Happy New Year

As it's New Year's Eve, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and much joy and happiness in the new year to come! I send everyone best wishes now and always.

Why hugs were invented

"They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything." -Bil Keane


So if you feel like telling someone you love them without saying anything (and as long as they consent of course) I'd say a hug is a lovely gift to give.

Music that speaks to the heart

"Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." -Pablo Casals

I like the idea that music is a way of communicating beautiful things the heart. This quote made me think of a piece of music I heard the other day called Strangers on the Shore. I just think the piece is really beautiful. In a way I felt it did rather speak to my heart plus, as I was listening to it with my Mum who  I love very much, I feel that the music will always make me think of her. Wherever you are reading this, I hope there is a lot of music in your life and that it brings a lot of happiness to you.

Some good news from my home town

It’s not every day when the city where I was born makes national happy news! A baby black rhino (an endangered species) was born in a zoo not far from my family’s house on Christmas Eve. To read more about it read the article below. I wish everyone a very happy Saturday and an even better Sunday to come.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/12/25/us/potter-park-zoo-baby-black-rhino.amp.html

Happy Friday

I wish everyone the happiest of Fridays from me and my minions! Yippee!

Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

I realize this is slightly late in coming but I do want to wish a very happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to everyone who celebrates those holidays. I wish you all great joy and much happiness during these celebrations and I send you much love now and always.

Happy Holidays Minion Style

To all who celebrate Christmas, my Minions and I wish you the happiest of Christmases!

A little choir music in the spirit of Christmas

Whether it's singing it, listening to it or watching it, I've always loved choir music.  During the holidays I especially like listening to Kings College, Cambridge boys choir sing Christmas carols. For those who don't know, there is a service that the choir gives each year at Christmas called the Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols. The service is basically the boys singing carols interspersed with people giving various readings from the Bible. I like it because the music really is beautiful and it makes me feel happy to listen to it at Christmas. I've posted the video below which is the first part of the annual service, just because I like it the best. Whatever you celebrate during this season,  I wish you great joy and much happiness now and in the New Year!

Hope as a guide

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."-Samuel Smiles 

I like the idea of burdens being behind us and the only way to go is forward.  There's something nice about that image. Even if it doesn't mean the burdens are removed, I like the idea that there are better things to come and that burdens can become shadows in the past. They don't have to follow us around. If you're reading this and you happen to be going through something difficult, I hope that you know that the difficulty you face will eventually be behind you and that hope is always there to guide you.

“Normal” people

“The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.”- Alfred Adler

I think it’s kind of funny when people talk about being/wanting to be normal. I figure if we’re all different, it’s impossible to truly be “normal.”  I’ve found that I’d really rather be myself than be “normal.” I’m abnormal and proud of it! I hope that wherever you are reading this, that you can be content to just be yourself because that’s something you can always be. I send everyone best wishes now and always.

One step at a time

“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time.” – Joe Girard

I'm rather glad success takes time. I feel like I wouldn't appreciate success as much if it didn't take a while to achieve. If you're reading this and there's something you're working towards I hope that you can take it one step at a time and enjoy your success when you reach it. I wish you all the best now and always.

A song that makes me feel sophisticated

The singer Edith Piaf was born today in 1915 and I always feel a sense of sophistication when I listen to her sing. I especially like the song Milord in that it always sounds cheerful to me. In an attempt to spread some cheer, I share the song here. I send everyone best wishes now and always.

My battle against a container

So I went to Target this evening and got some Monster trail mix (because it just is the most excellent trail mix, at least to me) and I get home and I. can't. open. the. stupid. trail mix. container. I swear the plastic lid thingy won't come off. I think they should have put some sort of warning signs on those boxes saying something like "Not suitable for people with fine motor skill difficulties!"

For about 30 seconds I seriously considered poking a hole in the top of the plastic jar but then as I thought about acting on that impulse, I had a mental image of the trail mix exploding out of the jar and going everywhere and then I wouldn't get any of it. So I'm off to strategize about how to open the jar-the battle continues!

Born for love

“We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end.”- Benjamin Disraeli

As I believe that the best thing about life and the best gift he will have is the ability to love and to be loved, I want to take this opportunity to send a little bit of love out into the world by sending much love and best wishes to everyone who reads this.

Dreams can eventuallyl become inevitable things

"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable." - Christopher Reeve

I hope that wherever you are reading this that you have many dreams and that you believe in them and work toward them enough to make them inevitable. I send you best wishes now and always. 

A Sunday message

This is just a short message to send much love and good wishes to everyone.

What the world needs

I really like the song "What the World Needs Now Is Love" because I figure the world could always use more love. On that note, I share the song here to send love to everyone.

You deserve your love

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”-Buddha


I hope that wherever you are reading this, that you show love to others and most of all to yourself. I send everyone best wishes now and always.

