Thank you !!

It has been difficult lately keeping the blog going with my laptop woes.

It came home last Thursday.

UNREPAIRED.

So away it has gone AGAIN !!!

And the desktop – I don’t think it likes me very much.

Hence the THANK YOU for your patience – it takes upwards of 10-20 minutes to load a page sometimes.

Maybe I should be thanking me for MY patience…hehe

But that is not the only reason for the thank you I am sending out.

I got a couple of awards recently.

Now I never used to be someone who stood out in a crowd. Nope !! Never did. And I liked it that way – yes I did !!

It was the old ‘square peg’ pretending to be round syndrome…

But the times they are a changing people…

Courtesy of The Pirate fella...

The new me loves – now I say loves it – when people say ‘Hey Jo – we like what you do!’

Oh yeah !!!!!!!!

Jennifer over at My Sardinian Life  was very sweet to send The Readership Appreciation Award my way.

I’ve never been thanked for reading before. And I guess I feel a little guilty getting it. I mean – how can you not read something as good as her blog ??

THANK YOU !! THANK YOU !! THANK YOU !!

There’s rules – aren’t there always…

Here’s the rules:

1. Award your top 6 bloggers who have commented the most.
2. Be thankful.
3. You cannot award someone who has already been awarded. And you cannot give the award back to me.
4. Don’t forget to tell the bloggers you’ve awarded.
5. If you don’t want to pass on this award, that’s okay to. Just admire it.

I like number 5 personally.

But…

The Reader Appreciation Award goes to:

1. Presence of Magic – Brynne always comments, and they’re very nice comments at that.
2. RoughWaterJohn the Pirate – though he has been a bit slack lately – man he is UP there in the commenting stats. He’s also a pretty lively fella to have a chat with via the comments – so…
3. Androgoth – when he drops by, he really drops by – and he is sooooo sweet. You’re gonna have to wait to check out his blog as he is doing a bit of housekeeping presently – lots of Gothic Wonder.
4. 50 year Project – it always makes me smile when I see that she has popped in for a visit.
5. Dragon’s Dreams – it’s a dream she gives me when I see her Gravatar in the screen.
6. Lucid Gypsy – Awwww Gilly – what can I say except this wonderful lady is jasmine on the cool breeze of a summer’s day.

Now that’s not the end…I said AWARDS – yes I got more than 1 !!!!!!!!

California Ink in Motion (have you been there?) who is one of the bestest (it’s a word if I say it is)  poets around gave me the Liebster Blog Award.

It’s an award given to blogs with fewer than 200 subscribers that are worthy of more recognition and link love – which technically I no longer am eligible for – but – we don’t live by rules here anymore, so we are accepting it with glee.

Again – there’s those pesky rules…

The Rules of the award are:

• Mention and link to the blogger who awarded you the Liebster
• Mention 5 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers you think worthy of the Liebster.
• Copy and paste the award to your blog.

Before we get into that – award number 3 !!!

TALES FROM THE SEA – (I admit it – I have a thing for the sea really) was so kind as to feel I should get this one. I don’t feel very versatile actually – but it is nice others think I am. Now if I could just get bendy like the old days…

Rules again… (man I hate rules)

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and link by to their blog.

2. Nominate 15 Bloggers for this award, and notify them about the nomination.

3. Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.

That means 20 bloggers.

Those of you who know me AT ALL know there is no way I am going to live up to all this rule keeping thingee.

I’m a PIRATE – if you don’t believe me scroll back up and look at the picture AGAIN !!

That said I am of a mind to mention a few blogs here that I feel fit either award.

So to those of you now mentioned here are MY rules:

1. LOVE – I’m sending it out to you – you can send as much or as little of it ANYWHERE you please.
2. Sending a little back my way would be much appreciated, but is NOT compulsory.
3. Pick an award – either one – you choose.
4. There are NO other rules, oh yeah except for rule number 5.
5. Have a drink – PIRATE TEA (ask The Pirate for the recipe) would be my recommendation.

Blogs of great importance if you ask me are:

1. Joa’s Arc
2. ThirdhandArt’s Weblog
3. I Want Ice Water
4. Balladeer’s Blog
5. rumpydog
6. bukitbear
7. Me! Me! Me Me Me !
8. Time After Time
9. sugar and spice, and everything nice
10. Angelinem’s Blog
11. TBN Ranch
12. Granny Dog
13. CONSPIRACYOFRAVENS
14. Under The Oaks
15. beeblu blog
16. Inside the mind of Isadora
17. IsobelandCat’s Blog

Well would you look at that – 17 blogs – close enough I’d say – if you’re not happy – arrest me…hehe

The attitude might be in part because of the connection to Ned Kelly.

Then again…maybe I just have developed an attitude.

Right – seven things about me – hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

1. I used to be able to sit on the floor, cross my legs with my feet right up against the crease at my hips, and walk around on my hands and knees for ages. That’s what I meant about flexible.
2. Not long after I went back to live with my Mum (around age eight) her oldest daughter died. It scared the crap out of me because no-one I knew had died on me before. For weeks after I used to wake up and go and lean over Mum to make sure she was still breathing. My sister’s children were both adopted. When the oldest one found out, she told me I was adopted as well. It wasn’t true, but for a long time I wondered if that was the reason Mum had let me live away from her for so long.
3. I left school in the middle of our practice exams in my fourth year of High School. Dad had told me I couldn’t stay on until the end (Year 6 – I wanted to) so I just gave up completely on the idea of education. Up until then all I ever wanted to be was a Vet. From that moment on I didn’t care what I ended up doing until I had my children. Suddenly it mattered again.
4. The first night I went home with Mum was stressful. There were BROTHERS. That night I fell in love with two of them. The third one sort of scared me the way he glared all the time. Ian was the next in age to me of all Mum’s kids. He asked me all kinds of things that night. Even put me through a sort of spelling test. I stumbled on Queensland – leaving the ‘s’ out. I was mortified until he ruffled my hair and laughed about his own spelling mistakes. From that moment on I adored him. I still do.
5. I knew within days that I was pregnant with The Daughter. When I went for a test the doctor asked me how late I was. “I’m not late,” I said. “I’m pregnant.” He thought I was a bit absurd, until the test showed I was right. “Well,” he said. “That’s a first. I’ve never had a pregnancy test show positive so early. Ever.” I still have the small oval shape that told me what I already knew.
6. With The Son it was different. Oh I knew I was pregnant. No-one would believe me though, as the test kept coming back negative. The Son was trouble from day 1 !! Man was I sick. At the end the doctor did another blood test. “If you’re not pregnant,” said the ex, “if the tests come back negative again, we are getting you to a hospital.” Finally at four months the test proved me right (as always). Like I needed that to know – doctors can be so stupid sometimes.
7. I loved standing with my head tilted back when it is rained. At least I used to until I read a legend on a blog  about a Indian Goddess named IGNIRTOQ who pees to make rain – seriously. I have a little moment of eeeuuuwww when I automatically tilt in the rain now.

Okay…if I haven’t mentioned you – it is either because the rules say I can’t, or I have already done so before, or I am planning on it in the future.

Does that cover everyone I may have offended by leaving them out ??

I hope so.

I may have attitude – but I don’t like hurting anyone’s feelings.

One more thing – or actually one more award.

For my poem Tacent I was given the Perfect Poets Award.

Well that’s about it for this time.

FYI – it took eight hours to do this post !!!

Seriously.

I even made a batch of Christmas Tree shortbread cookies while waiting for a page to load.

Not quite finished yet - they need silver balls and snow...

Toodles !!