Thinking Blogger Award

I am honored to be the recipient of this "Thinking Blogger Award," awarded to me by Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums. Thank you so very much. Merci beaucoup mon ami. I know why Rosa was awarded such a wonderful award. She is always cooking up something delicious and sharing her recipes, giving us an inside view of her little town in Geneva, Switzerland and is always kind enough to share her kitties with us also. Rosa was even kind enough to offer some suggestions on paper stores in and around Geneva the last time I visited. Again, thank you Rosa. I truly haven't been living up to your kind words lately. The nest, so to speak, is all a flutter with chaos lately. I'll get back to the enjoyment of cocooning soon, I hope.

The two rules to this meme are (that is, if you do memes. Some do not, and I completely understand if you don't.):

• tag five blogs that make you think
• link back to the originator of this meme here
  

There truly are more than five and I hate only choosing these. I will list these five six (because I am never one to follow directions) alphabetically.

A Happy Miscellany

I found A Happy Miscellany early on in my blogging adventures. It must have been the blogging elves that took me to Merryville because it is the most perfect place in {bl}earth (blogearth) to visit and it was just what I needed at the time. Mrs. Staggs never ceases to put a smile on my face whether she's sharing photos of the great Northwest, telling stories about Merryville and inviting us to visit with her there or just showing us some good old fashioned crafting that she's delved into. Merryville is a gentler and kinder place and lets us remember there is good in the world. Sometimes we just need to slow down enough to enjoy the quieter moments of life. It sure would be a sadder place without the dear Mrs. Staggs and ever-happy Merryville to visit.

Frenchless in France

Funny story with this lady, Madame Linda. Again, early on, I came upon her blog. My being the all-time European wannabe, who knows how I ended up there--probably some crazy Euro search. When I found her blog, I was utterly amazed with her photographs. Being from a family of professional photographers and studying to be one myself, I can appreciate a wonderful photograph when I see one. The colors, her compositions, her choice of subjects -- oohlala. They were the most beautiful (and still are) I have found in {bl}earth. Her photo journalism is perfectly delightful in all respects. Did I mention she lives in the South of France? Did I mention she is the sister of my dear {ex}neighbor, Dianne? (The funny part comes in now.) When Dianne moved, I felt it safe to tell her I blogged and suggested she should also as she has some really zany animals and leads quite an author's life. She then told me about her sister who lived in France who also blogged. hehe. I already knew Linda, dawling.

Gullible's Travels

Well, here's another early-oner, whatdya know. Mark, who I fondly named Mr. English way back when, has such a wonderfully English blog. I have followed him through his tales of he and his wife Mary's beloved Avon Cottage, and hated like hell when they sold it not only because it broke their hearts, I'm sure, but also because I was not able to visit them there. I was, however, fortunate to have met Mr. English in the flesh in non-other than the town London. The kid, hub and I met up with him for a delightful dinner during our last visit. When I told the hub we were meeting one of my blogger friends, he asked "Are you sure he's not an axe murderer?" (Where he came up with that phrase, I have no idea.) In which I replied, "He seems the perfect gent online, dear." hehe. And, of course, he turned out to be the same in person. I have eagerly watched his complete renovation of their new {old} home Trulli located in Southern Italy. What an adventure that has been. I have learned about this beautiful old architecture I probably would have never heard of it if not for Mr. English. Did I mention his culinary skills? Oh yes, he has quite the food and wine skill going on. And, I might add, he continues to takes classes, in Italy, of course, and seminars everywhere else which only helps me to learn this stuff.

Paris Parfait

While I know she has already been awarded this, I hope to introduce her to those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Tara's thought-provoking blog. Tara is a writer, through and through. She will pull you into a hot and heated discussion on politics, here and abroad, she will tell you of stories past while she was a reporter in the Middle East, she takes us with her as she travels the world (or just a jaunt into town (Paris) or a frolic to London) and shows us wonderful items of delight that she spies in a shop window or brings home to display. Hers truly is a thinker's blog, and I so appreciate finding dear Tara.

Queenly Things

Then there's dear Val. Oh, she's a hoot. She'll craft you under the table, let me tell you. She is truly the queen of craft. She makes little crafts, big crafts, crafts from trinkets, crafts from scraps, crafts from just about anything she can get her little hands on. Amazing crafts. They're so good, they shouldn't even be called crafts at all. And with each, she usually gives us a verse or two to sing along to. Gotta love that. She makes me want to be a better crafter. {{{smile}}}

Ulla Benulla

I don't know anyone here on {bl}earth that doesn't know of Ulla. I believe it was dear Mrs. Staggs that introduced me to her world. And what a world it is. Even if you don't dabble in the arts, you can surely appreciate what Ulla shares with us. She introduces us to such beauty each and every post. I am green with envy of those close enough to take any one (or two or three or four) of her classes. If I lived in California, I would spend each and every spare moment at her shop, mesmerized. I simply cannot find the words that describe the exquisiteness of her blog. I am just delighted that I can visit it any time I wish.

There you have it. Six blogs that make me think out of my box. Thank you all for making my {b}life so much more fun and interesting.

To those I was unable to mention, I love you too! Really.