FINDING JOY! ~ FRIDAY INSPIRATION

Simple secrets to a happy life . . . What a special treat to find another truly inspiring video from Simple Truths – “Finding Joy ~ Simple Secrets To A Happy Life” ~ sublime!!!  Naturally I want to share it with all of you.

When life brings complications, it helps to remember that happiness is simple. With its beautiful pictures, uplifting quotations, and inspiring tone, ‘Finding Joy: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life’ will put a smile on your face when you need it most. So, today, take three short minutes to watch this movie. Your heart will thank you for it.  Music – “Capture The Moment” by David London, uploaded on Jan 5, 2009 by Hafiz.

A difficult choice to make, but the following are a few of my favorites:

Nothing happens …but first a dream.

~ Carl Sandburg

The heart that gives, gathers.

 
 

~ Marianne Moore

Change your thoughts and change your world.
 
 

~ Norman Vincent Peale

The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it and the faith to believe it’s possible.

~ Rick Devos

Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction.
 
 

~ Author unknown

Joy is the light that fills you with Hope, Faith and Love.
 
 

~ Author unknown

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
 
 

David Viscott

Link to Simple Truths site where you’ll find an impressive selection of inspiring books.  Many of these books also have an accompanying video which you can preview.  Simple Truths offers frequent book sales.  This may be the next one I order for gift-giving.

http://www.simpletruths.com/canada/

Once again I hope that you enjoyed the video and will find joyful inspiration in many of the quotes, and of course share with others.   Have a great weekend everyone.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY ~ RIVERDANCE

      

         

                                   

Riverdance, the internationally-acclaimed celebration of Irish music, song and dance that has thrilled millions around the world is now in its 15th phenomenal year of touring.

 

There are many Lord of the Dance videos and I think this is one of the best ~  featuring the dancers, the High Priests, and Michael Flatley playing the  flute with orchestra accompaniment.  The music is absolutely captivating ~ hauntingly beautiful!!! (approx. 4:40 into the video).  Michael Flatley is the creator, producer and director of Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger is an amazing dancer, and he is also a phenomenal flutist as well.

   

      

 

  

Written, devised, produced and choreographed by Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance premiered at The Point Theatre in Dublin on July 2, 1996, within just eight weeks of its inception. The audience went wild. By the end of the evening, the show had received several standing ovations and such rave reviews that it was to become the most talked about, most written about, and the most critically acclaimed show in musical history.  Lord of the Dance has gone on to receive unparalleled accolades, and to break theatrical records across the globe. Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance not only brought Irish dancing to the world stage; it catapulted  the art of Irish dance to a higher plane, unprecedented worldwide recognition and cove straight into hearts and minds of millions worldwide.

            FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT RAINSOFT OTTAWA
ETERNALLY PURE WATER
5450 CANOTEK ROAD, UNIT 66-67
613-742-0058

 

BUDDY’S RESCUE ~ HEARTWARMING!!!

The puppy insert photos in the above collage are not of Buddy.  I searched Google for ones that I thought he might have looked like when he was a pup.

Buddy- Abandoned dog rescued from field in Bakersfield, published on YouTube on Jan 12, 2013

I’m really happy to be able to share the following with you :

~ to date, $680.00 has be contributed for Buddy’s care

~ Great news!  Buddy is in a foster home today.

FOLLOW BUDDY‘S STORY http://www.Vet24Seven.com OR ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/BuddysFriends?fref=ts

I hope you enjoyed this and will share with friends.

MAGICAL, MYSTICAL SEAHORSES ~ MUST SEE VIDEOS

Animal World – Sea Horses | Storyteller Media ~ Published on Jan 23, 2012 ~ The mystical sea horse. Very graceful, very beautiful, very endangered and very strange. It’s the male who gives birth with this species. We join the team at the London Aquarium to see what they are doing to help save them from extinction.

The destruction of coral reefs, trawling and the use of seahorses in Chinese medicine is leading to their decline. How do we stop this near-mythical sea creature from becoming extinct? – Uploaded on Jun 23, 2010 to YouTube.

Male seahorse giving birth at The Deep Hull, Uploaded on Jun 21, 2010

http://www.thedeep.co.uk Filmed at The Deep, Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom  The world’s only submarium is home to over 3500 fish, including sharks and rays… There are many illegally imported seahorses. When they are discovered by Customs and Excise, London Zoo aquarium at ZSL help out by housing and taking care of them … We were able to help out by taking this mature breeding pair. Many seahorses are on the IUCN Red list classified as VULNERABLE and have shown population declines of 20% over the last 10 years. Many species haven’t enough information about them to be able to manage their exploitation.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus_%28genus%29 

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?! SEADRAGONS PART 2

LEAFY SEADRAGONS, AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO SEAHORSES AND WEEDY SEADRAGONS 

Exotic

   Exquisite

      Enchanting

        Extraordinary

Seadragons are some of the most ornately camouflaged creatures on the planet. Their spectacular gossamer, leaf-shaped appendages over their entire bodies enable them to blend in perfectly in their habitat of seaweed and kelp found in water to the south and east of Australia’s coast.

