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Here on the Northwestern end of America, the daffodils are blooming everywhere. Spring has arrived – yes!
Everyone have an excellent weekend, with joy and gratitude in your heart for all that you have.
~ Penny
joy
On the Second Day of Happiness – Joy!
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On the second day of happiness with feelings deep inside
I Inhaled life, exhaling joy to travel far and wide.
JOY to all your loved ones, JOY to all you know.
Mostly Joy to all of you – May your blessing grow!
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With great affection! PennyA Chocolate Smile – lights up the world!
Today a blogger friend of mine introduced an inspirational post with a few words about the importance of a smile. I agree wholeheartedly, in fact …
The Perfect Chocolate Smile!
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“A Smile is the thread of life with the ends turned up to touch the sky!” * ~ Penny L Howe, 2013~
Hope your weekend is being good to and for you and as Alastair encouraged today, filled with smiles!
~ Penny
The Minions of It All.
We have officially adopted a handful of “minions” into our household. Their purpose – create laughter and fun in our daily lives … and to remind us not to take (so seriously) the very minor, everyday happenings we may encounter.
The following video is the official movie trailer for Despicable Me 2! The minions will make you laugh, again and again, in their playful and delightful innocence with all things in life. Enjoy:
(To view directly on Youtube, look for Despicable Me 2 – official trailer.)
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And I recomment you adopt a few minions for your own home. More chaos, for sure! More laughter and fun – Absolutely!
Have a great day and a better tomorrow!
~ Penny
Wouldn’t it be nice …
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Wouldn’t it be nice … if the first thing in the morning, you woke to (what to you) would be a wonderful awakening? Whatever you determine that might be! A loving individual giving you a cheerful good morning, someone to joyfully lend a hand to your morning (hectic) activities needing to be accomplished. Something in nature or your life that simply welcomes you in a joyous way to the new day.
And wouldn’t it also be nice if the last thing at night before you closed your eyes and slept, you received those same joyful feelings? Because someone or something occurred that suddenly made your whole day seem worthwhile. And more important; maybe helped you to sleep a little better, not be so stressed out about things and wake in the morning, looking forward to your new day.
Wouldn’t it be nice?
Soooooo. Stop reading (unless you just woke up or are getting ready to go to bed) and then come back and finish this post then!
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Although I’m not there
in person.
And cannot reach out and touch you,
sooth your tired spirit
and comfort your weary soul.
Nor can I physically
reach out and hold your hand,
squeezing with affection.
I cannot look deeply into your eyes
and convince you of your worth and value
to this life we share of, on our planet.
However …
… I can and do remind you of
how unique and special you
are to me, and important.
I can send you love across the miles
with a wish of well-being for you on this day.
You are not alone,
you are loved.
~
Penny
Have the best weekend you can have!
There is this …
… About Summer
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there is this – about a summer’s day
there is this – the blues are chased away
there is this – creating time to play
there is this – the sunshine’s golden ray
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there is bliss – in summer’s night
there is bliss – the stars so bright
there is bliss – just seems so right
this and bliss – summer delight!
~ Penny L Howe, 2013
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Happy Summer everyone, go out and play!
~ Penny
A Very Special Līgo Haibun Challenge
A Festival of Nature!
This week the Līgo Special (The world’s largest festival of nature), takes place in Latvia, outside the capital, Riga.
Līgo, pronounced [Ligwa], is also the name of the weekly “Līgo Haibun Challenge”, and because this week coincides with the Līgo festival, This weeks challenge will be a Līgo Haibun Special Challenge.
- This week you must choose TWO of the many wonderful photographs shown on Ye Pirate’s site, click here to view , Write a haibun that uses both of your chosen photographs/illustrations in your haibun. The two visuals can, and should ‘interact’ in your haibun.
- Your haibun should have ‘nature’ or an aspect of nature as a general theme.
- You are not expected to write anything about Līgo – which would be too difficult in context and stylistically.
I strongly encourage you to visit Ye Pirate and read his descriptive wording on what the judges look for when they read each of the weekly Challenge’s entries. Click here Ligo Haibun!
There were some excellent entries this past week. The honorable mentions are:
Anja – Oh Pithy Me for the mystical beauty of her haibun
Celestine – read in pleasure for consistently writing good haibun every week
kz – the eclectic eccentric shopaholic for her unique originality and description
jules – in flashy fiction for the unique historical approach
Sarah Ann Hall for the clarity of thought
Kir – the kir corner for a nice moment in childhood
Enjoy the festival and …
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… Good Luck, have as much fun writing your creative haibun as these people are having – enjoying the festival of nature!Click on the Līgo Haibun tab located at the top of this post for any additional questions you may have for entering this weekly Challenge.
