SPREADING MORE BLOGGER LOVE!

      Recently I received 2 Blog awards for the second time. I am taking this opportunity to pass them on again. I love so many Blogs covering a wide range of subjects that I wish I had an award to give to everyone!
     A big thank you to corabeth who has a great Blog titled My Crazy Life for passing on the Versatile Blogger Award to me. My first post about it was IT IS GOOD TO BE VERSATILE!  

       I now pass it on to these 15 Blogs:
*My Life in Holland
*Planet Weidknecht
*Dreaming in Open Fields
*The Little Girl's How to Save Blog
*Let's Talk About People
*JamericanSpice
*melody-mae
*Judy's Handmade Creations
*All Things Important
*Home Grown Families
*Mama to 4 Blessings
*Bahamian Recipes and More
*A Gracious Home
*Life with Linda
*Keeping Up With The Rheinlanders

      
      I would also like to thank Heather Nelsen with her wonderful Blog Notes from the Nelsens for passing on the Liebster award to me. My first post about it was  WOW! MY FIRST BLOG AWARD! I am now happy to pass it on to 5 more great Blogs:
*Happy Accidents
*My Life Through Pictures
*Mamas*Little*Treasures
*All About Computers
*The New Scheherazades

SPREADING SOME SUNSHINE

      Some extra sunshine came my way recently when I received  this beautiful award from Katya Kate of  Mommy Growing up. She has a very interesting Blog and I encourage you to go over and check it out.

      I understand that this award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogosphere. I am glad that you see my Blog in this light Katya Kate!


Here are the rules for accepting this award:
1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
2. Answer the following questions below.
3. Pass the award to 10~12 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs and let them know you awarded them.


Here are my answers:
1. Favourite colour -   Definitely blue although I love some other colours.  I have worn clothes in a variety of shades of blue.
2.Favorite animal - Dog. My family and I have had several over the years. At this time I have 2 called Dobie and Waggy.
3 Favorite number - 17.  There is a game here and one of the meanings for 17 is twins!  Are you surprised that it is my favourite number?! 
4. Favorite drink - cocoa. It is delicious and rich in anti-oxidants
5. Facebook or Twitter? Facebook. I have linked up with friends, former schoolmates and even relatives whom I am yet to meet in person on Facebook. Recently I also started a Facebook Fan Page -https://www.facebook.com/judyastra. However Twitter is also great to link up with persons and share my Blog posts and other published work.
6. My passion -Writing and being born one of twins.  I have been writing for a long time and this Blog is a tribute to my twin sister Janine and the life we shared for almost 47 years. I have found writing to be a good grief management tool.
7.  Giving or getting presents - I like to give presents and help brighten up the lives of others. 
8. Favorite day - Sunday. It is a day when I can relax with my family, meditate and get even closer to my God.
9.Favorite flowers - Red Roses!


Here are 12 of the many Blogs that I love. They have helped me so much since I joined the Blogging world with their wonderful posts, comments etc. I am truly grateful to them:
*Every Day Is A Country Song
*Where Nothing Good Comes Easy
*onemomentintime
*Cheerfulnuts
*Home to 4 Kiddos
*ME AND MY TADPOLE
*the mommyhood chronicles
*Gumdrop Pass
*The Personal Blog of seriousnuts
*Clairejustine
*Katherine's Corner
*Reflexions

BRACELET WITH MY FAVOURITE COLOUR!

      As some of you may recall blue has been a favourite colour for Janine and me over the years. Well, you can just imagine how thrilled I was to get this bracelet with a blue topaz stone with white dots among my birthday gifts! My friend also included a small blue topaz stone in a birthday card! Love them! Strangely enough for years everything featuring our birthstone topaz was the one with a yellow colour and we really loved it. Then we started hearing about blue topaz and got gifts featuring this stone.  

         What is your birthstone?  There are really many beautiful birthstones. For instance my mom's  birthstone is Sapphire.  Oh, blue again!

HOT POTATO SALAD

   Janine and I have been big fans of potato salad over the years - cold and hot potato salad.  Below is a picture of our favourite hot potato salad:

     We got the recipe from Elsa Miller's book 'CARIBBEAN COOKBOOK.'
(A golden rule is that this must be made whilst potatoes are still hot)


6 boiled diced potatoes
1/2 diced onion
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
* salt, pepper
6 boiled and sliced frankfurters ( or vienna sausage)
2 tablespoons oil


Fry frankfurters with onion in some oil.  Add 1 tablespoon flour and blend.  Add sugar, vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper.  Mix together well and pour over the potatoes.  Toss lightly.

A TROPICAL SKY IN NOVEMBER!

        A view of Port Maria, the capital of my parish, St. Mary, Jamaica. This was taken 6 1/2 miles away at my home up here in the hills of Boyne Park. Janine and I always enjoyed sitting on our veranda with our family, relatives and friends taking in the beautiful scenery. This awesome view of nature helps me to find peace.

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF AWARD!

