We have winners!
A random number generator selected comments numbers 44 and 28. That means congratulations are in order for Donna & Raul.
I will contact you both soon via e-mail to request your snail-mail addresses.
Once again, thank you all for visiting and commenting on my blogaversary post. The celebration was just beautiful, and so encouraging and joyful for me. Who could ever deserve such an outpouring of support and such wonderful blog-friends? It’s humbling — and wonderful.
Beautyberry bush, one of the winners in the wildlife garden, for sure.
Even though I could not give you each a packet of my custom stationery, I believe you are all deserving of a gift from me — for your support and friendship, for your kind comments and suggestions, and for just being you. The best I could do is right over there in the sidebar. Clicking the square marked “Soul Food” will take you there, with my sincere appreciation.
And now, while we’re discussing winnings and gifts, I will officially accept The Beautiful Blogger Award, given to me way back in late spring by the lovely Kathy Johnson over at Catching Happiness. I’m so touched by this award — especially because of what Kathy said when she presented it.
You’re too kind, Kathy.
(But I loved every word!)
The rules for acceptance of this award are twofold. First, I need to tell you 10 random facts you probably don’t already know about moi.
Hmmm… this gets harder the longer I blog. Still, here goes:
1. I have a Magic 8 ball in my house, and I sometimes consult it, for fun. F. wanted to cut it open to see what was inside, but settled for finding the detailed report of the guy who already did that, and posted it all on the internet.
2. My cats’ full proper names are Leo Chapo and Bootemius Flip-Flip Wickham-Watson. (No joke.)
3. I make an incredible carrot cake, from a recipe passed on to me years ago by my first boss out of college, who just happened to be a sweet, gracious hostess and a magnificent Southern cook in addition to her considerable professional credentials. The final result is three layers high and requires a double batch of buttercream icing with walnuts. Even people who are “meh” about carrot cake fall into raptures at first bite.
4. I wrote my first story at age 6. (It was a tragedy.) I announced to the world at large that I planned to be a writer when I was 9. My magnum opus at that point was an 11-page ghost story which got points taken off for being too long, violating the parameters of the assignment, being turned in late, sprawling into the margins, and not having an ending yet.
Not much changes, I guess.
5. The way the gardening gene turned on at age 18: I fell in love with roses, and promptly wiped out my pitiful college-student savings account purchasing 40 (yes, you read that right) hybrid tea, antique, and David Austen English roses which I planted in my parents’ yard in the course of one spring weekend. Obsession is probably the word you’re looking for here.
(For fellow rosarians, the Austen roses are still going strong, almost two decades later, with minimal intervention by my parents.)
6. I speak two languages.
In fact, a few years ago, I would have confidently told you I’d achieved near-native fluency in French. Opportunities to speak French are rather thin on the ground here, however, so I was thinking I’d have to seriously downgrade my skill designation pretty soon. But then I ran into a Haitian family at my optometrist’s office, desperate to be understood, and after interpreting for them and the receptionist and the doctor, felt like I might not have lost my chops yet.
Shortly thereafter, I ran into a bewildered Frenchman at a gas station in metro Atlanta. After I’d cleared up the confusion at the pump, we chatted a bit, and he and his girlfriend expressed shock that I was not, in fact, French. I was relieved. Now that I am attempting to learn F.’s native language, I am in awe of the capacity for memorization and mimicry that I had in my teens and early 20s, and the possibility of true fluency in a third language appears more and more like a mirage.
7. I daydream of learning to sew. Oh, and learning to knit so that I can make socks. Even though I don’t really like wearing socks. Somehow I’m convinced that if I, myself, make them out of super soft baby alpaca yarn, I will change my mind. Also, it would be really cool to make nice socks for loved ones who do appreciate nice socks, like F., and my sister, and my mom.
8. I spent a weekend homeless in Paris at age 16. It was amazing and scary and awesome and brutal and hilarious, and if I ever write a memoir, that experience will be in there.
9. Part of me is convinced that nowhere on Earth is as beautiful as North Georgia. But I’m also intensely curious about the Pacific Northwest and would like to experience more of this region where I was born and lived the first two months of my life. And I also want to one day return to the Louisiana Bayou and to the American Southwest, two places where the land had an incredible mystical pull for me. Québec (in summer) and the French countryside were pretty awesome, too. [Note: Québec in winter made me want to curl up into a little ball and die.]
Maybe I just have the capacity to love lots of places — as long as the temperatures there are not 40 below zero with your breath freezing an ice patch on the scarf that covers half your face. That’s just asking too much of a Southern girl.
10. I have a real soft spot for a particular weed: Queen Anne’s Lace, or Daucus carota, wild carrot.
It’s a nostalgia thing. We go way back.
And now I get to pass this award on to four blogs whose authors I consider beautiful. Honestly, this part of the process is very difficult for me because I consider so many bloggers to be beautiful souls, and I am continually amazed by the creativity and beauty that I find in the blog-o-sphere.
