Today is a landmark blogging day.  This is the first time I’ve done two posts in the same day.  This is my 250th post, and the reason I’m making this extraordinary blogging effort is that I’ve been nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by J.G. Burdette.  This is the first time I’ve been nominated for any kind of writing award…unless you count an essay that I wrote for the American Association of University Women that netted me a $100 scholarship and designation as Senior of the Year in high school.  The surprise is magnified by the fact that J.G. Burdette only stumbled upon my blog this morning.  Her (that gender is my assumption) interests are history and crochet (at least that’s what she blogs about), and she seems to be enjoying my Old World Wisconsin adventure.   It looks to me that she does a lot more research than I, so I’m flattered that she is finding my posts interesting!  Thank you for the nomination, J.G.!  Here’s a photo just for you:

Now that I’ve thanked my nominator and included a link to her blog, the other “requirements” of the award are that I share 7 things about myself and that I nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.   I’ve wondered about this award ever since I began noticing it on other blogs I visit.  Does it indicate the versatility of the writer, or does it simply mean that the award is versatile and may be given out to whomever you please?  I’m going to tend toward the latter and nominate blogs for no particular reason other than my own whim.  But first, 7 things about me.  How shall I go about this?  Shall I be historic, random, whimsical, poetic, raw?  If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know quite a bit.  Maybe I’ll just go with the moment.

1.  I just finished doing laundry at the laundromat.  I’ve blogged about that before.  Today, there was an unsatisfied customer who phoned the manager to complain.  He was yelling at his wife, too.  I was trying to be invisible, but he must have seen me anyway, because he helped me get my bundles to the car.  So I guess what I can tell you about me is that I am not invisible after all.

2.  Because I ordered season tickets to the Lyric Opera in Chicago, I got a brochure from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra today asking me to subscribe.  There are a few concerts that Steve especially wants to go to.  What I can tell you about me is that even though I have a Bachelor’s degree in Music, I know a bachelor with no degree who knows much more about the subject than I.  I am reading the program calendar aloud and trying to pronounce the conductors’ and soloists’ names, and he’s finishing my sentences.

3.  I imagine my bedroom is a tree house.  I sleep with the windows open and listen to the birds.  The leaves of the maples are fully formed now, and I am soaking in green light.  I hope to turn into a bird some day and fly like I do in my dreams.  

4.  I miss my late husband.  I miss my kids.  I wonder about what that means.

5.  My glasses are blurry.  I got some hairspray on them that I can’t get off, even with Goo Gone.  I’ve been coping for a couple of months, and finally, I called about ordering replacement lenses.  I learned that would cost $330 — more than I paid for the whole set of glasses, with frames, at the two-for-one sale.  I decided to keep coping.  I’m cheap. 

6.  I’m looking for community.  I don’t have a lot of friends.  I’ve never had a lot of friends.  I prefer fewer relationships and greater depth.

7.  Today is not a sunny day.  That often effects my mood.  I want to say something outrageously funny, but it doesn’t seem possible.  Here’s a true fact: my bed has bright orange sheets on it.  That’s about as outrageous as I may get today.

  Alright.  Glad that’s over.  Now I get to talk about other bloggers and what I like about them.  The nominees are:

1. Helen Cherry, author of 1500 Saturdays and Helen’s Photomania.  She probably already has this award, but she is my first and most faithful blogger friend, so she definitely gets nominated here.  

2. Stuart Hyde of SHPics.  Not only is Stuart an excellent photographer with an interesting perspective, he’s a cheeky wit whose comments always make me laugh.

3. Karen McRae of draw and shoot.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Karen had won dozens of awards, but it would surprise me if she advertised it.  She is an artist whose work emanates purity and ethereal truth…if that makes any sense.  Just look at it and clarity will descend on you.

4. Sarah M. Lawton, the adventure mum.  She just got back from an elephant excursion in Nepal, and I am living my dream adventure vicariously through her.

5. Mistress of Monsters.  This creative crafter reminds me of my daughter.  Her posts about making everything for her wedding by hand, in her own inimitable style, hooked me in.  It seems like her blog is now more about her business life and less about her personal life; nevertheless, she’s an appeal person.

6. My daughter, the Approximate Chef.  Not that she’s had time to post an entry lately, with grad school and work and singing in a punk band and all the rest.  She’s actually the Versatile poster child. 

7. Elena Caravela.  Artist, children’s book illustrator, art advocate.  She’s gotten “real” awards, for sure.

8.  Am I only half way done?  This is taking a lot of time.  I’m letting Helen have two spots.

9. Frangipani Singaporenicum.  She’s blogging about her mother’s journey into dementia.  She’s a great story-teller, honest and loving, from a culture that’s exotic to me.

10.  A Circle in the Path. Not only does she have a mother with dementia, she now has a 93 year old “uncle” living with her, and a daughter and granddaughter across the street.  I relate to her as a woman trying to hold all the people she loves, and herself, together…in all senses of that word. 

11. The Nature of Things.  I like returning to my old “stomping grounds” in Illinois when I visit her blog. 

12. Jeffrey Foltice of Photo Nature Blog keeps me in touch with the area around my grandmother’s cottage on Lake Michigan.

13. Susan Ezell of SKEdazzles already has awards, but she gets nominated again because she used to live across the street from me in California, and her photos bring me back to that slice of paradise.

14. Anita Mac is a much more experienced traveler and athlete than I will ever be, I think, but I like to go along with her on her travel destinations bucket list.

15. Suzanne Rogers is one crazy nature girl.  Her window into the woods lets you see out on the world of squirrels and woodland critters and in on a person who’s in love with her surroundings.  

Technically, I suppose the next thing to do would be to contact these people and tell them that they’ve been nominated.  This is the part that can be something like a chain letter.  Not everyone will want to receive it.  They will probably appreciate visits, though, so do go see what they’re posting.  Thank you, blogging friends, for all the things you’ve brought to my attention.  I appreciate having travel companions on this spinning planet!  Let’s keep in touch!