Last Saturday the lovely Gary from Klahanie stunned me (think gob and smacked, flabber and ghasted) with the Semper Fidelis Award. Gary epitomises loyalty and support. Consequently I don't think a week goes by without him receiving a richly deserved award or six. I was very honoured by his gesture, and will ALWAYS be happy to dance beneath the moon with him.
Needless to say, the award comes with rules/conditions.
1 : Add the Semper Fidelis Award logo somewhere on your blog.
2: Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
3 : Nominate five bloggers whose loyalty, friendship you value and you consider being part of your "pack of wolves".
4 : Post something special for each one of your nominees and dedicate it to them. Such as a quote, saying, poem, picture. Anything you think would pertain to that person.
5 : Let the nominees know that you've nominated them.
The first two conditions are easy-peasy. Done and dusted.
And then the difficulties begin. I have been blown away by the magic and the wonderful people I have found in the blogosphere.
Each and every day. I am educated about a wide range of things. I have wept with and for other bloggers. I have laughed with other bloggers - sometimes until I wept.
I am shown beauty. Beautiful creations, and beautiful people. I am in awe at the many talents that lurk here. There are writers by the score (and drat them I succumb to their wiles). There are painters, poets, ceramicists, photographers, makers of books... I am shown birds, animals and gardens which make me drool. I have been invited to play on other people's blogs - and have had a heap of fun doing so. Not only have I been shown beauty, I have been given it too and in some cases I have been allowed to buy it, and bring it into the eclectic clutter I call home. I have met and loved two bloggers, and would sacrifice small unimportant body parts if I could meet a few other special people. (Preferably not my body parts.)
Some of you share one or more of my obsessions. Others have introduced me to their own. It is such a privilege to be invited into your homes, hearts and minds. You have supported me while I have whinged, bitched and moaned during difficult periods in my life. Some of you have been here at my back through my whole journey in the blogosphere, and others I have found more recently.
You can see my problem can't you? How can I limit myself to five bloggers. Fifty-five bloggers wouldn't be enough. So I am going to cheat a little. I value you all - more than I have the words to adequately express. So... if any of you would like this award to call your own (and I know that some of you don't do awards) please, feel free to pick it up and run with it.
This is for all of you. Come dance and howl with me - under the moon, the stars and the sky.
Needless to say, the award comes with rules/conditions.
1 : Add the Semper Fidelis Award logo somewhere on your blog.
2: Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
3 : Nominate five bloggers whose loyalty, friendship you value and you consider being part of your "pack of wolves".
4 : Post something special for each one of your nominees and dedicate it to them. Such as a quote, saying, poem, picture. Anything you think would pertain to that person.
5 : Let the nominees know that you've nominated them.
The first two conditions are easy-peasy. Done and dusted.
And then the difficulties begin. I have been blown away by the magic and the wonderful people I have found in the blogosphere.
Each and every day. I am educated about a wide range of things. I have wept with and for other bloggers. I have laughed with other bloggers - sometimes until I wept.
I am shown beauty. Beautiful creations, and beautiful people. I am in awe at the many talents that lurk here. There are writers by the score (and drat them I succumb to their wiles). There are painters, poets, ceramicists, photographers, makers of books... I am shown birds, animals and gardens which make me drool. I have been invited to play on other people's blogs - and have had a heap of fun doing so. Not only have I been shown beauty, I have been given it too and in some cases I have been allowed to buy it, and bring it into the eclectic clutter I call home. I have met and loved two bloggers, and would sacrifice small unimportant body parts if I could meet a few other special people. (Preferably not my body parts.)
Some of you share one or more of my obsessions. Others have introduced me to their own. It is such a privilege to be invited into your homes, hearts and minds. You have supported me while I have whinged, bitched and moaned during difficult periods in my life. Some of you have been here at my back through my whole journey in the blogosphere, and others I have found more recently.
