular visitors. Hello to all of you. Yes, you out there. You know who you are. One such visitor is Suzy at Soo's Stuff. She hails from Cornwall in the UK and has a couple of brand new puppies. I also must mention her vacuum. It truly has a personality of its own. Suzy has bestowed the "I Love your Blog" award to me. And I am thankful. I received another one of these last month and will add this to my collection of wonderful awards. And because I've already sent this award on to three deserving other bloggers, I have decided to be lazy and not pass on, but I will say that I love all the blogs that are on my sidebar here. To me, they all deserve this award.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

Travels with the black box

The little black box has taken me to many different sites, some where I simply leave a comment saying that I've been by, and others that I have actually added to my blogroll.

One such site that I want to share with you is Crystal Jigsaw, written by a woman who lives with her farming husband, her young daughter Amy, two dogs and a cat, and some spirits that seem to inhabit the farmhouse she moved into six years ago. They seem friendly, although I know that I couldn't be as calm about it as she apparently is. I know that many don't believe in the paranormal, but frankly, I believe that there are just some things that simply cannot be explained.

In this post, she writes of an incident that occured while she was in the sitting room stroking her cat, Jess. The cat looked up, towards the doorway, as if someone was there. And then the sounds and even smells of a meal from long ago invaded their senses.

It's not just the ghosts that have me riveted to her blog posts, either. It's her writing. She is currently working on a book, so that endeavor keeps her occupied when she's not caring for her home and her family. I also find it interesting because she lives so far away ~ in Northumberland, which is located at the northernmost top of Great Britain, on the Scottish border. It's also known as God's Country and was the scene of many fierce battles between Scotland and England in the past. Northumberland has more castles than anywhere else in England, and although they're usually blessed with more sunshine than rain, it's been a bad year for crops and her husband, the farmer, is fretting.

I'm telling you, it reads like a book. And I'm enjoying it so much.

So go ahead and click the word decide on the black box. I've heard that it can become addicting, but I haven't had a problem with it yet. If you'd like more information on how to acquire the box as a widget for your own blog, or to find out how they got started, click on about black boxes and follow the instructions.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

Encourage one other

If any of you have visited Donna Boucher's Quiet Life blog, or seen her guest posts on Pioneer Woman's photography section, you know her mantra is to "encourage one other". And I love that.

In the course of traveling and visiting other blogs, every so often I stumble upon one that either touches my heart, or fills my soul. And this morning, I'd like to share one such blog.

It's called Gardening with Turtles and is a fairly new site that began in July of this year. Written by Maria, who lives in Kansas, it's filled with her nature photography and wonderful writing. I have no idea what sort of photographic equipment she uses, but her photos are lovely, especially those of her two resident turtles. She is also into vintage post cards which I find quite charming. I 'met' Maria when she commented on one of my posts on my Picture A Day blog, specifically the one about the praying mantis. So this morning, if you have any time at all, please stop by and say hello to Maria and tell her I sent you, ok?

I am sopping wet today, having just returned from a walk with George. It didn't help that I found a leaf covered in tiny dewdrops and got onto the ground to photograph it. I am always ruining my clothes with grass stains and it's why I only walk in my (crap) pants.

It rained yesterday and all last night was terribly humid. My husband took out the window AC units last weekend, despite the fact that he lives with a menopausal woman who has hot flashes all the time. I don't have a huge issue with this, but did rely on my AC units for Saturday morning cleaning time (which I should be doing right now rather than writing this post~)

And I realize that this post is full of links, but sometimes that's fun, isn't it?

Have a happy day, everyone. And to those along the Gulf Coast, I am thinking of you.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

Nice awards from friends

It's been a weird day and I can't even talk about it. I have to believe everything will work out, so let's leave it at that. But no worries, ok? Because to make it better, blogger friends came to the rescue. And they didn't even know I needed rescuing!

Today, I received this little cutie from Sarah over at Spruce Hill. Sarah is a survivor, like my husband. She's got a lot of spunk and a zest for life. She's given me the "I Love your Blog" Award. Thanks so much, Sarah.

With this award, I get to nominate 7 other blogs that I love to read, link to them and to the person who awarded me and let them all know what they've won. Ok, got that? But I'm doing 5 and they are, in no particular order:

A Majority of Two

The Mental Pause Chronicles

Noble Pig

Quiet Life

The Tombstone Chronicles

I love these blogs and read them daily.

And Shimmy Mom has awarded me the "My Photography Buddy" Award. Cool, Shim! Oh, and did anyone notice the saying I did NOT use? That's because it belongs to Kacey now. And word is she's driving her husband crazy saying ding dang diddly all the day. Sounds like a song . . .

