Friday 30 January 2009

Awards Season

Thanks for the beautiful bouquet!




This is my 100th post, and it hasn't escaped my attention that there is a blogging convention for celebrating that occasion. Since I am also nearly at the end of my first blogging year, I thought that I would throw some flowers at (just some!) of the wonderful blogs/people who have added so much color and beauty and interest to my life in the past 11 3/4 months.


I feel a little bit like Kate Winslet today . . . okay, she's richer, blonder, more talented, younger, more beautiful and so on . . . but we both have two kids, we both go to Reading** on a regular basis, and we both experienced an embarrassment of riches by receiving two awards more or less simultaneously.





Fantastic Forrest gave me this

AND



The lovely Peggy gave me this



The "problem" is this: I am supposed to pass these awards forward so there will be self-perpetuating linkage and positive feedback. I realize this problem is somewhat akin to getting a bonus and not knowing how to invest it, or embarrassing yourself with your acceptance speech (yes, I'm thinking of you, Kate), but I can't help it: I am suffering from all sorts of angsty anxiety. Trying to choose between blogs is like trying to decide whether I prefer purple irises or yellow roses (and I really like both). Also, some of the blogs I like best are already highly decorated, while others are squeamish about awards. I don't want to be ungracious, and nor do I want to hurt feelings . . . oh dear, a blogging dilemma.


Since it is movie award season, I thought that I might just make up my own categories . . . Academy Award style. This proved to be difficult, too, and try as I might some of my beloved blogs didn't fit easily into any category, while others seemed to fit into every category. There is definitely a blog for every mood and interest, and some blogs are particularly simpatico to me -- for whatever reason. Chemistry in blog-ship is just as mysterious as chemistry in friendship!



Best All-Around Blogs (writing, photography, ideas, voice, generosity -- these blogs have got it all!)



Blogs which make me laugh

  • Mom Sequiter
  • About New York
  • The Accidental Housewife
  • Whittering On
  • That's Why
  • None of Your Beeswax

Blogs which make me want to write poetry and think deeper thoughts

  • Pics and Poems
  • The Writing Mechanic
  • Dick Jones' Patteran Pages
  • The Gold Puppy
  • Life at Willow Manor
  • Box Elder

Blogs with VOICE

  • Multitude
  • New England Living
  • Nimble Pundit
  • Prepare to Meet Your Bakerina
  • That's Why
  • Lost and Found in India
  • Whittering On

Bloggers who I wish would write more frequently

  • Chez La Vie
  • Tales of Brave Sir Robin
  • Bitty's Back Porch
  • Beyond Ramen
  • Mom Sequiter
  • Anapestic

Best blogging feedback

  • Tales of Brave Sir Robin
  • New England Living
  • Beyond Ramen
  • Box Elder
  • About New York
  • Whittering On

Blogs which are a hand across the world

  • Accept all Offerings
  • Couch Trip
  • Bon Bon
  • Authorblog
  • BooksEtc
  • Barrie Summy

Best new discoveries

  • Johnstone Journal
  • Moments of Perfect Clarity
  • Traveling through Time and Space
  • That's Why
  • Pigtown Design
  • Irregularly Periodic Ruminations

As Kate Winslet said at the Screen Actors Guild Awards:

"It's really an honour to be included in what I think is such a remarkable year," Winslet said. "I really feel like everybody should be given a medal."

So please, help yourself!

(and I apologize for not following the rules, and for running out of linkage steam, but you can find all of these blogs on my sidebar.)




**Reading (to be pronounced Red-ing) trivia about Kate and me. She was born in the Royal Berkshire Hospital and I had a baby in the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Also, a very lovely carpenter and general handyman has done work for me AND for Kate's family. They are artsy types who aren't very good at house maintenance. We just needed some new bookshelves!

34 comments:

Bon Bon said...