You can see my problem can't you? How can I limit myself to five bloggers. Fifty-five bloggers wouldn't be enough. So I am going to cheat a little. I value you all - more than I have the words to adequately express. So... if any of you would like this award to call your own (and I know that some of you don't do awards) please, feel free to pick it up and run with it.
This is for all of you. Come dance and howl with me - under the moon, the stars and the sky.
YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAYS
YOU ENRICH MY WORLD
I was wondering if it was a full moon, congrats on the award, well deserved I might add. Bloggers are the best.
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: Bloggers most definitely are the best.
DeleteThe quote under that stunning photo sums it up - your blog brightens my world! Congratulations :)
ReplyDeleteAlexia: I am glad you liked my photo (dawn in January) and words. Now, are you going to play?
DeleteLove that award -- very amusing. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your stunning photo.
ladyfi: Thank you. The photo was taken at dawn in our summer - about the only time all day I could bear to be outside, but it was worth it.
DeleteCongratulations from this Alpha female and anytime there is a full moon I would love to howl with you . . . it is so therapeutic, or dance or run till the stars disappear. Yes, awards are lovely but, oi Gewalt! they have conditions . . .
ReplyDeleteArija: Full moon, new moon, no moon - dancing and howling are always good.
DeleteWell deserved award for you! You brighten my day and enrich my life, for sure. I'd howl at the moon anytime with you. :)
ReplyDeleteLynn: Thank you. It is a very big pack, and should be lots of fun.
DeleteCongratulations! And you've thanked Gary and all of us in such a lovely way. Your words are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteRiver: As one of the people who has been with me from the beginning you are a delight. Thank you.
DeleteCongrats on the award AND on a truly beautiful post.
ReplyDeletemybabyjohn/Delores: Thank you. I was super impressed with the speed and panache with which you accepted this award. And your poem for Gary rocked.
DeleteThis is beautiful...stunning photo
ReplyDeleteKim @ Stuff could: Thank you so much.
DeleteOh, EC, this is JUST like you. Unable to pick a few out of the many of us who love you. That is my only gripe about these awards, is picking out people to "gift" who might not see it as such. I don't play along with this part of awards any more, but I'm always happy to be honored. And you are certainly worthy of any award anybody wants to plant on you, since you show me by example how to live a graceful life. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: A gracious life? It often doesn't feel it. Muddling along is perhaps more accurate, but thank you. Lots.
DeleteI thought my legs were getting hairier...awooooo!
ReplyDeleteJ Cosmo Newberry: A thicker pelt is necessary if one is to be outside on a winter's night.
DeleteThis is the perfect award for you ... the leader of a pack of wolves hungry for your wisdom, insight and humor. Who could not but love the idea of this award as lovers of nature and life ... the epitome of comradery, loyalty and respect. You are all of those things as well as being unbelievably strong in your conquering of so many of life's obstacals. The fact that you share your inner most pain and your outer most happiness with us is a gift in itself. Wear this award prowdly ... you do so deserve it and more from all of us ...
ReplyDeleteI would accept your offering if I felt deserving, but if you are the standard I stand back in admiration and awe. Thank you for your thoughtfulness at a time when it should really be all about you. Revel a little ... you deserve it:)
Andrea @ From The Sol
Andrea: Blushes. Wisdom? Not a lot. Insight? Some? Humour? By the bucketload fortunately.
DeleteThank you - and I would like this post to be all about you, and all the other wonderful people I have found here. You really do enrich my world...
Congratulations on a well-deserved award... and for handling it so graciously and beautifully. Yes ma'am, I'd be proud to howl with you. Any time. As would all the rest of your "pack".
ReplyDeleteHA! Cracked me up about the body parts. I have a few skin tags I could donate to the cause...
Susan: Thank you. I am glad to hear that a little rule massaging/bending/breaking didn't hurt.
DeleteSuch a lovely post. Congrats :)
ReplyDeleteWendy aka Quilllfeather: Thank you.
