Saturday Ramblings and an Award

Laura of Riddle From the Middle just bestowed the Blogger Recognition Award on me. Thank you, Laura, although I suspect you might wish you’d chosen someone else because I’m not sure I can adhere to all the rules, which are:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog.
2. Write a post to share your award.
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4. Give two pieces of advice for new bloggers.
5. Select 10 to 15 bloggers for this award. Comment on each blog to let them know you nominated them and link back to this post.

I can handle #1, and I am now taking care of #2. #3 – well, my blog first started on Blogspot back in 2009 I think it was, when husband and I took a trip back to Minnesota to visit my brother and his wife. It was my way of keeping my kids and our friends posted on our whereabouts and activities. It just seemed much easier than trying to write individual emails and share photos that way. When we got home, I slacked off on posting until my daughter got on my case – giving me some motivation, backed up with mild threats.

#4. Not sure what kind of advice I can give. For me, what works is letting myself write about and share what I feel like at any given moment. This blog doesn’t really have a theme, other than letting my thoughts wander where they may – thus my blog title. My advice to me, and thus to you, is to do what suits you. It’s your blog, and I think it’s important to follow your whims, your muse, your heart. Only you can decide and know what your reason for blogging is – therefore only you can fulfill that purpose.

My second piece of advise is to always be respectful of your audience – and of yourself. Don’t put something out there that you’ll regret tomorrow, because once your words have entered the internet universe, they will never ever go away.

Then we get to #5. That’s where I have trouble. I don’t follow a huge number of bloggers, and many that I followed when I first entered this world have drifted away from blogging. I know some of those I follow do not like being nominated for awards like this, so my usual response is to offer it to whomever might be reading this, telling them to go for it as they wish, because they all deserve it. And that’s what I’m going to do here. Sorry, Laura, if I’m breaking the chain, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

So other than that – today I am celebrating the sunshine that is coming in my windows. Warmth, we do not have – we are definitely not having a heat wave – but the sun has been making itself scarce all winter long, and not showing up much more in this version of spring, so I am appreciating its presence for this day. I shall soak up as much of it as I can, because the forecast says it will be short-lived.

My muse has been on vacation. I’ve been sitting down to my craft table, taking out my paper and my inks, and coming up with nothing that really satisfies me for the past few days. Yesterday I sat down in front of my computer for a class on painting an ostrich portrait, which I might start working on today, and it woke my muse from her deep sleep to a slightly awake doze. The paintings I did are not outstanding, but at least I am not wanting to start a small bonfire with them.

First, one I did a few days ago – a little dark for my liking, but that probably is reflective of my mood that day. This is Deep in the Forest.

Yesterday, the world apparently looked a bit brighter and I visited these Rolling Hills.

And there were Heat Waves yesterday too – if only in my imagination. This one started out as something completely different a few days ago, something I hated when I finished it, so I drowned it in alcohol which left only the color stains on the media. Yesterday, a little more ink, some more alcohol, and a brush, and I feel better about it.

There you have it! My Saturday thoughts. My world – which is full of enough.