Wow! And thank yous...

I was overwhelmed with the well-wishes I received in terms of my mother's move. Thank you all so much for the kind words.

I truly appreciate each and every one of them.

Things are going relatively well, so far. After taking stock of my mother, how much help she has in NYC from friends, etc., and the sheer number of tasks that need to get done, I know I will be taking more trips there than I had anticipated, but fortunately, the airfares are actually amazingly cheap right now, and all of the other trips will be between semesters for me, so I'm delighted with that.

My mother's spirits are remarkable, all things considered. She's working hard to make tough decisions, and she's taking in her friends' sorrow without succumbing to feeling maudlin or depressed herself.

I'm sure she'll collapse once she hits Ann Arbor, but for now, she's been amazing. I'm truly in awe of her.

The bad news is that the computer situation in NYC is ... um... not good. Long story short, I can't really get internet on my laptop, and my mother's computer is such an antique that doing anything like reading blogs that have ANY load time whatsoever becomes a ridiculous task. Even bringing up my own blog is close to impossible.

So I'll be disappearing a bit from time to time, both as a writer and a reader.

I'm still working on my Proposal 8 post, and I hope to post that today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, I again want to extend my thanks to all the well wishes and especially to Amy of Write Brained and Nuria of Spanish Recipes. I was delighted to return and find this lovely award from Amy:



Here are the rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I've decided to nominate blogs who are trying to create positive change in this confused world of ours by making us consider:

Greg of Scribble in the Margins - Greg pushes us to think about government tactics and to go beyond simply accepting what the mainstream media might have to say on a specific issue.
April of It's All About Balance - April has many passions, all of which include fairness and the rights of all to receive decent treatment.
Jointly to Lilac Specs of Lilac Colored Glasses and Hotmamamia of The Pittsburgh Deli - in this mother/daughter team, despite having different blogs with different emphases, it's clear that Hotmama's care for others and general sense of justice and fairness has been passed on to Lilac - AND vice versa. ;-)
Chani of Finding My Way Home - Chani reminds us to slow down, think about what we're doing, and to search for compassion.
Jointly to Carol of Northwest Ladybug and Sarabeth of I Once Was HP - both Carol and Sarabeth were tireless in their reminders about the presidential campaign - Carol in terms of news items, etc., about Obama and Sarabeth in her reminders to vote. And yes, many, many others could be included in this category, but both of these bloggers caught my attention with their clear writing and tenacity.
Jointly to Jenn of Something To Say About Life in the Netherlands and Brillig of Twas Brillig - Both Jenn and Brillig have written touching and informative posts about autism and current autism treatment, programs, etc.
Jami of Not That Different - Jami reminds us to consider the rights of ALL U.S. citizens and to remember that different viewpoints or lifestyles are just that - different - not better or worse. An important reminder at all times.

And these lovely awards from Nuria:




She did not post rules with these, except to say that they needed to be given together. Okay... so I'm randomly choosing the number 7 again and I've chosen blogs that are causing my muse to sing these days:

Anno of Anno's Place - I believe Anno's taken some kind of writing pills lately - her poetry is magnificent, as well as inspiring.
Peter of Cookblog - Peter has a wicked sense of humor, as well as a superb eye and palate. His food concoctions are extraordinarily creative and often served on his pottery, which is truly organic and just fabulous. I have no more to say.
Sandy of Momisodes - Sandy inspires me with both her words and her photos every. single. day. She seems to have a bottomless well of creativity.
Diana of Diana:Muse - Diana's stunning images, along with her insights into both artists and politics leave me breathless.
Jointly to NYC/Caribbean Ragazza and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso - While there are several blogs that do this, the unique take that both Michelle and NYC have on their lives in Italy make me both yearn and dream.
Jointly to Jenn of The Leftover Queen and Ben of What's Cooking - Both Jenn and Ben use their love of food to build community - a talent that nourishes both my kitchen and my soul.
Becca of Becca's Byline - Becca not only provides her lovely observations through her "bylines", but she also runs a number of activities for writers, and it's for her inspiration to so many that I include her here.

Happy reading! I will slowly, but surely, be catching up in the next few days.