Though I haven't shouted out that I'm partaking in this "challenge", I'm tagging my photos because I count myself happy most of the time. When my California neighbor called this morning and asked what I was doing, I told her she'd have to wait until I posted my photo. And here's the list of just a part of what's making me happy here...
It's raining outside, the temps are dropping and I swear, I can see the leaves changing colour as I watch!
Writing by candle light takes me back to simpler times, and I think we should step away from the computers, let's say, at least one day a year!
I used Shutterfly's free offers to get a nice pad of paper with photos of my grand kids, and another offer for free cards, this time making them into postcards, so I cut them apart and I can write two letters from each one!
So Barbara, there you are! The first card I wrote was to you! Now you'll have to wait to see which photo I chose to send you ♥
Best of all, it makes me happy if I can make other people happy as well! (Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in the world tried to do just that? It would all be so simple...)
Simply wonderful! Love your idea about occasionally unplugging...maybe even one day a month. ☺ And I love your focus on family, friends, and spreading a little kindness in the world.. A delightful post, Louise!
I love the rocking horse in the window behind you. Wonderful portrait and so nice to know that you write letters or cards. I will admit that I very seldom write a letter or a card these days.It is now done by email or text messages. I agree that one should try to take a break from computers (and other technology devices) every so often. Everytime we go into a game park I get a break. Unfortunately still have to hve the computer as I have to download my camera on a daily basis! I don't usually do anything other than download and backup.
@peggysirk@laetitiapetrussa@salza Thank you ladies! The three of you ALWAYS make me happy when I see you've dropped by! Peggy, I've felt that "Grandma kinship" with you for five years now! And Laetitia, you offer up sensational photos of calorie laden delicacies, and I won't gain a pound looking at them! Sally, I can't resist a free offer, so when Shutterfly offers "10 free cards", I can get 5 x 7 photos on them, if nothing else, but I do enjoy sending out notes as well. It's all "pretend" that I might not be on the computer most of the time, but I do like the time away from it, if only to ground myself in earlier times. I'm an old soul in a technological age, and while enjoying the present, I still like the notion of living 100-or-more years ago (but don't give me the knowledge of the present if I do go back to then!)
You do look so happy and content, Louise. Lunenburg is good for you!! Love the little rocking horse, I do miss writing and getting long letters in the mail. I'm a writer, but even I've given in to long emails instead of letters. Gets there so much faster, if nothing else. Still have lots of pretty stationery that I'll probably never use.
@snowy@aglennc Thanks Diana. I really did enjoy the morning there. And Anita, you KNOW why Lunenburg is such a good place to be! In writing this morning, I realized it's senseless to write an actual informative letter as it's long-gone information by the time it arrives in the mail. The cards seem a good idea because you can "just be a writer" without actually sending news. Yes, I suspect you and I will leave A LOT of unused stationery & cards in the years ahead! I do love paper, however, and enjoy the process of writing on it!
I'm right there with you on the Technology Age, Louise. I'm a lover of luxury stationery, fountain pens, handwritten letters and journals, etc. But sadly today I found that I could not find a stamp in the house for the one piece of handwritten correspondence I needed to mail. I've totally adapted to online bill pay, emails, texts, Google instead of encyclopedias and dictionaries, Kindle rather than actual books, and on and on. I'd be perfectly happy to go back to pre-tech days...but, like you, only if I had no prior knowledge of the convenience of technology.
I remember thinking cordless phones were pretty amazing. ☺
@nickspicsnz It seems so obvious, doesn't it?! The cardstock in these cards is so nice that they make excellent postcards. How much trouble is it to write a 10-minute note and know it will delight the recipient!? @pyrrhula Ferry, you KNOW how happy I am that our paths crossed because of a hummingbird! Thank you for the very thoughtful and kind words about each part of my photo and caption!
@salza@aglennc Thanks for the kind words about my Folk Art rocking horse I only bought back in August! I tried photographing it in this setting twice, and was most unhappy with the attempts as in thos one http://365project.org/Weezilou/album-excess/2015-08-26 He seems to look best when I wasn't trying!
i miss my little "corner"!! i miss you more. but i am thankful we had that monday night in the cold for a chat. wish we had more. you're looking great, my lady. sniffles gone?
@summerfield Feeling the picture of health again! Ken picked up the bug along the way, but it seems to be a short-lived one and he said this afternoon he was feeling better! ...Indeed I really treasured that time we had to sit and visit in that marvelous location while we were away! A truly nice and bonding time. Have had a wonderfully relaxing day just doing only what I've felt like doing...a rare occasion... How has it felt to be back at work? Of course the upside might be that you have "your Godiva shop" downstairs! It will cure what ails you!
@Weezilou - i indulged yesterday. and today, i got a message to claim my "card" from godiva and when i went, bill had ordered a tin by phone perhaps so i am teeming with the chocolate. they have this deliciously decadent macaroon dipped in godiva white chocolate and i did have one yesterday. the salesladies decided i should have by now a points card because they'd seen me there three days this week and i've only been back three days. :-) i'm looking for a big box to put in the hat box and if i'm feeling rich, i just might fill it up with godiva chocolate. okay, maybe not, just a tin or two maybe. :-) work's been busy since i came but i've finished everything and more. i'm being asked if i can work overtime (i don't work and charge overtime) and i might take them up on it as i can charge it to days off, more days to spend going somewhere to photograph!
