The Versatile Blogger Award

Two fabulous bloggers recently nominated Talking Dogs for the Versatile Blogger Award.  

Many thanks to both The Daily Dog Blog and Pawsitively Pets.  I very much appreciate it, especially coming from two such barking good bloggers!

When I read the rules for this award, it overwhelmed me to even think about singling out 15 bloggers!   Actually, I hate to single out any, because I follow and enjoy so many.  However, in an effort to be true to the spirit of the award, you'll see below that I did name five.

According to the rules, I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself:

1. My favorite food is chocolate.
2. I grew up in: Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota,, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin (As an adult I've lived in Virginia and Missouri.)
3. I raised my own herd of cattle from day old bottle calves.
4. When I traced one line of my genealogy I discovered that my husband and I are 6th cousins once removed.  (Oh, those colonial era Virginians!)
5. I could never have too many daylilies. (Or too much chocolate.)
6. I believe in reincarnation.
7. I listen to my favorite movies while I work in my jewelry studio and I can quote dialog line for line in many of them.

Though the rules state that I'm supposed to pass the award on to 15 blogs I've recently discovered or follow regularly, I'm going to limit myself to 5:

2 Brown Dawgs  A relatively new blog for me, I'm learning a lot about hunt test training with Chesapeake Bay Retrievers Thunder, Storm and Freighter. Great action photos, plus new puppy pictures, too!

That Dog Dancing Guy  Kevin blogs about dog dancing with his Border Collie, Cynder - including awesome videos and instruction - plus other always interesting dog stories, issues and news.  Full disclosure:  I want to adopt Kevin.  Cynder, too.  Just for fun, I've posted one of Kevin's videos below.

Oz the Terrier  Another relatively new blog for me, I enjoy all Gina's posts, but I am crazy about the limericks! 

Saved By Dogs  I know I shouldn't say this for fear of hurting feelings, but this is simply one of my favorite blogs.  I always enjoy and learn so much from Chris's dog breed profiles, plus her personal dog stories are told from the heart and are a real treat.

Dogs N Pawz  I've been promoting shelter dogs every week for years and  I love Lisa's new Tuesday's Tails Blog Hop - Opt to Adopt to help shelter animals. 

There are so many wonderful blogs out there, and so many I follow, that it is incredibly hard to mention just a few.  Please feel free to suggest a great blog in the comments, as well as check out my blogroll of favorites here (somewhere over on the left) on Talking Dogs.

Thanks again to Julie and Ann for bestowing me with this award!  

As promised, here's one of That Dog Dancing Guy's videos.  This one is Dog Dancing Basics 101: Teach your dog the Stationary Leg Weave.
 

Jeffie's Birthday Party: The Grand Finale

Hang on, Jeffie.  Your birthday party is not over quite yet!

What a party!

We've had treats, played some party games, told some Jeffie stories and more. 

I don't know about you, but we've had a whole lot of fun!  

For a review and to see the absolutely wonderful party dog photos, fetch Jeffie's Birthday Party page.

And if you thought the fun was over... there's still some fun to be had!

Jeffie received a very special birthday gift from none other than Oz The Terrier!

Yup!  That's right!  Jeffie inspired a limerick 

from the great and powerful poet, Oz!

Happy Birthday to Jeffie the Retriever mix!

He turned seven this month, not six.

Though he hates change of any kind,

being one year older he doesn't mind

as he knows an old dog can still learn new tricks.

--Oz the Terrier

Now, what you've all been waiting for.  Drumroll, please.

And the winners are...

Theresa S was chosen by Rafflecopter as the winner of the Dog Mom Bracelet Giveaway from For Love of a Dog.  Congratulations, Theresa!  Please send your wrist measurement and shipping address to sue (at) forloveofadog (dot) com.  If I don't hear from Theresa, within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.

Ann at Pawsitively Pets is the winner of the random.org drawing in the All About Jeffie Quiz participants and will be receiving these dog lover earrings from For Love of a Dog.  Congratulations, Ann!  Please send your shipping address to me at the email address above.

It's a good thing for Ann that the winner did not have to score the highest in correct answers to the quiz!  However, Chris at Saved By Dogs beat everyone else by a mile!  She missed only one question, so Jeffie insists that she'll be receiving a pair of earrings, too.

I wish Jeffie could afford to give a prize to every single participant in the Jeffie's Birthday Party Pet Photo Contest.  (He says he's saving all his pennies to buy more KONG Premium Jerky and Good Dog Take Outs dog treats.)

All the party photos are fabulous, but Jodi at Heart Like a Dog was the lucky winner of the Amazon.com $25 gift card in the random.org drawing. Congratulations, Jodi!  Each party photo was assigned a number according to when I received it.  Here's Jodi's lucky photo number 25 of Sampson:

UPDATE:  WE HAVE A NEW WINNER IN THE PHOTO CONTEST!  Jodi messaged me first thing this morning to say:  "... while I'm truly grateful and thankful, I really feel since I won the monkey earrings, that the gift card should go to someone else.  I would just like to pay it forward, you know. :-) "  What a kind and gracious winner!

