We’ve been nominated by Fangirls on the Road for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. Fangirls on the Road write about the television series Supernatural, comic book-based shows, fan conventions, and a host of other topics that are right in our wheelhouse. We appreciate these talented women giving us a dragon nod.

The Dragon’s Loyalty Award recognizes the importance of support and fellowship. It serves to make our blog community feel a little closer, a little more connected. Thus, part of the tradition involves a bit of self-disclosure, something that always makes us a tad anxious. As those who have come before us have shared a little bit of their souls, or at least some unexpected facts, here are seven things about us.

• We grew up near Lily Dale Assembly, the world’s largest Spiritualist center. At Lily Dale you can hear speakers discuss a host a philosophical topics, visit a medium for a reading of your future, walk through the pet cemetery, and learn about the original Fox Sisters, Kate and Margaret, founders of the modern Spiritualist movement. Lily Dale is spooky to visit in the day, and downright scary to sneak into at night.
• Growing up, Doctor Who was a staple in our household. Not to date ourselves too much, but we were viewers of the series during the eras of the third, fourth, and fifth Doctors. Tom Baker isn’t the only mad doctor we love, because we’re also slightly obsessed with Dr. Horrible. Yet despite our best efforts, we have yet to be invited into the Evil League of Evil.
• The neighborhood we grew up in was a fantastic place—dirt roads to ride your bike up and down, an empty lot next door for playing kickball every day in the summer, and an orchard at the end of our neighborhood that had woods, a creek running through it, and paths you could bike on in the summer and sled down in the winter.
• The best part of where we grew up was that we lived on Lake Erie. In the summer we would run up from the beach, brushing some sand off our feet in the lawn, but tracking most of it into the house. In the winter we would dig snow caves and watch water spout out of ice volcanoes on the frozen lake. When you grow up on a lake or an ocean, you have a connection to the water that never goes away. No matter where we find ourselves living, we’ll always be lake people at heart.
• Despite the bucolic environment of our childhood, as adults we’re urban girls. We live in cities, both along the Pacific Ocean. There’s something to be said for the anonymity of the city.
• We love to watch the night sky. Though we miss being able to see all the stars in our citified environs, we still have fun going out to see a meteor shower, looking for the International Space Station, and identifying constellations and planets (though we rely on a web app most of the time).
• Having witnessed many an amazing lightning storm coming in from across the lake, we appreciate a good house-shaking thunderstorm. A mix of fear and suspense lies in those few seconds between the lightning flash and the crash of the thunder.

Though our lives may be different in many ways, as sisters we have a commonality and shared history that makes us who we are and connects us. Mostly because we think the same things are funny, even when no one else does.

Now comes the most exciting part of the Dragon’s Loyalty Award—nominating others in the blogging community whom we appreciate and admire.

Ronosaurus Rex

Ron Richardson is a writer, teacher, and photographer. Ron is the author of Narrative Madness, a book that examines storytelling and the manner in which narrative language affects perception and behavior. In his blog, Ronosaurus Rex, Ron writes about metafiction and shares his poetry and fiction, while also blogging about teaching, photography, and other interests. Ronosaurus Rex gives the reader beautifully composed blog posts and excellent writing that we really enjoy.

What Else is on Now?

We like to think of ourselves as TV aficionados, but let’s face it—there are only so many hours in the day for television viewing. Omari Daniels writes about some of the same shows we like to watch, but also about a whole host of programs we haven’t seen or even heard of. Omari also writes about The Walking Dead comic book, which we like to check out for sneak peeks. When it comes to entertainment, we appreciate the opportunity to have our minds expanded through What Else is on Now?

Insomnia, Nightmares and General Madness

Kaine Andrews is an author of a series of horror novels. On his blog Insomnia, Nightmares and General Madness, Kaine shares his short fiction, provides book and movie reviews, and writes blog posts about a variety of topics. The Book of the Day feature showcases a variety of books, some of which are unusual finds. Check out his work at Insomnia, Nightmares and General Madness.

Realistic Cooking Ideas

Bernice’s fantastic cooking blog constantly reinforces our own mediocrity in the kitchen. Just kidding—at least in terms of one of us, anyways. For reals, Bernice creates unique and delicious recipes for busy people, sometimes putting together unexpected ingredients to create cool new dishes. She posts about main dishes, appetizers, holiday foods, desserts and more. The fact that she posts great pictures of Western New York on her blog only endears her further to us. We appreciate the variety of recipes, because one of us loves meat, the rarer the better, while the other is a vegetarian. Realistic Cooking Ideas has been nominated for many blogging awards, including this one, but we wanted to encourage checking it out if you’re looking for a little inspiration in the kitchen.

There are a lot of fantastic blogs out there. Please feel free to share some of your own with us in the comments.