GIRLFRIENDS: THIS ONE’S FOR YOU!

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD RECEIVED, 10 GIVEN AWAY, 0 RECIPES

Make new friends,
But keep the old,
One is silver and
The other gold.

Remember this song, that old Girl Scout stand-by, sung sitting around the campfire at the end of the day, stars shining overhead, or at the end of each meeting, girl’s bonding, crafts made and in hand, ready to be shown proudly to mom and dad, good times shared, friends made, friends kept.

NOT!

"Another glorious night sleeping on the hard ground and tree roots and waking up in a damp sleeping bag! Oh, joy!"

I followed my older sister into the Girl Scouts and hated every second of those 3 long years.3 years of meetings, feeling totally silly in that green outfit, legs bared, beret pulled on and worn at just the right angle, weekend camp-outs, August away at sleep-away camp. I hated it all. I hated sleeping in a tent, rain dripping onto my forehead and seeping into the sleeping bag, the dirty showers, the outdoor activities. The prude in me hated when one group of girls (and there was always one) would pull you kicking and screaming out of the shower into the middle of the campground, the goody-two-shoes in me hated the practical jokes, the hoisting of someone’s underwear up the flagpole. I hated when the counselors took our candy away at camp and locked it up in the kitchen under the pretense that it attracted bugs and when they tried to teach us how to get by in worst-case scenario situations by playing tricks on us.

"Do I really have to know how to do this? When do we eat?"

Okay, I admit that I was one part goody-two-shoes, one part Miss Practical. I hated forced activities (“It’ll be fun”, “It’s good for you”), I never really made friends with any of my co-Scouts, I never really had much in common with any of them. And camping has always been, and still is, a scourge.

Lunch with the Girl Scouts; okay, this I didn't really mind."

I do admit that there were things I loved about the Scouts. S’mores – skip right over the toasted marshmallows and take me straight to the S’Mores! Pork sausages, that forbidden fruit in our Jewish home, roasted over the campfire, served sizzling and hot, dripping with grease in all its salty glory. And Girl Scout cookies! But did I really need to suffer all the rest just for the food?


But I truly didn’t need Girl Scouts to make friends. Girlfriends have always been important to me, a crutch to lean on in rough times, partners in crime (and the not so criminal activities), sources of gossip and laughter, emotional outlets, understanding. Smart, funny, clever, I found my friends by accident, at school or in clubs, as I chose, attracted to a personality and bonded by something deeper than tying knots and earning badges. My life is now rich in friends, old friends from grade school or youth group, friends found along the way. Friends I trust and rely on, friends I turn to when I need to chat, need a laugh or need a shoulder to cry on.

Girlfriends just hanging out together! Oh so elegant!

In this new Cyber Age, I, like so many others, have created a Cyber World of friends, women I have yet to meet face-to-face, yet women with whom I feel an incredibly strong bond. Women spread all around the planet, coming together on Facebook or Mudflats or food blogs.

Girlfriends just having fun together! Doing what girls do!

Connie is one such friend. I met Connie through Mudflats and immediately was attracted to her exceedingly clever, funny, tongue-in-cheek comments posted on various threads. Whatever the subject, she had an experience to recount, a tale to tell, an opinion to give, each one funnier than the next, yet often with a thought-provoking message behind the humor. And behind the jokes and the jabs hid the heart of a true friend, kind, caring and generous. She captured our attention and held it.

I soon discovered her wonderful blog W. Va. Fur and Root; she regales us with stories from her childhood, stories from her garden, stories about pets and plants, friends and family. Simple and heart-warming, prose or poetry, funny or serious, always food for thought. She is truly a gifted writer. Add to that simply stunning photos of her flowers, her home, her country and you have a blog worth visiting.


She recently was the recipient of the Bella Award for “One lovely blog” and she has chosen to pass this award on to me (among other worthy recipients). I thank you, Connie, with all my heart, and I hope that I am worthy of the honor you bestow (wink!). It is now my turn to dance and twirl, preen and flaunt, brag and crow.

And now that that is done, it is now my turn to pass the Bella “One Lovely Blog” Award on to others, and I have decided to gather round me a few women that I have come to know in Cyberia, as Connie so aptly puts it (though a warmer, cozier place I have yet to come across), and honor them in turn. This group of women, friends one and all, are each the mother, so to speak, of a wonderful blog. This group of talented, clever, funny women come over to my cyber place often, hang out with me in my cyber kitchen, and welcome me into theirs, offering kind words, funny stories, thought-provoking discussions, sometimes recipes and good things to eat.

I thank them one and all for supporting me, supporting my blog – the sign of a true friend – and offering me a place to come to for a good time, a laugh, loads of things to both talk and think about. I truly now have a great group of girlfriends out there, clever, funny, smart, kind and generous. Here is to you!

(Note: there were so many on my list that deserved this award, and you know who you are, but I wanted to offer this, my second blog award, to people who I had not passed the first blog award on to. And there were a few deserving mudflatters who received this award directly from Connie. I hope you all understand.)

The Bella Award can be passed on to up to 15 fellow bloggers :

The first two on my list are fellow Mudflatters :

Minna at The World According to MEH. Minna has truly become “dah girlfriend”. Behind her tough gal talk, she is a beautiful, smart, generous friend, wildly fun to chat with, always stirring things up. Her blog is an intriguing mix of personal stories, politics, movie reviews and musings and opinions on life and society. Often edgy, sometimes controversial, at times (dare I say it?) ballsy and irreverent (okay, okay, she says what we all are thinking anyway but don’t have the guts to say in public!), her blog posts are the only I have ever come across that make me grab for my keyboard and start typing away furiously; she pushes her readers to think and react. Minna is a brilliant writer and ain’t afraid to stir it up. She’s always on her toes and knows her subjects back and forth. Warning! She is extremely pro-Obama (both of them!) and most things Democrat, even more anti-GWB and cronies, and in love with a certain British actor, so be prepared!

Erin at Mamadance. Erin’s wonderful little blog is a powerful voice on politics, Alaskan politics, motherhood and our general daily grind of job, money, husband, kids and pets. And all the rest. Her posts are short and sweet and right to the point, but if you aren’t smiling or shaking your head or taking notes or reacting in some way when you finish reading, then you haven’t opened your eyes or you have no heart. A truly beautiful blog.

And my food blog girlfriends:

Ashley at Culinary Wannabe

Laura at The Cooking Photographer

Maryann at Finding La Dolce Vita

Adrienne at Gastroanthropology

Susan at Wild Yeast

Carole at Hey Mom, What’s for Dinner Tonight?

Sara at Sara’s Kitchen

Bethany of Dirty Kitchen Secrets

(I was going to award this to Heather at Girlichef except that I see someone else beat me to it!).

Each of these food blogs is as unique, as different as each one of these women, yet all are informative, the food is fab, the posts are fun and interesting, and each one truly worth the trip.

Girls just cooking and eating together! That's what friends are for!

So here you go, ladies, now go forth and award this to up to 15 worthy bloggers. You don’t need to stick to women bloggers, but this is my way of saying thank you to a great group of girls who I like to think of as friends, friends who inspire, friends who support, friends who make me love what I am doing. And all without the Scouts! Yay!

I say, we all make a heap of S’Mores and celebrate!


(No food here, post is too long….but over the next few days I’ll be serving up Yassa Chicken as well as a Broccoli-Crab Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons). And something for dessert.