Four versions of the One Lovely Blog award found using Google…
Well, what a pleasant surprise! Thank you to Rick Jaspers for nominating me for a One Lovely Blog Award. His btweenblinks blog is well worth a visit – I particularly like his fungi but he also sometimes throws in a recipe or two.
I think this was the earliest incarnation of the One Lovely Blog Award – but who invented it?
As a cynical journalist I am resisting the temptation to think of this award as like one of those chain letters we used to have when I was at school. I always ignored the ones that were “get rich quick” or threatened dire consequences if you broke the chain. But I did once obey the instruction to send out five picture postcards in the belief that within a month I would receive hundreds back! Never did happen…
But back to the blog award – as usual, I can’t keep it simple and I am overthinking the matter. In fact it has put me “off my stride” for a couple of weeks now. How to accept? How to “spread the love” among the blogging community without the recipients dreading it?
These are the requirements, apparently.
1) Display the award graphic on your blog site, thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their site. OK, done that, more or less.
2) Share 7 things about yourself
3) Select and list 15 blogs that you believe deserve to be nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award
4) Personally inform these bloggers of their nominations, and provide a link back to their site
Flippin’ ’eck! What a palaver! Who started this award? Who set the rules? Are they gradually changing? Is it like Chinese whispers? I can see some others have “broken the rules”, but if I do that I want to reason it out first.
Firstly, 7 things about me – and even this wasn’t easy, as my first impulse was to reveal all my deepest secrets or biggest embarrassments…
1) I can’t swim. I learned to ride a bike for university but never truly mastered it and had several accidents. I also have a driving licence but don’t drive a car.
2) I have only been in hospital once, so far, with scarlet fever for three weeks and a day at the age of four.
3) I have no interest in celebrities and the only “reality” TV I like is the sort where people develop their skills, such as Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice, Pop Star to Opera Star and The Apprentice.
4) I am not athletic and hated PE at school. Later the only sports I competed in were field hockey (I was a goalkeeper), archery and rowing (I rowed at bow and was later a cox). But I love to watch rugby union.
5) My all-time favourite TV is Quantum Leap, Babylon 5, Firefly and most of the Star Trek and Doctor Who incarnations.
6) I am addicted to chocolate (although I gave up for a month recently) and occasionally addicted to (easy) computer games for a few weeks – at the moment it’s Mahjong and Jewel Quest but I also play Patience…
7) I’m hopeless at giving presents. Sometimes I am so unsure about what I have chosen for someone that in the end I don’t give it and keep it for myself…
..which brings me to the giving of nominations for this blog award.
As a lover of science fiction and as a troubleshooter in my working life, I am always thinking “what if?”
What if the person has already received the award in the past from someone else? I think some of my favourites have. But I’m not going to rule them out just because of that – or soon we would run out of good blogs to nominate and we would be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
What if the pink logo doesn’t match their colour scheme? They could always change it, I suppose…
Anyway, this is what I am going to do. Here I will name 15 REALLY LOVELY blogs that I think you should look at. I will not be “mealy mouthed” about that.
I am not going to contact them in person and tell them (because I don’t want to be embarrassed by a refusal to accept) – hopefully they will detect the link and know I appreciate what they do.
And if they do accept, I do not expect them (necessarily) to go through the angst I have gone through in fulfilling the obligations. Unless they want to.
You see? I said I was rubbish at giving…
So I give the award wholeheartedly to these 15 blogs. I’d be delighted for them to pass it on, but I also won’t mind if they just put it in the back of a drawer somewhere and forget it…
Nature/gardening blogs
The Naturephile
Rambling Woods
Loose and Leafy
Ramblings From Rosebank
Adventures in Beeland
Wildlife of NYC
Everyday Nature Trails
Esther’s Garden Notes
Family life
The Brink of Bedlam
The Slow Family Online
Travel
The Unwitting Traveller
Dawn Fine’s Blog
Various
Nickysqueaks
Jane O’Sullivan
And finally – I am NOT giving an award to Jera’s Jamboree, excellent book blog that it is – because she has declared her blog an award-free zone after receiving so many! Hoorah! She has all my dilemmas solved…
The Squirrelbasket 
Congratulations Pat – although it has caused you so much angst it is still well-deserved. Thank you for passing it on to me- I am happy to accept but like you I won’t fulfill all the rules as I have accepted one or two and don’t have a lot left to say. I am familiar with one or two of the blogs you have listed but will enjoy visiting the others.
