Over the Top Award

Pauline at The Paddock has kindly given me an Over the Top Award. One of the requirements is that I complete a list of questions using only one word. Ouch! How can garrulous old me keep to one word. We shall see...

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2. Your hair? Less

3. Your mother? Deceased

4. Your father? Likewise

5. Your favourite food? Cheese

6. Your dream last night? None

7. Your favourite drink? Ginger Beer

8. Your dream/goal? Country-living

9. What room are you in? Study

10. Your hobby? Photography

11. Your fear? Water

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Dorset

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. Something that you aren't? Sociable

15. Muffins? Ugh.

16. Wish list item? Books

17. Where did you grow up? Liverpool

18. Last thing you did? Slept

19. What are you wearing? Casual

20. Your TV? Off

21. Your pets? Cats

22. Friends? Family

23. Your life? Quiet

24. Your mood? Neutral

25. Missing someone? No

26. Vehicle? Wife’s

27. Something you're not wearing? Tattoo

28. Your favourite store? Bookshop

29. Your favourite colour? Red

30. When was the last time you laughed? Forgotten

31. Last time you cried? Forgotten

32. Your best friend? All

33. One place that I go to over and over? Hebrides

34. One person who emails me regularly? Brother

35. Favourite place to eat? Out

And now to pass the Award on – only if folk wish to accept it, of course. I know a lot of people are not happy about the requirements of Awards so I am happy to change the rules and say you are welcome to the award if you want it but the passing on ‘rule’ is optional.

Nan of Letters from a Hill Farm for all the wonderful books to which she has lead me.

Lisa at Bluestalking whose blog never fails to interest me.

Marian at Granny on the Web who gives me the best belly laughs.

Julie, the Compulsive Worrier, on the basis that she is always busy and busy people always seem to manage to fit things in (like accepting silly awards!)

The Decadent Housewife – if only because she hums opera in the kitchen while writing her Daily Decadent!

And last, but by no means least, Saz at Fat, Frumpy and Fifty who never seems lost for words (in the nicest possible way!) and whose blog name should also include Friendly.


 

Award for Photographic Excellence

Each Sunday I give an award to one of my favourite blogging photographers. The award is in no particular order so please don't feel left out if others precede you!

The recipient is welcome to display the award on their blog but is equally welcome not to do so. There is no passing on or writing deep secrets necessary. It is simply an acknowledgement from me of how much I have appreciated the person’s photographs.

This week’s winner is Helen – my daughter. It might seem that an element of nepotism is involved in choosing this week’s Award winner but Helen is not called Daughter-who-takes-photos without good reason!

The header on her dragonfly blog is an outstanding photo that could easily win awards from greater judges than I.

More dragonflies, like this Migrant Hawker and a Broad-bodied Chaser, can be found on Helen’s Wildlife blog. But it is a Lesser Stag Beetle that I have chosen as my favourite photo of hers from her blog. Hopefully one day she will have time to upload some more of the many brilliant photos which I have had the privilege to see.


 

An Award

I have decided to give an award to my favourite blogging photographers. When I first started blogging and looking at Blogs it was the excellence of people’s photos that attracted me. Nowadays I am equally interested in the writing but every now and then a particular photo reminds me how many brilliantly talented amateurs there are out there.


The recipient is welcome to display it on their blog but is equally welcome not to do so. There is no passing on or writing deep secrets necessary. It is simply an acknowledgement from me of how much I have appreciated the person’s photographs.

I have decided to give the award to one person every Sunday until I run out of folk to give it to. So this is my first awarding of the Photographic Excellence Award.



And the first person is Jen of Jennifer Photography and My Moments. Jen hails from the USA.

I decided that each time I made the award I would direct readers to a particular photo that captured my attention. Gosh, I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to choose just one. In the end I chose this one for Jen but really I would simply recommend a trip back through Jennifer Photography to get an idea of the breadth and depth of her skill at finding subjects and capturing atmosphere. Thank you, Jen, for all the enjoyment you have given me.