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Six word Saturday

Not an artistic bone in my…

What can I do with all these pretty leaves?

I often have good ideas, but am totally incapable of carrying them out.  The other day I saw a wonderful leaf photo of Ganesh.  I wish I could remember whose blog it was on, and I could show it to you.  The leaves were mostly green, but I got to thinking that with all the fabulous Autumn colours still about, I ought to be able to produce something a bit special.

Nothing too ambitious, you understand.  I know my limits!  A dog, a cat, maybe, if I tried really hard, an elephant with a howdah on it’s back?  I could picture them perfectly.  So after much effort, what did I produce?

Not exactly a floppy-eared puppy dog!

A cat? This is more like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.

And the elephant? What a disappointment! An anteater maybe…

Not going to be framed any time soon, are they?  I’ll roll them up and put them away.  Well, at least I may have given you a Saturday smile.

If by any chance you’re reading this and have recently posted “Autumn Leaves”, or the Ganesh photo, please give me a shout, with the link, and I’ll be glad to include it here, to show what real artistry is.

As usual, many thanks to Cate for hosting Six word Saturday.  The link or the header will take you to her Show My Face blog and all will be explained.

Six word Saturday

Six Word silence for two weeks

Cheers of celebration!  You might have enough time to read everybody else’s Six word Saturday (mine are notorious for being a bit lengthy).

The reason for my absence?  As usual, my answer is in pictorial form.

Porto by night, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

And in case that’s not enough of a clue, here’s a link to a previous post of mine.

https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/d-is-for-douro/

You’ve guessed  it!  The time has finally come to make that dream a reality.  I don’t travel with any sort of gadgetry (not even the laptop- I sense withdrawal symptoms coming on already).  It’s just me, the husband and the notebook, and not necessarily in that order.  So there’ll be a lot of catching up to do when I get back, but I promise to come and see you all and check out what you’ve been up to.  Might even have the odd photograph!

Till then, stay safe, and don’t forget to visit Cate at Show My Face.  Her weeks aren’t always easy, but they’re always interesting.  If you miss me at all you can check out some of my previous 6WS’s on the button below.

One Year On

Can’t decide whether to do a happy dance, or to just carry on scratching my head and throwing the sheets of paper away.  Except it’s virtual paper these days, isn’t it?  Far less messy.

All I really want to do is to say thank you to each and every one of you who has helped me through this, my first year of blogging.  I didn’t really know where I was going when I started out, and a year later I’m still not certain, but does it matter?  I don’t think so.

What does matter is that I’ve found a voice, and more than that, I’ve found a world of wonderful friends.  You make me smile, sometimes even laugh out loud.  You fill me with admiration.  You encourage and support.  You help me to learn.  You make my days disappear in a puff of smoke!  Best of all, you make me try to be better than I am.

Could I have anticipated this one short year ago?  Not at all.  I just hope that I have been able to give back just a fraction of the joy that I have received.  Thank you for making this a fulfilling and happy year for me.

Awards!!!

You never really know what’s coming next in the world of blogging, do you?  You post something, then anxiously await comments and approval.  While you’re waiting you read emails and lose yourself in other people’s blogs.  Then you realise that you’ve actually been named in the blog you’re reading!  Yes, restlessjo, that’s definitely you.  Oh, panic…what do I have to do in response?

Well, it’s not too awful.  I don’t have to go wrestle alligators or punch sharks on the nose!  Just as well really as I’d be rubbish at both.  In fact, all I have to do is respond graciously and then I get to check out a whole list of bloggers, some of whom are old friends but many of whom are new to me.  And so the blogging world spins on, and I forget all about those comments I was waiting for (not really!)  Great, isn’t it?

So, in time honoured fashion, I’m about to say “thank you so much” to Meg http://megtraveling.com/ for sharing the 7 X 7 Link Award with me.  Meg’s is certainly one of those blogs that I can get deliciously lost in.  Gorgeous Capri, the canals of Venice or the shot below of the Giverny Gardens in Paris (pinched from her “The Beautiful Flowers of Giverny” blog- apologies Meg!) Hard to resist?  Go and have a look- there’s sure to be something to take your fancy.

I hadn’t come across this award before and found it quite difficult to do.  You have to provide links to your own blogs in 7 different categories, then pass the award on to 7 other bloggers.  I ended up lost in my own blog for a change!  Can I really have written all this stuff since my start up last September?  Seemingly so!  Here goes:

Most beautiful piece:- https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/b-is-for-beaches/

Most popular:-           https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/obidos-chocolate-cups-and-pure-theatre/

Most helpful :-           https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/six-word-saturday-5/

Most controversial:-   https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/blogger-call-to-action-please-help-me-happy-dance/

Most surprisingly successful:- https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/d-is-for-douro/

Most underrated:-       https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/festa-dos-tabuleiros-a-hot-one/

Most pride worthy:-     https://restlessjo.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/exploring-the-polish-connection/

Dad (centre) reunited with his brothers and sisters after 64 years

That’s the hard part done!  I just need to nominate some lovely bloggers now, but in the same week I was amazed to receive the Versatile Bloggers Award from Francine in Retirement.

