Award!! ;o)

Gosh, was I amazed when Christie at Fine Lines:

http://kids-finelines.blogspot.com  was kind enough nominate me for the Stylish Blogger award a couple of days ago.   Christie, your blog is an inspiration to me because I am a very “elementary” artist, and your posts are just up my creative alley.  Thank you so much!  

The award comes with the chance to do two things:  pass on the award to 5 worthy bloggers, and to list 7 things about me.  

For the last two days as we have been making our way back to Maine, I have been composing this little opus.  I almost posted it from my hotel room last night,  but decided I was too bleary-eyed to edit properly.  (I’m so glad I waited!)  Here I am now on the Concord Trailways Coach bus, taking advantage of their clean, friendly and efficient service, as well as their free wi-fi and an outlet for keeping the old computer charged. (I’ll tell you more about them in another post.)

I am passing this wonderful award on to each and every one of you who visit me, although in fact I am limited to five.  I am trying to support some smaller (and perhaps newer?) blogs which I have enjoyed over the short time I’ve been following them.  A special shout out to Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl  http://chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com  who received one of these awards just the other day with me.  Thanks for your abundant support to a complete stranger (though no more!).  Kate, you have been my inspiration and my catalyst.

OK.  Here are my 5 recipients:  (Boy, was this hard!!)

To Barbara at It’s about Time http://bjws.blogspot.com --For the daily dose of art I receive from her instructive and beautiful blog about women artists and subjects through the centuries.  My favorites have been in the “Time for a Rest” and “Early Morning Mother’ categories.  I read it every night before bedtime.

To Robin at Robin’s Robins and Things  http://popasphotos.blogspot.com for his daily, exquisite shots of birds.  I am in awe of his photographic skills, and very covetous of his zoom lens. He has also been quite kind and supportive to me.  (Anyone who lists his occupation as “Grandfather” is OK in my book!)

To Jessie at Monhegan Madness http://monheganmadness.blogspot.com for her blog about teaching in the one room schoolhouse on Monhegan Maine--a small island 10 miles off the coast with a winter population of about 60 fisherfolk.  Her inventiveness at teaching, her use of technology, her dog(s), and her obvious fondness for her students (this year only two, who are brothers) are all a breath of fresh air and very worthy of commendation.

To Lili at Fearless Nesting http://fearlessnesting.blogspot.com  for her evocative and very lovely photos and texts about living in a small Maine coastal town just northeast of Acadia National Park.  Lili has also been my inspiration, and a great booster.  

And finally, to another Maine blogger, Carol at Smilla4blogs  http://httpsmilla4tumblrcom-smilla4blogs.blogspot.com  Another frequent blogger from a small town between Lili’s home and mine.  Beautiful indoor and outdoor photos of private Maine life, as well as occasional remembrances of other ‘lives’ she has led in various parts of the world.

Special mention goes to Jayne at Journey Through Grace http://journeythroughgrace.blogspot.com  for her beautiful photos, her frank sharing of triumphs and challenges, and her all-around kind spirit of grace and generosity.  And to Hilary at Crazy As A Loom  http://crazyasaloom.blogspot.com  for her spirit, her creativity and her lovely photos and creations.  Hilary is another kind soul. You each would have also gotten this award if they gave me seven people to choose.  I thought surely you had gotten others, which was the reason I gave preference to the folks above.

 I enjoy your work, every one of you!  And your kindness and community.  Thank you!.

Ok, good people, time to get up and stretch, use the loo, grab some coffee or tea--then on to my “Seven Things About Myself” below:

Seven things about myself: 

(I thought I might respond to this assignment with witty, smart-mouthed replies, but then I thought maybe I should play it straight since we are all just getting to know each other,.)

1.Although I turned 65 this year, I still feel a young person’s sense of adventure about life, and I am very grateful for that.

2.I have two wonderful kids (one of each), each of whom is married to someone they love (and whom we love, too).  Each couple has created a magical grandchild (one of each as well).  They are the fulfilment of my deepest hopes for being able to be the grandmother that my gramma Kit was to me.

3. Mostly all of my family of origin is Irish-American.  It has been a comfort and a surprise each time I have gone to Ireland--I’ve seen my loved ones’ faces and their ways of speaking, their sense of humor and their warmth  in so many people I have encountered there. (I start speaking English like the Irish do after about 10 hours on the ground.)

4.My given name is a name that is frequently mistaken for a man’s name.  It was a hard thing to grow up with as a girl, but now I like it--people aren’t so likely to forget it, and I enjoy being different now.

5. I went to an all-women’s college at the time when small New England liberal arts schools were mostly men-only or women-only.  I loved my four years there.  As a result of this time living and learning in this kind of community, I feel the comfort and excitement of being among kindred spirits whenever I am in the company of women.

6.  My husband of almost 42 years is still the man I should have married, after all this time and all that we have been through.  Over 10 years ago  he began to decline in health due to a condition that has produced 4 brain hemorrhages to date.  We live with the likelihood that these events will continue, completely unpredictably and with attendant losses of functioning each time.  There is no preventitive action we can take. The brain injury from these events has changed a lot about our life together.  I still love him, though I also very much miss the man I started out with.

7. As a child I spent every summer at our family’s ‘camp’--a modest 1-season house with no hot water, limited electricity, 9 acres of woods and a small lake (big pond?) right outside the door. It was here I learned that all I need to thrive is right outside in the sky, the soil, the trees, the water, and the air. Nature is my heart’s home.

Did I say thank you yet?  I am so tickled....... ;o)