Category Archives: Award

Award Received ~ Thanks Vanilla + My Blog List

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My friend, Vanilla, has granted me an award. I thank him for thinking of me. Encouragement has been a two-way street for us.

“Neno’s Award is given to those who love blogging, love to encourage friendships through blogging, and who help others seek the reasons why we all love blogging.”

Some of the encouragers I know in the blogosphere are:

Mikki — Two days after she did a profile of me on her blog, I started blogging. It was the final push I needed. (Vanilla also awarded this to Mikki at the same time he did to me. I just wanted to put and exclamation mark on it.)

Clara — My sister has been blogging for sometime and has been a tremendous help getting me started and helping me at every step.

Lin — This gal is like another sister. We poke fun at each other a lot, but she always has a word of encouragement.

Tiney — She is so funny that I frequently laugh until the tears roll down my face. Excellent on comments and a deserving winner of the Zombie Chicken Award.

Shinade (aka Jackie) — It’s good to see her blogging regularly. She does great photos and always has a kind word.

Cacai — Energy, enthusiasm and kindness are her hallmarks. Her blog is a daily “Must Visit.”

Each of these have been a big encouragement to me. There are others too, but these stand out especially.

So gals, please accept this award. You richly deserve it. Then pass it on to others.

My Blog List

I had a Blogger Bud section in the left column, and then I moved it to a separate page with a link from a [now broken] tab. Check out My Blog List in the left column. The author of each blog listed there has been an encouragement to me, and I invite them to accept this award as well. Thanks everyone.

Awards ~ Thanks Cacai!

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A couple awards have been granted to Secondary Roads. On my daily visit to her blog, I saw that Cacai had received these awards. I read about the awards and thought how richly deserved them. I failed to notice that she had passed them to me. That is until she sent me an e-mail.


Thanks Cacai your are kind and gracious. I invite the rest of you to visit my friend.

The Perky Blogger Award

I thought I knew what this meant, but to be sure, I looked it up in my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 10th edition. It says “Briskly self-assured. Jaunty.” Wow. Thanks!

Your Blog Makes Us Smile Award

We shouldn’t need a dictionary to help us with this one. It’s talking about a positive outlook and an optimistic view of life. I hope I make you smile — at least once in a while.

Here are some folks who are jaunty, self-assured and who make me smile. For that reason, I’m passing these lovely awards to:

Fish Hawk at As The Crackerhead Crumbles

Lin at Duck and Wheel with String

Shawie at A Grateful Heart

Star at A Maiden’s Testimony

Fearless at The Fearless Blog

and Clara who hosts Coming Back to Life! and My Meme Mania

Please join Clara (and me) for I Did It! – Monday we would love to read about your accomplishments. Let the world know what you did. Brag. Brag about someone else, it’s okay just join in the fun.

Congratulations Briana

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Tuesday was “Dessert Night” aka Awards Night for the Falcons Water Polo team. Briana received the “Coaches Award” (Sarah was voted MV Offense, Eliza, the goalie received MV Defense and Mackenzie was voted Most Improved). All the awards are voted on by teammates except the Coaches Award — Coach Jarod said some really nice things about Bree…like a leader in and out of the pool, very accurate shot, adaptable to any role.

Her stats for the just-finished season: 78 goals, 107 shots (a shot is a miss), 30 assists, 81 steals and 13 kick-outs drawn. (That means that the opposition player was sent to the penalty box or that a “free shot” from the 5-meter line was awarded to the Falcons.) Briana led the team in goals scored.

As her dad, Bryant, said, “Hey I can’t help it, I am very proud of her.” Her grandparents agree! Congratulations on a great year Briana. We’re all button-busting proud of you!

Addition:
You forgot my previous comments about Briana being named “West Regional Playoff Honorable Mention” and “All Conference Honorable Mention”….Additionally she made EK All-Academic Team, and I think she will also make Academic All-State—but I haven’t heard where the line is for that yet. It gets posted after the season. I will let you know when that happens. — Bryant

What It Is

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Last week Friday, you were challanged to identify this photo fragment:


You have patiently awaiting the announcement of the winner. One commenter wanted assurance that it wasn’t pickled pig’s feet, because that would be gross. Another asked if it was a water-soaked cheese doodle. You can relax it’s neither one of those. Perhaps I owe these two an apology for the misdirection. They’ll never trust me again.


And here you have the wide angle view of this beauty in our formal garden.


And the winner, being the first to correctly identify the species and the botanical portion of the image, is Meghan.

