Monday, November 23, 2009

One Post, Two Awards, Geese, Horses & Muffins.

I am absolutely honoured to have been selected for not one, but two wonderful awards. The "Honest Scrap Award", from Deborah at Green Theatre, and the "Best Blog Award" from Noelle (aka azplantlady) at Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden. Both of Deborah and Noelle are very special to me. I truly hope I haven't offended either of you by combining both awards into one post, it just seemed to make sense to me.


Deborah (a fellow Canadian) with her wonderful comments & insight, and watching her Kilbourne Grove develop is just enthralling. Living in a somewhat similar zone, I am able to gain lots of useful information, and ideas that I can try to incoporate in my garden. She's also brilliant ;).


Noelle, in Arizona is a breath of fresh air. I am introduced to plants I've never seen before, and a landscape that is vastly different and beautiful. I'm counting on her beautiful blooms to carry me through the cold, dark winter days ahead.


As I was walking today, I saw a large flock of geese, gathering together before heading south. They were spread out across a lake, with numbers in the hundreds. They made me think of all of the bloggers out there, and so I'll include a picture of them:



Just a note, I realize that many of the blogs I mention will have already received one or both awards, but I will re-award them regardless, since they are a cherished part of my blogging community.


I'll start with the Honest Scrap Award:







The rules are:

A. Brag about the award.

Easy

'Dance of Joy, Dance of Joy, my very first blogging award, I'm surprised and honoured that someone thinks so highly of me, I must be great (is that enough?).

B. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

Thank You to Deborah at Green Theatre.


C. Share 10 honest things about yourself.

1) I don't eat blue food. As established in Kiki's post, I have a true blue essence, but not when it comes to food.
2) I have lived in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.
3) I worked in plant genetics research before becoming a stay at home mom.
4) I love nature and wilderness, but am absolutely terrified of bears. Not a great combo living near the Rockies.
5) I really love to cook, I find it as relaxing and rewarding as gardening. I could slice and dice vegetables all day. I sometimes photograph food, and may blog about it one day. I've been tempted to add a recipe here and there but want to stick to one topic. Except today ;).
6) A major passion in my life is horses. I've been smitten since childhood and have been actively involved for decades. For other equestrians out there, Dressage is my discipline of choice.
7) I get a lot of enjoyment out of a quiet cup of coffee with a close friend.
8) I am a big fan of anything that Christopher Guest is involved in.
9) I miss the glorious fall colours of Eastern Canada.
10) Eggplants are perfect.


D. Give the award to 7 more bloggers who inspire you.

Northern Shade is the inspiration for my blogging, I wandered into the blog looking for information on the Mockorange 'blizzard', and was Wowed by the beautiful pictures and knowledgable information. We are both in Alberta, so much of the information is directly applicable to my garden. I had started taking pictures as a record of my garden, and around the same time I started exploring other garden blogs. So I decided to give it a try.

The Garden MsS at Gardening with Lattitude. A beautiful, kind gardener with an adorable youngster. Her blog is lovely and her comments are always appreciated.

Kiki, at Awake with Charm and Spirit. She is a wonderful and enchanted soul. Her blog always gives me a boost of positive energy.

Tatyana from My Secret Garden. Her garden is out of this world gorgeous, she is pleasant and delightful and a joy to correspond with.

Lona, at A Hocking Hills Garden. Her posts always tell a beautiful story and are loaded with stunning pictures.

The Informal Gardener, miss m. Her garden in the Laurentian Mountains takes me back to my childhood. Her fall pictures were wonderful and her posts are always a delight.

Jan, at Thanks for 2day. Her blog name says it all, a wonderful, positive attitude and lovely pictures & collages.

Pravesh, at Whatever. Her garden fairy captured my heart, and her blog in South Africa is filled with pictures of tropical plants.


And now for The Best Blog Award:



Post the award on your blog along with the name of the person who passed it on to you and link to their blog. Then be sure to leave them a comment to let them know that they have been chosen. Choose blogs which you have recently discovered and you think are great and pass it on to them.


Thank you Noelle aka azplantlady @ Plant Tips and Guidelines for the Desert Garden

Here is my list, in no particular order. I'm very sorry if I've forgotten anyone, it was not intentional.


Northern Shade

Green Theatre

Gardening with Lattitude

Awake with Charm and Spirit

Informal Gardener

The Galloping Gardener

Whatever

The Urban Gardener

My Secret Garden

Garden Joy 4 Me

A Gardener in Progress

Dung Hoe

Thanks for 2 day

Does Everything Grow Better in My Neighbours Yard

Jocko's Plot

The Urban Balcony

A Hocking Hills Garden


This list makes me realize how very boring my blog name is, but I really had intended it for personal use only, otherwise I may have come up with something much more clever.

And since this a completely wacky and self indulgant post, I am going to add the following.


I think this video is gorgeous, anyone who appreciates gardens and/or horses will enjoy it. I prefer to watch it with the volume off, I find the narration doesn't add anything and may detract a little.




