Awards: Feeling the Valentine's Day Love

I have been remiss is thanking my wonderful blogging friends for passing along awards to me. I'm truly flattered to be given these awards, and I thought Valentine's Day was a good time to pass along some blogging love. I don't always pass along awards because I'm afraid I'll hurt someone's feelings, but I'm going to give five of these to the ten people in my top commenter list. The other award is going to five other bloggers.

Humane Award: Thanks to Alice from Hello, My Name Is Alice for this one. "This award is to honor certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendship through the blog world." I'd like to pass this award along to

• Julie of Booking Mama
• Kathy of Bermudaonion's Weblog

Over the Top Award: Thanks to Amy from My Friend Amy for this one: This comes with a meme in which you have to respond to a list of words and phrases with only one word. I answered this one in December; check out my post for the list and my responses. I'd like to pass this award along to

• Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books
• Alice from Hello, My Name Is Alice

Honest Scrap Award: Thanks to Nicole of Books, Books Everywhere for this one: This comes with a meme in which you have to list ten honest things about yourself. I answered this one in November and October; check out those posts for some facts about me! I'd like to pass this award along to

• Dorte from DJ's Krimblog
• Heather from Tales of a Capricious Reader

Who Loves You Baby Award: Thanks to Alice from Hello, My Name Is Alice for this one. The button for this is so perfect for today. I'd like pass this award along to

• JoAnn from Lakeside Musing
• Caite from A Lovely Shore Breeze

Dragon's Loyalty Award: Thanks to Alice from Hello, My Name Is Alice for this one. I love this button!!! I'd like to pass this award along to

• Sandy from You've GOTTA Read This
• Margot from Joyfully Retired

Love Your Header Award: Thanks to JoAnn from Lakeside Musing for this one. I love her header, which changes with the seasons. I would love to live along that lakeside! I'm supposed to pass this along to five bloggers. I'd like pass this award along to the following bloggers; if you aren't familiar with their headers, check them out.

• Bethany from Dreadlock Girl
• Lenore from Presenting Lenore
• Alea from Pop Culture Junkie
• SuziQOregon from Whimpulsive
• Kris from Not Enough Books

Phew!!!! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone and thanks to all who were kind enough to think of me when bestowing awards. Please be sure to visit at some of the blogs linked in this post -- it's a great way to make new friends.

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Award!

Thanks goes to Melody form Melody's Reading Corner for giving me the very cool Over the Top award. I really love the button that goes with this one. If you haven't been to Melody's blog then you're missing out. She's a fellow challenge addict and eclectic reader who posts great reviews and photographs.

The award comes with a meme and one rule: Answer the following questions using single-word answers. Then pass the award to 5 other people and let them know.

Your cell phone? Blackberry
Your hair? thick
Your mother? smart
Your father? wonderful
Your favorite food? risotto
Your dream last night? none
Your favorite drink? espresso
Your dream/goal? acreage
What room are you in? office
Your hobby? lacemaking
Your fear? millipedes
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
Where were you last night? home
Something that you aren’t? musical
Muffins? lemon
Wish list item? computer
Where did you grow up? Ohio
Last thing you did? drank [coffee!]
What are you wearing? turtleneck
Your TV? gift
Your Pets? none :(
Friends? super
Your life? filled
Your mood? happy
Missing someone? likely
Vehicle? Forester
Something you’re not wearing? gloves
Your favorite store? bookstore
Your favorite color? blue
When was the last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? forget
Your best friend? mom
One place that you go to over and over? grocery
Facebook? somewhat
Favorite place to eat? Denmark

I'm passing this one to my Secret Santa from the Holiday Swap: Melanie from Cyinical Optimism.

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A Few Awards

On Thanksgiving weekend, I'm not only Thankfully Reading but also thankful for my blogging friends. In that spirit, I'd like to acknowledge some awards that have come my way and to alert you to four blogs that are on my regular blog-reading circuit.

One thing I love about the blogging community is that it crosses international boundaries and spans oceans.

Carolyn from Book Chick City and Alice from Hello, My Name Is Alice both gave me the Uplifting Blogger Award. Carolyn is a UK blogger and hasn't been blogging very long, but she cranks out great book reviews, author interviews, and is even hosting two reading challenges! Alice lives in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. We overlap in a lot of areas, such as books and photography. It's a little crazy for me to put my name in the same sentence as hers though when it comes to camera work. Alice is an awesome photographer!