Meghan said…

Good morning, neighbor! Is it a close up of daffodil stamens?


Congratulations, Meghan, you are the latest recipient of the Tommy Toe Award.


The Tommy Toe gets its name from what my mother used to call this wonderful fruit that makes such wonderful sandwiches with bacon and lettuce. The BLT was one of my mother’s favorites. Every year when fresh tomatoes were available in the garden, she would get together with a friend and they would make BLTs for lunch. I remember those days well, and I still consider the BLT to be one of my favorite sandwiches.

Lots of good guessers out there. Mikki Black said… I agree with Meghan – it’s got to be a flower’s pollen stash!
 Lin said…I’m thinking it’s the private parts of a flower?
vanilla said…Guess: anthers in one of your gorgeous bloomin’ flowers. Possibly Stella d’Oro?

The Stella d’Oros are not yet in bloom here in west Michigan. The iris and daisys have just blossomed.

Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to Meghan. She calls me neighbor, because her property and ours abut. She is also the owner of the beautiful and delightful creature, Grace the llama. We enjoyed eggs from her hens at breakfast this morning.

Caption Contest Winner

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We have a winner in the caption Contest! [Big fanfare with horns and drums]

It is Reggie Girl who submitted this caption:
“Just say No to fried kitty.”

Honorable mention goes to Bryant.

Much thanks to all who filed an entry. You all showed unmitigated brilliance and fantastic humor in your responses. Of course, that made it very difficult to select a winner.

Reggie Girl is the latest recipient of the Tommy Toe Award. Congratulations.


Shall we do this again?

One Lovel Blog Award

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Justine has awarded Secondary Roads the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks friend. And thanks for the kind words.

If you haven’t met Justine, you should visit her blog. She is witty, creative and outspoken.


Rules for this award are as follows:

1. Accept the award.

2. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

3. Pass the award to other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

4. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

There are so many lovely blogs out there. Here are my newly discovered friends who now receive this award:

Shawie

Star

Jen

Vanilla

Sharkbytes

Fish Hawk

Do stop by and visit them.

What It Is #3

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On Monday, Secondary Roads announced “What Is It? #3.” The announcement said, “I expect this one will be the most difficult yet.” Your answers prove how correct that was. To refresh your memory here is the extreme close-up picture.

So here are your guesses:

Anonymous Bryant said…

I really need to know why you winterized/shrinkwrapped King Tut’s tomb? Everyone can still easily see his facial features under the plastic, next time try to at least challenge us!

Anonymous Sylvia (wife of Secondary Roads) said…

My first thought was a cabbage leaf, but it could also be part of a flower.Delete

Blogger Mikki Black said…

So, my first thought was

KLINGONS!!!!! Then I thought it looked like an elephant.

Then I thought maybe some sort of embellished jacket.

But it’s probably something totally common like a cat or a plunger or something.

Delete

Blogger Sharkbytes said…

I think it is some portion of a raw plucked chicken, perhaps the side of the breast looking toward the leg, but perhaps I won’t have to commit myself to the exact GPS of chicken world.Delete

Blogger Da Old Man said…

Close up of the first plant of spring poking it’s way through the ground. I’d guess a leaf of a flower like those purple ones. I don’t know flower names.

April 20, 2009 1:33 PM

Delete

Blogger Justine/Justiney/Tiney said…

It almost looks like a bear print… on something.

Or some kind of seed pod?

Blogger Lin said…

I know you are nowhere near the beach, but I would go with a really close-up view of a dead horseshoe crab lying on a warm sunny beach somewhere tropical instead of here, where the weather is cold and stinky and possibly snowy again tonight.

So now it’s time to see what it is. And here is a heron that took a breather on a cross-country jaunt. I saw it out the office window and managed to get this shot.


As you can plainly see, no one guessed a wading bird on Secondary Road’s yard. Okay, the second part is not necessary. However, no one had the correct answer. The rules say, “the first with the correct or best answer. I had trouble deciding who had the best answer.” So after disqualifying Sylvia, I asked her to help me judge the answers.

The judges are unanimous that Mikki Black’s answer, “Some sort of embellished jacket” is the best answer and she therefore receives the coveted Tommy Toe Award. Congratulations Mikki.


Mikki does not participate in Entrecard. For that reason, the 500 ECs are awarded to Sharkbytes for her answer, “some portion of a raw plucked chicken, perhaps the side of the breast.” It is a bird breast.