Fly me to the moon

The singer Frank Sinatra was born today and 1915 and to celebrate his birth I thought I’d share a song that he sang called “ Fly Me To The Moon”. I just think it sounds so nice when he sings it and it brings me a lot of happiness to hear it and I hope it has the same effect on others. I send everyone best wishes now and always.

Funny arguments

Sometimes arguments (especially between little kids and there parents) can be quite amusing as the video below demonstrates  Ok so perhaps the “arguments” in the video aren’t really angry ones. However, they did succeed in making me laugh and I hope it has the same effect on others. I send everyone best wishes now and always.

A Tuesday wish

Just because I can, I want to wish everyone much love and send best wishes to everyone now and always. I wish everyone a very happy Wednesday to come.

Something to cheer you on a Monday

If you have the Monday blues, I encourage you to watch this video and shake off  all the things that might be bothering you. I send you best wishes and much love always.

A picture of god

As it's Sunday and Sunday is typically a day people who practice Christianity go to church, I found the joke below that I thought was appropriate.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom as the children drew pictures. The teacher would occasionally walk around and see each child’s artwork. As she approached one little girl who was working especially hard, she asked what the drawing was.

The little girl told her: “I’m drawing God!”

“But sweetie,” the teacher replied, “no one actually knows what God looks like.”

Automatically, the little girl continued drawing and said: “well, they certainly will in a minute!”

 Joke from: https://churchtechtoday.com/2019/05/06/7-clean-hilarious-church-jokes/

I guess on a philosophical level it could be argued that people who believe there is a god probably each have a unique view of what god is or looks like to them.  To me, god is just love and that's how God will always be to me.

A really fun concert

I just got back from singing at the Polymnia Choral Society’s Christmas concert and it was so much fun. We sang a mixture of traditional and modern holiday music which I really liked. My favorite song that we sang is called Mr. Santa. It’s just fun to sing that song. It was especially nice to see how music can help people feel happier. I hope that wherever you are reading this, that there is a lot of music in your life. I send you best wishes now and always.

A fun concert tomorrow!

If you're around Melrose, Massachusetts on 12/7 at 7:30AM (EST) I'd encourage you to come and listen to some lovely holiday music, come watch Polymnia Choral Society's winter concert at 46 Myrtle Street in Melrose. I love singing and especially singing holiday music and it's a lot of fun singing with a big choir and particularly Polymnia. Music always gives me a lot of joy and I feel that joy is best shared so if you're reading this and are in the area on 12/7 we hope to see you at our Winter Wonderland Concert. Tickets can be purchased online here: https://polymnia.org/tickets/.

A beautiful ride

“Life ain’t always beautiful but it’s a beautiful ride.” - Gary Allan”

I like the idea of life being an adventurous and beautiful ride. Even if things aren’t so great, the fun in life for me is finding the good and beautiful things in life. Whether it’s just hearing some nice music or seeing a wildflower grow, it’s nice to know that good things can always be found, it’s just a matter of seeking them out. Wherever you are reading this, I hope you find many good and beautiful things in life and I send you best wishes now and always.

Gus

My family recently got a puppy named Gus who is a border collie mutt and I was happy I got to officially meet him when I went back to Michigan for Thanksgiving. Gus is a funny dog. His idea of an awesome dinner is a substantial helping  of Puppy Chow followed by some of his own bedding for dessert! Eating habits aside Gus is always ready to play and I really do wish I could wake up with the same amount of energy he has.  Although I never quite knew what he'll do next when I interact with him, he's always a source of fun and he brings me a lot of happiness. If you're reading this, even if you don't have a pet, I hope that each day you are able to do things that are fun and make you feel happiest.

When one teaches

"When one teaches, two learn."- Robert Half

I've always enjoyed learning new things and helping people learn new things whenever possible. I do find that when I'm working with someone and helping them learn how to do something I do learn in that process as well. Plus, I feel like learning is best (and more fun) when shared. For example,  I once got lost and met someone who was going the same place I was trying to get to, in the end we both found it and I made a friend. Wherever you are reading this, I hope you learn new things each day and that you enjoy doing so.

To love others, love self

"Our first and last love is self love." -Christian Nestell Bovee

I think this quote is interesting because I figure that in order to love others one has to have self love first. Therefore, if you find you want to spread some love, I hope that you first do things that show love to yourself, whether it's doing things that make you feel happiest or treating yourself now and again to things that you enjoy.  Something I do each day just for me, is listen to music because I always feel happy when I do that. In the spirit of spreading the love,  to all who read this, I send you best wishes and much love always.

One of my favorite winter holiday songs

As it’s December 1st, I started thinking about holiday music I like and one song I particularly like is “O Tannenbaum” performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. I include it in this post to bring a bit of holiday cheer to everyone.