Thanks for taking part! For those who haven’t entered yet, this is a great week to get started!
~ Penny
Feel good feelings!
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“Smiles and Laughter are ‘feel good’ things! They give you a psychological advantage from negatives that can threaten to overtake you.” ~ Penny, 2013~
Do something delightful that brings a smile to your face.
Do something that makes you laugh spontaneously!
Have a good laugh today!
Watch a funny movie! Share a joke with friends!
Read a humorous book!
If you have children nearby, play a fun game with them.
If you have a pet, play with them.
Think a funny thought!
Okay I admit it may be a bit of a reach –
drawing a happy face on a cotton swab.
Although I have to say that the other swabs look quite jealous,
or perhaps envious for his happy expression!
I hope I brought at least a smile to your face today,
hopefully a little laughter too!
Have a great Thursday everyone,
~ Penny
The human vessel ~ the contents within
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We are human beings, carrying so many things inside ourselves as we travel along the various pathways of our lives. Each of us is a vessel. Filled with all manner of thoughts, wishes, hopes, dreams, experiences, memories. The essence that will shape us and those around us during our travels.
Each vessel has a unique shape. Yet, it is only an outer shape formed to hold the contents within. And while the outer shape of this, our human vessel, may change with the years, it is the contents of the vessel that are of importance.
Experience teaches us many things. What we decide as a result of our personal experiences will determine the nature of the contents inside – what we ultimately decide to fill our own vessels with: Courage, Empathy, Good Will, Love, Joy, Hope or Duplicity, Disappointment, Resignation, Hate, Fear, Despair, hopelessness.
While we are on this planet and alive, our vessels become a reflection of our vessel’s contents.
Most of us begin our live’s with Joy and Love. Not all, but most. I’ve found it interesting however that those who face adversity squarely in the face and emerge triumphant, bone weary often, but still a survivor, do tend to fill up their human vessel with so much love and courage that they spend much of the rest of their lives sharing these contents with others.
And I’ve found it to be inversely true. Those who have suffered disappointments but chose not to rise above their individual misfortunes, tend to go through life with their vessels harboring ill will, blame, and discontent for their own perceived shortcomings. They feel the need to bring people down to a hurtful level as indeed they themselves are feeling from the contents they’ve chosen to fill their vessels with. The appearance of their vessel may appear lovely but the contents are not.
The contents of our human vessels are so very precious. They decide our level of happiness, the joy we are capable of receiving and giving in any given day.
Be very careful how you fill your own vessel.
It’s contents are the most important thing in your life. And to the lives of those you love and who love you.
Not the appearance of the vessel that matters but what’s inside!
~ Penny
The True Meaning of the infectious giggle
The following words were spoken to me this morning by the oh-so-wise eleven year old young lady living in this household!
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“Everything is alright – inside of us – when we laugh!” Emma L.B. 2013
self portrait (cartoon style) by Emma L.B., 2013
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Now that’s a quote I can really get my arms around, both figuratively and literally! Children do have a way of reminding us of what is truly important in life. And they are always the most simple of things. So why are our lives so complicated? How come we lose this awareness when we grow up, and why?
I recently visited one of my blogging friends, Doris who posted (with great photos) that a fun way to “escape” is to spend time with children. Check her post out, just click on her link! She’s right!
The talented and delightful Emma was recording her laughter for a video she is making (both her and her brother are into movie making). Emma’s area of interest is making moving cartoon videos from her original characters that she draws. Jack – two years her senior is also into Stop Motion videos, lego pieces and people (he has one of the sinking of the titanic), and also racing/crashes with hotwheels cars. (The process is laborious and takes hours). They both do their own uploading and editing including voice overs of their videos!
So Emma has been recording her laughter and giggles and playing with it for the voice over for her latest cartoon video. She just came into my writing room and asked me to listen to her laughter. We both ended up laughing for 5 minutes. So naturally I had to share her “giggle” and her reason why laughter is a good thing, with all of you!
Essence of the infectious giggle as demonstrated by Emma!
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Make the best of your day, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Laughter does help! So do children!
~ Penny
The Why About This 