
A very big thank you to Alex from Brian and Lily for nominating us for the Real Neat Blog Award. Her blog is about her passion for helping dogs lead better lives through education and dedication. She chronicles life with her rescue dogs Brian and Lily with lovely photographs and informative stories.
Here are the rules for the Real Neat Blog Award:
- Post the Award logo on your blog.
- Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
- Thank the people who nominated you and link to their blog.
- Nominate any number of bloggers you like and link to their blog.
- Let them know you nominated them by leaving a comment on their blog.
Alex had been nominated by Dolly from Koolkosherkitchen and could not find the original questions. When I visited Dolly’s blog I could see them all there.
Because this is the last award we are going to accept before going ‘Award Free’ I am answering the questions that were originally intended to go with this award when Dolly nominated Alex:
- Where do most visits to your blog come from?
The top ten countries of origin for our visitors are US, UK, India, Canada, Australia, Philippines, Turkey, Nigeria, Norway and Denmark. - What is your favourite sport or exercise?
Hiking, pilates and Qi Gong. - What has been a special moment for you so far in 2016?
Our silver wedding anniversary which we combined with our first holiday with Eivor and Pearl earlier this year. - What is your favourite quote?
When the worlds you create in your mind connect with your heart you create what you love (Marc Allen) - What was your favourite class when still at school?
French. I loved the language, the culture and the teachers were such fun and so warm-hearted. At secondary school they organised ‘French evenings’ complete with music, wine, baguettes and french cheeses. The passion they instilled in me for all things French stayed with me. I later took a degree in French Studies and we have visited France many times before we started adopting dogs. - Anything you had wished to have learned earlier?
Horse riding. I have always loved horses and after exploring remote villages in Mexico on horseback I thought it would be so wonderful to ride back home. We were in our thirties then and both my husband and I took riding lessons and rode for many years. I had to give it up after a bad riding accident and then got involved with volunteering for Riding For The Disabled. Horses will always have a special place in my heart. - What musical instrument have you tried to play?
I am teaching myself to play the mandolin. When I used to write much longer poems it helped me create rhythm in the poetry.
My nominees for the award are:
Maisie the Newfie and Company, a lovely blog with beautiful photographs and stories about rescue dogs Maisie and Annie.
Ramblings of a Writer, a lovely blog by Elsie Hagley where she writes tanka and hosts a weekly tanka challenge.
The World is a Book, a beautiful photography blog by the very talented Amy.
The One Year Photo Project, a lovely photography blog by Molli Lowry.
My First 10,000 Photos, another wonderful photography blog by Candice-Marie.
It will be lovely if you accept the award and if you prefer not to I can totally understand. Please know that your blogs are appreciated.
My other intended nominee, Sascha Darlington, has just announced that she is going award-free. She is a very talented fiction writer and you may want to check out her blog as well.

We are very grateful for all the awards we have received for this blog so far. This is award number seven and the blog has only been going for seven months.
After a long discussion with Eivor and Pearl we have decided that all your visits, likes and comments are more than award enough and that from now on this is going to be an Award-Free blog.
Thank you again to all our readers and much love to you all,
Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photograph by Xenia Tran, unedited.
Camera: Lumix Panasonic FZ38, setting: Outdoor Action.
Daily Prompt: Millions
Congratulations to all!🐾🐾
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Thank you Meg :o) xxx
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More great blog to check out 🙂 Thank you. Have a lovely weekend xxx
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Thank you Cathy, you have a lovely weekend too xxx
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Well deserved, you blog brings so much happiness to me and many more people on the site I am sure, long may they continue. xxxx
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Thank you for your kind words Elaine, always so much appreciated :o) xxx
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I am so glad that Alex has nominated you for this award – congratulations, well deserved!
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Thank you so much Dolly! :o)
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Congratulations, your award is well deserved and well earned. 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind words E.C.☺ We really appreciate your visits and comments and wish you a wonderful weekend ☺🐾🐾
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Congratulations and thank you for thinking of us. I love your pictures and your dogs always look so happy! Kristin
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Thank you Kristin and you are very welcome!☺ Much love to you, Maisie and Annie 💜🐾🐾
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You very much deserve this award and all that you have received. Your blog is one of the very special places here at wordpress and I know that I often feel spiritually improved after a visit here. I thank you for mentioning me and thinking of me. All the best, Sascha.
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Thank you so much for your kind words Sascha and it was a pleasure to give your blog a mention. You are such a gifted writer. Much love to you from all of us here 💜🐾🐾
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You have a wonderful blog, Xenia. You, Eivor and Pearl deserve every accolade that comes your way. Congratulations to all of you.
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Thank you so much dear Lois ☺ Much love to you 💜 and have a wonderful weekend ☺🐾🐾
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Congratulations, you deserve it.
Thank you for nominating me, it is a real honor “Real Neat Blog award” fantastic, will carry on the role of nominating more blogs worthy of this award.
Have a nice weekend.
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Thank you so much Elsie and it was a pleasure to nominate you and your lovely blog ☺ Congratulations to you too and have a wonderful weekend!☺
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Congratulations, another lovely award for your lovely blog! It’s always interesting to see other people’s answers too. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, lots of love : ) xxx
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Thank you Samantha and congratulations to you too! Much love to all of you and enjoy your weekend!☺ xxx
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Thank you 🙂 Enjoy your evening : ) xxx
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Thank you, you too ☺💖 xxx
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Congratulations to your award. The award fits perfectly to your blog!! 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind words Miriam 💜 and we wish you a wonderful weekend!☺
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Thank you. Same to you!
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Thank you :o)
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Congratulations, I really enjoyed this post, fabulous quote too, I hadn’t heard it before so thanks for sharing 😊 x
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Thank you for your kind words Liza and it is a pleasure to share ☺ Much love to you and have a wonderful weekend 💜
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You too 😊💜
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Thank you ☺💜
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A lovely insight and as always.. happy pics which always put a smile on my face! Thank you x
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Thank you Wendy and you are very welcome!☺ Have a wonderful weekend ☺🍂🍁
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Thank you and you too xx
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Thank you 💜
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Very nice to know you further and further …
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Thank you Rommel :o)
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