HOL

The world is a very uncertain and frightening place right now. There are still so many good things though and I wanted to create a place where we can share them. So bring your jokes, your inspiring quotations, funny or heart-warming anecdotes, cute animal pictures and literally anything else that you think will raise a smile. Keep things HOL appropriate, positive/upbeat and please try to avoid directly referencing current events out of consideration for those members who are profoundly impacted.

While there’s only so much we can do about current circumstances, ‘happiness can always be found, even in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn on the light.’ Let’s bring the sunshine.

My first positive is that I went for a walk in the botanic gardens and so many things were in bloom, from camellias to bright pink begonias. The garden has a tiny ‘Poison Garden’ full of plants Professor Snape would find fascinating, though right now it’s carpeted in yellow and white daffodils (which seemed so incongruous it made me laugh).

My second is that in trying to make sure I got the wording of this quote correct I scoured my HP books trying to find it, concluded that we'd all been part of some mass conspiracy and it never existed, then realised it's from the films. Don't mind me....

Firstly, I went for a walk in my park this morning too and there was this beautiful tree with yellow flowers on it. The sun was shining just right on it and some of the flowers were falling across the grass and walkway - absolutely gorgeous. I was careful not to step on any of the flowers cause they were sooo pretty!

Secondly, it always cheers me up when I walk out to my living room and my cockatiel, Coco, says 'Hello' to me in his adorable birdy language <3

Totally random, but I love this picture so... look at all these birds that were flying in a hoard near my house one night!


Larger, better quality image: https://i.postimg.cc/76j1S0zy/P1150223.jpg
Image shows palm trees and the sky as the sun is setting with a flock of birds flying over

And, of course, my adorable cockatiel!


Larger, better quality image: https://i.postimg.cc/k54hcN2V/IMG-8778-2384.jpg
Image shows an adorable cockatiel sitting on a stool looking proudly at the camera

Thank you, Sky, for creating this positive discussion post. It's really helped me to see the bright side of being stuck at home. As a school employee and having classes cancelled for the past week, I've been stressing about my students, graduation, etc. It's been difficult at times.

But then, I realize how much time I've gotten to spend with my English Bulldog, Teddy. We've played (a lot), napped (a lot) and we took a car ride together today so that I could get some coffee from the gas station down the street. He insisted on going with, no objections from me were allowed. Here's a picture of my bug doing what he does best:


Image shows my dog sleeping on my couch with a pillow, blanket, and his favorite blue bone.

I've also gotten to finish a book and will have time to finish my next book because my library is closed and they said we can keep the materials until they reopen without late fees! I've practiced my flute more than I have in months. I vacuumed the whole house, dusted a few rooms, and gotten a lot of laundry done. The feeling of productivity has been amazing. Oh! I also watched a video of a sloth this morning from the St. Louis aquarium. Virtual tours and such have been awesome.

I also love that I get to spend more time with so many of you here. I'm looking forward to hearing more peoples' positive vibes!