Reasons to be cheerful

A good, long walk around the Pier Head, Liverpool, and managing 18K steps. Yay!

The little penguins the kids used as a support while skating.

Christmas markets outside St George’s Hall.

So many pretty stalls.

Nothing really grabbed me though.

But this did! A Himalayan salt lamp I found online while searching for a gift for a friend. I bought us both one. Oh…..it’s just sooooo warming and gorgeous!

Gradually getting the house back into shape, the way I like it! I’m a neat freak!

While walking down this street in Liverpool, I heard the most beautiful humming.

What I thought were decorations turned out to be singing bowls! Goodness! How lovely though! Not to mention imaginative and calming!

Simply beautiful skies.

Fair takes your breath away, doesn’t it, Nature, in all her glory.

My first Christmas card of the year, most arty, bought in NYC, sent by my friend Barbara, next door, the mince pies won’t be far behind.

A rescued/released bird, still hanging around and thriving. This dove, with it’s spotty back and black tail feathers is a daily visitor, who raises a daily smile.

And Finally… 

A little hoglet out in the daylight. I quickly caught it and took it to the rescue, they were not impressed, at all, as they are currently caring for over seventy. That is a lot of hogs, but given each is endangered and I’m off duty for now, it’s very heartening!

I shall have to send goodies to cheer them all up!

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20 Comments

  1. So many reasons to be cheerful, specially all those steps. Well done. Amazing skies. Such a cute hedgehog too.

  2. lowcarbdiabeticJan

    Oh those skies are just beautiful, I really enjoyed seeing the glorious colours.
    Glad that you are out and about more …

    Such a sweet little hoglet, I can imagine the rescue is very busy.

    Enjoy your weekend

    All the best Jan

  3. Singing bowls… I have to find out what they’re called in Hebrew and then go looking for them. I have never heard of the delight before. Enjoyed reading about and seeing the results of your walk. I remember how, after the first heart attack, I walked myself back to reasonable health, enjoying every minute of it. Sometimes, I only saw a small portion of the sights along the way, because something would spark a thought that would then occupy my mind for the rest of the way… but it was fun all the same. Best wishes for many walks. xxx

  4. Always appreciate reasons to be cheerful! Great work on 18k steps!

  5. Beautiful skies and markets too! That white dove drew my eye, so glad it was released. Sweet little hog – we don’t have those in Canada, so I can only imagine seeing 70 at once!!

    Found you by way of Cheryl at “Take Time to Smell the Flowers”.

    Have a happy holiday season.

  6. I finally figured out what the little hoglets remind me of. You’re going to laugh, but it’s — the acorns of the bur oak! They’re quite large, and their “caps” are furry beyond belief: not smooth, like so many acorn caps.

    The market looks lovely. I’m not familiar with the salt lamps, so I read a bit about them. They’re very interesting, as are the singing bowls. I was pleased to see a mention of mince, too. Christmas isn’t Christmas for me without mince pie. I usually use Robertson’s as a base, and then add additional bourbon-soaked raisins, apples, and nuts. Yum!

    Your skies are beautiful — ours weren’t, so much, last night, but then the gray and overcast turned out to have brought us a gift of snow! There was great excitement all up and down the Texas coast. It’s been a long time since we’ve had some, and it was so wonderful.

  7. A delightful and colourful set of photos, telling a number of interesting stories in themselves.

    xxxx

  8. That sky is amazing. Love that lamp and the lights in your kitchen. It’s good the hedgehog is being cared for at the rescue. Pier Head, Liverpool looks busy, but a nice place to take a walk. Granddaughter photographed some of the Christmas lights and showed them to us. She didn’t mention the singing bowls so I shall ask her if she’s seen them. Something different and fun. As always, all the best.

  9. Great post … I always think winter has such beauty & your night skies show that. My daughter has one of those Salt lamps & they use it in the baby’s room … & she sleeps very well I wonder if the softness of the light helps that. I love your cute little hogs but they must be tricky to feed. Good to hear you are walking longer distances now, you will be ready to spring into spring!

  10. How is it that you may find so many hoglets around? Well, actually we do have hogs in our country as well, but I thought they go into winter-sleep, as tortoises do (my brother has around 20 of them, still small in sizes).
    Ahh, actually the cold weather is definitely here. I’m crazy about getting enough warm clothing, unless I may get sick… My old (1985) made mantle, is just right for this rigid weather, but slowly is becoming too long, since I’m becoming shorter 😉
    My gosh, this is embarrassing!
    I love the colors of the sky at dusk…
    Keep up the good mood: doves and birds are paying you to visit, over here, as I keep repeting it, isn’t working as I expected.
    Hugs and love :-)claudine

  11. What a wonderfully festive post loved the salt lamp and chimes….wow, and your house looks fab. Very pleased to hear that you are doing lots of walking. Continue to have a wonderful festive season. Janet xxxx

  12. Another joyful post, although I sense there’s a quietness in you these days too. I love the salt lamp and the singing bowl. I have a poet friend who’s written a book of poems called The Singing Bowl https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/the-singing-bowl-a-poem-and-a-new-book/

    Hugs to you, Dina xxx

  13. Oh, Dina, such a profound post, on so many levels. When we look around, we see who we are in the world; we see what we believe…it has always been so clear to me that you see light and love and lift them up, no matter how small the example, to cast out and push back against the darkness many would have us believe is the sum total of our lives.

    Thank you for that, once again. There are so many delights, everywhere, aren’t there? I love all of these! The salt lamp is glorious and boy, would I love to hear those singing bowls. Mine is small and wonderful; I can’t imagine what these sounded like.

    I do love winter markets. Our little local ones are filled with handcrafts and art, so I can always find little gifts for Christmas. It’s just fun to get out and see people relaxed and merry, too!

    Love the ice rink and the sweet little hoglet; I bet they miss you so much at the rescue.

    And those skies: just breathtaking. One of my friends says her mother would see such December skies and tell her little ones they meant “Mrs. Claus is baking Christmas cookies!” I picture you walking under them and then returning to your beautiful kitchen and the 4-leggeds (and your sweet husband), and having a lovely evening.

    All the joys of the season to you! What a wonderful post!
    xxoo, K

  14. Love your photos.Amazing

  15. Wow! Super cheerful post…..festive, to be sure. Enjoy the festivities. Hugs! <3

  16. Nice post and pictures. That’s a wonderful Christmas card.
    Well done rescuing the hoglet, sadly there seems to have been far too many this year. xx

  17. That’s the problem with those markets – an overall pretty effect but individual items are disappointing,
    A neat freak with three dogs about the house!
    70 hoglets – wow. Yours will have plenty of friends.

  18. Stunning sky photos. Your salt lamp looks gorgeous and I’m glad you’ve managed to give your hip a bit of exercise getting out and about. I think I need one of those penguins for the rare occasions that I go skating! Hope the hoglet was okay. xx

  19. There’s many reasons to be cheerful there. I’m glad you’re finally managing to get out and about a bit now, that must cheer you up no end now that you’re managing to increase the distance you’re walking, and I bet the dogs are thankful for that too. I do love to see a beautiful sky, wonderful photos.

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