One Lovely Blog Award

Awards must be just like London buses; you don’t see any for ages and then two come along at once. So it was with me this week. Not only was I told I was to be a BON on Monday, but I also received a ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ from Katie Gates. Thank you Katie! (I discovered an icon for this Award which I have pasted on the site. I thank whoever it was who produced it.) Do visit Katie at Katie Gates: Stories and Opinions . Katie is a very talented writer. Her personal essays are topical, thought provoking and often humorous and I can personally recommend her novel, ‘The Somebody Who’ a warm, funny and wholly believable story woven around a family dealing with dementia. The book is currently being serialised on Saturdays on Katie’s blog.

Now that the fuss and furore of my BON day and all that it entailed, has died down, I have had time to contemplate and select five people whose blogs I think deserve to be called ‘Lovely’. This is the only request that comes with the award, the recipient must pass it on to between 5 and 15 other Lovely Bloggers.

I thought this might be a hard task but in fact, it was easy. I just picked the people who regularly make me smile, cry or just feel ‘good’ as I read their posts. So, without further ado, here they are – my five favourites in no particular order:

1. Amy: Normal is a Dryer Setting
   Amy’s son Jonah has Autism and this blog is a truly amazing insight into the world that he and his parents inhabit. I love the way Amy writes with such matter of fact honesty, humour being never far away. We ride the escalator with her and Jonah, over and over…and for a brief time, we see the world through Jonah’s eyes. I love this blog.
2. Doris Gallon: http://www.babyboomerstraveling.com/ I found Doris in a writer’s group on Linkedin and her blog caught my attention on day one. Doris’s travel tips are brilliant and her traveller’s tales informative, funny and highly entertaining. I am constantly amazed at how prolific a writer she is and how far she has travelled.
3. Zoe Louise : http://www.zlbarker.wordpress.com Yes, I know she is my daughter but I am so amazed at her design skills as well as her writing ability that I cannot possibly leave her out. Zoe is a fashion designer who has just completed an MA and is launching her first collection. To reach her goal, she has struggled with finances, transport, plagiarism and moments of self doubt but her blog tracks her journey over the past year and I love her observations and various dilemmas chronicled along the way.
4. Tia: Cottage by the Sea I had to include this one because not only do I love this blog for its gorgeous header and Tia’s hilarious tales of how this cottage by the sea was restored and renovated but I can really empathise with Tia’s choice of two white sofas – despite having five children and 6 grandchildren! Reminds me of when my five were young and we too were persuaded to buy a whiter than white suite. You just have to wonder don’t you?
5. Joann Mannix Laundry Hurts My Feelings I love the title – it resonates so well with me as does her house full of daughters (she has three, so do I, though I also have a couple of boys to lighten the load) The effects of three girls under one roof are the same though.  Whether writing about a film, a vacation or just life, she makes me laugh out loud. You’d better get there before Bono does though or she’ll be gone!

The only criteria for acceptance is that you pass One Lovely Blog Award on to between 5 and 15 of your own favourite bloggers and let them know that it is on its way. I do hope you enjoy my choices and if you have already met I hope you enjoy a return visit.