The Special Tea Award

Over the course of our relatively short blogging career, we've had a number of people come visit us here at the Basement. Many people leave comments, and we thank you all, since we always love to hear what our readers have to say. But there are some individuals who are unfailingly kind, humorous, and enthusiastic when commenting on our blog. To honor them, we have come up with this:

We are giving this award to the following bloggers: Maitri, glor!e, Lidian, and Mr. The Hawg. They are talented bloggers in their own right, and are just really nice people. We think that it's always a good thing to recognize kindness as well as excellence, and we hope they appreciate this award.

Unlike most blogging awards, there are no rules with this one. It does not need to be passed along (unless the recipient wants to), nor is it necessary to link back to us or even post it on your blog. We just want you to lift a virtual cup of special tea, think fun thoughts, and enjoy your award.

Please know that this is not a one-time-only award. We'll be giving this award out periodically in the future, since there are other people we'd like to honor for their support and good humor. So keep watching, you might see your name on the next awards list!

Our 6 unspectacular quirks

We're flattered to have been tagged recently by two separate bloggers for the six unspectacular quirks meme that's making the rounds of the blogosphere. Both Chilly at On The Bricks and Mr. The Hawg at The Natural State Hawg have tagged us, and we are flattered that they wish to know more about us.

Since Margie and Edna posted their quirks back in June when Chilly tagged us originally, this blog's authors will simply share a few of our own quirks with our readers. Since we co-write the blog, we're splitting up the six quirks between us. We don't think you all could handle the full impact of twelve of our combined quirks all at once.

Jane's quirks:

1. I love to read and always have a stash of books nearby. I get antsy when I don't have anything around that I haven't read. I read anything except romances and westerns. My favorites are thrillers and mysteries. My favorite author is Steve Berry.

2. I will be an Alabama Crimson Tide fan until the day I die. It's been this way for more years than I care to mention. Roll Tide.

3. If I buy a fast food burger with fries then I eat the fries first. If I make a burger and fries at home then I can eat both at the same time.

Beth's quirks:

1. I hate it when my food touches on my plate. I don't mean food that could be a reasonable and palatable combo, like meat and vegetables. I mean gravy leaking onto your salad, or salad dressing leaking into your green beans. If I had my way, all food would be served either in separate bowls or on a divided plate.

2. I can't stand it when perfect strangers call me "honey" or "sweetheart", especially men. It so often comes off as condescending rather than a term of endearment. It's one thing when it comes from my great-uncle; it's another thing entirely when the guy trying to sell you a muffler does it.

3. I'm not sure if this is a quirk so much as an oddity: the second toes on both of my feet are longer than the big toes. I've been told that this is a sign of a dominant personality (not true) and/or a sign of Celtic or royal ancestry (possibly true). All I know is that it makes me look like I have monkey toes.

Rather than tag 6 more bloggers, we'd simply like to thank everyone who comes and reads our posts and leaves comments for the ladies. Thank you so much!