Having been nominated for this I’d better keep my obsession with travel under control and deviate from the subject a little.  Thank you for your faith in me Francine.  I so love the words BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED! with which you end each of your comments.  Follow this link to Francine’s “Happy St Patrick’s Day” post.  It’s so typical of her and I love it.   http://francineinretirement.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/happy-st-patricts-day/

In recognition of my Versatile Blogger Award I need to acknowledge and link to the awarding blog, nominate 15 bloggers, and tell 7 facts about me.

Here are my nominees:

http://1001scribbles.wordpress.com/

http://knittednotes.wordpress.com/

http://ourtravelingwithoutmoving.wordpress.com/

http://readmepatti.wordpress.com/

http://jfb57.wordpress.com/

http://anatravels.org/

http://joursdemots.wordpress.com/

http://cardboardmetravels.com/

http://abitofculture.net/

http://lornastearoomdelights.wordpress.com/

http://justasmidgen.com/

http://suehealy.org/

http://cloudoflace.com/

http://travelspirit333.wordpress.com/

http://travelsintransit.com/

Some of you may have one of the Awards but I don’t think anyone has both- it’s sometimes hard to tell.  Apologies if I offend anyone.

Finally my little known facts:

Hmmm…

1. I started my working life as a trainee fashion buyer for Top Shop.

2. I still love fashion but would much rather spend the money on travel and wear old tops and raggy jeans.

3. Have a bit of a “thing” for Rafa Nadal (not alone, am I?) and have been known to sit up till 4 in the morning or whatever it takes to see the completion of one of his matches.

Rafa, Paris 2011, from Wikipedia- sadly I wasn't there

4. I can neither drive nor ride a bike, which accounts for all the walking I do, though I’m so poorly coordinated it’s a wonder I can manage that.

5. My sense of direction is even worse than my coordination, so you know that left to myself I’m in real trouble! (Mick knows that if I say right, we absolutely should be heading left)

6. Can NOT resist sunshine- it lights up my world!

7. My latest addicton is oat and carrot cake- so nice!

So, that’s me all done.  Sorry that this is a long post but I’m sure you’ll find some great blogs to check out in my nominations.  Once more, big thanks to Meg and Francine for nominating me and for providing me with so much enjoyment.  Better go and advise my nominees now.

Flat Ruthie captures hearts in Hartlepool

This week I played hostess to an inquisitive young lady who hailed all the way from Pittsburgh, USA.  An impressive-looking city on the Ohio River in Pennsylvania, I kind of worried what I could show her in my humble little home town Hartlepool, on the north east coast of England.

Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, by Wikipedia

I needn’t have worried.  Flat Ruthie knew her manners and had been impeccably brought up in her website home http://cardboardmetravels.com/

Our town has a strong maritime heritage so it was off to the marina and Hartlepool Historic Quay http://www.hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com/ Cameras swinging nicely in tune we checked out the paddle-steamer PSS Wingfield Castle.

Hello sailor!

And Britain’s oldest fighting ship, HMS Trincomalee, built in India in 1817, was restored in Hartlepool over a 10 year period.

Pirates lad? Where be my cutlass?

A pirate party was about to break out on board so I steered Ruthie away to admire some smaller craft.  I’ve seen what a cutlass can do to a cardboard lady!

The Customs Office! Any smuggling still going on in these parts?

Let's just hang around a while

Whoo, I'm dangling!

Swiftly on to the lock gates, I think.

Tickets anybody? No? Oh, you can cross over for free- great!

Ah, now we're talking! You know I like monkeys.

Knowing Ruthie has a fondness for monkeys I didn’t like to share with her the Legend of the Monkey Hanger!  But you might like to read it- it’s just a bit of folklore. http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/thehartlepoolmonkey.asp

Tired with our efforts and beginning to attract a crowd of admirers, we decided to save the beach for another day and head home for a cuppa.

Is this a seahorse, Restlessjo? No dear, just a bookend.

Very grateful thanks are due to Ruth of http://cardboardmetravels.com/ for creating my little friend and allowing her to travel with me.  I’m hoping she just might accompany me to the Algarve sometime, and there I really can promise her a beach.

I absolutely love Ruth’s idea.  You can read all about it and follow Flat Ruthie’s travels by following the link.  Maybe some of you would like to escort Ruthie on a little trip yourselves?  The gal loves to travel- we’re kindred spirits.

A hug a day…

What better way to start a day than with a hug?  I can’t really think of one, can you?  There are people I would love to hug, but they live too far away.  But this HUG is one that travels the world, seeking out those who promote hope, love, peace, equality and unity for all.  That’s a big ask because there are days when we all feel tired and despairing.  Just knowing that there are so many others who want the same thing- if we all put our energy into it, maybe one day we can make it happen.