Nonetheless, these four stand out for me as superb examples of beauty, inspiration, and wonder. Their authors are generous souls who have created places of peace, love, and joy that I look forward to visiting every time.
Mesmerising Moments: because the world is full of wonder
Necessary Room: Enter with a happy heart…
Unfolding Your Path to Joy: optimistic inspirational resources for a joy-filled life
Vie Boheme: Art and Photography from the Gaia Path
You will not regret a visit to any of these gems of the internet. Each one is definitely a winner in my book.
Thanks for hanging out in the winners’ circle today.
Namasté, y’all.
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I love posts like this for what we learn about the writer and for the links to such wonderful new places.
Congratulations all around.
lisahoglden´s last blog ..Black Magpie Theory- Im Fixin to Fix These Elections
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lisa. I feel weird exposing so many details of myself.
Meredith, I loved #4, would have used the word “enthusiasm” to describe #5, and envy your facility with French (mine always sounds great in my head, but then when I open my mouth, I’m horrified by my awful American accent).
Jean´s last blog ..The Late Summer Garden- GBBD- August 2010
I love random facts about my favorite bloggers. Too bad you lost points for your work at such a tender age! I taught 8th grade English and would be so thrilled to read pages and pages of writing.
I can’t believe you bought 40 roses at 18!
Wendy´s last blog ..Garden to Table Challenge are you up for it
wow Meredith, I so enjoyed learning so many new things about you and your life…Yes! Yes! travel to all those places that draw you….there is beauty in each one and gardens. I was so sorry to not see more gardens in UK last year.
I envy you your French fluency – well language fluency and am excited about your learning another…awesome.
My youngest daughter’s good friend is going to Chiropractic School in Atlanta starting in October…and she is going to move there in January if she can get a transfer of her job from the Pacific Northwest…
I enjoyed my two years of college in Asheville, North Carolina and touring through Georgia with the choir.
Nice to drop in today for a visit and learn something new and congrats on the award….and now I have some new blogs to explore – Thank you for the referral.
Patricia´s last blog ..Book Review- The Element- How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything Sir Ken Robinson- PhD
Fascinating facts, Meredith! I loved learning a little bit more about you. I love your cat’s name (Bootemius Flip-Flip Wickham-Watson)–I’m sure there’s a good reason for every word in that name. (We had a grey and white cat whose name was Winston High Tops–named after Winston Churchill, because we got him after a trip to England, and because he had four white feet that looked like high-top sneakers. We also had a cat named after Theodore Roosevelt, but that’s another story.)
And I wrote my first story at age 6, too–much shorter than yours, and about spoons and forks that had personalities–don’t ask me why.
Kathy´s last blog ..Waiting
Congrats to the winners and congrats to you, Meredith, for a well-deserved award.
I laughed out loud at the Magic 8 ball – I have one on my shelf in my office. I think the little blue men who magically shift the innards are tired and sleeping on the job because they always say, “Ask again later”
Talon´s last blog ..Liar- Liar
I second Talon. Congratulations, random winners! And congrats to you, Meredith!
So many random facts about you. Where do I begin?
Ahem. May I have a slice of carrot cake?
I love your cats’ names. Good, proper names those. And I’m sure you call their names in full every time you want their attention, right? Yeah, right. Love it!
May I have a wedge of carrot cake?
What’s the third language that you are learning? I can only speak two myself; english (barely) and pure gibberish (I am fluent in this).
May I have a whole carrot cake?
Being homeless must have been scary, but not nearly as scary as missing out on three incredible carrot cakes made by Meredith of the Enchanted Earth.
Have I mentioned that I love carrot cake?
1. I’m human. I know I know that fooled a bunch of you.
2. I’m not dead. Tho there are some out there that wished I was.
3. I like me. Will most of the time. Okay now and then. Fine this year one time I said I liked myself.
4. I’m not going to kill myself. A lot of people think I might because of my dark poems.
5. I like to write stories and poetry. That is if I ever learn to write.
6. I have no cats or dogs but I think I have a rat or two and a family of bats in the attic.
7. Did I say I like me? Right that was #3. Somewhat #3.
8. I’m almost as old as sin, or is it a sin I’m so old. I do get to eat of the senior buffet prunes and cream of wheat. No not at the same time I won’t make it home in time.
9. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, then everyone is right. So this one don’t count, rats.
10. I like to play with peoples mines. I don’t take them out and play with them that would be bad. But I do love to get people thinking outside the box or barrel or Tupperware bowl.
11. This one is for 9 because 9 didn’t count. Then 9 is a number and it can’t count anyway. I don’t think it can even read. I know. I bust tables in a café for fun. Okay so I am crazy but you know that.
Hi Meredith,
Congratulation on the Beautiful Blogger Award, very well deserved, and is great to get to know more about you. Very interesting, some funny, some scary things. And I second Tony, may I have a slice of carrot cake?