So, as I told Jodi, luckily I saved the Random.org results and the next number on the list belongs to Christine K.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTINE K and here's her winning photo of Granite:

Who was it that said:  All good things must come to an end?  They were right about this party.  Thanks to everyone who participated in any way.  It just wouldn't have been a party without you!

One Lovely Blog Award: Big Smiley Face Here

Thank you to Heart Like a Dog

Now that Jodi has given up on me ever doing anything about this....  sorry, Jodi...  I really am thrilled to announce that she bestowed on me the One Lovely Blog Award!

Then she went on to say some very (VERY) nice things about my dog lover jewelry and this blog.  Jeffie and Rudy can verify my blush.   

You can read about it at her Heart Like a Dog blog here.  You'll notice that Jodi was awarded more than one award.  Definitely deserved.  I know that I always enjoy her posts, especially her rants on WTF/WooHoo Wednesdays.


The rules for this award are:

• Thank the blogger bestowing the award and proide a link back to their blog.  
• Share seven things about yourself.
• Share the award with seven other bloggers.

So, here goes.

First, a formal, official thank you to Heart Like a Dog blog!  Fetch it now and enjoy Jodi's story of her life with Labrador Retreivers Samson and Delilah. 

Seven things about me:

•  Never been to a dog park.  I live in a very rural, boondocks, sort of area.  The closest dog park is over three hours away.  Sigh... I think Rudy would love it.  Jeffie would be terrified. 

•  I don't like watching any movies with dogs in them.  My husband makes fun of me because I love disaster movies.  Kill a bunch of people (in a movie) and I'm okay with it.  Just throw a nasty glance toward a dog and I'm all through with that movie.  Actually, this is true of horses, too.  Cats? Nothing seems to ever happen to cats in movies.  Hmmm...

•  I'm beginning to avoid news stories about dogs.  Is it just me or is there much more violence towards animals?  Is it that more is reported now than in the past?  Or is it that there's actually more happening?  I'm afraid its the later.

•  I think I could be a hoarder.  One of my favorite quotations is by John Steinbeck:  I dreamed of dogs last night.  They sat in a circle and looked at me and I wanted all of them.  Me, too.  Except it wasn't a dream.  They weren't in a circle.  They were on Petfinder, Facebook, Twitter, and blog posts.  And I wanted all of them.  My husband doesn't let me go anywhere near an animal shelter without him.

•  I love bovine.  I raised my cattle herd from day old bottle calves.  Being among bovine gives me a sense of serenity I've found nowhere else.

•  I've been blessed with not only a heart dog, but a heart horse.  Some day I'll tell you about my beloved Fox Trotter, Lady, as well as farming with our draft horses and mules.  I promise.

• I am a hermit.  I sincerely prefer to be at home with my animals, rather than out anywhere with people.

Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about Sue at Talking Dogs!

 

Now comes the really tricky part.  Frankly, I don't have time to count the number of blogs I follow in my Google reader.  There are A LOT.  And here's the thing... they're all good.  Really good.  Picking only seven feels... pretty crazy.  However, here are seven, in no particular order, that I cannot live without.  To them I bestow the One Lovely Blog Award!

Basset Momma  -  I am smitten with Janet's dog, Freddie.  No matter how busy I am, each week I make sure to visit this blog so that I can catch up on Freddie and Gloria's hijinks, and get my Basset Hound fix. These days Janet is dealing with the heartbreak of Freddie's hip dysplasia. They can use some support. 

No Dog About It  - this is a new-to-me blog that gives me very pretty pictures of dogs (especially Daisy, the yellow Lab) to enjoy, as well as a lot to mull over and think about.  One of Mel's posts about abuse towards dairy cows has stuck in my mind.  Eventually it will spur me to write about my feelings about factory farming.

Chronicles of Cardigan - Not only does Elizabeth entertain me with her wit and cheeky photos, she was a rock when I lost my heart dog, Lucy.  I not only love her blog, I love her.    And I have to admit it:  I am in love with Jon Farleigh.  Especially his butt.

Brown Dog CBR -  I've followed this one for a long time.  The posts are always interesting, but it is the photography that is SPECTACULAR.  Sigh... gorgeous fauna and flora, including brown dog Hawk.

 

The Elka Almanac - I've always loved Dobermans and Elka is a beauty!  I also love Jen's posts about animal welfare.  Too bad she can't hear me cheering while I read those.  And I want to adopt every homeless Dobie she features.

Saved by Dogs - A newish blog that always tells me something I don't know.  Lovely personal story posts that make me smile or bring a tear to my eye as I recognize a like soul, coupled with dog breed information and photos that are fabulous.

I Still Want More Puppies - I wish I had just half the punny wit as this woman.  I advise you to not miss her Friday posts.  Plus, her monthly round ups are not only entertaining, I've discovered some incredible bloggers and stories.  And, let's face it, who can resist that blog name?!

So, there you have my seven blogs.  Enjoy!