Phew! Thank you for taking it the way it was intended.
I have very much enjoyed the old-fashioned flowers you have featured lately. I can almost smell them just by looking at your pictures 🙂
Best wishes…
Congratulations Pat, You deserve it. Your blog is full of brightness and specialist information. You are one of my favourites.My other is The Blonde Coyote.I follow her travels which are breathtaking.
Thank you, Rita. I have only just seen that your book is available on Amazon – I may well get it, as it includes several subjects I am interested in.
And I may also try your Welsh leek relish recipe…
I hadn’t heard of the Blonde Coyote, but will have a look at that.
Best wishes 🙂
Hi Pat. If you do try my Welsh Leek Relish the leeks need to be crushed as fine as possible. I had all the equipment when in business so hope you have a blender suitable. Let me know what you think (Truthfully). It was a good seller at Museums and Re enactor markets. I talk all about this in my book.
Best wishes Rita.
Even your post accepting this award is award winning! I loved reading about the mental journey you took along the way. Your unique perspective is one of the things that keeps your posts fresh, and interesting.
Phew! I got away with it! Thanks again for the nomination.
I look forward to seeing lots more of your fungi and creepy-crawlies!
Best wishes 🙂
thanks for a fresh list of blogs to explore (just 2 are familiar). That’s the whole point of these chain letters – inviting new readers to blogs you enjoy reading. I get irritated by bloggers who say ME ME this meme is all about ME, and then sit it on their hands and say I couldn’t possibly choose blogs …
and it was Esther who once found you for me!
Thanks Diana – and I love your latest blog post about winter wildlife gardening in the Cape. At this time of year we watch the South African rugby union on TV and it just never looks cold there – so I was surprised by the 3C you mentioned. Also surprised by one of “our” starlings among your exotic birds…
Best wishes 🙂
ye-es we have Cecil John Rhodes to thank for the invasive European starlings ;~)
How bizarre! No wonder they look so out of place. That’s the most fascinating fact I’ve read in a long time – and I see you blogged about it a couple of years ago (top hit when I googled starlings and Cecil Rhodes). Here’s the link for others to go and have a look…
One of the joys of blogging, ‘out of print’ is still read, and findable.
Congrats…I can’t pick out any blogs and leave it open to everyone or is causes me too much stress…I too hated PE, love Sci-fi and chocolate..wish there was some decent sci-fi on TV…Michelle
Thanks for the congrats. Glad we have a bit in common – you’re right about scifi on TV at the moment, although I am finding some pleasure in the fantasy series “Grimm”. It does seem that the trend these days is for vampires and werewolves rather than aliens…
Best wishes 🙂
Congrats on your award Pat. I have to say I’ve been hugely entertained by your acceptance blog 🙂 Thank you for NOT giving me the award. So funny!
ps Is Quantum Leap still going? or are they re-runs
Thank you for being so gracious in your non-acceptance… And as for Quantum Leap, I guess it is still around somewhere on a digital channel, but I have the complete boxed set 🙂
Keep up the good work…
Agreed, I am having a hard time with it myself… I actually googled it because A. It feels like a chain letter, but they rope you in with the fact that someone out there liked your work. B. It seems to be tossed around like a volleyball and people just set it back over to you… no your blog is great, no your blog is great. Ahh well. I enjoyed this read.
Congrats Pat !!! I’ve always enjoyed your website blogs..you have taken us through the gardens of life and showed us the forgotten corners of ” Mother Earths ” world…Glad you are finallly getting the recognition you deserve….
Kudos girl..keep up the good work….
Thanks for your kind words, as always – and I hope all is going well with your family and projects 🙂