Finally, kudos to Lin for taking us to the beach at a time when the weather in our part of the world was not at all pleasant, and to Bryant for creativity.

Special thanks to all who participated. Be sure to watch for another contest next month.

Awards ~ Can You Believe It?

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Once again my good friend Colleen has bestowed an award on me. And a beast of an award it is. Before I could acknowledge and post this fine award, my sister, Clara, drops the Zombie Chicken Award on me. And here it is in all of its magnificent glory:


The rules of the zombie chicken say…

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…”

With that in mind, I pass this award on to the following bloggers:

Humorsmith — I’m not sure if the Zombie Chickens are protecting or attacking my good friend. Since he has moved to Seattle, things have gotten weird for him. Maybe he’s just fogged in?

Justine — This gal is a stitch. And I mean that in the best possible way. You know what I mean?

Jill — Rumor is that she used to run around with a gang of Zombie Chickens. Is that true?

Lin — Refuses to drink coffee with bratwurst at the ballpark. She is under suspicion of working with a pack of Zombie Chickens. However, I can neither confirm nor deny that.

You — That’s right. You! But only if you believe.

This brings us to the Blogger Award. This comes to Secondary Roads from Carnation, who is a terrific person and friend. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.


I want to pass this award in the same way I received. This award is made, with sincere thanks, to the following blogs just for being present in the blogosphere, making it worthwhile for me to stumble upon them and read their posts. They are:

Sherri — Her mother is afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, as was my mother. Each of her three blogs is a daily “must read” for me.

Mikki — This brilliant young mother and High-School English teacher has celiac disease. She also has a terrific sense of humor and two fantastic children.

Ida — Shares her life with us plus some excellent advice.

Cacai — A very special and fun person. Makes you wish she lived next door.

Rita T — Filled with wisdom. I leave her blog feeling blessed.

Clara — Has been through a lot, but her anchor holds!

Fearless — Great sense of humor and, as advertised, completely fearless.

The Crotchety Old Man — You can believe that this old guy is crotchety. I suspect it’s all a front to hide a tender heart and a caring person. Oh, on second thought he really is crotchety. 😉

I enjoy my daily visits to each one of these blogs. You should check them out, if you haven’t already.

What Is It? #3 ~ Enter the Tommy Toe Award

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Once again, it’s time to play “What Is It? I expect this one will be the most difficult yet. Look it over carefully and give it your best shot. Multiple guesses are accepted and welcome.


The first correct or best guess will be declared the winner. The winner will be awarded 500 ECs and the Tommy Toe Award for sheer brilliance.


The Tommy Toe gets its name from what my mother used to call this wonderful fruit that makes such wonderful sandwiches with bacon and lettuce. The BLT was one of my mother’s favorites. Every year when fresh tomatoes were available in the garden, she would get together with a friend and they would make BLTs for lunch. I remember those days well, and I still consider the BLT to be one of my favorite sandwiches.

The first “What Is It?” contest had no declared winner. Our (Sylvia and my) first-born son, Bryant, was mostly there with his answer. However, as he is not a blogger the prize is awarded to the first runner-up. Clara of Coming back to Life. It is appropriate that she be the first winner of this award, which is in honor of our mother. (Yes, Clara is my sister.)

The second “What Is It?” contest was won by Sharkbytes. She is therefore awarded the Tommy Toe and 500 ECs.

Who will win this one? Post comments with your guesses. The winner will be announced on Friday.

Thanks Crotchety!

Secondary Roads thanks the Crotchety Old Man for the Zucchini Award, which is proudly displayed on the left side of this page. He really is a neat guy. Visit him today.

More Awards Received and Given

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Colleen is a friend, a writer and a very neat person. You should visit her if you haven’t already. You can click on her badge below.


Recently, Colleen made some very nice awards to Secondary Roads, RedPineMountain, ShortyBear, Windows to my Soul and Simply Fifty. These are:

The Generosity Award

The I Heart Your Blog Award

And The Life is Grand Award

Thank you Colleen. Your kindness and generosity are much appreciated.

I am supposed to pass this on to five worthy recipients. What? There are more than five blogger friends (pallies to you Lin) out there that deserve these awards. However, I’ll have to limit myself to:

Lin

Donna

Rita

Sharkbytes

Fearless

They are each requested to pass these awards on to five other worthy bloggers. I thank each of them for the generous spirits, their fine blogs and their optimistic view of life.

Do you have an idea how difficult it is to narrow it down to five? Certainly these are great folks. I suggest you visit their blogs if you haven’t already met them.