Versatile Blogger Award

Guilie Castillo, of Quiet Laughter, has shared the Versatile Blogger Award with me.

Thanks, Guilie! I’m supposed to:

• Thank the awarder and link back to him/her;
• Share seven things about myself;
• And pass this award to 15 blogs I’ve recently discovered.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Guilie through Google+, and I hope you’ll check out her inspiring blog. Now, for seven things about me.

• I am on a spring cleaning kick. It’s a little late, but oh well.
• Fall is my favorite season. I especially adore those cool, crisp days when I absolutely must wear something I’ve knitted.
• My husband’s old dresser is full of my yarn stash. It’s not that big a dresser… really…
• Most of my holiday shopping is done. I love giving thoughtful gifts and hate having to scramble at the last minute.
• College football makes me happy. Probably because I can knit during games.
• Hats. Have I mentioned my obsession with hats? Especially in rainy, cold weather.
• I drink locally roasted coffee. We make it one cup at a time in my house, grinding the beans fresh and then using a cone coffee filter and a teakettle of hot water.

It’s time to pass the award along to 15 bloggers. All of these folks are relatively new discoveries for me, and a lot of them, like Guilie, I’ve found through G+.

Leanne Baldwin — Although I did follow her on Blogger, Leanne has recently moved to WordPress and has started a new blog about writing, living in Portland and other wonderful topics.

Pocket Shrink — Authors and psychologists Liz Scott and Bridget Harwell offer concise, thought-provoking observations about relationships and navigating through the world as healthy human beings. The blog features “intimate conversations on hurting less, loving more and living well.” Go check out their uplifting insights and reminders.

Jacqui Murray — Jacqui’s WordDreams site offers resources and tips for writers. She’s the author of two technology training books for middle school and “Building a Midshipman.” I always appreciate Jacqui’s perspective and how she addresses the technical aspects of writing.

Keri Mathews — Keri, a short story writer, offers Writing Opportunities on Mondays, Writing Resources on Wednesdays and Writerly Reading on Fridays.

Faith Elizabeth Hough — I profiled Faith in the Seven Questions series, but wanted to share her blog again here. She’s a mom of three and the author of literary historical fiction. I particular loved her recent post, “Living Historically.”

Lisa Rivero — I recently interviewed Lisa and am a new follower of her Writing Life blog. Lisa’s the author of “Oscar’s Gift: Planting Words with Oscar Micheaux,” a delightful middle-grade novel “for young historians.”

JB Hill — JB Hill discusses her novel-writing experiences on her blog.

Tracey Baptiste — She calls her site Knitting With Pencils. How fun is that? I’m excited to have discovered another fellow knitter/writer/blogger.

Just Joywriting — Jessica Cocita’s posts are interesting and uplifting, and I love the colorful design on her banner. Checking her blog makes me smile.

Nerdy Jana — “Nerds and words — more precious than diamonds.” This is yet another writing blog that I subscribed to recently, and I really enjoy Jana’s perspective. Her latest post is “Take Me Higher,” about that thrilling kind of joy that writing can bring.

Brittnee Henry — Brittnee Henry, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, blogs about books, writing and other lovely, positive subjects. It’s another feel-good writing blog.

Jennifer Randolph — Jennifer’s blog, formerly known as epicwriter88, focuses on techniques and her own novel-writing efforts. At the moment, she’s offering some great tips for NaNoWriMo.

Big Red Chair Designs — Besides knitting, Mary shares her refreshing thoughts on various topics, including list-making and how folks don’t write letters as often as they used to. It’s one of those rare lifestyles blogs that succeeds in doing more than one thing. Oh–and I recently met Mary in person and she’s a lot of fun. I look forward to following her blog’s development. (She began it in August.)

A. Stuart Williams — He’s a British writer, historian and photographer. As he explained in his introductory post, “While I’m no stranger to online writing, twittering and web publishing, this is my first-ever blog about my own work, and matters that impinge on that.”

Wow, there are my 15! I hope you guys go check them out. Thanks again to Guilie for the award!