And the Award Goes to...

My friend Writer2B from Findings gave me an award! It's called Arte y Pico and comes from this blog. I can't read most of the Arte y Pico blog, since it's in Spanish, but here's the author's definition of "Arte y Pico": "What is the meaning of the expression: And basically, ironically, it translates into a wonderful phrase in Mexico, 'lo maximo.' LOL! It will never find its counterpart in English, but if it HAD to, it would be something like, Wow. The Best Art. Over the top." LOL indeed to that description applied to me, but thanks!

The rules are as follows:

1) Select 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, based on creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogger community. The blogs can be in any language.

2) Post a link to each blog so that others can visit.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and link to the blogger that awarded it.

4) The award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show a link to Arte y Pico.

Thank you for this honor - but now I have to honor five other blogs! The problem is not finding five blogs, but narrowing down my choices to five. To make things easier, I immediately decided that I can't choose any relatives, because, well, it just wouldn't be fair. But I think you're all artists and I read your blogs every day.

I also decided I won't choose blogs that get hundreds of comments for every post. For example, I think that Angie from Bring the Rain is an artist, turning the terrible sorrow of her daughter's stillbirth and the death from SIDS of her little nephew into art through words, pictures, and music, but so many hundreds of people respond to her that she might not even see my comment.

So here goes, some folks whose blogs I consider works of art, and I hope they feel honored. And they don't have to feel obligated to put the angel in the evening dress on their blogs.

1. Tara is almost disqualified by her many, many readers, but not quite, I guess. Tara's blog is one of the first I started reading regularly. It is illustrated by her husband's beautiful photography and it tells stories of her family's life in Haiti where they work as missionaries. Tara is so honest, talking openly about doubts and fears and how difficult it can be to deal with a place where things don't seem to get better very fast, or, sometimes, at all. Here's her blog.

2. I like to read teacher blogs, and especially blogs of writing teachers. This one is an inspiration. Stacey and Ruth are young teachers who are constantly trying new things, looking for ways to help their students love writing, and, most impressive of all, writing every day in their notebooks. This is something I aspire to, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Stacey and Ruth illustrate how being writers themselves helps them teach writing.

3. Here's someone else who writes every day, and what a poet she is! Although we have different belief systems, I love what Tiel Aisha Ansari writes. Read this sestina about the California wildfires, for example, or this sonnet about a Tetris nightmare. So often her work takes my breath away. Her blog is called Knocking from Inside.

4. I could choose many of the Daily Photo blogs to award, but I'm going to go with my long-time favorite, from Sharon, Connecticut. I posted here about how Jenny's photos have often served as a borrowed view for me. She doesn't post every day any more, but her photos are worth waiting for. Check out other Daily Photo blogs here.

5. Jessica is an artist and a stay-at-home mom. She hasn't been blogging long but so far she's written some wonderful posts. Read this one to see how she is making art with her life. Her blog is called One Wild and Precious Life, a quote from this poem by Mary Oliver about paying attention.