How do you find time to blog so much, reply to all and give awards?
I can barely keep on top of my e-mails!
I'd like to hear your musings on Valkyrie/Slum Dog Millionaire/Revolutionary Rd. Maybe we should do an Oscar Blog.
FYI the only thing I have in common with Ms Winslet is that I too have been to Reading and we both have real Boobs. LOL (Ref Oprah).

Peggy said...

Congrats on your 100th post, Bee! And thanks for the mention. I've enjoyed myself so much at your blog. I'm looking forward to your next 100 posts! :-D

Nimble said...

Here are some blush roses lobbed your way, Bee! By the way, when will your roses bud in the spring, do you know approximately?

You should get the all around commenter award as well as the polished prose award. I'm so glad you're loving the blogs.

Anne said...

Congratulations! I confess I never even thought to keep track of my post numbers. And thank you for the (two!) mentions in your award categories. To address one of them, I have a couple of posts planned for later today or tomorrow. Like Bon Bon, I don't know how you manage to do so much blogging, both reading and writing!

I share your love of purple irises and yellow roses. My mom has both in her garden, and like so many of her flowers, they are transplants from my grandmothers' gardens. The iris is from one of them, and the rose is from the other. I'm planning to plant-nap a rose cutting and an iris tuber when I start my own garden.

Fantastic Forrest said...

Oh my Bob! You are such an over-achiever. This post was just too great. I think I will just stop blogging. You set the bar too high.

Heh heh, get it? Bee Drunken? Set the BAR?

Yeah, that's why I didn't get the Blogs that Make You Laugh recognition. I'm too lame for words. And you rock, century blog girl.

XOXO Your BFF, FF

herhimnbryn said...

Coughs and bashfully smiles at camera.........I am honoured to accept this blogging award. I am also somewhat stunned!

Many thanks lady Bee.

Pigtown*Design said...

Thank you, Bee! I am honoured to be included in such great company!

Sarah Laurence said...

Bee, congratulations on 100 and your awards! You have a gift of taking the ordinary and making it special and personal. I love how you’ve created your own categories which acknowledges how unique blogs are and how they touch us in different ways. I admire you for breaking all the rules but following your heart.

Thank you for including me in your illustrious list. I’m pleased but not surprised to see many familiar faces and will enjoy visiting the others too.

Your blog wins in every category but new discoveries, old friend. I look forward to 100’s and 100’s of more posts.

Beth said...

Congratulations on your 100th post and the awards you received!
And thank you so much for the mention - I'm honoured.
And I have always found the tradition of passing along awards to be a difficult one as well - you found the perfect (and gracious) solution.

Alyson | New England Living said...

Bee, you are such a sweet and beautiful woman! Hugs and kisses! And Kate's got nothing on you.

Thanks for bestowing me with so much honor. I'm blushing.

Yay for the 100th post! Please keep going forever and ever. And I want to see a full-fledged book in your future, missy. :)

JaneyV said...

Congratulations on your 100th post and for your lovely awards. I have a sneaking suspicion that my 100th is almost upon me but I am fresh out of ideas on how to celebrate. Perhaps I will forget - I'm a bit dotty like that sometimes.

Thank you so much for the awards. My goodness I'm overwhelmed! Suddenly I'm not sure my blue brushed cotton pajamas with the fluffy clouds on is fitting for the occasion - perhaps I should've worn silk PJs instead. I'm trying to think of the collective noun for awards. I suppose the English would say "an embarrassment of awards," but that doesn't aptly describe how I'm feeling, which is positively aglow with chuffedness. (Yes I made that one up). That's it!

You have conferred on me, my dearest Bee "a glow of awards which have made my day. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

I look forward to the next 100 posts and the cornucopia of delights you have in store for your avid followers.

The word verification is priti - how appropriate!

Brave Sir Robin said...

Congratulations on 100 posts!

More importantly, 100 excellent posts! No fluff, no throw-away post, just beautiful prose and heartfelt musings. I can hardly wait for next 100. Bee you have accomplished in 100 post what most bloggers will never approach in 1000.

