Wow... I am so, so honored that if anyone was here, I'd be speechless!! I've been chosen to receive a blogging award! Roy Hilbinger, who is an amazing photographer as well as a gifted writer, selected my blog the rabbit hole as one of his picks for the PREMIO DARDOS blog award. Not only is the award a major surprise, but to receive it from such an amazing blogger as Roy doubles the honor. Roy was the first one to "follow" my blog; he just showed up one day much to my delight, and I became a follower of his after reading just one post. He's a caring, compassionate and responsible citizen of the planet with eyes that find the beauty in all things and brains to articulate about what he finds and thinks. His blog: Roy's World was honored in kind, and I am humbled to be chosen as one of his picks.

Here's what this award is about:

The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

The rules:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog. [Note: Don't forget to copy and paste the award jpeg itself to include on your own blog!]
2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

Now my task is to pass this award on to five more bloggers whose sites embody the values as noted. I think my favorite phrase within the "mission statement" of the award is the last line of the first paragraph: a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web. I do feel affection for bloggers with whom I share images, comments and philosophy - though we've never met. The humor, intelligence and admirable attributes they convey in their postings makes me feel as if we have a connection that is akin to personal friendship. We are fragile and strong. We are compassionate and resilient. We think; therefore we blog. This is way cool.

I'll contact and post my picks in the morning - as I'm sitting here at 1:20 am with a terrible cold and should be in bed. But I got so excited, I forgot for a while I was sick... Thank you, Roy.

It's morning - and here are my choices (in no particular order) for the PREMIO DARDOS :


Turboblues, the blog of John Grow. John doesn't say much about himself in his profile, but there are reams of autobiographical writings and his outstanding and very moving poetry. He's not afraid to tackle controversial subjects or to bleed onto his keyboard. The fist time I encountered his blog, I read until my eyes hurt. A writer's writer is John.

Art Propelled, the amazing visual journey of Robyn G, an artist from South Africa. I would nominate her just for the series on"Bug" - and yes, you need to go there to see the phenomenal photographs and to check out "his" heartwarming tale - but I nominate her blog more for how she allows me to see through her eyes. The art she post is sometimes quirky, sometimes cutting edge or beautiful, but it is all engrossing and intriguing., as are her exotic (to me) photos of South Africa.

The Roaring Inside is Holly Friesan's blog about her life as an artist. Holly is particularly gifted at speaking with her creative voice while still telling truths. Her work spills out from her studio and her pages, all the while drawing the viewer inside to read and wonder. I love this quotation from her "About Me": I am a working artist/painter struggling to find my way through this glorious, anxious life with a heart full of unresolved questions. A glorious life indeed...

Poemfish is the blog of Casey Kurz, a visual artist and writer over on typepad.com. Her munificent blog includes extraordinary poems, photographs, and writings as well as some of her inspiring artwork. What I like best about her writing is how she focuses on both the fragility and strength of life. Her essays are introspective, inspiring and uplifting,; searching for and honoring the best in everyone.

Finally I nominate Embrasures, the poetry blog of Marcy Stoekel. Marcy is quite new to the blogging community here at Blogspot, but her poems richly deserve a wider audience. She speaks with the inner voice of all women, and yet her poems transcend gender. Her work is not just a good read, but an emotional escapade; evocative, challenging, strong and oh, so poignant.

I'm not really new to blogging - though I only recently began to take the rabbit hole seriously and to post regularly. I enjoy the feedback and the "validation" that writing offers and though choices are skewed a bit toward the arts, it's because that is where my heart is. A month from now I could add twenty more wonderful sites, as I discover more every day.