Tokens of Appreciation

I have recently been honored by some of my friends in our blogging world with certain tokens of appreciation. Four of my fellow bloggers have generously given me the Awesome Blog Content (ABC) Blog Award, the Kreative Blogger Award, and the One Lovely Blog Award.  I am nearly lost for words as I consider the weight of their kindness.

A couple weeks ago, Sharon of Figments and Imagination presented me with my first ABC Blog Award.  A few days later, George of She Kept a Parrot honored me with the second.  

And then, shortly after that, Strawberry Indigo touched me with the Kreative Blogger award, and finally, Dovesgold of Season’s Light added to the blessings by giving me the One Lovely Blog award.

Thank you, Friends, each one of you, for your kindness and generosity in sharing your nice words and sentiments.  I cherish your appreciation of my little blog with its pictures and stories….  Your continued visiting of my site, your supportive comments, and now your bestowed honors…all contribute to my enjoyment of working/playing with my blog and encourage me to do better.  Thank you…and thank you.  🙂

If you don’t know Sharon, George, Strawberry Indigo, and Dovesgold, I encourage to visit their sites and take a browse through their work.  Sharon is involved with relief work and seems to take photos and write poetry to maintain a sense of balance in her life.  Visiting with George is like sitting at her kitchen table from late afternoon until early morning, looking at photos and sharing in the history of her life.  Strawberry Indigo has beautiful photography and observations of life…and walking with Dovesgold through her sometimes dark and worrisome poetry can be compelling, as well as validating of our own experiences.

As many of you might already know, most blog awards come with rules or stipulations that accompany accepting them.  The ABC Blog Award asks that you thank the person who gave you the award (along with providing a link to their site), describe yourself with the letters of the alphabet, and then pass the award along to other bloggers whose work you admire.

I don’t do very well at describing myself, so I asked my wife and adult children to help with this part:

A – I’m an acquired taste; B – Book lover; C – Cormac McCarthy is my favorite author; D – Diligent; E – Eloquent; F – Feminist, father, mostly fair, sometimes funny; G – I like Gonorrhea and other STDs; H – Hiker; I – Introvert; J – Jaded?  Jovial – not really, but I like the word; K – Kind; L – Loyal; M – Mindful; N – Neat, naturalist; O – Open-minded; P – Pragmatic; Q – Questioning, quiet; R – Reflective; S – Skeptic, sometimes stubborn; T – Taciturn; U – Unpretentious, unapologetic, unadoptable, unbelieving; V – Venereal disease – see Gonorrhea; W – Writer; X – Like in algebra…unknown variable? Y – Yesterday, the content of most of my writing; Z – Zoetic (from the Greek, pertaining to living, full of life).

There are two of my blog-friends with whom I will share this award – Bonnie of The Iris and the Lilly, and Chillbrook of Cornwall – A Photographic Journey. I think Bonnie knows the name of every flower and tree in her garden and for miles around her lovely home.  She shares her photos and insights and never fails to brighten my day with her posts.  Chillbrook is an early retiree whose life was touched by the children he taught in inner-city schools in London.  He uses his camera now to explore the beauty in his new/old countryside that is his home in Cornwall, England.  Both of these blogs are chock-full of beautiful photos and compelling commentary.

As a recipient of the Kreative Blogger Award, the rules obligate/encourage me to thank the person who gave me the award, with a link to their site, list seven things about myself that other people might enjoy knowing about me, and then share the award with another select group of bloggers whose sites I admire.

I have already thanked and introduced Strawberry Indigo, so I will now identify seven things about myself…that may or may not be interesting: 1) I lived in Germany for over 10 years, 2) I still have my stamp collection from when I was a child, 3) I worked at one job for nine years, my next job for ten years, my next job for 11 years, and only have ten and a half years left to make it to 12 years at my current job! 4) I am still married to my high-school sweetheart, 5) My high-school sweetheart still mostly likes me after more than 30 years as my companion, 6)  I was a veterinary technician years and years ago, 7) and I used to draw blood from people in alleyways, abandoned buildings, and crack-houses to see if they had syphilis.

The two people I have selected to award the Kreative Blogger Award are Dreams and Zeros and Tania Jessica Smith.  Dreams and Zeros shares beautiful words and photos that represent her “daily dreamscape.”  And Tania provides us with looks into her life as she has traveled the world and taken photo-evidence of its magnificence.

And finally, with regard to the One Lovely Blog Award, there are no rules, nothing that must be done…it is simply a gift of appreciation for a blog’s content.  The award comes with a beautiful badge/button that I can pass along to other bloggers whenever I choose…just to let them know that I really admire their blog.  Thank you, again, Dovesgold, for this beautiful badge that I have at the bottom of my blog.  As this post has become long enough, I will pass that award along to select bloggers at other times.

Thank you, again, Sharon, George, Strawberry Indigo, and Dovesgold for the little treasures you have shared with me.  I will and do cherish them.

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