Rules for this one are to award are a little sketchy, so I'm guessing there are no rules. I LOVE THAT! So, like Shimmy, I'm giving this award to people whose photography inspires me.

Mary at Little Red House and In a Soft Light just received this award from Shimmy. But I feel as though Mary is a buddy and her photography inspires me. Visit her lovely sites if you can.

Daryl, at Out and About in NYC on the M104 is a photographer I met through two other blogs I read daily. She recently joined at Paintbox Pictures (see link on the right of this blog) and I just love visiting New York City through her photographs.

And of course, there's Kacey at Wine on the Keyboard. I've been visiting Kacey's site since I began blogging. It's one that I read daily. It's informative, it's got great pictures, she hosts photography contests, has a ton of good blogging tips, and is married to Super Guy. Check out her site and you'll see what I mean.

And then there's Dlyn. I've been visiting her site, too, since I started blogging and even though she's camera-less right now, she posts some of the prettiest pictures from her garden and her life. And her dog is cute, too. I hope her camera comes home soon.

These would be who I consider to be my Photography Buddies. Enjoy!

Apparently, I kick a**

Late last week, I heard that Jeannelle, over at Midlife by Farmlight (the name of which I love, by the way) had awarded me the Kick Ass Blogger award.

Thanks, Jeannelle!

According to the guidelines, which were developed by Mamma Dawg, the blog to be awarded must have any of the following criteria:

a mixture of incredible, original content,

overflowing with creativity,

a blog that enables you to become a better blogger,

a bloggy friend you know you can count on,

someone who inspires you to become a better person,

someone who sends you to the floor, laughing your a** off.

Well, heck, Jeannelle, if you think I possess even one of the stringent guideline criteria listed here, then I'll say ding dang diddly, which happens to be one of my favorite things to say (much to the chagrin of my husband). Oh, don't worry. I don't say it at cocktail parties, or when I'm entertaining royalty. I do enjoy saying it at all other times, however.

You also need to know that all award recipients are to choose 5 award winners.

I am choosing three because I like the number 3. And they are Mary at Little Red House, Debra at Georgia Rector's and Olivia at Parvum Opus. I'm choosing these three because I'm in a photography kind of mood. Each one possesses photographic skills that leave me breathless at times, jealous at other times (although I'm not really a jealous sort-of person) and just plain feeling good all the time. So please go give them all a visit, when you're able.

Mary, Debra and Olivia should contact the recipients they, in turn, choose, link to them, then link back to mammadawg.com, at this post, and put their name on the Mr. Linky list there. Did you notice how many commas there were in this sentence? It's got a plethora of commas. I also like saying the word plethora, in case you hadn't gathered that.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

Great movie quotes

I was visiting some of my favorite blogs today and while reading a post about pets on the Mental Pause Chronicles, I saw in the comment section that MP had inadvertently left out her dear friend, Annie's pet, Stella. I'm sure MP feels really badly about it, but let me get to the point.

What is the point? Oh, yes. Great movie quotes.

Immediately, I thought of a Streetcar Named Desire and Marlon Brando screaming into the night, "Stella! Hey, Stella!"

And so I give you the top ten movie quotes of all time. I just love movie quotes, don't you? Well, don't answer that if you don't give a damn. Which, by the way, is Number 1. Also, please note Number 10, which I just used in this Skywatch Friday post.

1. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." (Gone with the Wind, 1939).

2. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." (The Godfather, 1972).

3. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." (On the Waterfront, 1954).

4. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." (The Wizard of Oz, 1939).

5. "Here's looking at you, kid." (Casablanca, 1942).

6. "Go ahead, make my day." (Sudden Impact, 1983).

7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." (Sunset Boulevard, 1950).

8. "May the Force be with you." (Star Wars, 1977).

9. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." (All About Eve, 1950).

10. "You talking to me?" (Taxi Driver, 1976).

For more quotes, visit American Film Institute's movie quote site. I mean, if you give a damn, of course.

Here's looking at you, kids.

Giveaway at Little Red House

A blogger friend, Mary, has a giveaway going on right now and through the weekend. All that's required to enter is to leave a comment on this post on her site, Little Red House. You could win a decorating book or two and some beautiful notecards that Mary designed herself, using her photography. So head over on to her site and enter, if you're so inclined.

Oh, and if you go, please take a moment to vote for her photos that she's entered for inclusion in a coffee table book about her home state, New Jersey. Mary has a widget on her blog page for you to vote. It's on the top right. I just love her photography and it's always good to support your friends. I'll be here when you get back!