I’ve Been Nominated For A Liebster!

You’ve never heard of a Liebster Award? Okay, sure–it exists only in the blogging world and all it takes to be nominated is a kind mention from one blogging friend, but you know what? I’m still proud of the nomination. The award is sort of an Atta Boy or Atta Girl between bloggers and the nomination came from Erin Bernard, whose erinjbernard.net blog is witty, insightful, and always entertaining, and besides, I haven’t been nominated for an award since the infamous Smile Contest of 3rd grade. I’m not sure who won that contest but it wasn’t little ole me. I was robbed, don’t you think?

One of the rules of the Liebster Award is that you have to post the rules of the Liebster Award. So voilà.

Liebster Award Rules
• Thank and link to the nominator on your page. (Thank you, Erin!)
• Answer the following 11 questions provided by the nominator.
• Share 11 random facts about yourself.
• Nominate 11 others for the award.
• Post the Liebster Award rules in your acceptance post.

And now that the rules are out of the way, onward to the questions:

Question: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 29, and find line 4. What is the book and what does it say?
Answer: Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott: “We say, Help, this is really all too much, or I am going slowly crazy, or I can’t do this, or I can’t stop doing this.”
Okay, I cheated a little and went to my Kindle account instead of opening the lit textbook at my elbow. But I’m a bit sad I did, because the lit book, Literature: The Human Experience by Abcarian, Klotz and Cohen, had a pretty awesome line four down on page 29: “While Donne argues—in language some readers might find alienating—that we are all connected by God…”
Now I’m picturing Donne and Lamott sharing a bottle of Chianti on a park bench, comparing notes on God. Except Lamott doesn’t drink, so pass the bottle my way instead.
Question: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Answer: I need at least five more lives to answer that question. Colorado gets one of those lives, sailing the seven seas gets another, Manhattan takes the third and Rome slides into fourth. But since almost everyone I love is within a few hundred miles of my Missouri home, I’m already where I want to be.
Question: If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do?
Answer: Peace and love, Baby—spread it around.
Question: Is the glass half empty or half full?
Answer: Full or empty doesn’t matter since it’s perfect just the way it is.
Question: When is the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
Answer: Our plant produced only one tomato before its inevitable death but Dad is a world-champion veggie grower, just one of the awesome benefits of living next door to my folks.
Question: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Answer: An Indian scout, A&W waitress on skates, and a writer. I never learned how to roller skate or to ride a horse so thank heavens somebody thinks I can write.
Question: What is your favorite time of the day?
Answer: Sundown, when the sky is fading to pastel and the day’s work is done.
Question: What inspires you?
Answer: It’s not a what, but a who. My daughter manages three munchkins and a part-time job while still plodding her way through online college classes. I suspect she faces the day many times with less than four hours of sleep, yet she is always gracious, kind and uncomplaining. I am in awe.
Question: What is your favorite childhood memory?
Answer: Ask me tomorrow and you may get a different answer, but the memory that comes to me today is of all five of us kids squeezing onto one sofa to watch television. We were like puppies all in a pile, and I think that’s one reason I like sleeping with my dog now. The press of bodies means love to me.
Question: What three things in nature do you find most beautiful?
Answer: The Rocky Mountains, an azure sea, and a starry, starry sky, not always in that order.

Who are your 11 nominees?

1) Fred, who gives me my sailing fix at svgimmeshelter.wordpress.com/
2) Anna Butler, who just had another publication date arrive. Check out her novel The Guilded Scarab at annabutlerfiction.com. Congratulations, Anna!
3) Sammy D., who is NOT a drug dealer despite being mistaken for one. It could happen to anyone and see how at bemuzin.com/2014/10/
4) Rudy Owens who shoots beautiful photos and shares them at whatbeautifullight.com.
5) Alexandra Alger, who shares my love for Nancy Drew mysteries and blogs at alexandraalger.com.
6) Rosemary, undoubtedly the bravest blogger I know. Follow her at rosemarylambert.com.
7) Colleen Pizarev, one of my newest favorites at retireddiva.com.
8) Emanuel, who came up with the delightful idea of explaining German words in a way I can understand them. I wonder what he’d do with “Liebster”? Find out at yourdailygerman.wordpress.com
9) Doris, who gives me my Sangre de Cristo Mountains fix at timeout2.wordpress.com. And she writes beautifully too.
10) Hal, who doesn’t post often but is living an amazing life with his son and his racing burro. You heard me right–his racing burro. His memoir is well worth a small donation and you can download it at hardscrabbletimes.com.
11) Ck, who slept with a ghost at an Oregon B&B. So cool. Follow her at diaryofamadbabyboomer.com.

(Bloggers, if you choose to accept my nomination, please follow the Liebster Rules listed above.)

And last but not least, here are the Random (and completely useless) Facts About me.
1. I once had a pet squirrel which spent the day in our enormous basswood tree and came in at night just like our dogs. We named him Rocky.
2. My grandparents built my house so I’ve known it most of my life. The first time I opened the front storm door on a summer day, the warmed wood scent of the main door wafted up so powerfully that I was plunged into the past and became 14 again, fetching the mail for my grandmother.
3. My all-time favorite meal was a single slice of pizza eaten on the steps of the ancient cathedral in Amalfi.
4. At the age of seven I begged my mother for a dog, completely ignoring the fact that the family already owned a dog. What I really wanted was Lassie.
5. If Mickey Mouse was real I would vote for him for president.
6. I’ve never had my ears pierced.
7. I haven’t worn panty hose since leaving my corporate job six years ago.
8. My nickname at my corporate job was Booger. I gave myself the name.
9. I have a flight book with one hour of flight time logged in it.
10. A marmot ate my pita bread.
11. I was once dipped by Richard Simmons.

Thanks again, Erin. And peace.