Thankful Thursday – Grateful and Paying it Forward

Last week my fellow family historian, Kathy at Abbie and Eveline, surprised me by awarding me the “Liebster Blog Award.”  Kathy writes heartfelt stories about her two grandmothers, Abbie Webber and Eveline Coates, the stories they shared with her, and their wise influence on her life.  I am most grateful for her kind recognition and am honored that she would nominate me.

“Liebster” is the German word for “dearest.”  The award comes with a few rules, with which I am happy to oblige:

1.   Thank the one who nominated you by linking back.

2.   Nominate five blogs with less than 200 followers.

3.   Let the nominees know by leaving a comment at their sites.

4.  Add the award image to your own site.

Ah…five blogs?  It would be easy to nominate even more than that!  There are a lot of wonderful blogs out there, but here are some of my favorites, in alphabetical order.

1.  A Family Tapestry – Jacqi Stevens’ writing is engaging and thoughtful, and she covers her subjects with a thoroughness that makes you feel as if you had known them as well as she does.

2. A Sense of Family – Shelly Bishop has already received this award, but it will be no surprise after you read her article, A Kinder, Gentler Approach to Genealogy Goals.  She points out that these goals are not about the pressure one sometimes feels to write or do something, but in fact they are ways of prioritizing where we want – or need – to spend our time.

3.  Jana’s Genealogy and Family History Blog  – Jana Last has posted two articles lately that really caught my attention.  One of these was on how to watermark photographs, so they will remain yours even if someone copies them from your website or blog.  The other was on adding a “landing page” for a particular branch or event from your geneablog.  This has gotten me thinking about adding a landing page of my own…stay tuned.

4.  Pages from the Ancestry Binders – Susan Mosey recently wrote a “Wisdom Wednesday” post about her father’s “Analysis of Worries,” advice from her late father on a scrap of paper she has kept for many years.  It should be required reading for everyone.

5.  Sitting Under the Family Tree – Cchidlow posted a fascinating article on the background behind some of the traditions of Christmas around the world.  Christmas may be behind us, but read Black Eyed Peas and Pickles now and you’ll be “in the know” for next year.

6.  Taos Sunflower – Although this is not a blog about genealogy, it is a favorite of mine.  Martie (full disclosure: a distant cousin of my husband’s) is an artist, writer, and photographer who writes about the things that matter most to her – her family, travel, nature, and the little beauties she finds in life.

It seems that this is “award” season for blogs.  Some of these bloggers have already received this award (or others), while others have not.  In any case, this will be my small way of letting them know just how much I appreciate them and the ways their writing has touched me.  If you’re looking for some good reads, you can be sure that a simple click on one of the blogs above will take you to the right place.