And the award for the most belated acknowledgement goes to:

D: A!!!!

A: What?!

D: What have you done?!

A: That’s a rather loaded question, D.

D: Don’t play coy with me, woman.

A: Really?

D: What did you do to the blog?

A: I thought you didn’t understand this techy, new-age (to you) blogosphere thing.

D: I don’t, especially when you go changing everything on me.

A: I was feeling cramped with the other page; it felt disorganized somehow. Plus: pretty picture.

D: Well, I suppose; it does remind me of home.

A: See, not all change is bad, D.

D: Famous last words, A. Famous last words.

A: No D, famous last words are things like: “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”

D: . . .

A: I’m not kidding, D. Humphrey Bogart. Look it up. If it’s in Wikipedia, it must be true.

D: . . .

A: I love it when he has no words. Anyway, the title was going to be “You like me, you really like me” however–

D: A, that is so tired.

A: I think what you mean is so tried and true.

D: Nope.

A: Come on, Druid, play along! There is such an outpouring of goodwill in the WordPress Community.  I am so lucky to be a part of it.

D: I will allow that my sensibilities are both surprised and pleased by the welcome we have received.

A: Have you been spending time in the 19^th century?

D: It beats the jargon you attempt to pass off as English.

A: And yet the outpouring of goodwill stops with D.

D: You were speaking of awards, A?

A: Indeed. This post – or what should have been a series of posts – is long overdue. And it should surprise no one that I’m going to break the rules.

D: You know, that you are so predictable in breaking the rules eliminates the rebellious aspect of it, A.

A: Being 33 eliminates the rebellious aspect, D. I’m not rebelling; I’m just lazy.

D: Point taken. Proceed.

A: First, many thanks to John W. Howell at Fiction Favorites , Briana Vested at When I became an Author  and Olivia Socum at the Claymore and the Surcoat  for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Liebster translates to beloved, or dearest from German and I am honored to have such an award. And please, check out John, Briana and Olivia’s pages. They are all talented writers with their own tales to tell. It’s been a pleasure getting to know them.

The second award comes from Mike at The Eye Dancers. If you haven’t checked out his blog or his book, do it now. He weaves such interesting stories into his posts that I am always hooked. Mike nominated the D/A Dialogues for the Tag! You’re It Award.  Now, the only version of tag I’ve played in years is phone tag, so this one was pretty fun! Thank you, Mike!

The third award comes from Patty at the Petite Maguique. Patty weaves beautiful images and poetry, and she’s a lovely human being to boot. Patty nominated us for the Most influential Blogger Award. I’m honored – thank you, Patty.

John at Fiction Favorites also nominated us for the Always Here if You Need Me Award, because none of us should face any of the trials and tribulations of life alone. This award is given to those who have demonstrated that they are around when needed most.  Thank you, John.

Finally – I think?

D: Yes, A. Your cup overfloweth, but I believe you may be on the last one.

A: Cheers, D. Maire Anne Bailey at 1 Write Way has awarded us with the Shine On Award. Thank you, Marie!

Now, there is a bevy of questions to answer in conjunction with these awards, but I’m going to pick my favorite question from all the different options and answer them with you, D. Is that acceptable?

D: That is actually the most sensible thing you’ve done all day.

A: Don’t hurt yourself, D.

D: I believe the appropriate response is “thank you.”

A: Thank you, D!

D: Oh, go answer your questions, woman.

From Mike from the Tag! You’re It Award: What is your favorite season of the year?

A: Early Summer and Fall – both are beautiful in their own way, the temperatures are usually great, and there’s a better chance it will be dry.

D: The Autumn: it was a time of the harvest, and festivals, and for us, magic.

From Patty for the Most Influential Blogger Award: Have you ever taken a long distance train trip? 

A: Yes – I took a train from Wisconsin to Arizona. It was wonderful and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

D: Across Europe during the glory days of train travel. That is truly the way to travel. Plus, murder and mayhem are so much more fun on a train.

From John for the Always Here if You Need Me Award: List something that makes you happy.

A: Music

D: A sweet smile on a loved-ones face

From John for the Liebster Award:What is the most indulgent gift you ever received or given

A: A trip to Ireland when I was 16, which was then followed by me moving to Ireland when I was 18. My parents indulged my more political whims and my desire to have an adventure.

D: When we fought against the Northumbrians, to regain control of southern Pictland, my father and I were captured by a squad of native Selgovae mercenaries. My life was their indulgent gift to me.

A: Gee, D – way to be a downer.

D: Well, we didn’t do indulgent gifts. A bit of a sweet was an indulgence!

A: I suppose. Moving on, so…

From Olivia for the Liebster Award: Where do you see yourself in 10 years.

A: On an adventure. TC will be in college – heck, TC may be out of college by then, depending on what and where he studies.

D: Um, in print, I hope. And out of her head, laid to rest but enlivening the imaginations of all those who read about me!

From Briana, for the Liebster Award: How many books are in the room you’re in right now?

A: More than I can count – two bookshelves and every single flat surface has a book on it.

D: This is A’s imagination: there are library castles in here with more tomes than a man can count in his lifetime, even a man as infinitely creative as a time-travelling Druid.

From Marie, for the Shine On Award – technically we’re supposed to say seven things about us, but we’ll stick with just one.

A: TC and I are dual citizens to the US and Ireland.

D: My time travel beats your puny passport.

A: It’s not a competition, D.

D: It’s always a competition, A.

A: Okay, D. You win. Time travel trumps dual passports every single time.

As for nominations, this is where I really trash the rules. Anyone who reads this, anyone who wants one of these delightful pictures, can have it. If you do, feel free to answer the questions we answered above as well as one additional question: Why do you blog?

Of course, as D and I love to tell the tale, there are a few people, in addition to those mentioned above, that I’d like to acknowledge, for their support, their general incredibleness and the excellent stories they’ve told. It is such a wonderful community here in WordPress, and I cannot express how grateful I am to be here. What was a daydream about what would happen if anyone discovered the D/A doodles in the margins of my edited manuscript has turned into a delightful adventure!

Andra has an incredibly humorous and poignant outlook on life and I love her prose.  Ionia is a star, plain and simple and her posts always make me smile, learn or feel. Helena is witty and fresh and captures her readers for a delightful ride into her world. Charles weaves such a world in Windemere (and others) that is inspiring, fun and completely engaging. Bradley is so supportive of all of us, and his drawings, his music and the stories he tells always make me smile. The Rome Construction Crew is the same and I’m blessed I found them.  Tammy Salyer has a brain that I covet and a flair that I admire. Jack Flacco writes books about zombies. Need I say more?! Okay, how about the fact that he shares his thoughts on a variety of other things in a way that is both cozy and intelligent. Sarah is incredible and I can’t wait for more of her series to come out. Kevin at Critical Margins makes me think, makes me want to do more and be more. And the Community Storyboard? That place made me realize I have more than D in my head!

I know I’m missing someone, or some blog, but those are some of those I’ve gotten to know the best. There’s always the tale-telling to acknowledge the bits and pieces we find in our day, but until then, thank you, all of you!

D&A