It is funny the way you call your cats and it reminded me that when my son was about to be born, when searching for a proper name, I used to joke saying I’ll name him “Pancrifilo Donicracio Floridrilo Tirifilo De Las Mercedes” but we ended up naming him Alejandro, but even to these days we call him “Cat” (a long story)
Thank you for the placement in the winner’s circle, that’s very nice
Raul
Alien Ghost´s last blog ..The Bird and The Shotgun
Congrats to donna and raul. Congrats to you Meredith and congrats to us all for you tellling us about more fab blogs to inspire and uplift us – Everyone’s a winner today – mwuah x
carrie´s last blog ..My new Moo mini cards- my birthday -
I used to have an 8 ball – I do not know what happened to it. Hmmm. What happened to it? I want some of that carrot cake right now.
Lynn´s last blog ..Next- all the rage and bright and shining
What a treat to visit and find a piece that reveals more about you. I love memoir. Thank you for the links to the other gorgeous blogs.
Susan Tiner´s last blog ..9 Bells Jingling and Ringing
I’m so honoured that you thought to bestow this beautiful award on me…I sure am in good company here.
Thanks!!!
I enjoyed learning more about you…and I bet the sender of your jewel will too
one love, my friend.
Meredith,
First of all, a belated Happy Birthday to your blog. It’s wonderful to have a one-year-old. Just watch out, because they love to explore at this age, which might not be a bad thing for a blog:~)
Your site has become a very special place for me. I feel as if I’ve walked into a garden when I visit. I find I often take a calming breath and I do so want to smell the beautiful flowers. I can’t wait until the Internet gods find a way to make things smell. Like you touch the flower and get the scent. now that would interesting, wouldn’t it?
You have so much talent…photography, writing, gardening, speaking two languages…I’m impressed. However, I can’t resist this: I dare you to learn to knit, It sounds like it’s already happening in your head, you might as well make it happen with your hands:~)
Thanks for sharing yourself. Oh, I love the names of your cats. My cat is Agatha, named for Agatha Christie:~)
Sara´s last blog ..Story Photo- Building Castles
Meredith,
You amaze me with all your sweetness and beauty! Reading this list was lots of fun. We have so much in common.
I love carrot cake and yours sounds delightful! As soon as you come to the pacific northwest, I would be delighted to show you around. (We have world class rose gardens here in Portland, btw). Aussi, je parle Francais parce que j’ai etudie la langue pendant deux ans a l’universite. I want to learn to knit. I was “homeless” for a summer when I was 17 (it’s going in the memoir too, if I ever write one). And I heart Queen Anne’s Lace too, since childhood
Thank you for giving me this award! I’ll do a proper post in acceptance.
Hugs, light & carrot cake,
{Sarah}
p.s. Thanks for sharing these beautiful bloggers with us today. Excited to visit their sites
{Sarah}´s last blog ..Link ♥ Love The Love Revolution
I’m glad you did one of these, I love knowing this stuff. I already felt we had a bit in common but we really do. Even down to the dislike of socks and love of Queen Annes Lace (which is not a weed IMO, I don’t care what they say!) You’re on your own there with the knitting fantasies though….
jess´s last blog ..Visiting OPG other peoples gardens
Why announce to the world at large that you will be a writer at the age of 9 when you were already one at 6 Meredith?
I am very glad to hear that the Austens are still going strong, but am also wondering if your parents might have room for a couple more roses as I’m wanting to downsize the number (Um…possibly around the 40 mark too, but not all planted at the same time!) in my garden!
Congratulations to those who won your beautiful stationery, I had my own little prize today when my little order of a few of your cards turned up in the post today. Just lovely
Heidi (GippyGardener)´s last blog ..Here we go again!
Meredith,
Delighted–thank you! I shall include this in tomorrow’s post:)
Carrot cake is my absolute favorite–funny because I love chocolate in general, so when I request carrot cake people are always surprised…I *love* it:)
And I love the eight ball:) And I consider myself a gardener of Spirit..I love gardens and gardening, but living on the boat doesn’t give me much opportunity for that, so Spirit it is:)
I thought of you yesterday when I watched the movie “The Secret Garden”..just the beauty of the garden and the magic of it all..
Joy´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom- Sharing Treasures…
i loved reading this!!!!
(((WOW))) {i hope you read that as I just said it out loud}
about so many things on the list but particulary the french speaker in you! love it!
and damn those who put restrictions on writing (way back when and now)
- and hooray for the “outside the lines” colorer in you!
wow – this is interesting. love the berries
David´s last blog ..A date with Uncle Sam
dear meredith,
a very belated first bloganniversary to your blog – much aloha to you, bringing us wonderful stories, humor and amazing photographs of your world….i wish you much success and inspiration with your work and look forward to checking out your redbubble site for the first time…how exciting!
my very best to you, dear friend
noel´s last blog ..Capturing orchids at their Optimum