Seadragon males are responsible for childbearing. The male dragons have a spongy brood patch on the underside of the tail where females deposit their bright-pink eggs during mating. The eggs are fertilized during the transfer from the female to the male. The males incubate the eggs and release miniature sea dragons into the water after about four to six weeks (as seen in the video).

Seadragons survive on tiny crustaceans such as mysids, or sea lice. They are frequently captured by divers hoping to keep them as pets. In fact, such takings shrank their numbers so critically by the early 1990s that the Australian government placed a complete protection on both species. Pollution and habitat loss have also hurt their numbers, and they are currently listed as near threatened.

Leafy seadragon documentary film “The Vanishing Dragon”,   uploaded to YouTube by madge1964 on Jan 5, 2009, was filmed in South Australia. The complete documentary DVD can be purchased at www.abysspictures.com

“Leafy Sea Dragon Compilation” YouTube video, uploaded by combisoft on Sep 23, 2006, is filmed in South Australia under the jetties at Rapid Bay and Wool Bay

Exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  ~ Leafy Sea Dragon HD SlowMix, Leafy Sea Dragon, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey California, USA, Uploaded on Mar 21, 2010 by jimg944

Orlando SeaWorld breeds rare seadragons ~ “We see people come up to this (seadragon) exhibit every day, and they’re just amazed to see that there’s something so unusual-looking. They’re a beautiful representation of the marine life of the ocean,” said Teryl Nolan Hesse, assistant curator for aquariums at SeaWorld Orlando. “They come here, see this, and they get excited about it. And when they’re excited about something, they want to learn more.”

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2018993230_seadragons26.html?syndication=rss

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafy_sea_dragon

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 ~ AWESOME!

I hope you enjoy this rather creative YouTube video, uploaded by flashdance987, artistically mixing ABBA singing their Happy New Year song with the pan flute music of Dinu Bomha. 

“Happy New Year,
Happy New Year,
may we all have a vision now and then
of a world where every neighbour is a friend…”

The exhuberance of the children singing in this video is CONTAGIOUS!

YouTube video, “HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 -The Fantastikids, english children choir” Uploaded on Dec 29, 2010,  the Fantastikids & Monsieur Nô wish you “HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013″
This English children’s choir is made up 20 pupils from Ermitage International School of France. They sing to help Plan International France, www.planfrance.org  Welcome on http://www.thefantastikids.com/ andyou can see many video-clips on YouTube -The Fantastikids

LYRICS ~ Happy Happy New Year another reason to rejoice is here – 52 weeks to make your heart sing and see what four new seasons will bring.
Happy Happy New Year, toss out bad memories by their ear.
Gather up new ones in a bouquet, ring out the old ring in a new day.
Happy Happy New Year our resolutions now we will hear.
If we could all run toward the light so many wrongs could be put right.
Happy Happy New Year lets not forget about the things that we’re so lucky to have in our lives – our sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
Happy Happy New Year, let there be summer,let there not be fear.
The clouds will pass over our heads, and let the sun shine on us instead.
Happy Happy New Year, another opportunity is here to just believe in what we can be and see our dreams become reality.

I’ve included the following Abba Happy New Year video because I felt that in the first video the music mixing is dominated by the pan flute (as lovely as it is - you can’t hear the lyrics).

Happy New Year!
Best wishes for health, happiness and prosperity in 2013 to all our readers
from Rainsoft Ottawa ~
Eternally Pure Water Systems, Inc.

T.G.I.F. HO!HO!HO! ~ CHRISTMAS ~ HA!HA!HA! PART II

     

GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK AGAIN FOR MORE CHRISTMAS CHUCKLES ~ ENJOY!

HA!HA!HA! ~ HO!HO!HO! 

     

to J.L. who e-mailed me the jokes without the animated graphics – thanks!

WOMENS’ WATER POLO GOLD ~ FIRST TIME WIN FOR USA!

Water polo made its Olympic debut at the Paris Games in 1900. It was not included in 1904, but would be present at each subsequent edition of the Olympic Games.

In the early days, the players rode on floating barrels that resembled mock horses, and swung at the ball with mallet-like sticks. This made it similar to equestrian polo, hence its name.