I’m really happy to accept this award, and thanks to Alyson Sheldrake, who nominated me, and to Connie Wayne, for developing the HUG award on her blog A Hope for Today.  The details of what the HUG involves are in her link:

In accepting the award, I will:

Put this link http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/on my site in a post where I accept the award

Go to Connie’s site and put a comment on accepting the award

Copy the badge to my sidebar

Include a link to Connie’s page

Look at the guidelines for passing the award on and be sure to give the recipient the link, too.

My nominations to receive the award are:

http://camsgranny.wordpress.com/  for her unfailing optimism and patience in trying circumstances

http://passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com/  for warmth, enthusiasm and humour

http://jfb57.wordpress.com/  overcoming the challenge of retirement

Thanks to all for reading me.  Here’s to sharing hugs.

Six word Saturday

So little can mean so much!

And then there were two!

At t’ai chi this week, Liz said she had received over 350 jumpers!  Last week there were just 60.

Following on from last week’s Six Word Saturday, for just a couple of pounds I have knitted 2 jumpers, and derived huge satisfaction from doing so (at least half a jumper was completed this morning while watching Aussie Open Tennis!).  I Googled “fish and chip babies” and discovered that there are many, many people engaged in this endeavour.  How could there not be? 

Thanks to Show my Face http://www.showmyface.com/ for giving me the opportunity to share through Six word Saturday.

 

Six word Saturday


            Highs and lows-what a week!

Started the week on a real high with a Liebster Blog Award. (wow!)  Then came the funeral of a dear not-so-old friend.  Since then I have yo-yo’d through the week, with the potential of paid writing and new projects, tears at a nursing home, and the frustrations of my limitations on WordPress.  But I got through, with a little help from my friends.

Lets’s hope for more balance next week.

Six Word Saturday

                               

                      Signed up, all set to play!

 

Sand City, FIESA, Pera, Algarve

http://www.showmyface.com/2008/01/six-word-saturdays.html

It seemed straightforward when I decided to follow Alyson Sheldrake’s lead and take part in Six Word Saturday.http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/six-word-saturday/  Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with the formatting process on WordPress and a simple idea has taken me 3 hours to complete!  And I still haven’t managed to show the “Six Word Saturday” banner!  Will I be disqualified? Maybe I’ll be faster next week, or will I just spend my whole Saturday on 6 words.  Did somebody say “life is for learning”? 

An Award!

Just as I was logging off to head for a nice lazy bath full of bubbles with my book last night, something rather wonderful popped up in my Inbox! I had been selected by Alyson Weldrake of thethoughtpalette.co.uk/abc-award/as a recipient of her newly created award for Awesome Blog Content.

Wow! It was like receiving a belated Christmas/Thanksgiving present and New Year greetings all rolled into one.  I shared the excitement with my husband, then tum-ti-tum-d my way up the stairs.  My first ever blogging award!  I dashed back down the stairs again (MUST get a bungalow one of these years!), dropped a kiss on his head, and filled a glass with white wine to sashay back up the stairs.

Woke up this morning and checked my Inbox again, and yes, it’s still there!  My very own ABC Award.

Now don’t get me wrong- I am not the sole recipient of this honour.  Reading down Alyson’s list I realised that I was in very fine company indeed.  Part of the delight of this is that I now have an invitation to meet other bloggers that I would not necessarily have found on my own initiative.  Believe me, I’ve dabbled in “social media” in an attempt to find like minded people- not easy!  Mostly all I want to do is share my joy in writing about the things I love.

Enough rambling! I have a contractual obligation to fulfill.  I humbly accept this award Alyson, bless your kind heart!

Here comes my Alphabet which reveals a few things about me:

A       Award-winner!                                        Nadal

B       Blogger                                                  Optimist

C       Courteous                                               Poland

D       Daughter                                                Quarrelsome

E        Easter                                                    Restless

F        Faithful                                                   Scribbler

G        Greedy                                                   Tavira

H        Hopeful                                                   Uncoordinated

I         Italy                                                       Venezuela

J         Johanna                                                  Wanderlust

K         Kind                                                       X-asperating

L          Loving                                                   Yellow

M         Mother                                                   Zante

I am very happy to pass on this award to some of the people who have inspired me:

susanwritesprecise

www.titabuds.com

www.thetravelbunny.wordpress.com

www.ontheluce.com

http://malloryontravel.com

and will be notifying them tomorrow with a clear head.  Being technologically challenged I’ve struggled a bit to get this up and running.  Hope I don’t disappoint, Alyson.  Again, many thanks!

P.S Don’t know if you can have a P.S on blogs but I seem to need one! As I was scampering to get out of the door last night I failed to nominate a couple of blogs I really love and am hereby rectifying this!

Kana’s Chronicles

Devouring Scotland

This man’s journey