Thank you!

Pike Road Girl was kind enough to honor me with this lovely award a few days back, and I've been behind in my posting, so I'm just now getting around to saying thank you!

Stop over at her blog and read about her lovely family and all the critters. She and her husband are working on a completely drool worthy barn so she can finally bring her horses home. As a boarding owner myself, it's a goal I applaud and hope to emulate someday soon!

So, as a condition of the award I'm supposed to provide a few previously unrevealed items of interest. I'm not sure how scintillating my seven points of interest are, but here goes:

1. I love flowers and flowering plants, but I'm completely unable to grow the ones that bloom. Other than spider plants - which live and multiply and are apparently immune to the black thumb that kills everything from pansies to African violets. I do, however, have a pathos and an ivy plant that I've kept alive since my college days. Not a bad run.
   
2. My new favorite kitchen tool is the breadmaker I got for Christmas. Never thought I'd say that - I'd resisted getting one for several years. Thank you to the someones who knew better!
3. Until I went to college I had always lived in the same house. After my sister was born we shared a bedroom - which was a lot more fun in hindsight than it was at the time. But I did learn how to pick a lock....
4. I've gone swimming in almost all of the five Great Lakes - I think I'm missing Eerie.
   
5. I dislike meatballs, Swedish and otherwise. I make them, I just don't eat them.
   
6. I once almost walked into Donald Trump. Right in front of the Trump Tower in NYC - I was looking up and my friend grabbed me so I wouldn't run into him.
7. My favorite form of long distance travel - other than the four-footed kind - would have to be by train. You meet the neatest people, and the rocking and clickety-clacking is incredibly soothing.
   

Now, the second condition was to pass the award along to 15 of my favorite bloggers. Hmmm... Well, I think this award has already hit most of my list! But here are a few - in no particular order - you should check out if you've not encountered them yet:

1. Just Another Day on the Prairie for a hearty dose of cow sense, gorgeous Canadian scenery, and the occasional yummy recipe.
2. BrownEyed Cowgirls - I started reading when they were still located in western SD, but even though they're now in Colorado there's plenty of horsey action. This year it's been a new house, new rig, and plenty of barrel racing on the horizon.
3. How did this happen? Following Jennifer's progress from hesitant to confidant has been great, and I hope I someday manage the riding time she gets in on an almost daily basis. Inspiring!
4. Horsetrailriders.com - We share a bit of the same weather often enough, and here's another lady who really gets out and rides - and shares her stories with humor and great pictures.
5. Down on the Farm - okay, not horses here. Cows. But the adventures of dairy farming are apparently many, and they make educational and often entertaining reading.
6. Braymere Custom Saddlery - Model horses... it wasn't an area I had any familiarity with. Most of mine didn't survive my childhood in very good shape. I loved them a bit too well, perhaps. But when I stumbled across this site I had to start following. From fantastic pictures come incredibly detailed miniatures decked out in custom tack. Amazing.
7. Less is More - I wish she'd post more - now that there's more riding on the horizon maybe that will happen (hint, hint)! And there's the amazing Limo. 'Nuf said!

For more... well, I could go on, but really you can just check out the blog list down the right side over there. Or you could just visit one of the sites above and see what they're reading :)

Thanks again, Pike Road Girl!