London 2012 Men’s Olympic Water Polo gold medal team ~

Croatia secured gold in the men’s Water Polo final at London 2012.  The Balkan outfit have been the outstanding side of the London 2012 tournament, with eight wins from eight matches, and end it as worthy champions.  Their dominance in defence was too much for the Italians, who are reigning world champions.

YouTube video ~Water Polo  Men’s Gold Medal Final – Croatia v Italy Full Replay from the Water Polo Arena at the London 2012 Olympic Games. – 12 August 2012, Published on Aug 12, 2012 by olympic

Americans won their first ever Olympic women’s water polo title.  United States secured gold in the women’s Water Polo final at London 2012 against Spain.  Americans finished 3rd in 2004 and 2nd in 2000 and 2008.

YouTube video ~ Water Polo Women’s Semifinal Round – United States v Australia. Full Replay from the Water Polo Arena at the London 2012 Olympic Games ~ Published on Aug 7, 2012 by olympic

USA women make a splash for Water Polo Gold – full replay.

http://www.olympic.org/videos/usa-women-make-a-splash-for-water-polo-gold-full-replay

YouTube video, “a guide to water polo“, uploaded by TommyGunn54 on Mar 23, 2007 ~”A simple explanation of why water polo is the toughest sport on earth. It’s my first video I’ve ever made. The song is “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. I think it captures the game of water polo well.”

OTTAWA CONCERT AND CAROL SING SUNDAY

5th Annual Community Concert & Carol Sing

 St. Timothy’s Presbyterian Church

2400 Alta Vista Drive

Sunday, Nov 25th, 2:00 p.m.

    ~ Presented by ~   

Garth Hampson
Dominic D’Arcy
ByWard Brass Ensemble
Linda Major
The fiVe Woodwind Quintet
The Emmanubells
St. Tim’s African Chorus
St. Timothy’s Choir
Louise Thompson

   Come join us for an afternoon of Christmas music

and carol singing ~

a wonderful way to ‘sing in’ the Advent season

   Refreshments following  

   Free will donations in aid of the Heron Emergency Food Centre

   Come Celebrate with us

   Plenty of parking ~ Handicap accessible.

Five years ago, as Music Director of St. Timothy’s Presbyterian Church, I organized our first Christmas Community Concert and Carol Sing in aid of the Heron Emergency Food Centre.  Now I’m so pleased to be able to invite you to our ’5th’ concert this weekend. 

                        Hope to see you there!   

 

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?

Watching and listening to a summer’s gentle rainfall on the lake is so restorative.
Children around the world take great delight in splashing through puddles during a rainfall.
To many people rainfalls are uplifting, invigorating and soothing.

I uploaded the following video to YouTube on November 2, 2012 for this blog ~

There have been hundreds of popular songs written about the rain – for example: ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head‘; ‘Dancing In the Rain’ and most recently “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” performed by Phillip Phillips on American Idol.

 ~ Do you know how rain actually is formed? ~

The drops or ice crystals, in the form of cloud, become so heavy that the air cannot hold them up and they fall to the ground as rain… Since rain provides fresh water making the rivers flow, filling lakes and keeping plants alive, it is very significant. We cannot imagine our life without water ~ excerpt from The Benefits of Rain by Michael C Miller ~ http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Benefits-of-Rain&id=4795042

 ~ Interesting Cultural attitudes towards rain ~

Rain can bring joy, as some consider it to be soothing or enjoy the aesthetic appeal of it.
In dry places, such as India, or during periods of drought rain lifts people’s moods.
In temperate climates, people tend to be more stressed when the weather is unstable or cloudy.
In Botswana, the Setswana word for rain, “pula”, is used as the name of the national currency, in recognition of the economic importance of rain in this desert country
People find the scent during and immediately after rain pleasant or distinctive. The source of this scent is petrichor, an oil produced by plants, absorbed by rocks and soil, and later released into the air during rainfall -   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain

I know you’ll enjoy the following rendition of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”, performed by Phillip Phillips, American Idol’s 11th season finale winner this year.

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The following comments are from http://www.lacarte.org/songs/rain/

ake along stroll down memory lane, no matter what your era or your preferred style of music, browsing almost 800 song titles relating to rain and rainy things, including over 50 named just ‘Rain.’ You will  probably be surprised how many of these songs from American popular culture you know. . his is not an attempt to catalog every possible song that merely happens to make a passing reference to rain, as so many do apparently because it’s the first thing the authors think of to rhyme with ‘pain.’ There are, in fact, according to The Muze (muze.com), over 5,000 albums containing at least one song with the word ‘rain’ in their title, just since 1960. The Virtual Flood, by contrast, hopes only to cover those songs which are likely to be known by wide audiences, and are significantly involved with rain, whether the word is in their title or not.