January 03, 2010

Back With A Tag.

And a few awards.
Hello and a Happy 2010 everyone, it is great to be back! I trust you all had lovely Holidays. I have enjoyed my short, but very needed break. Staying pretty much completely off line for a week, it was beneficial for my mind and soul.

I had a wonderful white(!) Christmas and a very laid back New Year. The weather has been bitterly cold and it is snowing as I write this. In the news they talk about a possible "ice-winter", the first one in about fifteen years. This means that inlets and bays of the North sea will freeze. An event that happens very rarely, as it takes prolong subzero temperatures to cause saltwater to turn into ice.

I have decided to ease back into my writing by acknowledging a few awards I have received recently and less recently. I have been feeling guilty about not doing so for a while, but I want all the award givers to know that I always appreciate every single award I get; and I keep being amazed and extremely flattered that these are being bestowed upon me.

The first one was given to me by the talented Doreen. It is entitled Best Blog Award and is given to blogs that are "visually stunning, memorable, educational, and funny". I feel very honoured that I should fall under this category - thank you so much Doreen.

The second one was passed on to me by the very lovely Susan. It is apparently originally a nameless award, but Susan decided to call it Gratitude Expressing Award. Thank you dear friend, I am very thankful for this attention.

The last one was given to me by my friend and a talented artist Stevie; thank you dear, you know this means the world to me.

The last two awards both came with the same tag; I am suppose to reveal Seven Things You May Or May Not Know About Me. I am not sure there is anything left to disclose that you might not know about me (or that is of any interest). I have done similar tags before, such as here, here and here and am kind of running out of things to say about myself, but I am giving it yet another try:

1) When I was a child I fell on my chin and needed to have it stitched. So I have a scar just below my chin; I think this is one of the most common injuries in small kids.

2) I carry my passport with me at all times. It is a strange habit, I guess revealing the more adventurous me; ready to travel at any given moment.

3) I am a collector. I collect stuff. It is not critical yet, but my basement is filled with boxes of stuff. Some I have not opened for years. But as a hobby, as a child I collected stamps, chewing gum wrappings and napkins. I think my collections are still somewhere in some of the boxes.

4) I once went on a two weeks vacation to Cyprus on my own. I was 22. It was "a last minute trip", meaning I did not know where I was staying until actually after my arrival. As luck had it, I was assigned to a first class resort, with my own apartment, sea view and private beach. I met tons of people and had a blast. I never traveled alone again though and would never do that today. Sometimes I miss the braveness of youth.

5) When I was about five years old I saved a kid that was drowning at the shore of the Black Sea. He was a son of my parents friends and our families were at that time vacationing in Romania. This happened as we played on the beach at the shore line, and he kept being hit by waves, unable to come up for air. I grabbed the boy by his hair and screamed my lungs out for help. His name was Tom. I wonder if he recalls this and what he is doing now.

6) I have reoccurring dreams. They have varied over the years, but most of my reoccurring dreams are unsettling. Not directly nightmares, but not directly pleasant either. My latest dream is about a basement in a house, that is apparently mine, but that I do not recognize. A basement that has been locked for years and that I do not dare to enter. Hmm.

7) I believe that Saint Francis of Assisi adequately summarized the art of how to live in this one single quote (which is my favourite, together with the one listed in my sidebar):
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

36 comments:

Unknown said...

welcome back! glad your little hiatus was inspiring and restful. interesting dreams you must have. wonder what it all means? I don't remember much of mine at all after I awake. very cool to have saved someones life.

happy new year!!

(can't sleep so I am up on the laptop!)

Sumandebray said...

Welcome back. I have been missing your daily post.
Congratulation on the awards. It was great to read those lines from the pages of your Life Story
Happy New Year

J Cosmo Newbery said...

"I was born under the Tatra Mountains, to a Czech father and a Slovak mother. I grew up in Sweden and lived and worked almost 10 years in North Carolina. Today I live in Denmark..."

No wonder you always carry your passport with you!