And here's recipe for you,


Pumpkin Muffins

Blend together:
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted butter or margerine
1/4 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)


Combine the following, and add to above.
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger


The batter is quite thin, so it's easy to mix by hand with a whisk. Grease 18 muffin cups and fill ~3/4. Bake 25-30 mins at 350C.





Enjoy! And it's been a pleasure meeting all of you. :)


22 comments:

  1. Rebecca, thank you for your kind words, (especially the brilliant comment, blush. It is interesting learning a bit more about you, oh blueberry hater! Looking forward to trying the pumpkin muffins. Oh and thank you for the best blog award. I would like to accept it on behalf of the academy, (oh sorry, wrong award).

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  2. Yay!Congrats on receiving these awards! You deserve it.. you are wonderful and your blog is awesome!Fantastic post..Yay..it was so nice to hear more about you...wonderful! Lovely recipe too..they look so yummy!And wow...Thankyou so much for your super kind words..i am so honored you have such nice words to say and awarded me! I truly appreciate your kind sparkling heart! Much appreciated!Thankyou again and Congrats!!

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  3. Hi again..the video is beautiful! I love horses too and their marvelous spirit!Great video.Regarding embdedd..... Is there an "option that says embedd" anywhere? I didnt see one there....I have embedded a video by saving the link/there was an option to embdedd..then adding it into "add new gadget"..there may have been an option there? If I recall how to do it I'll let you know.

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  4. How interesting having lived in so many provinces ! But I clearly detect a westerly moving trend... A-ha ! So when's the move to BC ?
    Plant genetics, cool ! (That's worth a separate post)
    Big Christopher Guest fan too !
    I'm thinking Eastern fall colours are sometimes overrated ...

    It was great reading all these wonderful things about you, Rebecca. :)
    Thx for passing the award along !

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  5. Holy cow...what a beautiful post, Rebecca! You have shared so much...it's all great! I'm shocked, and honored, to be included in your list of 'awardees'...just so surprised, as I came over just to 'visit' and had NO IDEA you'd even written this post! It's funny, I've been given an opportunity to write the 7 things about myself' before, and I never did! I will try to do this and include it with the first request which was a few months ago! Both of these...the 'best blog' award (!) are so thoughtful...wow. Thanks for thinking of me-I need to stop over here more often:_)!!!!

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  6. On behalf of Jocko's Plot I am honored to receive this award. You are most gracious. I can't decide which are my favorite blogs, so will leave that part of the award to other. The horse video is wonderful. What special animals horses are. So that is the kind of horse riding you do? Beautiful!!!

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  7. PS I just went to my blog comments and saw your messages telling me about this...thank you;-) It's funny I happened to stop over before getting your notes...so glad I did! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  8. Thank you so much, Rebecca! It has been such a pleasure following your blog. It's very generous of you to recognize mine. I have posted my response on my blog.

    ps. Love the horse video!!

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  9. Rebecca, I'm so flattered. Really! Thank you so much, you've just made my day :) :) :)
    I would love to accept this award but I've got to admit that I've got a terrible track record of not following up on them. Its not that I'm not entering into the spirit of the awards but I'm a procrastinator, I'm afraid. I just keep putting it off thinking that I'll just take a bit of time to put together a fabulous post and then, before I know it too much time has gone by. So if you dont see a post about the award immediately, I hope you'll understand.
    By the way, that garden in the video is so beautiful. I think I replayed that about 4 times already. And those horses ...! Absolutely stunning!

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  10. Hi Rebecca,

    Thank you very much for your kind words. I had fun getting to know you better from your Honest Scrap. I enjoy cooking and baking too. I will have to try your pumpkin muffins. I enjoyed the video. Although I do not know much about horses, I do think they are beautiful, especially with a gorgeous garden in the background!

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  11. Rebecca girl ! Again thank you for thinking of me with the award : ) ..
    I loved the video .. I was on my first horse at about age 3 .. my sister and I were taken for a little trot on two horses named Peaches and Carmel .. but I haven't ridden since I was a teenager. My brother was in the last unit of Mounties that were taught dressage with their famous horses. I love the smell of horses to this day .. so I understand how you feel about them : )
    Thank you for the pumpkin muffin recipe girl !
    We love our pumpkin bake goods here (a little too much ? ) LOL
    Joy

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  12. Hey Rebecca!
    Thanks for giving me the BB award and congrats to you for getting two! Kudos to you for killing two birds with one stone and posting them together! I love pumpkin muffins, I could scarf the whole batch one sitting.
    Thanks again, sweety!
    Rosey

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  13. Congrats on your awards! I also love Christopher Guest, he's hilarious. Thank you so much for passing an award on to me :)
    I enjoyed the video too. I've only ridden horses a few times and was so nervous I didn't enjoy it much. I think they are beautiful animals though.

