Liebster Award

Sarah at The Secret Life of an Unknown Housewife has very kindly bestowed upon me the Liebster Blog Award.  Liebster?  I thought it meant lover but looked it up - sweetheart?  It's been a long time since I was anyone's sweetheart and that is not usually a term that is applied to me.  I know people to whom I would apply that tag but think it would really stretch the imagination of everyone I know to have it applied to me.   But I must not be ungracious and so, Sarah, I graciously accept.  Those who know me well will have difficulty accepting that, too.  But I do thank you, Sarah. 

This award is given to blogs with fewer than 200 followers, with "good content" that warrant more support. Sarah is one who really does deserve more followers.  She's articulate, funny, hardworking, sensible and practical and a loving mum to a young family. 

Liebster Award Rules

1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them. Thank you, Sarah.

2. Reveal five of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. 

3. Post the award on your blog.  This solicited a groan from me.  I did it a while ago - how do I do it again?  I hate it when I forget how I did something not so long ago. 

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!  Keep posting, keep commenting and keep being positive.

In no particular order, here are my nominations for the Liebster Award.

1.  I wouldn't be blogging were it not for Bev at Kainga Happenings.  I am blessed to have a friend like Chris with a sister like Bev who inspired me and helped me so much when I was getting started in the blog world.  I call Bev the evangelist quilter.  She has tried hard to convert Chris and me to quilting.  She didn't succeed, but she did re-ignite my love affair with my sewing machine.  Bev posts about her sewing, quilting and her garden.  If you love crafty things and gardens (her roses are beautiful) you must visit her.  Bev lives in Western Australia.

2.  My daughter, Justine, when she was 15 ventured out into the world as a Rotary exchange student. Jessie at The Farmer has a Wife is one of the many friends she made in Murwillumbah on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia.  These days Jessie is married to a farmer and loves on a property miles from anywhere but closer to Dirranbandi, South West Queensland than anywhere else.  She is an English teacher and knows her craft.  I love reading about her life with her young family on an isolated property.  She's a city girl who has made the admustment to country life and her sense of humour is second to none.

3.  Here's another blog from Queensland -  Cattle, Kids and Chaos.  Fiona describes herself as "working hard on a rough little block, trying to breed some good cattle and raise some happy kids."  Her story telling and photography of the cattle and her children has me in total awe.  I have yet to see any signs of chaos but it must be there with a family of six.

4.  As anyone who follows me knows, I love photography.  I'm not very good at it but what's that got to do with the price of fish?  A recently discovered blog is Suzy at Photos are Fun.  Suzy is from Wellington and showcases New Zealand from a different perspective.  When you visit her you will see a vibrant New Zealand city, a stark contrst to the rural life I try to portray.

5. For photographic excellence and because I simply cannot believe she does not have more followers, I'm going to the Northern Hemisphere and Dawn Treader's Beyond the Lone Islands.  She hails from Vastergotland, Sweden, a truly beautiful city which she captures skillfully.  Believe me, she makes her new camera sing!

I have other favourites, of course, with few than 200 followers but I know some of them to be "Award Free".  I might have to go that way myself because it did take me an age to remember how to add the award.