Jeannette StG said...

Zuzana,
I've written a series on dreams this last Fall. The basement is "living space underneath the surface", literally as well as emotionally. For some reason it has been locked ("forgotten about it"), because you fear what's in there. Can you think of some issues/situations you think you can't handle? - You probably can:), but maybe you need someone trustworthy to talk it over with. Take care, dear friend.

S. Susan Deborah said...

Dear Zuzana: I was thinking of you today and lo! I see a comment from you. How nice to start work again.

Your sevens are a lovely list that reflect you. I reread the list as I did not want to get out of the magic of YOU.

You take great care.

Joy always,
Susan

Anonymous said...

good tags! congrats on your awards.

Elizabeth said...

Hej Zuzana,

HAPPPY 2010. Glad your back. Enjoy your last day of the christmas-holiday-vacation.

xox

Reading Tea Leaves said...

Welcome back, I'm so glad you had a good restful holiday. Congratulations on the awards (you deserve every single one!)and I enjoyed reading your very interesting tag. I took a two week holiday alone to Greece when I was in my late 20s too, and met my friend Gaye who, over 20 years later, is one of my closest friends! I wouldn't change that for the world but I'm not sure I would be brave enough to do that now!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Zuzana and wish you health and happiness in 2010 and look forward to continuing to share this blogging journey with you.

Jeanne xxx

PS I love the St Francis quote ...

tony said...

Welcome Back Zuzana.
Yes.It's good to have a break from being online.Change Is Always Good!
Wishing All Goodness For 2010.

Brian Miller said...

welcome back! so nice to see you this morning. smiles. congrats on the awards. know the stitch thing well...just put 7 in my youngest boys head this weekend. scooter accident. and so i live in the serentiy prayer...

happy new year friend!

Anonymous said...

Zuzana,
oh my lands. I love your post here. Congrats and hat off to you for your most deserving awards! Thanks for sharing the 7 things of your past! From saving a life to living out Saint Frances of Assisi, you are a friend indeed. LadyCat and I have this quote hanging in our home. We have our grandaughters today and getting ready to have pancakes soon! yummy! :) The Bach

♥Mimi♥ said...

I adore your post today. I, too, have recurring dreams and lots of stuff and know St. Francis' quote by heart. I want to be brave enough to travel alone and also have a scar under my chin. If I remember correctly, I got it from running on the sidewalk and tripping when I was just a toddler.

The post today gave me some warm fuzzies - thanks☺

Kat_RN said...

Welcome back and Happy New Year to you too. Your blog desearves those awards and more, I love reading it!
I too love to travel and though I do not carry my passport with me everywhere, I can lay hands on it in a minute.
Cheers!
Kat

Franco Family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shelly's Style Shop said...

Happy New Year! =) I am so glad your back. I have missed your posts. I can't wait to see what the new year brings us and what posts you will be sharing with all of us.

Congrats on all the awards. You deserve every single one of them! And thanks for sharing some more things about you. =) Great post!

xoxo, Shelly

Betsy Brock said...

So glad to see you back! You were missed! Sounds like you had a lovely break away. Stay warm! It's rather frigid here...3F degrees this morning, but at least it's sunny! Congratulations, too, on the well deserved awards! :)

Hilary said...

Welcome back, my friend. :) I've missed you. Congrats on the awards. I have little doubt that Tom remembers full well about this incident. Near-drownings are not easy to forget. You were his guardian angel that day. Happy 2010, my friend. :)

Helen McGinn said...

It's great to have you back. Congratulations on your awards, you so deserve them.

I have a similar dream to No. 6 oddly enough but it involves a different house. I totally agree about No. 7!

Happy New Year to you Zuzana.

xx

Rajesh said...

Good to see you back.
Wish yo Happy & prosperous New Year

Michelle H. said...

Welcome back, Zuzana! I hope your New Year has started out great for you.

I'm the same with number 6. It's rather an unpleasent dream too, dealing with a ghost child living in part of the attic in my parents' house. Gives me the chills every time.