Kaye from The Road Goes Ever Ever On gave me an award she designed to celebrate her blogoversary. Kaye is another blogger who is active in both the book blogging community and the photography community. I think I discovered her blog through Wordless Wednesday. Once I saw her hobbit banner picture, I knew we'd be blogging buddies.

Amy from Passages to the Past gave the Honest Scrap Award. Amy is the historic fiction queen, and her blog is a great source of industry news, author interviews, and book reviews. I love her feature about castles. This award comes with a meme; I'm supposed to reveal 10 honest things about myself.

1. I love my job.
2. I wish I had more time to read.
3. I let weeds take over my gardens this past summer.
4. I look forward to my birthdays.
5. I can't carry a tune and refuse to sing in public.
6. I wore braces (on my teeth) when I was in my late 30s.
7. I drove my last car for 17 years.
8. I wish I had a wood-burning stove.
9. I hate doing housework.
10. I really don't like to shop

Instead of passing these awards along, I'd like to encourage you all to visit Carolyn, Alice, Kaye, and Amy -- I bet you add their blogs to your reader.

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Beth Fish Reads: One of Top-Ten Book Blogs

This morning, I opened an email from Online Universities, informing me that they posted this list: "101 Book Blogs You Need to Read." I was pleased, flattered, and excited to see that Beth Fish Reads is listed in their Top Ten, which were picked on the following criteria: "These ten book blogs are the most popular, most informative out there, and they contain information about the widest number of genres."

Be sure to check out the entire list of 101 blogs. You will recognize a lot of names (maybe even your own!) and will discover some new blogs too. Thank you so much, Online Universities.

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Awarded Three Times Over

I am once again blessed with the incredible kindness of the book blogging community. Thank you all for thinking of me.

The wonderful Melody from Melody's Reading Corner gave me the Proximidade Award. According to her post: Being a recipient of this award affirms that this blog invests and believes in the Proximity--nearness in space, time, and relationships. This blog receives this great award as a further way to reiterate that it is exceedingly charming and aims to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Thanks so much, Melody! I'm a regular reader of her blog; photos, reviews, memes, and challenges--it's all there.

Carolyn from Book Chick City kindly gave me this cool Splash award. The award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. Wow!! That's a lot to live up to. Book Chick City was one of the blogs I discovered during BEA, and I encourage you to discover it too: reviews, giveaways, and a great design. Thank so much, Carolyn!



La Coccinelle at The Ladybug Reads gave me the Honest Scrap award, which comes with a meme. The award is given to bloggers who write from the heart. The rules are to pass it along to seven bloggers and then list 10 honest things about yourself. Before I tell you 10 things about myself, I want to encourage you to visit Ladybug: cute design plus thoughtful reviews equals a winning combination. Thanks so much for this great award.

10 Honest Things about Me

1. I really love pens. I have all kinds from fountain to gel and in all colors.
2. I also really love cool paper, which is kind of nice because I like pens.
3. My garden used to include over 60 kinds of herbs, but now I grow mostly wildflowers.
4. I'm forced to root for the Phillies this year (Mr. BFR's home territory), but I'm really an American League kind of person.
5. If forced to pick, I'd watch pro football over college.
6. Despite the last two items, I really don't watch sports, except for the World Series, major college football bowl games, Super Bowl, and Olympics.
7. I like going to the grocery store.
8. I like going to the farmers market even more.
9. I can't make a good pie crust despite many years of coaching from relatives and friends.
10. Despite that last statement, I came in second in a national apple pie contest.

Thanks again to everyone for the cool awards. And if any of these blogs are new to you, be sure to check them out; I bet you'll be adding new subscriptions to your reader.

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Awards!

Today I want to thank four special bloggers who took the time to kindly recognize my blog by giving me an award.

Melissa from Vintage Joy gave me the Let's Be Friends award. If you like books and flea markets and all kinds of cool antiques (and I did say books, right?) then Vintage Joy is a blog you don't want to miss.

The wonderful J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog gave me the Heart of the Dragon award. Books, books, and more books and great guest posts are what you'll find on J. Kaye's blog. You've been there already, haven't you?

The Lemonade award came from Unfinished Person at Just A (Reading) Fool. Check out UP's blog and find posts about books and the blogging experience. Don't be shy, read the opinion posts and then leave a comment with your response.

I got the Zombie Chicken award from Kristen at BookNAround. Kristin blogs about books and participates in several bookish memes. She reads a variety of genres, and I know there's a review or two or three that will interest you.

Thanks so much for thinking of me, it really means a lot. In return, instead of passing along the awards, I want you, my readers, to take a moment to visit all four blogs. You might just find a new friend.