@summerfield Oh m'friend, don't overindulge me! You were dear enough to offer the hat box for a home decoration! Last night, feeling generous, I did take "5" chocolates with me to the home of friend who was having 5 of us over to dinner. I had another little gift for her, but thought the chocolates would be fun with whatever dessert she had. Let's say they were *very well received*! (I didn't want to overdo it, and I certainly have been enjoying them with morning coffee! They're quite deliciously decadent! Thank you heaps for that taste treat!!
you are certainly looking very relaxed Louise. I love the soft candlelight. I have family letters that are over 100 years old. I dont think people will be keeping emails for that long.
I love this and the sentiment attached. I'm happy 99.99999 percent of the time. Every day I wake up is a reason to be happy.
It's getting cold here too. In the 40s this morning so I had to turn the heat on in my car. I'm looking forward to all of the seasons since I missed them last year and the first half of this year.
@cruiser Oh Chris, I couldn't agree more that so much correspondence will be lost (has been lost, really...). I should hope that families like you and yours will save letters from the past as they're now so precious. Handwriting used to tell you something about personality, and certainly the written words bring to life the ancestor whom we may never have met. You are the keeper of something very special, and I'm so happy for you that you realize it!
@chevymom Karen, after all you've been through, you truly know what a gift the days are! I told you how I was laid up for several months, though nothing like you went through. Still, I missed the simple act of walking around the back yard...not to mention getting photos I might have liked! Turning 70 was also a wake-up call... No time like the present to be grateful and to look forward with happy anticipation what the future will hold!
@kwind@gilbertwood Thank you m'friends! Obviously, looking at all I wrote here this afternoon, I didn't stay at the table the whole time, but I did write several cards and a letter!
@lynnz Well hello back to you as well, Lynn! 'twas cozy, and I'm coming to realize that candlelight IS a girl's best friend!
@skstein Thanks, Sandy! I suppose the happy thoughts help to make the smile a good one! If I may share a photographers moment, I use this ploy when a friend might say, "Oh, I don't take good pictures..." (Right off, those words don't make the facial muscles look attractive!) I tell them, "Try to remember your first boyfriend..." They break out into a smile and it gets them everytime!
Wonderful Louise. There is so much truth in what you say. It's a truth I had to fight to understand. My first husband fought a long, losing battle with alcoholism. I became more and more distressed until I found Al Anon about 20 years ago. One of the first publication as. Little card with many wise words. One message was
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I made my mind up. I walked to and from school every day following my heart attack, pulling a trolley behind me with my marking! I was usually half blinded by tears not knowing what I'd find at home. The card was like a miracle. Every time the tears threatened I'd read it. I knew I was winning when I walked the two miles home without crying! An even bigger miracle happened as I found my faith, was able to love my husband through his spiralling problems, loving him even when I divorced him after he came for me with a knife! Happiness is so important and the strength and peace I found then still strengthen me through today's trials.
Love this sweet photo of you! Great shot Ken! I also love the rocking horse near the window. My friend Barbara and I planned on going to the movies yesterday but sat too long in the restaurant having a late lunch and a couple of wonderful beverages and missed the movie. So we walked around the mall and she talked me into trying on wedding dresses! LOL! Now THAT was fun especially since I've never tried one on in my entire life. I had to be the princess for a day. Wasn't hard to do after downing a Cosmopolitan. Then we stopped in at Pier 1 where I just HAD to have a big fat Tang Dynasty horse statue that weighed about 30 pounds. Yeah, good times!
This sounds a wonderful morning I enjoy writing and recieving letters cards etc. i like the selfie and all the family bits and pieces around you. Happiness should be infectious
What a lovely corner to sit and write by candlelight.....love how relaxed and content you look.....Lunenberg certainly suits you!! As much as I love the warm weather there are times that I long for cold days, and especially nights when I could bundle up and cozy up somewhere to read with a warm cup of tea or chocolate. There is just something about dark winter nights that slows down the pace and makes us more introspective. Love that you are doing the 100 happy days challenge.....you spread joy wherever you go, and your happiness is contagious.
Absolute Fav! What a lovely attitude to life and events in it. People pay a lot of money for courses on positive thinking. You have it already. Great. I also am practical and positive. Most of the time!
@creativeaddict Hi Laur (and you ARE a Creative Addict!) Would you add the spice cake recipe to the link with the Pumpkin Scones? A love of people like to pick up recipes where they're recommended, and it sounds wonderful! If you don't mind, put it in the comments link here http://365project.org/Weezilou/365/2015-10-10 I can practically guarantee Ken (and I) will make it! Sounds perfect for a fall gathering! Thanks!
I remember thinking cordless phones were pretty amazing. ☺
@pyrrhula Ferry, you KNOW how happy I am that our paths crossed because of a hummingbird! Thank you for the very thoughtful and kind words about each part of my photo and caption!
It's getting cold here too. In the 40s this morning so I had to turn the heat on in my car. I'm looking forward to all of the seasons since I missed them last year and the first half of this year.
@skstein Thanks, Sandy! I suppose the happy thoughts help to make the smile a good one! If I may share a photographers moment, I use this ploy when a friend might say, "Oh, I don't take good pictures..." (Right off, those words don't make the facial muscles look attractive!) I tell them, "Try to remember your first boyfriend..." They break out into a smile and it gets them everytime!
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I made my mind up. I walked to and from school every day following my heart attack, pulling a trolley behind me with my marking! I was usually half blinded by tears not knowing what I'd find at home. The card was like a miracle. Every time the tears threatened I'd read it. I knew I was winning when I walked the two miles home without crying! An even bigger miracle happened as I found my faith, was able to love my husband through his spiralling problems, loving him even when I divorced him after he came for me with a knife! Happiness is so important and the strength and peace I found then still strengthen me through today's trials.
It is nice to be unplugged more often, I get that comment from my husband often!!