Accepting graciously

 

My thanks to Rattling On for nominating me for a Kreativ Blogger award. She shamed me out of my initial Grumpy Old Woman response (included in dear friend D's first paragraph here) by reminding me that it is ungracious to deny people the opportunity to express their appreciation. 

One of the down sides of sharing the breakfast table with a mathematician is that you learn the consequence of asking 7 people to nominate 7 people, who in turn nominate 7 people before you have even buttered your toast. But Rattling On is right, these awards are just a nice way to let people know you like what they say and/or the way that they say it.

So now I have to nominate seven bloggers. I am trying very hard to overcome my fear of offending anyone, either by leaving them out or by having the audacity to think they would be pleased by such a nomination - tremble, tremble, here goes:

1. Carolyn, who writes the fascinating blog The House on Caroline Street about the people and events of Fredericksburg, Virginia during the American Civil War. Carolyn really makes the history come alive. She has introduced me to a number of American writers, including Ellen Glasgow and shares a lot of her specialist knowledge as a Librarian on her other blog The Corner of the Library, where you will find lots of beautiful bookmarks to download.
2. Cath, a fellow Devon blogger, whose blog Read Warbler is full of really well written book reviews as well as beautiful photographs of places she visits and her delightful grandson.
3. Dulce Domum, who is a great deal younger than I am but a girl after my own heart. Her posts on family life, traditional values and crafts, domestic issues, cookery, relationships, social responsibilities and all manner of things are required reading for me. She also has a jolly good selection of music to listen to as you read Bread and Roses. 
4. Novelist Susie Vereker takes wonderful photographs and writes really interesting accounts of her travels. She also shares her inside knowledge of the world of the novelist as well as reviewing a wide range of other people's literary works. Some great recipes, too.
5. Madrekarin writes a most entertaining and informative blog. She inspires me in many ways - from how to keep cheerful when life gets difficult to trying new techniques in quilting. One Perfect Little Miracle is a really creative blog.
6. Erasmus the Alaskan Cat belongs to Val, a Shropshire lass who now lives in Alaska. I love reading about the country and Val's children. She isn't a prolific blogger but when a post appears it is really worth dashing over to read it.
7. One of the funniest bloggers that I visit is Cathy. She writes about "anything and everything in the foothills of the Dandenongs" and turns every potential disaster into a caper. She never fails to make me feel better about life. 

These are The Rules if you would like to take part, but I don't think you will come to any harm if you decline.

1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Copy the logo to your blog (or at least into the acceptance post...).
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. List 7 thing about yourself people may find interesting.
5. Make your own 7 Nominations.
6. Post links to those 7.
7. Leave them all a comment to let them know you nominated them.

 Now what can I say about myself that might be of interest? While seven seemed quite a small number when having to select creative bloggers, it has taken on mammoth proportions when applied to interesting things about me!

• The cottage we lived in when I was very small had no electricity. We had gaslights and my sister and I used to go to the village shop to buy fragile gas mantles. We were so afraid of damaging them that we pretended we were carrying fairies balanced on our hands.
• When I was eight years old, I injured my hand badly at school and I was rushed to hospital on the back of a teacher's Harley Davidson. I was the envy of the whole school.
• One summer vacation, I worked in a glass factory, painting gold rims on Babycham glasses. I was locked in a small room to work with the gold leaf and for breaks and at the end of the day, had to strip off my overall and pass it to the security guard before being given back my own clothes.
• My training as a Teacher of the Deaf included observing ear surgery. For several weeks I never got beyond scrubbing up before the sights and smells of the equipment made me faint. The surgeon got so fed up that he signed off my certificate of attendance without my ever seeing an incision.
• I had my first date with my husband on 10 February 1973 and we married on 16 April 1973. We have spent 36 years trying to get to know each other!
• I used to spend Tuesday afternoons in a prison for domestic murderers, teaching one inmate to lip-read.
• My guide book on language development is now included in standard information packs for primary schools in Devon. (I don't get any royalties)