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BBAW: Thank You, Thank You!

All week winners have been announced for the 2009 Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards and more are still going to be announced today.

Congratulations to all the winners in every category. The competition was stiff, and all who were nominated as well as all who made a short list should feel good about themselves and their blogs.

I was in the running for the Best New Blog along with Books and Bards, Galleysmith, Scifiguy.ca, and Steph Su Reads. As soon as I saw who I was honored to be sitting next to, I realized that there just wasn't any wrong answer in this category. I read all these blogs, and I urge you to do the same.

I truly could not believe my eyes when I saw that I was the winner. Wow! I am thrilled and amazed and touched. I work hard on my blog and on supporting the community, and I am so pleased to know that it shows. I was floating several inches off the floor all last night.

I particularly would like to thank Amy of My Friend Amy and everyone who put in long hours for BBAW. The week has been a blast, and I can't believe how many book bloggers I have discovered.

Thanks so much again.

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Awards Times Three

The book blogging community is made up of some of the kindest people, and I am always amazed and thrilled when someone gives me or my blog an award.

Dorte of DJS Krimblog gave me the Bingo award and particularly mentioned my Wordless Wednesday photos. Dorte is a great photographer herself and often includes a photograph in her posts. If you like mysteries and crime novels, don't miss Dorte's blog.

Alexia from Alexia's Books and Such gave me the Super Scribbler Award. The story behind the award can be found at the Scholastic Scribe. Alexia has fairly eclectic taste, so if you read her blog, you're almost guaranteed to find a new book for your wish list.

The Blog Addicted award comes from the fabulous J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog. Yeah, she knows a fellow addict when she sees one! Is there anyone who doesn't read J. Kaye's blog on a regular basis? If by some chance you have missed her reviews and giveaways and challenges and memes, go there now!

Instead of passing along the awards, I'm going to ask my readers to take the time to click on through and visit these three terrific blogs. I read these blogs and so should you. Again, thanks so much to Dorte, Alexia, and J. Kaye for thinking of me.

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Awards! When It Rains, It Pours

As Book Blogger Appreciation Week draws near, I think we are all reflecting on how much the book blogging community means to us. Bestowing awards is just a part of the generosity and kindness found among bloggers.

Bingo Blog Award: This award is generally given to five blogs at a time for the following qualities: B = Beautiful, I = informative, N = neighborly, G = gorgeous, and O = outstanding. Carolyn from Book Chick City gave me this award for Neighborly. And Elena from With Extra Pulp gave me this award for Outstanding.

Humane Award: "This award is to honor bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendship through the blog world." Thanks to Velvet from vvb32 reads for thinking of me.

Let's Be Friends Award: "This award is given to bloggers who are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers." The generous Velvet from from vvb32 reads kindly gave me this award.

Who Loves You Baby Award: J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Blook Blog developed this one: "This award is designed with one purpose in mind. Pass this on to other bloggers who have awarded you in the past." Isn't that a great idea? I will be passing this along soon.

Queen of ALLL Things Awe-Summm Award: Serena from Savvy Verse & Wit passed along this super award. It comes with a meme: "Once you receive this award, you have to share 7 Awe-Summm things about yourself and then pass it on to 7 others." I just answered this meme a few weeks ago, so I'm going to rest on my laurels.

Thanks so much to all of you for thinking of me. When I started blogging last fall, I had no idea that the people in the book blogging community were so incredibly awesome.

As always, I encourage you to visit the blogs linked here. These book bloggers are some of the best, and you shouldn't miss their posts.

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Awards! Creative Rock 'n' Roll

Stacy from Stacy's Book Blog give me this great award. Have you been to her blog? She's a fellow Ohioan, which should be enough of a draw, but her blog has interesting book reviews, movie reveiws, photographs, and author interviews.

Isn't this a cool button? Although the young woman is playing a Stratocaster and not a Gibson, it's fitting to put up this button just two days after Les Paul died. So wanna learn another little-known fact about me? I used to run the sound for a reggae band when I was in graduate school. (A bar band, not a band anyone would have heard of.)

I'd like to pass the Your Blog Rocks award along to Stephanie of Stephanie's Written Word to celebrate her recovery from what I'm hoping will be her last surgery ever.


Sandy of You've Gotta Read This passed along the Kreative Blogger award. Forgive this completely uncreative thought, but you GOTTA read her blog. Sandy has a nice variety of book and movie reviews, audio reviews, photographs, movie memes, and more.

