And the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ goes to… ‘Oh, Elwood (& Friendz)’! And maybe … to you!

You read us! You really read us! (Did you say that to yourself with a long e or a short one? Just wondering.)

Anyway, THANK you, WELCOME TO CRYSTAL’S SITE, aka Daisy2017, aka Crystal Stewart, for nominating me for THE ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD. It’s great to know that a few more people have enjoyed discovering and reading about Elwood’s adventures.

For those who don’t know anything about blog awards (like this new blogger didn’t), we found a helpful article at the Daily Post on Understanding Blog Awards. In general, awards are a great way to build community, as well as to introduce readers to new blogs. I understand that not everyone chooses to continue to respond to every award… And that’s OK. But Elwood and I are jumping in (and landing on all fours, we hope), because we think it’s fun!

These are THE RULES for the ONE LOVELY BLOG award: (Yes, EVEN a rule-smashing feline like Elwood has gotta follow some RULES now and again.)

1. Thank the person who nominated you. (Check! See above.)
2. Share 7 facts about you.* (See below.)
3. Nominate 15 bloggers and inform them.* (Wow, 15?! Really?? OK… See below below. 😉 )

*I will tweak the rules slightly (if I may), since I have read that this is one of those awards usually given to sites with less than a few hundred followers. So I will add this: If you have been nominated more than 3 times, or have more than 1,000 followers and have been nominated at least once, you may choose to just nod graciously to yourself and revel in knowing your site will be shared with even more people today.

Here goes:

7 Random Facts About the Person Behind ‘Oh, Elwood! (& Friendz):

1. She lives up a long winding mountain road outside of Anchorage, Alaska.
2. She once dove in the submersible Alvin three miles under the ocean.
3. Yes, she’s a big fan of the Blues Brothers — both the original movie and the records. Not the sequel.
4. The first initials of Elwood and Blues are a tribute to one of the loveliest ragdoll cats to ever have graced the Earth, dear, sweet E.B. (missing, after 10 years of companionship, as of June 7, 2017).
5. Yes, E.B. was named for author E.B. White.
6. Although the person behind the cat used to make websites, she always told everyone she didn’t ever want to become a blogger. (Elwood talked her into it.)
7. She didn’t even regularly follow 15 blogs yet when she got this award, so this has gotten her out and about on the web!

My nominations for The Lovely Blog Award:

Drumroll, please, for some truly Lovely Blogs I have discovered and have selected for recognition with a Lovely Blog Award of their own. For some, it will undoubtedly not be their first time, and they may choose not to carry through the obligations of the honor. That’s fine; there are so many hours in a day, after all. But I chose to include the links anyway so others can find and enjoy them!

Being named a Lovely Blog was indeed a lovely rite of passage for me. I hope my nominees will enjoy the honor as well:

felinecafe.net – The cats of Feline Cafe also have a cool catio, like Elwood and Blues do, complete with cool cats!

thejackieblog.com – She has a post called “7 Ways to Eat a Cricket,” and refers to her cat as a terrorist. How can you not check it out?

angloswiss-cat-chronicles.com – A gem that brings us into the minds of cats Nerf, Tabby and Fluffy in new ways every day. For example: “Tabby you can stare at a wall as much as you like, but they will not suddenly come alive, they are dead material.” / “But if they were so dead, why does one brick sit alone waiting for an interesting question?”

twocatsviews.wordpress.com – Life as Seen by Hemingway and Steinbeck is exactly what it says it is: daily life through the eyes of two special cats.

livingwithmyancestors.wordpress.com – In action since January 2013, Living With My Ancestors by Linda Arthur Tejera is a beautiful blog that mixes geneology with many lovely photos, including of cats Charlie and Nicky.

lonestarcats.blogspot.com – Lone Star Cats is Travis, a 4 year old orange tabby, Crockett, a 3 year old orange tabby kitten, and Angelique, a 3 year old gray and white princess from down in the Lone Star State.

sneakylibrarycat.wordpress.com – Sneaky the Library Cat is a cat out of the pages of a mystery book series who can help us keep up on cats in film, and in books!

ididnthavemyglasseson.com – “Lovely” is the perfect word for this one. Beautiful, poetic– just a lovely meditative stop.

dezizworld.com – Another well-established blog, but I couldn’t help it. She’s got cats in hats, support animals–and is super-supportive of new bloggers like us!

canadiancats.com – Nothing fancy — just a fun glimpse at life through the feline eyes of our Canadian neighbors.

blondewritemore.com – “Funniest Blogger of 2016”? Heck, yeah, I’m reading that! Also really enjoyed some great blogging advice she put out there.

Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog – An indie author site, which is great for being introduced to other indie author sites!

CutterLight – living well off the beaten path – Photography, food, recipes — and from Alaska! I’m a little jealous, but a lot enjoying it. 🙂

Mountain Maven – Oh my goodness — another former Philadelphian living in Anchorage! And with gorgeous photography… Glad to have found you, Mountain Maven!

Two Blogging Cats: The Adventures of Lola and Sasha – Two darling cats from Norway tell of their daily adventures and thoughts.

Congratulations to all of the nominees — not all of whom were from cat-related sites! I do understand that not everyone participates in these awards, so where that is the case, just nod and feel free to enjoy that warm feeling inside that says, “I’m appreciated!” The rest of you: I look forward to seeing your nominees, too! Don’t be like me and stay up until all hours to do yours. Take your time, and share when you can.

Along those lines: Stay tuned… We were also just nominated for a Liebster Award, too (thank you again, Crystal Stewart!!) — so, there will be a follow-up very soon,  with even more sites and secrets to share.