Update:  Many thanks to all those who have nominated me for various blog awards.  I’ve done a couple of posts of obscure facts about myself (here’s another one).  To do more posts like this would require me to go beyond “obscure” and into “too much information”, so I think I’ll quit while we’re all ahead.  Here you go…

  

Several of my readers have been kind enough to nominate me for the Versatile Blogger award in the past few months.  Many thanks to my blogging buddies, Chris9911, How The Cookie Crumbles, and RVingGirl (who unfortunately seems to have stopped blogging).

And just a couple of days ago, Fear No Weebles kindly offered me the Sunshine Award and/or the Beautiful Blogger Award.  I modestly chose both.  ‘Cause I like getting awards – I tuck them into my file of nice things people have said about me and take them out to enjoy them later.  It’s a small file, granted, but it’s great for when I need a warm fuzzy or two.

At the time I was offered the Versatile Blogger awards, I was busy travelling back and forth to Manitoba while my step-mom underwent cancer treatments (many thanks to everyone for their good wishes – she’s finished treatment now and doing fine).  But I didn’t have time to fulfill the obligations of the award.  Instead, I linked to this post, with a promise to uphold my end of the bargain when I did have time… which is now.   The awards all have similar requirements:

1. Thank the person who shared the award with you by linking back to them in your post.
2. List 7 – 10 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award to 7- 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know that you included them in your blog post.

For the sake of efficiency (which I prefer to the probably-more-accurate descriptor: “laziness”), I’m rolling all my obligations into this post – hope the blogging police don’t catch me.

Seven Things About Me (that weren’t included in the last post):

1. The photo in my blog header is a 2010 Harley-Davidson Crossbones.  Sadly, I don’t actually own a Harley – they’re a little too rich for my budget.  The only ride I have available right now is an ’85 Honda VF1100 Magna.  But hey, if my books hit the bestseller list, maybe I’ll buy a Harley.  (I can hope, can’t I?)
2. In my last post I showed you one of my oil paintings, so this time, I’m going to inflict my piano-playing on you.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Here it is.
3. I’ve worked as a church organist, gas jockey, camp counsellor, teacher, receptionist, bookkeeper, interior designer, draftsperson, construction project manager, computer geek, tech writer, Microsoft Office instructor, and author, in that order.  I’ve been an entrepreneur for so long (23 years), I’m pretty much unemployable.
4. In various adventures, I’ve been kicked, punched, cut, burned, and run over by a motorcycle.  A strong man has crushed my skin with pliers, and I have scars on my hand from the time I tangled with a 250-lb steroid-fuelled bodybuilder.  This might make you think I’ve led a dangerous, violent life.  I haven’t.  All those things were done unintentionally, most of them by my friends during sporting events or back-yard car tinkering.  But it makes me sound like a badass if I don’t mention that part, right?
5. I’m just under 5’-10” barefoot.  Sometimes for giggles, I go into the shoe store and walk around in six-inch platform stilettos just to see the expressions on people’s faces.  Voila.  Yes, that shelf beside my elbow is about four and a half feet tall.

6. Which leads me to:  I am not photogenic (obviously).  I have a gift for twisting my face into an utterly asinine expression at the precise instant the camera clicks.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.  I prefer to think I don’t look like that all the time.
7. I always swore I’d never write fiction.  Oops.  My bad.  My excuse is under “Are you writing about yourself, you pathetic narcissist?” on the FAQ page.

And now for the fun part.  I follow tons of blogs.  My all-time favourites are in the Blogroll to the right, and I’m always adding more.

I don’t take orders very well, so I’m going play fast and loose with requirement #3.  I’d like to name a few bloggers I’ve discovered recently and offer them any or all of the above awards (I’ll let them choose).  Recipients, if you’ve already received these or if you don’t feel like playing, please accept this as a compliment and feel free to ignore the conditions of the award(s).

Nigel Blackwell usually blogs about anything that drives, flies and/or crashes, in witty posts full of fascinating behind-the-scenes detail.  And every now and then he goes off the reservation with hilarious essays about such disparate topics as socks or “write-only” memory.  You just can’t lose with Nigel.

If you love blues (and music in general) as much as I do, Longshot’s Blog has wonderful retro classics.

Harper Faulkner is always funny and/or thought-provoking.  Don’t miss him – it’s worth the visit.

Carrie Rubin’s off-the-wall blog, The Write Transition, makes me laugh.  She’s an author with a book being released this fall, so I hope you’ll go and give her some blog love.

Pat Bean is a wandering blogger who’s been on the road in an RV for the last 5 years with a pooch for a companion.  It’s a fascinating chronicle if you’re into travelling the back roads.

Lisa Clark writes The Big Sheep Blog, “Where Imagination, Business and Life Collide”, and an online magazine for 50+ women called The Ripe Report.  Lisa’s always got something interesting to say, so check her out.

And of course, don’t forget to visit my generous award-givers:  Chris9911, How The Cookie Crumbles, and Fear No Weebles (love that name!).

Note to all my blogging buddies:  If it looks like I unsubscribed from your blog this week, I didn’t – at least not intentionally.  WordPress changed their defaults to automatically subscribe to comments every time I comment on a blog, and I got buried under email.  When I unsubscribed from comments, I did it wrong, and unsubscribed from the blogs, too.  Grrr.  Have no fear, I’m still following you – I aggregate everything via RSS feed.  But you might see me doing some weird stuff with follows/subscriptions for a while.  Sorry about that.