This award comes with a meme in which you're supposed to list 7 of your favorite things. Argh. I've done this before and my favorite things really haven't changed much. This time, I'll pick seven fun activities:

1. Reading
2. Lacemaking
3. Walking / hiking
4. Photographing
5. Cooking
6. Gardening
7. Canoeing

I'm also supposed to pass this award along to 7 other bloggers. I'm giving this award to the last 7 people who commented here. We all love getting comments, so this my way of saying thank you!

J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Book Blog
Swapna from S. Krishna's Books
Cathy from Kittling: Books
Jackie from Farm Lane Books
Dorte from DJs Krimblog
Serena from Savvy Verse and Wit
Barbara from Melancholy Musings

Thanks to Stacy and Sandy for the awards! Be sure to click through the links and discover or rediscover the great blogs I've mentioned in this post.

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Awards!

Shelly from Write for a Reader gave me this incredibly cute award. The Heartfelt Award is about the warm feeling you get when you're relaxing, seeking comfort, or sharing a plate of cookies with family and friends. If you haven't been to her blog, check it out: you'll find reviews, interviews, and author spotlights. Thanks so much Shelly!





Shelly was also sweet enough to pass along this Queen of ALLL Things Awe-Summm award. This one comes with a meme: Once you receive this award, you have to share 7 Awe-Summm things about yourself and then pass it on to 7 others. Shelly's list is truly awesome -- check it out. Here are seven little-known facts about me:

1. I am certified to lead white-water rafting trips. In my youth, I spent the bulk of one summer rafting and kayaking white-water rivers in California, Oregon, Idaho, and Colorado to become qualified as a river guide.

2. I have placed second in two national cooking contests. One was for an apple pie contest run by Family Circle magazine and the other was for recipes using pumpkin puree hosted by Libby's. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

3. I have a PhD in physical anthropology and genetics but I earn my living as a freelancer in the publishing industry.

4. In the early 1970s I spent a month backpacking in Baja California. The trip was actually part of my freshman orientation program for college.

5. I won the first-grade read and review contest. From January to June I read 56 books and wrote a review of each one. We were supposed to write our reviews on 5-by-8 cards. I still have the stack of cards somewhere in this house.

6. I have been in every state in the United States except Louisiana and Alaska. I can understand why I haven't gotten to Alaska yet, but I'm still not sure how I missed Louisiana, especially because I've driven cross-country a number of times.

7. Many members of my family are "literary professionals." My mother is a journalist, one of my brothers is a published poet and short story author and teaches writing at the university, one of my nephews has had stories published on the web, one of my sisters-in-law is a freelance indexer, a brother-in-law teaches English in high school. Everyone is an avid reader.


And finally, Bernadette of Reactions to Reading passed along this super award developed by Cathy from Kittling Books. The I Keep Coming Back for More Award is

for a blog you just can't stay away from. If you've been busier than a one-armed paperhanger with the hives and your Google reader is over 1,000 unread posts, these are the blogs that you single out to read. These are the ones that are never victims to the dreaded Mark All As Read. There may be many different reasons why you can't stay away: a taste in books that mirrors your own, the same sense of humor, always knowing the latest in the book world . . . for whatever the reason, these blogs are flat out addictive and you have no wish to be cured!

Wow! Thanks so much Bernadette. And now, be sure to check out Reactions to Reading, Bernadette's blog is not to be missed.

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Awards!

I got this great award from the wonderful J. Kaye of J. Kaye's Book Blog. I can hardly believe that there is anyone who doesn't know J. Kaye! She is a prolific book reviewer, a great host of book challenges, and generous with giveaways. And her entire family reads and reviews! Don't miss her blog.

The Humane Award is to honor bloggers who are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it weren't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. This award is to thank them for their growing friendships through the blog world.

I am blessed to know many bloggers who deserve this award. I'm going to pass it along to three readers who are not from the United States.

Gautami from India, who blogs at Everything Distills into Reading
Belle from Canada, who blogs at Ms. Bookish
Jackie from the UK, who blogs at Farm Lane Books


Jill from Rhapsodyinbooks's Weblog passed this super award along to her fellow Game On dieters. If you haven't been to Jill's blog, you're missing out on some great reviews, articles, giveaways, and more. Seriously, go and read. Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit Also gave me this award! Visit her blog for terrific reviews and giveaways. Another blog to add to your daily visits.

The Kreativ Blogger award meme works like this: If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award. I recently listed seven favorite things, but I'll name seven favorite foods or flavors in honor of the Game On diet:

1. Anything lemon (lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon custard ice cream)
2. Anything spice (spice cake, molasses cookies, gingerbread)
3. Pesto
4. Risotto (any kind)
5. Green chili
6. Grilled homemade pizza
7. Fresh homemade fruit salad on a hot summer's day

What are some of your favorite foods or flavors?

