Oh la laaaa! The light! It is tiger, tiger burning bright. How I love it especially these recent days with the gift of a baby breeze, just strong enough to flop your hat.
Speaking of gifts, it is time to spread a little bit of this sun around. In my previous post (and thank you so much for all of your thoughtful comments), I mentioned that the lovely Natalie from Jewel yet to find had presented me with The Sunshine Award, one for “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.” Now some of you might sniffle (as a certain unnamed French man whose name begins with “R” and ends with “i”) about this not being a “real” award, just something passed along between bloggers but guess what? NO AWARD FOR YOU! Heh, heh…
Now on to my list. It was tempting to just steal Natalie’s list as they include some of my favorite blogeueses on the planet nor did I want to repeat my previous list for there are too many others to mention…
Here we go, in no particular order:
1) Dash at the French Sampler. Some of you might remember what a fabulous time we had when we met up in Aix. She is brilliant and has an encyclopedia noggin’ of all that is fabulous. Unfortunately, she has been on a bit of a hiatus. I am secretly hoping that this little reminder will give her the boost in the derrière to start up again because she is missed!
2) Jane and Lance Hattat of Hattat. Similarly, when the Hattats go on holiday for too long, general panic starts to ensue on the blogosphere. They have the most loyal readership I have seen anywhere and a glance at their current post–which somehow makes a visit from the Queen of Norway while they were in residence at the mind-bogglingly beautiful Villa Massei seem just the most normal thing in the world–will quickly convince you why.
3) Jeanne at Collage of Life. That she was literally blogging from the airport before boarding the airplane before her moving to Vietnam on Sunday says it all. Her generosity of spirit knows no bounds nor does her creativity. She takes an open world-view on life and I will eagerly be looking forward to her discovery of her new home.
4) Helen Tilston of Helen Tilston Painter. In her current post, she magically weaves working with beeswax, the phenomenal symmetry of the Fibonacci numbers with a poetry reading by Yeats himself. Not to mention that she is kindness personified.
5) Tabitha at Bourbon & pearls. Because, no one and I mean no one makes me laugh as hard and as regularly as Tabs. Even when her Scottishness leaves me wondering what on Earth she is talking about, I still can’t help it. Besides, she can weave a Madame Bovary reference into a post about hemlines without seeming the least bit twee.
6) Aidan at Conjugating Irregular Verbs. She is no-fuss about her writing, is Texan-sized positive, a fellow expat in the South of France and has an adorable Golden who may or may not be Ben’s long-lost girlfriend. What is not to like?
7) Jennifer of Gustia and The Auntie Times. Although she spends most of the year in Monaco, we won’t hold it against her, especially as she is delightfully frank in her writings about her everyday life and does a lot of good through a baking charity that she established soon after arriving from Canada. She is similarly unpretentious in being a “Vegetarian Gourmet” who takes her readers along to some of the world’s finest addresses for veggiemania.
8) Ella of Tales from the chambre de bonne. Girlfriend is brutally honest. She moved to Paris, was engaged, got her heart broken and yet has turned her life around and made it work. Or is trying. She is a work in progress but makes no bones about it which is great because aren’t we all?
9) Mimi at Manger. A recent find, Mimi has immediately charmed me not only with her life–she is beautiful, as are her kids and her husband’s photography is a stunning update on Dutch Master stills–but she has a prescient knack for offering up a recipe for the precise thing that you want to be eating. Delightful.
10) Elizabeth Minchilli at Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome. Elizabeth is an incredibly accomplished author of books that make you whimper such as “Italian Rustic” not to mention being a regular contributor to basically every single design magazine that you have coveted for the past twenty years. She has also written two food apps (for Florence and Rome) and is now giving specialized food tours (sign me up for the cocktail workshop please). But her blog. I receive it usually just about time for the apéro and sit down with a glass of wine because it is always something to be savoured slowly. Grazie.
For those of you that choose to accept your little bit of hello, you are simply asked to make a mention of the person that nominated you (aka this little redhead) and then pass on the award to ten others and let them know. It seems as if the embarrassing rule of answering ten questions about yourself has recently been shuffled down the deck–hallelujah! But I will follow in Natalie’s footsteps and add magnanimously that if there is anything that you really want to know, just ask.
One last little note, today I am guest-posting over at Tish Jett’s blog, A femme d’un certain age about some wonderful and ecological rose-scented products by the company Tadé Pays de Levant. Voice le lien:
I raise my pastis to you in gratitude for staying with me for so long!
Aborrecimento da alma privada no 1Brasil.
Every weekend i used to pay a visit this website, for the reason that i want enjoyment, as this this site conations in fact fastidious funny stuff too.
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the structure of
your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two
images. Maybe you could space it out better?
It's hard to come by knowledgeable people in this particular subject, but you seem like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks
Hello Heather
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I want to thank you again for paying me such an honour and Award. I have mentioned it in my post of yesterday.
Wishing you a week of joy and discovery
Oh, Vicki…glad you read to the end of it. As you'll know, Heather's a smart and capable woman. Trust me….when I'm dealing with stupid people, I just tell them how nice their dress or tie is….and then, as a very general rule, stay away from them.
—Uncle David
My goodness… lucky I read to the end of our darling David's comment, Heather… was hyper ventilating a little on the way through …;)
Thank you for the new and exciting links to discover … and the lovely posting… xv
Well your photographs are always stunning! And it will be a pleasure to discover some of these blogeuses as you say!
Such a great list, Heather! Some I know, some I'm looking forward to meeting! Love all the gorgeous light in your photos. So pretty! XO
P.S. Just for the record, Heather? In the above-response, I was parodying the laughably dreadful, Gorgon-wife of a genuinely accomplished, prominent literary critic. My neighbor came over for lunch yesterday, and we happily discovered that we've both had dealings and multiple social-encounters with this fascinatingly awful woman (who, incidentally, has never published or taught a thing in her life; she's simply MARRIED to a man who's done so).