DeleteVery well deserved indeed! Your blog (and your always-funny comments on mine) has been instrumental in making the journey into the blogosphere a lovely experience.
ReplyDeleteMs. CrankyPants: The blogosphere IS a wonderful space. True magic.
DeleteLovely as all your comments are, they are just proving to me how right I was in saying that I couldn't/wouldn't choose just five of you. Now, is someone going to play? Please.
ReplyDeleteA sweet post and congratulations on being recognized with this award. You richly deserve it.
ReplyDeleteDenise
An English Girl Rambles
DeniseinVA: Thank you.
DeleteChoosing five would definitely be hard!
ReplyDeleteGeoff: Not even remotely possible. Which is why I didn't.
DeleteWhat a sweet post! I've been amazed at the community I found here, I didn't expect it.
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: I didn't expect it - but am sooooo grateful to have found it.
DeleteYou are a True Heart! Good for you
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° > <3
Cloudia: Megathanks.
DeleteYou brighten my days and enrich my world, too. I love how the internet and blogs have brought so many wonderful and mostly like-minded people together from all around the world.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your award!
Carol Kilgore: Thank you. It has been magical finding so many delightful people here.
DeleteCongratulations! A beautiful award, well and richly deserved. (And it always gladdens my heart to see the positive and soulful attributes of wolves celebrated, as they are so often unjustly vilified!)
ReplyDeleteNo way could I narrow it down to just five either. Your outpouring of gratitude and appreciation for all your bloggy friends, fans and followers was touchingly written and clearly heartfelt! Lovely!! :-)
Laloofah: Most definitely heartfelt. I have found riches here. And yes, I appreciated the nod to wolves - a sadly maligned animal.
DeleteBwahahahahaha! You would sacrifice small, unimportant body parts...but preferably not your own? There's a horror story lurking in that statement...
ReplyDeleteI am honored to have you in my virtual life and wish/hope to someday meet you - which body part do you think it would take to make that happen?
Many people flock to you, EC, for a simple reason. You care. Thank you for being you.
Laura Eno: Of course I care - my family always complained I had a heart like soft butter. Here in the blogosphere the same heart melts on a regular basis. Meeting you could well require the sacrifice of a larger, more important body part. Which one do you think? What would you offer up?
DeleteNah...no missing body parts. We'll have Jezebel whip up something to sacrifice on her altar. ;)
DeleteLaura Eno: Sounds good. Perhaps another clause in the waivers for afternoon tea?
DeleteCongratulations on a well-deserved award.
ReplyDeleteI won’t offer any body parts, but am willing to send best wishes and healing thoughts your way in return for your continued presence in this here blogworld of ours.
Friko: Thank you. While I appreciate your wishes and healing thoughts I have no plans of exiting the blogosphere any time soon.
DeleteCongratulations on a well-deserved award. You, contribute to why we are here. Our minds and hearts cheered by yours and everyone else's efforts.
ReplyDeleteSienna Smythe: Thank you. It is a wonderful cyber world we inhabit.
DeleteYou've brightened my days, warmed my heart- and the homes of others- and made me laugh many times, EC. Well deserved, I say.
ReplyDeleteAustan: Thank you. However, you are also more than deserving. You are an education and a delight...
DeleteAha and howl the heck are you? Oh my, you certainly related to my dilemma and it really is difficult to select just five when there are so many to choose from. I felt quite anxious after I posted up the award and I'm glad you did it this way. Besides, rules, blah!
ReplyDeleteHey, congrats on a well-deserved award. We are all part of this amazing diversity. And you, dear friend, are an integral part of the learning experience as we get to know more about what makes this planet a place of hopeful possibilities. Be well and thank you.
In kindness,
Gary :)
Gary: Thank you so much. I was confident that you (as the master of anarchy among other things) would have no problems with my inability to follow the rules. I am howling happily - and hope you are too.
DeleteRichly deserved, EC. And a generous way to pass it on!
ReplyDeletejenny_o: Thank you. It was the ONLY way I could pass it on.
