Thank you, Satu, for thinking of me in this special way!
To claim this award one must tell some things about himself that others may not already know and nominate some other bloggers for the award. These awards can be fun but I can't think of anything you all don't know about me from previous posts that is appropriate to share in mixed company but I'll try.
1. I live in a large 120 year old house that had been neglected for years and still needs lots of work.
2. Although I love the old house in town, I sometimes dream of a nice ranch house with a metal roof, vinyl siding and windows that don't rattle in the wind, ideally located on acreage in zone 9 which would accommodate a large vegetable and cutting garden, small orchard, bamboo groves, a forest of my favorite trees and various ornamental planting areas. (Don't all gardeners dream of more space?) And, of course, the means to make that all happen.
3. Although I am a singer and have a degree in voice, opera isn't my favorite kind of music; I much prefer choral music and art song, lied, chanson. Schubert, Schuman, Wolf, and Faure are favorite composers in the song genre. I love just about everything written for the choral instrument and have a soft spot for the folk choral music of the Balkan Peninsula.
4. I love organ music, especially that of the French Romantic composers.
5. Perhaps because I'm a singer and love the way composers paint words in a vocal/choral context, I'm also a huge fan of poetry.
That couldn't be any more boring if I tried so here are some pictures of a goofy squirrel I saw at the park recently. Perhaps they'll wake you up.
As always, I can't pick from my blog roll any favorites as I love them all! I know that some of the folks on my roll love this sort of award and others aren't so fond of them so I'm nominating every one of you; your blogs are all as beautiful as you are so if you'd like to claim this award, feel free to do exactly that, tell some things about yourself, and pass it on.
Christmas is a twelve day celebration starting on the twenty fifth of December and lasting unitl Epiphany or Twelvth Night (January 6) which concludes the holidays. It's unfortunate that all too often we want to be done with Christmas on December twenty-sixth. I love leaving the decorations up until at least January sixth. According to tradition, the final day to take down Christmas decorations is Candlemas AKA Groundhog Day so feel free to be stay festive as long as you wish! (This is my excuse for being lazy & I'm happy to share.) Anyway, I'm going to post something on each of the twelve days just for fun.
Wow! I didn't know that you're a singer. That's great! I didn't know either that you live in such an old house. The house must be fine. Please, post us sometimes pictures of your house. I'd love to see pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with us all those things! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for the beautiful blog award. I hope you, Mickey and the rest of your family are keeping warm!
DeleteIt's nice to know a little bit more about you and reading it wasn't boring in the slightest! On the contrary, you live an interesting life indeed. I wasn't aware it was "okay" to leave my Christmas garb in place until Candlemas. That's a huge relief. :) Cheers.
ReplyDeleteYou have my permission (like you need it) to leave everything up through Valentine's Day. Both holidays are about love, right? :)
DeleteZone 9 sounds like a great idea today as it is cold! I could move just a few miles to the other side of town to have exactly the picture you describe.
ReplyDeleteNot being much for the Jingle Bells genre, we played Handel's Messiah yesterday morning and I thought of those amazing pictures of Alaska.
Wow! just a few miles and you'd be in zone 9? I'd have to move through a couple of states. Oh well, the grass is always greener... I'm very lucky to live where I do!
DeleteGlad you liked the AK pictures. We have a classical radio station that plays gorgeous Christmas music all day. It's an interesting mixture and because we spend time in the car on Christmas visiting relatives, it's become our soundtrack for the day.
I never take down the decorations before Epiphany. Ground hog's day sounds even better, bit ABSOLUTELY by Lent.
ReplyDeleteYour lent idea is fabulous! Since I didn't decorate at home this year, it's pretty easy either way.
DeleteFamiliarity, in your case, breeds the opposite of contempt. Thanks for revealing a few of your quirks.
ReplyDeleteOne Christmas we traveled to Eugene. There was hoarfrost on the ground and Ode to Joy on the radio. I will never forget it.
Sounds like a beautiful Christmas visually and aurally! I had no idea that you'd written a book but as soon as I read about it on your blog, I ordered it from Amazon! I'm impressed!
DeleteCall me nosy, but I enjoy gaining insight into people a little bit at a time. In the blog universe I find that some people are very private when it comes to their personal life and some are open books. Either way it's all good.
ReplyDeleteMost gardeners I know dream about more space and climbing one more notch up the zone ladder.
Hey nosy, I enjoy putting together the blogger puzzle too as it's fun to find out all the interesting things, besides blogging, that folks do.
DeleteI get the space issue, so many plants so little time, but aren't we gardeners funny when it comes to zone pushing. Moving from zone 3 to 8 was amazing but now there are a few more things that I'd like to grow... fickle we are!
Great looking squirrel! Looks young - I'll bet he's mischievous!
ReplyDeleteAren't they all mischevious?
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