Julie Hibbard said...

You are SO interesting and we ALL want to know everything there is to know about you!
You collect napkins? You saved a drowning child? Come on! You are amazing and OH so fun to read each day!
Stay in and stay warm! Can't wait to read more! :)
Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Hello Zuzana. I found you at The Bach's place. Loved your post and especially look for folk who live in other countries. I would like to put your blog on my recommended list but cannot log on to your followers list due to a Google glitch I can't seem to fix. I applaud you for taking a break as we all need to do that. I am retired and love blogging and learning new things. All the Blessings of the New Year to you and yours. Stop over for a visit sometime.
QMM

Anonymous said...

I missed you, and am so glad you're back! :)
Happy 2010, dear Zuzana!
Zuzu

sprinkles said...

Welcome back, I've missed you!

I had a white Christmas too. And we have since gotten more snow. We're supposed to get even more tomorrow. Ugh!

Congrats on the awards! It's always nice to get them, isn't it? They're well deserved! But I noticed you didn't pass them on to anyone.

Thanks for sharing a little more about yourself. I read the other posts too. It's fun to learn a little more about your friends!

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Dear Zuzana,

There is nothing wrong about taking things easy. It is important to take a break and take some distance from what one loves in order to see things with a fresh view.

Let me congratulate you on the various rewards that have been bestowed upon you and they are certainly well deserved.

Warmest regards
Egmont

Unknown said...

Zuzana: I think you may be the only blogger I know who has visited The Black Sea as I have! Your courage in saving the little boy's life was moving, and your hobby's sound as heartwarming as you are. Happy New Year and stay warm! :)

Cat in the road said...

I missed you and I think I'm not alone. The boxes in you basement are for your twilight years. They will help you relive the past. Welcome back.

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

Welcome home Zuzana! So glad to see you back!
Congrats on your awards and I always like a meme that helps to get to know you a bit better.
Hope you have a wonderful week.
Jill

Holly said...

Hello Friend!! That was enjoyable. Not only do we have so many tastes in common,...but we also share the same scar. (Fell off my bike at 8years old.) I also have the slightly disturbing reoccuring dream issue. I wonder sometimes what they mean. hmmmmm...

I am sure glad that you installed that beautiful fireplace if you are in store for a possible sub-zero winter.

Sooo good to have you back!
xoxox -Holls

Kath said...

Happy New Year, my lovely Bloggy friend! Kath xx

Zuzana said...

Doreen, Sumandebray, Cosmo, jeannette, Susan, Mel, Elizabeth, Jeanne, Tony, Brian, The Bach, Mimi, Kat, Shelly, Betsy, Hilary, Helen, Rajesh, Michelle, Julie, QMM, Zuzu, sprinkles, Egmont, Michael, Scribe816, Jill, Holly and Kath – thank you all for such a warm welcome back, that made me smile.

I am glad you enjoyed reading a bit more about me and did not find it too boring or self-centred. I often feel these kind of tags are exactly that.

Thank you again to all of you that gifted me with the awards and to the rest of you for always finding the time to stop by.

xoxo
Zuzana

Claus said...

Happy New Year Zuzana!!
What a great way to come back, and with a few new things to learn about you! ;-) I too have recurring dreams! They often make me wonder how is it that they "happen" again. I can assure you it is not because they are "pleasant" ones. One of those mysteries I suppose.

Diane said...

Look how many comments and followers!!!! You deserve them all, dear Z!!

I loved reading this list... I knew a couple of things... but not most :) xo

Zuzana said...

Claudia and Diane, happy 2010 to you my friends, glad you enjoyed my first post of the year.;)
xo

Gal Friday said...

Welcome back to Blogland, Zuzana!
You were certainly missed by me, but I know it's good to go offline from time to time, too.
And...I am SURE "Tom" remembers being rescued by you. That is quite a story(and I also liked reading your other "Zuzana facts".)

Zuzana said...

Tina, thank you dear friend, it is good to be back.;) xo