       

     I am always happy to receive a Blog award and I have gotten some more over these past few days.  I will pass them all on. Today I say a big thank you to Grace who has a great Blog titled Growing Old with Grace for giving me the above award. I encourage readers to check out her Blog.


Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1. I must tell 7 things about myself
2. I must pass it on to 15 other bloggers


Here is some information about me:
1. I am a big fan of cocoa. I have it with my breakfast and supper.
2. The first time that my twin and I got published was with a column titled  'Around The World.' It was published in Jamaica's only national newspaper at the time, the Daily Gleaner. We learnt a lot about foreign countries by corresponding with pen-pals, reading books, watching documentaries etc.
3. I have a fear of heights that I would like to conquer.
4. Over the years a favourite place that Janine and I always liked visiting was the popular tourist resort of Ocho Rios. We especially liked having a meal at the 'Ruins' restaurant.  As we enjoyed a delicious meal our eyes were graced by the beautiful waterfalls.
5. My favourite fruit is the pineapple and my favourite species is Sugar Loaf. It is so sweet.
6. I wish I had more time to read novels. However when I do get the chance I look forward to reading books by Danielle Steele. I also like inspirational and religious books that lift my spirit.
7.  I am from a very big family with many relatives living in several countries.


    There are so many great blogs to choose from. I am happy to pass on this award to:
*Comedy Plus
*How to become an Einstein?
*Mommy Growing up
*A Rural Journal
*First Day of My Life
*Mom's Best Nest
*My Crazy Life
*Heartfelt Balance/Handmade Life
*AboutBloggingTime!
*Bloggity Blog
*Notes from the Nelsens
*Art @ Home
** Tina's PicStory *
*Speed of Life
*a mommy's lifestyle
  

FRIDAY BLOG HOP

Thank you for joining the Friday Blog Hop hosted by myself (Nicole) at Mama to 4 Blessings and Melissa at Home Grown Families! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more blog friends!

It's very easy to join in on the fun!

Add your main blog (PLEASE DO NOT LINK UP GIVEAWAYS) link (we ask that you please follow the hostesses in the first 2 spots (Mama to 4 Blessings & Home Grown Families.) Then leave us a quick comment letting us know you are following.

Then start blog hopping!

This is a great opportunity for you to visit other blogs on the link up and comment on their blogs! When people comment on your blog please let them know that you are part of Friday Blog Hop then return the favor and follow them back! Please feel free to grab our Friday Blog Hop button and add it to your blog and spread the word!

Please only enter your MAIN blog link and please G rated links ONLY - NO CURSING please. Home Grown Families and Mama to 4 Blessings are family friendly blogs.

This week's featured guest hostess is: Judy H - J's Thoughts 

Please also follow this week's Featured Guest Hostess: Judy H - J's Thoughts.  Each week a new featured blogger.  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A FEAUTRED GUEST HOSTESS PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT WITH YOU INTEREST AND INCLUDE YOUR BLOG LINK AND E-MAIL ADDRESS.

I LOVE THIS CUTE KEY-RING!

        In my room there are several key-rings that Janine and I received as gifts over the years. Instead of having keys on them they are hanging around as decorations.  Among my birthday gifts this year is this cute key-ring. Note the red bag! It had goodies for me - delicious chocolate sweets with nuts inside.

         A big thank you to my Italian friend Robby. For many years she was Janine's pen-pal. Since Janine's death we have kept in touch via emails and have also had many interesting chats via MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger.  I know Janine would also love this key-ring. I will certainly treasure it.

BIRTHDAY FOOD DELIGHTS

       Although my birthday was Friday, November 4, my family decided that we would get together for a special lunch and ice-cream and cake last Sunday. Of course my lunch had to include favourites that Janine and I have had over the years - roast chicken with stuffing, rice and peas, macaroni and cheese, vegetable salad (carrots, cabbage and tomatoes) and baked potatoes. I enjoyed the meal which was very delicious.  Here is a picture  of it before I managed to have it all!:)

        We just love macaroni and cheese and have had it in a variety of ways. For my birthday lunch we had a macaroni and cheese casserole. You can see the recipe for this casserole in an earlier post A MACARONI & CHEESE DELIGHT.  Below is  a picture of it after it was baked last Sunday:

         I could not have my ice-cream and cake until after 4 p.m. It included my mom's home-made chocolate ice-cream.

BIRD BIRTHDAY TREAT!

       Over the years Janine and I have always had bird calendars.  Each month we looked forward to seeing the bird of the month.  I am so pleased with the bird birthday treat that I got this year. For November I am greeted by this beautiful picture of the Waxwing on the calendar in my bedroom.

            We appreciated all the gifts we received and got a special thrill when there was yet another bird figurine for our huge collection. This year I got this figurine from my family. I like the fact that 2 birds are on it!:)

              Of course there are persons who know how much we love birds so at times we would get a card featuring a bird or two. This year I got this beautiful card from an English friend Janet:

       These all helped to lift my spirit. Oh, I should not forget the added lift I got as I stood on  my veranda and saw a flock of  birds passing. I had my digital camera but did not manage to get them in time. Anyway there will be a next time. Birds give one a sense of freedom!