As for Kate, *sigh*, There is not a single thing I would change about her, except perhaps her address. I think she should consider a move to South Texas.

lisahgolden said...

Bee, congratulations on reaching this first of many blog milestones! Thank you for reading me and for the awards. I have so appreciated getting to know you online.

Now I want to spend time going through your archives and exploring all the new blogs you've introduced me to!

Oh, for a week alone with my laptop and no responsibilities....

Gifted Typist said...

Happy 100th blog.
May you live long enough to celebrate your 100th year

wendy said...

Lovely ---and probably all deserving awards. I found YOUR blog on none of your beeswax. So, if I keep working really really hard, ..........maybe, just maybe............oh gosh, probably not, but maybe I could get the "Congeniality award??"

Bee said...

Bon Bon - Oh, I forgot to mention the "real boob" thing! lol
Sigmund and I love (and were emotionally overwhelmed by) Slumdog. I am going to try and write about it tomorrow, so please join in the discussion. As for blogging, I'm clearly neglecting other areas of my life!!

Peggy - Thanks and Ditto.

Nimble - Thanks for the rose, N! As for MY roses, they really don't get going until July . . . but that's partly because they bloom well into the fall. It works out well, I think, because almost everything else blooms between March and June.

Anne - Doesn't Blogger tell you what post you are on? I was aware, through the late 90s, that 100 was approaching. AND BTW, I do realize that you have a full-time job and other responsibilities . . . it is just my own selfishness that would enjoy a more daily dialogue with you!

That bouquet was from Sigmund. He had them put in irises because they were in my wedding bouquet. (He has been very romantic lately.) I think that it is wonderful beyond words that you will (one day) have third generation roses and irises in your garden.

FF - you totally make me laugh. You qualify for every one of those categories, my friend.

Pigtown-Design - And I am honoured to be exposed to a mind so much more creative, and more aware of aesthetics, than my own! Thank you.

Sarah - That is a typically generous and well-worded comment from you. I'll never forget the excitement of discovering your blog, back in the early days. Cheers to the next 100!

Herhimnbryn - It is so exciting to get to know people all over the world. You are a ray of light, in more ways than one.

Beth - Thanks for saying so; life is so competitive and exclusive . . . and I just want my blog to feel inclusive, if you know what I mean.

Bee said...

And with a brief break to talk to my daughter:

Alyson - I feel like this is becoming a gushing love-fest, but hey, bring it on! You are unfailingly generous in all of your blog interactions; I am so appreciative.

JaneyV - A Glow of Awards is so appropriate! That calls for a mug of tea . . .

You know, the other thing that you can do is write 100 things about yourself . . . Heinous (from Irregularly Period Ruminations) did a great one.

BSR - You know that Kate is Taken. Kate and Sam Mendes? What a power couple!

As for your other kind words, my heartfelt thanks.

Lisa - You crack me up! You already have the longest blogroll of anyone I know . . .

(Isn't it too bad that a person can't get a paying job to be a full-time blogger? I would give you a good recommendation; truly I would.)

Gifted Typist - (he he) Do you think I will still be blogging then?

Wendy - Thanks for visiting! I will come and check you out.

Elizabeth said...

Congratulations on your 100th post.
Virtual flowers arriving to you from me in buckets-full.

Gosh, I'm utterly flattered and thrilled to get awards.
Terribly touched too.
You are so very kind, and now I will also hunt down all the new exciting discoveries.
My only ( beyond remote) connection with K. Winslet is that she was in the wonderful film HIDEOUS KINKY which, in spite of its awful title is a delight.
and set in MARRAKESH.
ps. tried a second go round of the scalloped pots.Awful. PatWitch of Fat With suggests par-boiling the potatos.......

Lucy said...

Wow, thanks Bee, I wondered what brought the new visitors over!

