Though I’ve been mostly away from the internet these last couple of weeks, I had to come back to thank Jo Tracey for nominating me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. She actually tagged me from her newish site, And Anyways that covers all her non-astro adventures. Do check it out–she’s got a great eye and shares her photos, food exploits, and much more–so thank you, Jo! And on to the rules (because these things always have rules). Personally, I won’t hold any of my nominees to list publishing or Soul-baring–that’s up to them. So, I’ll call them ‘the suggestions’–and they are:

1. Display the award logo on your blog
2. Link back to the person who nominated you (that would be you Jo…)
3. State 7 things about yourself
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award and link to them
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the awards requirements.

1) When I was younger I seemed to be tall–now I seem short–what happened?  2) I love to read 3) I don’t sleep as much as I need or would like to–I’m too afraid I’ll miss something 4) I love to cook 5) I’ve actually, literally, skinned a cat (for anatomy class–before that I thought it was just a saying, that there’s more than one way!) 6) I studied midwifery; the first baby I caught was named Gustavo–he should be 32 by now 7) I love to garden

Bloggers whose work I admire, in no special order:

1. I’ve got to start with Jo–and her new blog–she has a light touch and shares her interests, excellent photos, and thoughts in a way that’s almost like taking a break when you read it–and my Pisces Moon loves an escape!

2. There’s another blog from one of my astro friends that should be mentioned, Two Hours You’ll Never Get Back by Jude Cowell–a lovely and thought-provoking diversion with a touch of humor.

3. wildmonkeysects  makes occasional, sharp-witted observation of the world–what more could you want?

4. When looking to identify the planets in the sky, I love the highly informative Naked Eye Planets  This site should answer most of your astronomy questions, and quite a few about the lore behind the major bodies

5. Deb’s Tarot Goodness a succinct, no-nonsense take on the upcoming week through Tarot

6. Her Halcyon Phase has an engaging, righteous (and I mean that in a good way), thought-provoking energy

7. Shannon Food is a meditation on what the earth produces, what we can do with it, and what it means to us, written by a true Chef of the heart

8.  The Oculus Divinorum’s The Feral Tarot can be appreciated by anyone into the Art of the Cards–part resource, part exploration, always interesting

9. The Mirror of Aphrodite offers a take on relationships and our behavior in them that is both exciting and full of common sense

10. An astute and very intriguing take on spirituality, paganism, and autism can be found at The Other Side

11. A discussion of science fiction, fantasy, and Art that focuses on the way we see and interpret these: These Other Realms

12. Exploring the human condition through thought, and sometimes astrology, Learning Curve on the Ecliptic

13. Peter Stockinger’s Traditional Astrology Weblog is an excellent resource for all things traditional and horary

14. Shifting Realities by Verena Heinrich offers concentrated astro assessment with lots of detail

and finally, 15. A Question of Mindfulness offers first-person experience and spiritual insight in a thoughtful, considered way

I’ll be back with 2-3x per week postings in just a few days–if you want to get it all, please subscribe to ECLIPSE; the upcoming issue, due out Thursday evening PDT, offers the detailed aspect and Lunar forecast for the week, and will come with a free booklet,  2012 The Elevation of Chiron–all current subscribers will receive this, as will anyone who orders by 30 August 2012.