Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Granted, a day short, this is a ‘shout out/thank you’ to those of you who stop by, those who create great posts to read and to a friend who, with many a ‘tweet’ has been a delightful treat. I seldom leave the comments or ‘likes’ I should. These are the many that come to mind:

To Lori Lara, Linda G, Shards of DuBois, Misifusa, The Rider, for the faith they have and share without fear.

To Sheri, Seth, Jeffrey, Georgia, Mr. Johnson, Ailsa, zwitterion80, and Cee for their fun of focusing their lens on things often taken for granted.

To Kevin, Raven, John SterVens, Charles, Victoria, JT Weaver, Kevin B, Shannon, Tara, Robin, Susan, SK Nichols, Michael, Marie, Airlia, and Sarah for their witty fun and motivation with words and the power of story.

To Deborah, The Paper Book Collective, and The Community Storyboard for challenging writers and accepting submissions.

To Chester and The Dancing Phoenix for their powerful poetry.

To Anglo Swiss, Dawn, Debra, Gaurab, Tena, Chris, Barbara, Julie Tonette, Jasmine and Casz for the variety of topics they share. I learn something new and different whenever I get to stop by.

To the adventurous ones: Kim and Leslie, Michelle and Brett.

To those I may not have mentioned by name (sidebar only list the most recent 50 of the many blogs I try to follow).

Thank you, Mari. Your kindness in tweeting/re-tweeting the goings on of this tablet – wow! There is much more to say to this that would work best in a properly hand-written letter.

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I’ll be frank in that I’ve fallen behind in acknowledging  award nominations some have kindly made:

Marie kindly nominated me for this. Thank you, Marie!

Airlia kindly nominated me for this.

In following the rules (properly), here are my answers to her questions:

1. What’s the story behind the name of your blog? My middle name and a tablet to play on (writing, drawing, etc)
2. If there was one mythical or fictional creature you’d get to keep as a pet, what would it be? A dragon
3. Tell us your quote of the day? “There are too many open mouths and not enough opened ears in society.” MMW
4. What’s your biggest dream? To own a bookstore
5. What’s your biggest fear? A tie between spiders and snakes.
6. Who is your favorite person in the world? Can’t decide.
7. If you get the chance to be a part of a different culture, which one it would be? Hard to decide…
8. If you were given the chance to travel the world, but not see or contact any family or friends during the trip. Would you go? No.
9. You have a magical ability or a super power, what is it and why? Speed writing or reading – So many books, so little time.
10. You are writing your life story, what’s the first line? “The girl behind the book wasn’t supposed to be there.”

Here are my 10 questions:

1. What/whom are you most thankful for?
2. What ‘must have’ books are/would be on your bookshelf?
3. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what is your ‘soundtrack?’
4. Which people motivate you creatively?
5. If you had a chance to escape your ordinary routine for a day, what would you do instead?
6. Do you prefer examining paintings/photographs or creating/taking them?
7. What is the one thing that you were afraid of that you finally decided to (or will) try?
8. What things do you like to collect?
9. Do you volunteer and if so, for what causes/events?
10. Are there any books that you thought we made into decent movies? If so, which ones?

Tena kindly nominated me for this.

In following the rules, here are seven things about me:

1. Once upon a time, I knew seven languages.

2. I’m notorious for packing at least three of six cameras.

3. I’ve dared have something printed in five publications.

4. I’m forever grateful to my friends and family, especially my brother and sister.

5. There are three different writing groups I’m a part of.

6. I’ve two parents who support (and ground) me as needed and am forever blessed.

7. There is a wondrous world worth exploring and I’ve one relatively empty passport.

There is no one way to narrow down who to nominate of the list above, so, to take a page out of Michael’s blog, the nomination goes to everyone who kindly follows me.