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Awards!

Sassy Brit from Alternative-Read gave me this great award. If you've never visited Alternative Read, then you're in for a treat. Tons of great reviews brought to you by Sassy and the gang! Please go check it out. Thanks so much for this award, Sassy!

These is also a meme with this award, so here are the rules: If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award.


Seven Things I Love

1. Sitting on the deck in the cool of evening watching the birds on the bird feeder and talking over the day with my husband. (Okay, stop gagging now.)

2. Taking my camera for a walk.

3. Traveling and exploring new places.

4. Well, yes, reading!

5. Making lace.

6. My job. (Yes, really!)

7. Cooking and all things food.



The wonderful Veens of Giving Reading a Chance gave me this terrific award! Don't you wish your reading space was as lovely as the one in the button? Thanks so much, Veens! If you don't know, Veens is a long-time book blogger who got married a few months ago. She's come back to us with a brand new blog! Welcome back, married lady!

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Cheerleading Pays Off in Books

Remember this spring's Readathon? Well guess what? I tied for the prize of most enthusiastic cheerleader. My co-winner is Eva from A Striped Armchair.

Thanks so much for the recognition. It hardly seems like I deserve it because I had a blast. If you didn't read about my escapades as cheerleader, check out my Readathon wrap-up post.

I did, however, accept the honor because it came with a $20 gift card to Powell's! (I'm not crazy!) I've already spent my gift, and I thought it would be nice to let you know what I got. Here's what appeared on my doorstep today:

The first is another collection by Sam Shepard (see my review of Great Dream of Heaven). This one is more personal and includes photographs, poems, and stories. The other two are YA books that I've been meaning to read.

Thanks again to whoever chose me as a prize-winner for the Readathon. I had such a blast, and I'll think of the event when I read these books. In the fall, I'll be faced with the dilemma of reading or cheering, but either way, I'll be involved.

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Awards!

Thanks so much to Carrie from Books and Movies for the Literary Blogger Award. And thanks to Louise from Lous_Pages for the Lemonade Award.

If you haven't been reading these two blogs, I suggest you start now! They are both on my daily must-read list.

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Award and Changes

Thank you so much, Molly, for passing along this award. This cute panda "acknowledges those who frequently comment on the others' blogs." It's nice to get awarded for being a motor mouth (continuous commenter?) for a change! If you haven't been to My Cozy Book Nook, I urge you to click through and check out Molly's great blog.





Changes

I finally got my tabs up and running. I've taken the slideshow of my awards off the footer. I think it might have caused my blog to load a bit slowly. All my awards are now on their own page, which can be found by clicking the tab.

I've organized all my reviews by author, title, and genre. Alphabetical lists with links to the reviews can be found by clicking on the tabs. Although I've done only two interviews so far, they too are listed on their own page and are given a tab.

Over the weekend I hope to finish the final edits on my review policy and get that linked up to its tab.

The other task I hope to complete this weekend is cleaning up my labels. Jackie at Farm Lane Books was asking for ideas of how to use tags and categories in Wordpresss. I commented there that I thought I had a good system for my labels (Blogger). Ha!! I spoke too soon, and now I'm a bit embarrassed. When I really looked at my labels, I saw that there were typos and duplicates and that some labels were fairly useless. So Jackie is my inspiration for this big job.

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Awards!

I am truly blessed to be the recipient of so much recognition.

The You Don't Say award (don't you love the panda?) is in recognition of being chatty. Thank you so much to Kristina from Kristina's Favorites and Melissa from Melissa's Bookshelf. The One Lovely Blog award comes from Sandy at You've Gotta Read This and Margaret from Books Please. The Splash award goes to blogs that allure, amuse, bewitch, impress, or inspire you. Thanks to Melissa from Melissa's Bookshelf and Jackie from Farm Lane Books. Thanks also to Myza from Books and So Many More Books for the lovely Sisterhood award.

The cool Zombie Chicken award comes from Amy at Addicted to Books. The Premio Dardos award is for transmitting cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Thanks so much to Pabast from Reading Mama. The Blogger's Best Friend award is given to your most loyal blog readers. Thanks so much to Robin of My Two Blessings.

My favorite way to recognize awards and return the joy is to encourage all of you to visit at least one (and I hope more) of the blogs mentioned in this post. They are all interesting and each blogger has added to my ever-growing wish list.

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