Saturday, February 19, 2011

Thank you!

A big and heartfelt thank you to

Hanni at SweetBeanGardening

Beth at PlantPostings

and Elly at Elly's Tuin

for thinking my blog is good enough to receive the



I appreciate it very much. You made my day!

Now I am a little hazy about the rules but I think I am supposed to:

I. link back to the gracious and wonderful people who have given me the award (see above).

II. tell you 7 things about myself.

Do you really want to know that much about me??

1. I used to be gainfully employed in my younger days but now I am a stay-at-home mother of two rambunctious boys. I feel much happier this way.

2. I just celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary. I met my American husband in Russia 13 years ago, and moved here when it came time for him to leave. He used to compare my move to the abduction of Persephone by Hades, until we discovered the gardening paradise that is California.

3. I have been interested in roses since my childhood in Russia when I used to collect postcards with rose pictures. Since then I have progressed to about 120 live roses, countless perennial companions, fruit trees, ornamental shrubs, and so on. High-maintenance but beautiful!

4. I have become interested in photography recently and have been groping my way around f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO values, and so on. Scary, but I am determined.

5. My life outside of the roses is spent at an ice rink: I am a freestyle figure skater, still actively training. Going fast across the ice and then jumping high is the closest I have ever come to flying. I won't stop until I fall apart.

6. I love to travel, even though recently I have been traveling mostly vicariously. Before kids, mortgage and car payments, my husband and I explored much of the world, especially Europe and the Mediterranean.

7. There aren't any recipes on my blog, but I love to cook. I like simple meals involving a good roast and a glass of an old-world red wine, especially a Chateauneuf, a Pauillac or a Rioja.

III. award from 5 to 15 other new bloggers. This is a bit tricky because I like a lot of blogs (but not all of them are new) and I really really don't want to leave anybody out. I will just mention some of the wonderful people I have recently met and hope they won't mind being listed here. If you have a chance, please visit their blogs, they deserve it!

Shannon's The Garden State

Jess's Children of the Corn

HolleyGarden's Roses and Other Gardening Joys

Gabriel's Jardins Cosmopolites

Christina's Organic Garden Dreams

Sherry's If Only Sweat Were Irrigation

Thank you so much again!

20 comments:

  1. Hi Masha, congratulations for the Stylish blogger Award. I feel, your blog is the shooting star of the blogs that I know of and the award is well deserved. You put so much passion, love for gardening and I am sure not at least time into writing your blog that every post is a joy to read. Did I mention that your photography is outstanding?! Keep up the good work!
    Many thanks for mentioning my blog!
    Christina

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  2. Thanks, Christina, and you are welcome! I could hardly forget my first follower:-)

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  3. Thank you so much for the award! Now that I know more about you, it seems that we have several things in common. I'm an ex-career woman turned stay at home mom, too! And I love photography, but I don't really know much about it. I'd love to hear (read) your recipes, that's actually something I'm considering adding to my blog. Oh, and I'm a huge "Russo-phile". My favorite author is Chekhov, and I minored in Russian language in college. Unfortunately, I haven't actually used the language in years and have forgotten most of what I learned. I still love Chekhov, though.

    I can't wait to read the other blogs you've awarded. I think these awards are so great for expanding the "blogosphere"!

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  4. You are right, Shannon, this is all about expanding the blogosphere, and I also am very interested in what my virtual friends are like. Thank you for telling me about yourself, how extraordinary that you should have even heard about Chekhov. It is so nice to meet such a well-read person.

    My husband minored in Russian too, but has lost much of it despite having a Russian wife and in-laws:-(.

    I am looking forward to reading recipes on your blog. I am always on the lookout for something new to cook. I am a very traditional cook myself, so I doubt you would learn much from me....

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  5. It's always fun to learn more about the person behind the blog! :)

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  6. Thank you, Sweetbay, for taking an interest in me:-).

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  7. Masha - Of course I am happy that you have included me! Just got your note over at my blog, and me too! I had taken a break from blogging, and when I came back I was trolling around for 'new' to me blogs that I wanted to find for myself. And I found you over in my brief visit to blotanical. (though Blotanical scares me a bit, it can't be beat for finding new bloggers you like to read) I have added you to my blogroll!

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  8. Thank you, Jess, and Blotanical scares me too:-). I am honored to be on your blogroll!

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  9. When I read your biography, I think to my myself we could be sisters ;) We have so much in common ! But above all, the passion for roses. Are you on Facebook too, Masha ? You can find me as"Isabelle Olikier-Luyten".

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  10. Congratulations Masha !!! I'm so happy for you, your blog really deserve it, for your patience shooting your roses and your garden, when not the neighborhood and its lovely colours.
    It's now my turn to thank you a million for quoting my blog on your list.
    As you are on my blogroll, I'm sure that French readers on my blog do love having a trip over to California and see that vivid colours are alreday there in gardens, when here everything is still asleep...
    Have a great Sunday!

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  11. Hello Masha,Congratulations on your award. Sounds very much like you lead a full and active life, are you holding back a little, are you a professional skater.

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  12. Thank you, Isabelle, and I would LOVE to have you for a sister! I am afraid I am not on Facebook yet, but who knows, maybe I will figure it out one day...

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  13. Merci, Gabriel, for such a nice message. I am so glad to have made such a great friend.

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  14. Thank you, Alistair, I am very glad to hear from you.

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  15. Congrats on your award. Your 7 things are really interesting. Figure skating was such a surprise. This is such a fun activity and good luck with your training. I could never get the hang of it although I am quite a good skier. I was very clumsy on skates.

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  16. Congratulations on your award, Masha! I was fun learning more about how you came to be in America and your love for roses. :)

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  17. Thank you, gardenwalkgardentalk, and I can say that I never got the hang of dowhill skiing (scary), although I used to be good at cross-country. I am happy to meet another fan of winter sports!

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  18. Thank you, Secret Garden Cottage, for being so nice!

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  19. Congratulations, Masha. You deserve it and I appreciate your awarding my blog. I especially enjoyed learning more about you. You are very interesting and I look forward to learning more about you and seeing more of your beautiful photography in the future.

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  20. Thank you, HolleyGarden. I enjoyed learning about you too. I am so happy to have met you.

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I am so glad you have stopped by!