Eleven blogs I enjoy and recommend

Today I offer a selection of favourite writing and photography blogs—why now you ask? a belated Valentine? A valentine of sorts.  I was kindly extended a Liebster Award by Mamie en Cavale and so, in accordance with tradition, I am passing the Liebster torch on to eleven more nominees.

Mamie en Cavale is an excellent photo blog that more people should know about—the photography and presentation are superb.   I am grateful for this award, which has given me an opportunity to feature blogs that I follow.  I also answer eleven Liebster questions and provide eleven random facts about myself (see below).

The Liebster award celebrates new and less known blogs with a specified number of followers.   The number of followers can range from less than 200 to less than 3000.  I used ‘less than 400 followers’ as my guideline.  (As a side note, who knows how many followers we have…lately I’ve seen two numbers for my blog with a difference of 60–for another blog I noticed a difference of 190 between two sources…)

Without further ado, I recommend the following blogs to my readers and nominate them for the Liebster award. Nominees interested in passing on the award to others:  please visit the guidelines at the end of this post.

Rivrvlogr, Poet, writer, photographer: ‘Looking head, without looking back (too often)’.

Annika Perry’s Writing Blog: ‘Join me in my journey as I write my first novel’.

My Journey with Hijab, ‘A day dreamer’s diary’: Prose, poetry, and humour.

   Simply Snapshots: ‘Poems, pictures and poems from a life in L’Entre Deux, Mers, France’.

HaikuHound: Poet, writer, and photographer based in Australia.

Stuff and what if…: ‘Exploring writing and the creative randomness of life. Snapshots of moments’.

Mamie en cavale: ‘La pratique de la photographie m’aide `a mieux vivre.’

Fife Photos and Art: ‘A photographic, historical and wildlife tour of Fife and beyond’.

SpoonGood: Recipes and tips from an experienced and practical home cook, including vegan and gluten-free adaptations;  Photography.

Lardeau Valley Time: ‘Join me as I explore the wild side of the Lardeau Valley, British Columbia’–Nature photography.

Doodles and Scribbles: ‘Scribblings and scrawls of a hopeless romantic poet’– Poetry and prose.

THE QUESTIONS GIVEN TO MAMIE EN CAVALE NOMINEES 

1. Why blog? A good question—the answer for my first few months, in 2011, is not the same as for my second start last summer (2015).  The bare bones answer for right now is that I like to communicate in writing, to be creative, and to interact with others doing the same.
2. What are your sports interests?  I don’t consider myself to be a sporty person, but there was a day that I would cycle all summer and loved water skiing. I like ping pong and badminton—that’s as sporty as I get.
3. You would never leave without…?  I always take my phone with me, not only for it’s obvious use, but also because it’s my camera.
4. Your favourite colour?  As a child I believed in red and green.  Now, if pushed, I will say red or purple.  Honestly, I love many colours,shades, and blends. It all depends on the situation…
5. Favourite hobby:  These days, my favourite hobbies are vegetable gardening, reading, writing, and taking photos.
6. Tea or coffee?  I love coffee—I seem to need it to get going.  I also enjoy black tea, green tea, and herb teas.
7. The destination that makes you dream?  I can’t say I dream about destinations, but I would like to see the east coast of Canada and the Northern Lights.
8. Something that makes you smile?  funny blog posts, my morning coffee, a cute puppy, sprouting seeds, music….
9. A recommended book?  If I were to recommend a book it would depend on the person’s interest. If you are interested in vegetable gardening, I would recommend “The Vegetable Gardener’s BIBLE” by Edward C. Smith.  I refer to it regularly from spring to fall.  One key aspect of the book is Ed’s High Yield W-O-R-D system for all North American gardening regions: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, and Deep soil.
10.  Your music at the moment:  That’s a difficult question. I love a wide range of music, from classical to current R&B.  If I put on a CD while I am writing, it has to be instrumental–words are distracting. Often I squeeze music into my life by turning on the radio–if we had a jazz station out here (rural Ontario) I would play that.  I frequently listen to CBC radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) which offers an eclectic selection of music.  For driving, my first choice is often Country.
11. Your worst mess? Some of the rooms at home can get pretty messy. One disaster zone is my ‘office’ which has traditional office stuff plus my light shelf unit for seed starting (will be doing that in March) and growing supplies. I’m on the way to tidying it up so I can mess it up again over the growing season.

ELEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I tend to be a private person.
2. I find it difficult to type while holding a restless orange cat.
3. I am a recycling fanatic–though far from perfect–who knows for sure what they will recycle?
4. I inherited my mother’s interest in healthy eating but I am corruptible.
5. I used to  play wind instruments–first oboe and then saxophone.
6. I have three siblings: two sisters and a brother.
7. Reading fiction is like chocolate for me. For years I avoided novels– getting into a book meant that I couldn’t put it down.
8. One of my pet peeves: leaf blowers–why pollute the air with a gas-burning  machine that blows leaves from one place to another?
9. Over the years I have practised yoga and meditation. I need to bring these peaceful practices back into my life.
10. I love camping.
11. My favourite herb is fresh  basil.

FOR MY LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINEES: 

If you wish to participate further in the Liebster awards, here are the ‘Rules’.  Please do not feel obligated to proceed but it could be fun 🙂

1-Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog.

2. Nominate 11 other bloggers to Liebster Awards 2016.

3-Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you (see below)

4. Tell your readers 11 random facts about yourself.

5. Give your candidates 11 questions to answer on their blog when they publish their appointment.

Eleven questions for my nominees:

1. Why do you blog?
2. What are your favourite hobbies?
3. What  is one of your pet peeves?
4. What is a favourite food or meal?
5. Do you prefer coffee or tea or neither?
6. Name a favourite something  (eg. book, singer, band, author, poem).
7. Are you a morning person?
8. What sports do you enjoy, if any?
9. What is a reference source that you use frequently?
10. What quality do you value most in a friend?
11.  What is a favourite journey, either travelled or planned for the future?