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Tag Archives: action for happiness

The Causeway, Active April and A Poem

I enjoyed this that turned up this morning:

“In readiness for the Easter holidays and an influx of visitors, St Michael’s Mount has implemented radical new social distancing measures.Creating a one way system for those visiting the attraction, the ‘Coming Back Causeway’ has been built to ease congestion, and opens to the public today, Thursday April 1st.
Speaking at the opening ceremony this morning, Marizion parish councillor Mike Mount praised Cormac, saying: “The Coming Back Causeway, which looks almost identical to the original causeway, has been built with such efficiency that hardly anyone saw it happening.” Mr Mount added: “A one-way system on the original causeway was trialed last summer, but was later abandoned after it emerged that visitors could not return from the island.”

Photo by Photojournalist Greg Martin

I like to pass on the Action for Happiness calendar each month. You can find more details here.

A kind friend dropped in some poems for me this afternoon. Here is one of them, new to me but by one of my favourite poets, Billy Collins, an American poet we once saw live in South Yorkshire. It is just one sentence and I love it. I hope you do too. Thank you very much, M.

Today

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,

so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw

open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,

indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths

and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight

that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight

on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants

from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,

holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,

well, today is just that kind of day.

We threw open the windows this morning while having breakfast and listened to the bird song instead of the radio. Bliss.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 1, 2021 in Cornwall, friendship, Photography, poetry, Postaday2021, St Michael's Mount, Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, actionforhappiness, Billy Collins, Today Billy Collins

Mindful March, Camellia and Cake

01 Mar

It’s March and here is this month’s planner from Action for Happiness.

Our walk was brief today in the returned bitter Easterly wind but we did spot a beautiful Camellia bloom on the path, a delicate pale pink among the russety brown of the decaying blooms.

and Heligan Pineapple Cake! Here’s the link to the very easy recipe for this delicious, fruity and moist loaf.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on March 1, 2021 in baking, Happiness, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, Heligan Pineapple Cake

Reading, Good Thoughts and Dreams

11 Feb

Another bitterly cold day with snow flurries as the Beast from the East continues to blow across us all. Our walk was very quick and well muffled up. It was far too cold for me to bare my fingers to take photographs! Reading has been a joy today.

Looking for my sister yesterday, the comment was made, about the right person, that she looked the happiest of all those present. Her happiness shines out of her face and she does always look lovely.

Great Dream came from the Action for Happiness people. I like it.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on February 11, 2021 in Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, Mason Cooley, Roald Dahl

Friendly February, Imbolc and Snowdrops

02 Feb

Here is this month’s Action for Happiness calendar. Have a friendly month. Just want to put out a call of friendship to Ute, a Blogger friend who has Covid. Happily she is recovering, just, please, keep her in your thoughts.

We have left up our garden and indoor fairy lights until Candlemas as I heard on the radio that that is the moment when the days being longer have lengthened enough to notice so we don’t need the other lights anymore. I heard yesterday that this time of year is also the pagan festival of Imbolc which is about celebrating spring, the beginning of the lambing season and new life. It is one of the four key festivals in the Celtic calendar – the others being Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain – and traditionally falls when winter stores of food were beginning to get low mid-winter and halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox. It begins on February 1st and ends on February 2nd.

Some people decorate the mantlepiece with items such as a vase of snowdrops, swan feather and/or green candles.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on February 2, 2021 in Celebration, friendship, Happiness, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, pagan festivals

Today’s Walk and Happiness Calendar

03 Jan

Today’s walk along the Great Flat Lode (which really was nearly flat to walk on) was also close to home with beautiful views on a gloriously bright and very cold day. We met more people on this walk that on the up and down one nearer to home and exchanged cheery greetings with them all, apparently waking some of them up! We were helping to brighten people’s days as per today’s calendar. See below.

St Euny Church in the middle distance

Buildings from the industrial past

View to the sea near St Agnes

Looking towards St Ives

Chimneys

A stile

Through a window

Here is this month’s Happiness Calendar for you.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 3, 2021 in Cornwall, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, Tin mining history, Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness

Action Calendar, Pigeons and Cake

01 Nov

A November lockdown in the UK isn’t going to be easy for anyone and much harder for some. Action for Happiness have made their calendar for November to help give some focus and to help keep our spirits up. Feel free to share it far and wide. Here is the link for you to have a bigger version. I love their motto – Keep Calm, Stay Wise and Be Kind. Stay safe, dear Readers.

It’s very windy still and our resident pigeons have been trying to keep warm by fluffing up their feathers. We tried to get a photo of the pair but there was always one out of focus.

It was a baking afternoon, Pear and Chocolate Cake to eat warm with ice-cream – scrumptious, of course!

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on November 1, 2020 in baking, Happiness, Kindness, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, New Ways November, November lockdown, Pear and Chocolate Cake

Self-Care, Caterpillar and Another Gall

01 Sep

Very timely advice came in today from Action for Happiness:

We are completely redoing our walled border outside the kitchen and while clearing away the the thuggish Clematis, Bill Mackenzie, found this furry caterpillar scuttling around on stems near the ground. We think it may be a Buff Ermine but it’s not easy to identify.

A fellow blogger kindly helped to identify the rather attractive Artichoke Gall on our beautiful and nearby Oak Tree a few days ago. This one, somewhat uglier, has been identified as a Knapper Gall by our Son-out-law who visited last Friday.

Here they are together.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 1, 2020 in community, environment, Kindness, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

Tags: action for happiness, oak galls

Altruism in August and An Accident

31 Jul

I was going to post this tomorrow but have had a little accident today so am taking the easy route. While making more masks for the family, I stitched through the middle finger on my right hand. How? I just don’t know ! I am an experienced sewing machine user….. The people at our local Minor Injuries Unit were brilliant, kind and efficient but now I can’t sew for a few days. I shall have to read all day!

To see a bigger version click this link

18 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 31, 2020 in Uncategorized

Tags: action for happiness, Redruth MIU

Lily of the Valley, A Poem and Happiness Calendar

01 May

May 1st is La Fete de Muguet in France when people give their loved ones little bunches of Muguet, Lily of the Valley. Our Dear Friend Kath, to whom I dedicate my blog and who died far too soon nearly eight years ago, loved France and we holidayed with her and Charlie in Meysaac a couple of times. Every May 1st she would give me a little bouquet of muguet when we were close enough or send a card if we weren’t. As soon as we moved here, I planted some Lily of the Valley in a shady spot and have picked a couple of flowers each year in Kath’s memory. This year there have been many blooms and I have brought them inside to share with you all in a spirit of love and friendship and in memory of my beautiful, much missed friend.