Versatile Blogger Award

Being still in the learning phase of blogging, I was surprised and grateful to get an email from my newly acquired blogging buddy Marion, informing me that she had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award.  At the time, I was getting ready for my cross-country road trip, so was way behind on my electronic media: the blogs I follow, Facebook etc.  I was honored, delighted, pleased, flattered–but clueless, in that I thought there was another step after nomination.  What, was I confusing this with the academy awards, thinking there was an election process?  Hey, I already admitted to being clueless.

I have since had the time to recover from the last trip, catch up, and read Marion’s  nominating post.  Thank you, sweet Marion, for the kind words.  Although a little late, I now know what I am supposed to do.

1. Add the picture of the award to this post .

2. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.  (See above–click on the blue “Marion”)
3. Share 7 things about yourself.

• I love, love, love traveling–going to new places, learning about the culture, the geography, the history, the people, the food,  the wine (oh yes, the wine…)
• I have no sense of direction, which makes traveling with me even more of an adventure, especially when I am driving–or navigating–either is sometimes harrowing.  Probability would suggest that, when presented with a left and a right, 50% of the time, I’d choose the right option.  Probability theory, in my case, would be dead wrong.
• the best thing I have ever done in my life is give birth to my son.  He continues to delight us on a regular basis.  (Considering he didn’t sleep through the night till he was 18 months old, he damn well should!  Kid, you still owe us.   )
• Even after 36 years, I still think my husband is the most interesting man I know.  (Cute too, and very patient, at least most of the time.  Work on that, will ya, cute boy? )
• If my sisters (including mi hermana preferida) and my cousins weren’t related to me, I’d choose them as friends.  They are all very different, and all very wonderful,  in unique and special ways.  Marion is correct.  Initially my blog was created so that my family could be a part of my travels. I didn’t think any one else would be interested, so I’m delighted that others are following and commenting.
• I’m passionate about reading–and am convinced the greatest gift you can give any child is instilling in them a love for books.  I’ll admit, however, that now that I’ve become a member of the blog-o-sphere, I’m spending more time reading blogs, which has somewhat reduced my book time.
• I have a very casual relationship with calendars.  Now that I’m retired and no longer have Microsoft office reminding me of the date and time, I’ve gotten even less in tune with the days of the week.  (These days, it always feels like Saturday!)

4. Pass the award along to your 15 favorite bloggers.  

One of the nice things about this step is I was able to discover several bloggers from Marion’s list that I am now enjoying (Senile Denial, sharansblog.) I won’t repeat her list, but will share other bloggers that I find interesting, inspiring, fun.

Photography

I love looking at beautiful photos.  I have accepted the fact that I will never be as good as any of the following photographers, but even if I can pick up one tenth of their techniques and skill, I will greatly improve my picture-taking abilities.

Mazzarella Photo  Chris takes awe-inspiring photos of wildlife.  His narrative about the various shots is always interesting.

Jeffrey’s most recent photos of eagles on his Photo Nature Blog are truly incredible.  How did he manage to get those shots?

David, a fellow retiree, can make the ordinary look special.

I don’t know anything about this young blogger, other than I really like her compositions.

Travel

I hope to get to Asia some day.  in the meantime, I can visit and dream by clicking on  Ken Pham’s blog.

Retirement

As Marion indicated,there are loads of blogs on retirement that are actually financial advisor sites, but finding blogs about retiree life is a bit harder.  Here are two (in addition to Marion’s list) that I discovered.

Bob is a prolific blogger, plus his site is a great source for other retirement bloggers.  It was through his site that I found Barb‘s blog.  I love her positive attitude, insights and creativity.

Inspiration

I “met” Michelle through Global Volunteers.  She had served on St. Lucia’s “Team One” and was kind enough to spend time on the phone with me prior to my joining “Team Two”.  She will be returning to St. Lucia in November (would that be Team Five?), so I can look forward to joining her vicariously via her blog “A Well Lived Day”.

In 2008, I discovered  the wonderful book “Your Money or Your Life by Joe Domingues and Vicki Robin.  It changed the way I thought about money, financial security and retirement.  Definitely a book worth reading, especially during these challenging economic times.   Vicki is now blogging about sustainability, farming, food, Brazil, community issues.

Although Eva could fit under the photography heading, I’m putting her under “inspiring” for her work with Alzheimer’s patients.  I particularly love the photos of her son.

Young Women in a Category All Their Own

Elena’s photos are gorgeous (both the ones she takes and the photos taken of her), her adventures are exciting and her writing is beautiful.  I love her spirit of adventure!

Crazy train to Tinky Town is another one that is hard to categorize.  It is funny, has great photos, is a travel blog–yet another young woman with a wonderful spirit of adventure!
5. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

I assume the way that is done is to comment on their blog, so off I go to finish the job.