My neighbor andI traded anecdotes of the times the wife's sat at dinner tables and started making PRONOUNCEMENTS (particularly if anyone else ventures admiration of any writer)….."AC-chewally…Melville isn't a novelist at ALL. The man simply CAN'T WRITE. AbsoLUTEly UNbearable!" or "What!?!? Flannery O'Connor was NEVER any good whatsoever. And the short stories were, ACtually, the WORST of it! She received too much encouragement. Spoiled thing!"
I (and several others) used to enjoy baiting her by claiming to adore the writings of, say, Danielle Steele or Jacqueline Susanne…or novelizations of various movies/television shows. Her scholarly husband of forty-some years was highly aware that folks did this to his wife. He never interfered, so I expect he thought she deserved the treatment.
In any case, I thought I'd give credit-where-credit-is-due,
David Terry
Dear Heather,
What a great list! Did you know Jeanne from @Collage of Life is originally from my neck of the woods? Not only did we both do a post recently about Cape Ann, but I grew up in that general area too.
Small world, indeed!
Congratulations, Heather! And thanks for such a great list of new (to me) blogs to check out!
Well…there is no questions you add sunshine into my life Heather and from Arles no less! You sweet thing you…thank you for thinking of me and I am truly excited to check out the others mentioned here…I know if you love them, I will too. Thanks so much for your mention and following me as I transition myself into life in Saigon… 🙂
Jeanne xx
Dear Miss Robinson,
Being nothing if not completely honest and frank in my critical outpourings, I have to say that this latest posting of yours is simply…..awful. It's just…..AWFUL (only word for it….).
The photographs are banal…poorly (extremely so) composed and comprising nothing beyond a revoltingly sentimental viewpoint and a girlish-eye for postcard cliches.
Moreover, your writing is just……wince-making. It's just so dreadful. I can't even begin to count the ways that it's just….AWFUL (!).
Please take my professional advice:
1. Stop taking photographs. Just STOP, please! You are wasting everyone's time, including your own (and, let me remind you, you are NOT getting any younger, Miss).
2. Stop writing. Your sophomoric, verbal-dribblings are really just embarassing for everyone you manage to involve in them. That would include all of your readers. I'm sure it would be best if you just STOPPED writing anything. Forever. Please just face the facts as I've (as gently as I can) laid them out for you just now. Bascially, you have no future in the world of fine art or literature, and I think you need to be stripped of your delusions before you ruin whatever is left of your so-called "life". I hope to have been very clear in these comments.
3. I'm joking, of course…..thanks as ever for a lovely post. I'm going to look up all these other bloggers you've mentioned. Say Hey to Remi for Herve and me.
sincerely,
David (if you can't say something nice, then…?" Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
I wish you could see me now – I'm blushing! I'm truly honoured that you read my blogs and think so highly of them. They're tons of fun and rewarding to write and through them I've met so many fabulous people – like you! Thank you mille fois! xo, Jennifer, aka, Auntie!
Congratulations, Heather! Very well deserved, and you introduced me to a couple of new blogs I will check out here, from the sailboat, as we are anchored off of Orcas Island, WA, and have an EXCELLENT WiFi connection tonight. 🙂 I am afraid I am to blame for the "shuffling of the 10 questions down the [sailboat] deck!" — Last week, I passed on the Award to Natalie among others, and as I was pressed for time before our cruising vacation, just decided to… bend the rules. How French of me, I know 🙂 Glad you approve of the good old "Système D." 🙂 Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Lovely photos reminding me of the beautiful light and sunshine of my home…..sorry I didn't get to see you last time I was over, I hope to be back soon!
Merci encore! I love your witty sense of humour! Thank you for being so wonderful – your blog is fantastic and very interesting! Hopefully we will meet one day! Mimixx
Thank you, thank you for this post! I found so many great blogs (like yours!) and we share some of the same favorites as well.
It looks like there are a number of blogs that I need to go and check out. They all sound simply marvellous.
Hi Heather! Congrats on your Sunshine Award and thank you so much for passing it down to me! You put a little sparkle in my Tuesday afternoon.
I am so excited to discover all of these other blogs, and am honored that you selected me with this group of seemingly established bloggers! :*)
As for Remi (I'm guessing that's his name), his disregard for the award made me chuckle because I have found that most blogging men find these awards dumb. he he. Oh men…
Thank you again!
Hello Heather,
I don't think I've commented here in a while, but have regularly kept up at least with reading you. You know, time-the kind that keeps us running to and fro! Some of the blogs you mention I am not familiar with so I will certainly check them out. And congratulations on YOUR blogging award!
Hello Heather
What a surprise to see my name in lights with such luminaries. I am gob smacked oops,I better clean up my language in the company of Tabitha and Jane and Lance.
You deserve the honour of the Award and more. I love your blog and the variety of subjects.
Thank you very, very much
Helen
PS I am off to Tish's blog
Hello Heather:
Oh, dearest Heather, we are so touched by your words here. We have been away for so long and have missed you and our other wonderful blogging chums. So much has happened to you in our absence. The excitement of your sister's visit and, inevitably perhaps, the enormous wrench when she left. Keep the joy of the good times you spent together in your heart and take solace in the loved ones who surround you still.
And, that glorious golden light of Provence which you have captured so beautifully for us to enjoy here. You truly make the world a more exciting place and you bring sunshine into all our lives. Wear your award with pride, we salute you!
Thank you for allowing me to keep such esteemed company!
I'm off to check out the few folk whom I haven't heard of…