The Sunshine Blogger Award

Guess what? My friend Ashley over at BACKYARDPROVENCE has nominated me for The Sunshine Award. Thank you Ashley, that is very sweet of you. I am very honored!

Ashley is from Southern California and living her dream with husband Dude and daughter Tinki in Provence not too from the Mediterranean in a house which they are renovating. I really felt bad for them this past winter as they struggled to stay warm in their house without heat while they waited for pipes to thaw and dry while they waited for the man to come and fix their roof.

When we started our search for a house in Provence, Shirley stipulated that she did not want to experience what Peter Mayle and his wife went through as described in "A Year in Provence" about fixing up an old house; so no fixer uppers. I think she would have felt even stronger about this decree if she had read some of Ashley's posts about fixing up their house.

In addition to writing about fixing up her house (somehow she sees humor in tragic situations), Ashley also writes and posts pictures about her exploratory visits along the Mediterranean and to nearby towns and villages. I hope we will have a chance to meet up with Ashley and her family during one of our future sojourns in Sablet.

Like most awards, there are rules that come with winning the prestigious Sunshine Award. Here they are:

1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.

2. Answer the questions about your favorites below.

3. Pass on the award to 10 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.

Here are a list of my favorite things:

Favorite Color – I don't think there is any question that blue is my favorite color, like the beautiful blue sky in Provence or Mediterranean Sea. The vast majority of my dress and leisure shirts are blue as well.

Favorite Animal – Sheep. I have loved sheep since I was a kid going to visit my family in the Tarn. That's me below with Mémé's sheep.

Favorite Number – 7, lucky 7 like my birth date.

Favorite Drink – Red wine from the Southern Côtes du Rhône, especially wines from Gigondas.

Facebook or Twitter – I have accounts on both but I really only understand Facebook. I don't really understand Twitter so I rarely tweet.

Your Passion – Besides my wonderful family and especially 4 darling grandkids, I would say Provence and food. I love being in Sablet and really all of Provence. I am a different person when I am there; much more relaxed! I don't think anyone who knows me would be surprised that food, eating, cooking or reading about it are things I love to do.

Giving or Getting Presents – Giving, no question.

Favorite Day – Saturdays. The start of the weekend, enough said.

Favorite Flowers – Roses. Something I got from my dad. He planted a huge number of roses at their home in Michigan, he also planted quite a few at our house here in California. I take roses to our Bistro Des Copains every week. Shirley thinks I should mix it up as she gets bored with the roses. Oh well.

Here is the hard part, selecting bloggers to nominate for the Sunshine Award. I don't get a chance to follow lots of blogs and generally limit myself to those who write about France and especially Provence. Ashley nominated a couple of bloggers who I would nominate and others I know ask that they not be nominated for awards.

So what I am trying to say or justify the reasons that I can't nominate 10 bloggers. It is quite posible, that some of the bloggers I nominate may have already been nominated previously. So here goes. Please check out these wonderful blogs.

1. Cuisine de Provence

2. A Seasonal Cook in Turkey

3. Talking Story in Provence

4. Sara in Le Petit Village

5. Farmhouse in France

6. Conjugating Irregular Verbs

7. French Girl in Seattle

8. An American in Provence

Thanks again Ashley for nominating me for the Sunshine Award. Bonne journée et à bientôt.