When life hands you lemons...

The charming Sandi K at Sandi-K.blogspot thinks we have good attitude and has left us the delightful lemonade stand award. Thank you so much!
We would like to pass this award along to:
*XPAT at Xpatriate Games, because anyone who calls the hubcap "Big Roo" and the young one "Little Roo" has great attitude;
*Sophia at Scotland for the Senses because our attitude certainly improved when we found her little corner of Scotland;
*Maggie at Do these shoes match my purse?, because we love her attitude (enough said).
*Amy at Amy's Daily Photo because she keeps an eye on New York for us; and
*Her grace, the Duchess of Tea at Rose Tea Cottage, because, although we just found her blog, we're still smiling.
Thanks to all of you for your great attitude--and thanks, Sandi, for the award!

Inspired and in great company

Lovely Josephine at A Brit In Tennesse surprised us last week with the wonderful Renee Award and, while we were extremely pleased, we were rather unsure about whether we should accept at all because, while the Prodigal is English, he is, well, a he; and this award "honors someone who is incredibly inspirational in her intelligent and witty writing."
Josephine further states, "this award celebrates women's smart, strong and inspirational spirit! It honors women who spread joy and love like an Acorn......a small package growing into a tall and sturdy oak tree which gives more acorns......." So you can see our dilemma. Should Frances alone accept (this blog is her baby, really)? Should we gender bend? Should we decline? Then we thought, why not? If Josephine saw fit to bend the rules a bit, who are we to quibble? Why not accept this great honor, allowing us to pass it along to others who inspire us?
So we humbly pass this award along to:
* Sharon at It's Daffy Cat for inspring us with her creativity (and we love that dancing cat);
* Denise An English Girl Rambles for inspring us to look twice when we walk around;
* Melissa at Smitten by Britten because she inspires us to smile when we think about Britain; and
* Toni at Expat Mum for blazing the trail.
Last but not least, we wish to acknowledge Kate, our very own little acorn, at Softball Whisperer , for getting an early start in her writing career.
Great job, ladies! Keep up the great work! And thank you Josephine--you inspire us every time we visit.
Cyber hugs from Denis and Frances

Another lovely surprise

Afternoon Tea Break , a new blogger trying to help people change careers in these challenging times, has surprised us with the very gratifying (and humbling) "Noblesse Oblige" award. Apparently, we are being recognized for the following:
1) The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs (don't know about this one!).
2) The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions (if this is true, so delighted).
3) There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs (well, maybe a couple of these).
4) The Blog is refreshing and creative (thank you very much).
5) The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking (not sure about this one either, but I hope so).

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:
1) Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award (done).
2) The Award Conditions must be displayed in the post (done).
3) Write a short article about what the blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older post to support (well...).
4) The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions (this one's easy).
5) The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog (OK).

What my blog has achieved so far: Well, we started the blog with the intention of getting the word out about my book, a travel memoir about our trips back to England. Since we still haven't secured a publisher, this hasn't been as successful as we hoped; however, we've made lots of interesting cyber-friends, and we've been surprised to discover you all are interested in English cookery! And of course, the lovely comments and emails (and yes, awards!) have encouraged us enough to continue on that elusive hunt for a publisher. So thanks to all our readers, do hope you continue to enjoy our adventures.

We'd like to pass on this award to several people more deserving than us:
* Brian at The New Author for trying to help poor fools like us get a book published;
* Mike at My Thai Photo for not only sharing his beautiful photos of Thailand but also helping people learn English;
* Josephine at A Brit in Tennessee for her big heart and for moving us to tears with her stories about rescued pets and other furry and feathered friends; and
* Carol at The Writer's Porch and Christine at Scully Love Promo Reviews for giving us hope that someone out there is still reading books.
Thanks everyone!

A Saturday Surprise

What a lovely surprise we had this morning to find that Carol at the Writer's Porch had given our blog this fabulous award—our first! It means a lot to know she enjoys our lighthearted journal and journeys back to Blighty as much as we enjoy stretching out on her porch at the end of a day of traveling! Visit Carol at http://thewritersporch.blogspot.com and see what we mean.

Now, apparently, the award has a few strings attached, and here they are:

• You must pass it on to 5 other Fabulous bloggers in a post.
  
• You must include the person who gave the award to you and a link back to their blog.
• You must list 5 of your Fabulous Addictions in the post.
• You must copy and post these rules in the post.
  

So here are 5 of my Fabulous Addictions: Travel, writing, working from home, my wonderful family, and Kate's softball games (a new discovery for me!).
And here are 5 Fabulous bloggers you should all visit:

• Willow at http://willowmanor.blogspot.com because there's always something new and different waiting there (plus, we covet your stone house!);
• Weenie Elise at http://odetomrsbeeton.blogspot.com for your valiant efforts to restore Britain's culinary heritage;
• Trixie at http://plaidraincoat.blogspot.com because we so enjoy following your triumphs and travails;
• Melissa at http://smittenbybritain.com because your blog is always so cheerful (plus, you always have something nice to say about England!);
• Victoria at http://vintagetea.blogspot.com -- to an Essex lass from an old Essex boy; and
• Amy at amysaysmeh.blogspot.com because we just love your sense of humor.
  

Oops, that's six! Oh well, there it is. We love your blogs! (Right click the Award and save to your computer and post it on your blog.)

Thanks again, Carol! We'll keep an eye out for you on the porch--maybe we'll spot Hemingway!