Amazingly conscientiously posted, as ever; what the others said is right.

vicki archer said...

Love the way you have written up the awards and thanks for all the new ones that I can check out now, xv.

Reya Mellicker said...

I am honored! Thank you for the merit badge.

What I love about blogging:

It's completely democratic (small "d")
It's inclusive
It's free
Everyone can take part
Blogs don't have to be "good" every day.

At the end of the last century, I was afraid we were about to lose our ability to read and write, but NO - here we are indulging in the salon experience of the 21st century, meeting people we would never have known about otherwise. I love blogging!

Thanks again.

Bee said...

Elizabeth - Thank for the virtual flowers! I saw you at Box Elder today . . . she is so, so lovely (and, like you, an Englishwoman abroad).

I've tried parboiling the potatoes, but still never achieved the dauphinoise of my dreams.

Lucy - You deserve a multitude of readers! Thank YOU.

Vicki - I hope you find some favorites here. Thank you so much for visiting.

Reya - As always, I seem to agree with everything you say! I would also add (in addition to the bit about not having to be "good" every day) how WONDERFUL it is to have the freedom to write what you want -- without the dictates of some editorial pencil or target audience.

Beeswax said...

Only 100 posts? You write like an old-blogging soul. THanks for the award! I really appreciate it! (Especially now that I know about your winslet connections.)

Fantastic Forrest said...

Bee - Thanks for leading me to The Gold Puppy. What an appropriate category for Reya's blog - Best All-Around.

Reya - I totally agree with your comment above, but sometimes wish the blogosphere was also completely Democratic (big D). Hee hee!

Anonymous said...

Splendid! 100th post. I salute you!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, I'll help myself. Love awards. And memes. It's been at least a couple days since I had one...

Two of mine were born at the Royal Berks too. The last one was born in La Jolla!

Bee said...

Beeswax - What do you mean ONLY 100! (It seems like a lot.)

FF - Isn't Reya's blog completely wonderful? I love the way she blends philosophy and personal musings and current events. (Her pictures are fab, too.) BTW, I'm with you on the democratic thing - big and little D, both.

Clay - Thanks for joining my little celebration!

A Modern Mother - Honey, you need to declare a moratorium on awards! Kate wishes she were you.

(So how did the La Jolla facilities compare with our esteemed Royal Berks? Apparently Sam Mendes was born there in the RB, too. Lots of literati, you know.)

Anonymous said...

Honoured and grateful to be amongst the chosen, Bee! And congratulations on the anniversary. I'm delighted to have discovered your blog during last year and I'm looking forward to taking the edge of the recession in your company during 2009.

♥ Braja said...

Oh how sweet....and I'm named with Alyson from NEL which makes my day :)

julochka said...

i'm very honored to be listed among your new discoveries! thank you!!! i'm glad to have found you as well. especially since you're totally tight with kate! ;-)

Bee said...

Dick - Yes! Poetry is the poor person's consolation . . . and a blogging is such a good antidote to the anxiety which bubbles up after reading the newspaper.

Braja - It's always nice to hang out with other people that you like! :)

Julochka - I keep thinking that I already have too many blogs to keep up with, but then I come across a blog like yours . . . and I have to make more room! (Shhh . . . I haven't told Kate we are besties.)

Audrey said...

Gather!

Thanks for the "Voice" award. xx

TBM said...

Dearest Bee, congratulations on your 100th post and on your well-deserved awards! I have enjoyed reading your musings over the past year... and especially trying your recipes :-)

One of the greatest joys of blogging has been making new friends. Thank you for taking the time to leave your first comment on my blog. Without it, I would have missed getting to know you and meeting you in person.

I am pleased and honoured to be included in your wonderful list. Thank you, my friend! XOX

Bee said...

Audrey - Very well-deserved, too.

JAPRA - The pleasure has been all mine! Thank goodness for Homesick Texan -- who, inadvertantly, put me in touch with so many wonderful Texans!