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  14. Hi Deborah, So glad you graciously accepted the award. I hope you enjoy the recipe. I think it would be amazing with a cream cheese frosting, but I've kept it 'light' so far.

    Kiki, You're most welcome, your blog is most award worthy. I was able to embed the video by finding the 'embed' link in youtube, it's in html code, so I had to go to the 'edit html' version of blog edit. I put in the code, and presto! Embedded video.

    Hi miss m, Yes, it has been a westerly trend. Not on purpose, it just kind of happened after University. Don't know if/when there will be a next one, your mobility decreases considerably once little ones arrive on the scene. ;) Glad you enjoyed my crazy post, have you seen "Waiting for Guffman"? Possibly my fave.

    Hello Jan, what a great coincidence, I bet you were really suprised! I look forward to reading your post. I stalled long enough with the Honest Scrap that it took the 2nd one to kick me into action.

    Hi Mary Delle (/Jocko), you're most welcome. I really enjoy Jocko's blog. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, it is the kind of riding I do, although it isn't nearly as impressive or grandiose in a more regular setting and without the fancy dress. But it's the same idea. :)

    Ms S, that was fast (creating your post)! I'll post over there too, but thanks for your kind words. It's so nice to meet bloggers in a similar zone (& stage of life). Glad you enjoyed the video, I've been wanting to post it for awhile, but couldn't find the right spot for it.

    Sunita, don't worry about getting to the post or not. It's fine if you do or don't just accept it as a 'thank you' for having a great blog, not as a prompt for more work. The gardens in the video are beautiful, it was taken at the Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany, that is said to have an 'enormous baroque garden'. One more for the list to see one day.

    Hi Noelle, I'm glad you liked my post, I didn't think I had anything to say until I started typing. Let me know how the muffins turn out, even my ultra picky eaters love them.

    Hi Joy, I'm glad you liked the video. It's amazing how many people have or have had horses in their life in some way. Very cool about your brother, I still love the musical ride and get chills whenever I see it. I hope you enjoy the recipe.

    Hey Rosey, You're most welcome! I felt like it was cheating a little to combine the 2 into 1 post, but it seems to have worked out quite well. I had never had a pumpkin muffin before trying this recipe a month or so ago, now I can't get enough of them. I reduce the butter and added apple sauce, it makes them ultra moist and adds a nice flavour.

    Hi Catherine, Ah, another Christopher Guest fan! Have you seen Waiting for Guffman? Possibly his best. You're welcome re the award, you have a great blog & beautiful garden. Glad you liked the video, I wasn't sure if anyone (other than me) would enjoy it, but I'm so glad they do. :)

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  15. You are such a sweetheart. Thank you so much for the awards, I am honored to have them and thanks for the kind words.
    I will see about getting them up after Thanksgiving. If I can find 10 things about myself ;-)
    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    Lona

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  16. Rebecca, congratulations on your awards! Your blog is interesting, informative and a pleasure to visit. Thank you for telling us about yourself. I understand everything, but blue...?!How could you? I would weed someone's garden for blueberries! Rebecca, I appreciate so much mentioning my blog!I decided to make my blog free of awards and memes, but it doesn't mean that I don't care. It is very pleasant when fellow bloggers name my blog among their favorites. Thanks for your kind words. They make me feel happy!

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  17. I forgot to say that I watched that video several times. A-ma-zing! It's incredible what these big animals can do! They fly!

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  18. Hi Lona, You're most welcome, I really enjoy your blog. Have a great Thanksgiving, ours was last month (I don't know why they are at different times).

    Hi Tatyana, Don't worry at all. I only mean for the award to be a 'thank you', not a make work project. I'm glad it made you happy. :) I think the video is amazing too.

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  19. Thanks for the lovely words and kind thoughts. I was out at Elk Island National Park a week ago, watching the birds in V formation flying your way. Now, why do we stick around for the winter?

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  20. Hi Northern, You're most welcome. Not sure why we stick around, seems like the birds have it all figured out. They are here in the thousands, and gathering together to leave. I noticed some swimming in the V formation the other day, it was amusing, practice, perhaps?

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  21. I'm ashamed to say I'm just visiting all of your previous posts today. I'm so enjoying all of them. I've been flitting all over the web visiting rainbows and garden blogs. There so much to see. clickety click.

    I'm definitely going to try your pumpkin muffin recipe. My kids love anything pumpkin and they look yummy.

    Oh, and eggplant, mmm.

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  22. Hi Rebecca, I have just now added your awards to my separate 'special blog awards' blog. I feel SO awkward writing these kinds of posts, and wanted to tell you I still haven't done it and have been recently thinking about it again. I'm not sure if I will actually write a post, or contact a few bloggers by message and give them that way. But I do feel the need to pass them on and to acknowledge your kindness...it's just not what everyone feels comfortable with...do you know what I mean? I'm giving it some thought right now and might include it 'in' an upcoming post. I just don't want you to think I didn't appreciate your thoughtfulness, or forget it--'cause I do, and I haven't!

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