Versatility, Great Blogs, and Getting Lost in Terre Haute

I am honored to say that Cheri of the excellent blog The Yard Art Game has bestowed upon me The Versatile Blogger Award. Gawrsh. I'm blushin'.

If you haven't joined in the fun over there, then you are missing out. Cheri was recently interviewed and quoted in Home and Garden Magazine to explain how the game is played. I've mentioned it before, but here's the gist of it again in case you've forgotten.

When you spot a house all decked out in drek, you take a quick, sneaky snapshot and send it to Cheri. She scores it and writes a really funny narrative to go with, thereby providing the redeeming social value that was so sadly lacking in the original situation.

It is addictive, and you find yourself constantly scouting for points.

A few weeks ago, for example, The Hubby and I found ourselves hopelessly lost in Terre Haute. He had turned on the GPS Lady and then ignored everything she told him to do. A grim, sullen silence descended, each of them daring the other to make the next move.

And suddenly, there it was: a monster mess o' yard art. It had everything. A forest of gazing balls, a windmill, frogs, assorted whatchamathingies... a freakin' windmill ... gnomes. But by the time I stopped hyperventilating and got my camera set we were past it. The photo came out too blurry to see the details.

Normally, The Hubby is a good sport about circling the block in situations like this. But under the circumstances, asking for a course correction was clearly a very bad idea. So somewhere in Terre Haute is the mother lode of yard art. And I will never, ever, be able to find it again.

Anyway. According to the rules, this is a self-determining award, meaning there is no obligation for anyone nominated to play. I am now supposed to tell you seven things about myself and list seven blogs I recommend.

Things:

1. I am not a morning person.
2. I am a dog person. And a cat person. And birds. Maybe fish.
3. Chocolate is my favorite food group.
4. Flea markets and yard sales attract me like magnets
5. However, I hate to shop for clothes
6. I will read just about anything.
7. I am always on the lookout for signs and wonders.

For blogs I like, check out my follow list and the blogs in my sidebar. It's hard to choose only a few, but here are my seven. In keeping with the "versatility" thing, it's a varied selection:

Rambling Woods is a must for nature lovers. There is a weekly meme, too, Nature Notes. Tell Michelle I sent ya.

On the m104: Out and About in New York City, where Daryl's photos and happenings are as exciting as the Big Apple itself. Plus: Toonman!

Thyra has several blogs, all worth a visit. She is in Denmark, and her post topics range from daily life there to the lore and history of that magical land.

Finding Another View is Scott Law's photography blog. I love the sense of playfulness and exploration in it. Scott offers lots of tips for how he achieves his gorgeous photos and is wonderfully supportive of us point-and-shoot beginners.

I have a piece of news for you. And here it is: Caron's witty writing never fails to crack me up.

Sweet Repose, because I love, love, love all of her charming old stuff. And the poetry is nice, too.

Serious Grouching, in which little serious grouching occurs, but beautiful gardening photos and posts do. Joco and her blog are wonderfully friendly and kind.

And there you have it. If you'd like to participate in this little meme, have at it. Or not - and no offense taken. I rarely do award memes myself, but it's been a while since I've had one and there were all these great blogs to share. Do visit them, OK? You'll be happy you did.

*PS: Blogger ate the first version of this post, so it had to be done over. Which is why you might have seen the earlier one. I don't think there's a lot of difference, but just in case you were wondering, that's what's up.