DeleteYou deserve this, and more EC. Kind, warm, generous and honest. You are appreciated. Always.
ReplyDeleteI very happy to have "found" you in this large kingdom of blogland :)
Vicki: Your lovely comment, and those from everyone else, just re-inforces the reason I couldn't single out five, or fifty-five people. Besides, I am greedy. I want lots and lots of people to howl at the moon with me. Thank you.
DeleteBrave-Heart, you well deserve this award and so much, much more! tears of joy filled my eyes reading your eloquent words.
ReplyDeleteDear sweet Elephant's Child, you have brighten my sorrowful days- as miles seamlessly faded away, you have also enriched my world. Thank you for being all that you are.
Say Hi to SP for me please- hope you are both well and happy ~:)
Pam;): Thank you - but I am really nothing out of the ordinary. Thank you for the warm and generous person you are.
DeleteOh Gary is an amazing gentleman, I adore him and he was very smart in choosing your blog for this blog award. Congratsssss
ReplyDeleteunikorna: Gary is special - and he introduced us, which gives me another reason to be grateful to him.
DeleteI will howl at the moon...and the sun with you any night and any day, Elephant's Child. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, my dear! You are cherished by many.
Lee: It is a very big pack I seem to have found - which is WONDERFUL.
DeleteCongrats, S!
ReplyDeleteI am howling with you from Minnesota.
Can you hear me?
I am dancing with you, too.
Hold my hands so we can twirl & spin together.
The world is SO MUCH sweeter and delightful with you
inside of it.
Xxx LOVE.
My Inner Chick: I think that if this pack were ever to come together we could lift the roof from the sky. Magic. Howling and dancing the days away...
Delete"I value you all" - very well said indeed :) I like that.
ReplyDeleteCongrats & cheers.
wordsfallfrommyeyes: I do value you all. A lot.
DeleteWhat a well deserved honor. Your tribute to your blog-friends just made my day. I will bask in the glow of your kind words all day!
ReplyDeleteDebora: Bask away. It is deserved.
DeleteI also find gifting requirements pesky about this blog hop 'awards.' I always feel more exclusionary than inclusive. I respect your choice to turn the other cheek.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: Given the zillion people who follow your blog and your twitter feeds I am always impressed that you can make a choice.
DeleteHope all is well in your lovely world EC.
ReplyDeletebe well and Happy my blogger friend ~:)
Pam;): Thank you again.
DeleteYou so deserve it Soosie, Congratulations to you
ReplyDeletefarawayinthesunshine: No more than so many of us here in the blogosphere.
DeleteI don't tend to go through with requirements that awards impose, so you don't never need to send me one, even the coveted World's Stupidest Blogger Award (which I have already gotten fifty of). Now, I'll share some trivia that you might or might not know about. The most macho branch of the American military is the Marines, and their repeated motto (which they can't seem to repeat often enough) is "Semper Fidelis," although I don't know what it means to them--faithfulness to the Marine Corps, no doubt, but maybe to whatever their version of America is too.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, now that American's gray wolves aren't actually of the verge of extinction (their number is in the low thousands), the US government has decided that there's no good reason to not slaughter them again. What a country! Proud to be an American, that's what I am.
Snowbrush: I did know that the Marines have claimed Semper Fidelis - but ignored it. Of course now the wolves are not in imminent danger of extinction it is fine to slaughter them. Hiss and spit.
DeleteAnd you are a lot of things - but stupid is not one of them. No way, no how.
I think (I hope) that all of us can find things about our countries to be ashamed of. I certainly can about mine. I don't accept without question very much at all, and the myths about 'greatness' are one of the first things I question.
Congratulations, if anyone deserves an award it's you, EC. I hope you are feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteCarol: Thank you. I am better than I was...
DeleteAWESOME!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNicky HW: The blogosphere is a wonderful place - or I have found it so.
DeleteNeat post!
ReplyDeleteRon Dudley: Thank you.
Delete