Proud as a Peahen - Meme Award

PROUD AS A PEAHEN ...

I’ve been awarded a Meme simultaneously by 

 the team at the helm of Toronto Gardens, Sarah & Helen,

and by Wendy at Greenish Thumb. 

Wendy, my ebullient new Blotanical buddy from Maryland claims to be a newbie gardener, but she had me hooked from the start with her spirited blogging about this and that.

Helen and Sarah: These sisters possess artistic flair in equal measure, an artistry resulting in alluring images coupled with great dollops of humor for a masterful balance.

To participate in the Meme Award you need to:

* Link back to the person who gave you the award.

* Reveal seven things about yourself.

* Choose seven other blogs to nominate, and post a link to them.

* Let each of your choices know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

* And finally, let the tagger know, when your post is up.

7  Things Revealed

1. Close friends know that when I have a dinner party, one particular dish is likely to appear for dessert. 

My  speciality: A fruit tart - cherry, plum or apricot, with a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth, buttery crust.

2. Despite the surname, my ethnicity is fully Italian-American. Naturally, I love to eat, but I'm lucky to be among the class of ectomorphs.  

3. After moving to California, I shopped around for ages before locating the perfect, oh-so-cool, cruiser bicycle. 

An Italian basket  easily clips on and off for errrands.

4. A  dedicated film buff,  I’m drawn to the melancholy, visually stunning movies of Wong Kar-Wai.  

British director Mike Leigh is another favorite. 

In a Chicago pub where journalists gathered, I once chatted with a critic about Leigh’s obscure first effort, Bleak Moments. Smugly, we reveled in its brilliance, being among the limited audience that had seen the movie at a Chicago Film Festival screening.

5. Theatre is another passion: Chicago, my home town is a hub for  talented actors and writers, with countless small companies staging first-rate performances. 

When Tom and I are able to put together a trip to London, we stay in a small hotel in Sloane Square, and take in whatever is being staged upstairs and downstairs at the Royal Court. 

The lower level bar is our preferred spot for small bites and a glass of wine. We see whatever is on at the Almeida, and the National, and always spend time at Tate Modern.

6. My office is painted a deep terracotta hue. It's a cocoon-like room, with shelves filled with garden and horticulture books I’ve reviewed. A sculpture and a painting of mine hang on the walls, along with photographs taken by artist friends. Pride of place goes to a work on paper by an outsider artist who sold her work for many years from the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago. Tom and I drove downtown to purchase the drawing from her as a wedding present to ourselves.

 In general I shy away from color, except in the garden. All the bright lemon-lime foliage seems to have transformed my outlook. Chartreuse now prevails as an accent color in shoes, shirts, handbags and sweaters.

7. I’m too serious, and feel compelled to find a silly side of myself to reveal.

 I can’t think of any.

I'm passing this Meme Award to:

1.  Lost In the Landscape - James writes with sensitivity and insight; a San Diego artist/gardener after my own heart. 

I look to Lost Landscape for stimulating discourse on landscape design, planting, and sustainable gardening.

2.  The Inelegant Gardener - A blog that feeds my Anglophile tendencies. I wallow in witty morsels of Happy Mouffetard’s prose, enviously eye specimens from her garden, and happily tag along on her visits to gardens and shows.

3.  Greenwalks  - A valuable link to Seattle, Greenwalks captures my imagination: I never tire of her observations on parking strip plantings, or musings on the urban environment.

4.  The Intercontinental Gardener  - A true citizen of the world, The Intercontinental Gardener is erudite and design savvy. Her blog is beautiful to gaze upon and endlessly inspiring to read.  Would love to accompany her on any foray.

5.  danger garden  - A go-to blog to get fired up about a vast palette of spiny, fleshy, patterned, fragrant, architecturally gorgeous plants! Energetic and stylish, this Portland gardener knows her stuff. 

6.  Our French Garden - For glimpses of la belle France, or more specifically, the Dordogne & Le Banquet, Rob guides me on vicarious strolls through the property’s gardens. Further afield, charming villages are explored, and readers bask in the ambiance of historic settings.

7.  Grace Peterson - Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a plant lover’s paradise. Grace’s blog portrays a panoply  of flowers and foliage in a densely planted garden paradise. It's always fun to hang out here.