Don't you hate the people who wander around with auras of sweetness and light who admonish you to "count your blessings" or--even worse--to "stop and smell the roses"? Ugh. They make me fussy.In this post, however, I will be listing a few things, in random order, that I find pleasant. If you are moved to do something similar, why, avail yourself of the Comments Space!
Some Stuff I Enjoy
1. Listening to a man speak in a British accent
2. Going for a drive
3. The smell of dinner in the oven
4. Baby laughter
5. Looking at black men in dreadlocks/long braids
Briefly then,
1. I could just sit forever and listen as men like Daniel Day-Lewis or Patrick Stewart or Hugh Laurie simply...oh, I don't know...just read the phone book to me. Seriously. Why can't all men have a posh British accent? It would be like a combination of velvet and chocolate syrup being applied directly to my ears. Or something. Excuse me. I'm...never mind.
2. Like a big old dog, I am a sucker for a nice ride in the car. Hold open the door, call my name, and say, "Want to go for a ride?" and I get pretty excited. I love to go, and it does not matter where. Out to a farm stand for apples and cider, out to a mall to look for shoes, out to just explore...whatever. I'm in. As long as I don't ever have to drive or decide, pack me up.
3. Right now, I am making a lovely pot roast for Sunday dinner. I have been smelling it for hours, and it is heavenly. Is there anything as wonderful as lovingly placing a chicken and herbs or a roast and potatoes into the oven and then leaving it there to merrily roast away, knowing that those incredible smells will soon be marvelous flavors? And all you have to do is sit there and wait. So satisfying.
4. There is something indescribable about hearing a baby laugh his deep, chuckly giving-himself-over-to-it-completely laugh, isn't there? You know that you are hearing a pure, simple, joyous sound that is unaffected. And that baby could be laughing at something as simple as a dishtowel. Love that.
5. Ever since Milli Vanilli, whose videos I watched with complete and utter fascination and devotion, and whose music I still love (I don't care who really sang it; it was catchy and fun), I have been unabashedly attracted to men with braids and/or dreadlocks. I once saw an incredibly beautiful black man with braids AND dreads get on the El in Chicago about 13 years ago, and I still can't get him out of my mind. I am not kidding, either.
There are, of course, more things that give me satisfaction, but this is a nice sampling for now. Have you a List Of Happies?
5 comments:
I agree with you on the car rides. This is especially true for those of us who ride public transit almost anywhere. The thought of getting into a car and driving somewhere is divine.
I must respectfully disagree with the dreadlocks, though. I've seen a lot of people with nasty, unkempt dreadlocks that just make me want to get some lighter fluid and a match and...
I love getting mail. Not e-mail so much (although I do enjoy getting e-mail from certain people), but physical letters and packages, delivered by real people. I have most of my bills delivered electronically, so my mail is usually at the very least neutral, and often times positive.
This is a delightful list, Nance. I bet it made you happy just writing it. :-)
First, I'll have to agree with you on several of these.
The British accent ... how can anyone resist the British accent? I'm listening to an audio book right now called Tell Me When It Hurts about a British vet and he has such a delightful accent that I'm enjoying the book far more than I would otherwise.
Love car rides and road trips, but I like the driving part, too.
Oh, yes, oven smells. I love to cook, but I enjoy baking the most. I like every part of baking ... the physical part of mixing, pouring, scooping, whatever, then the smells and the end result. Baked a pumpkin today and then turned it into a wonderful pie. Nothing like a real pumpkin pie!
Yes, baby laughs are the best. There are some videos that get emailed around. They are just like you described ... a baby laughing that wonderful full-body laugh after seeing something simple and silly. I remember seeing one where the dog kept closing the drawer and the baby was just having a blast.
I know what you are saying about the dredlocks and the braids. If they are done properly and on the right man, they are extremely sexy. I'm still remembering a deejay from a wedding I went to about 10 years ago. Without the dreds, wouldn't have done a thing for me.
Other things I enjoy: watching a TV show that keeps me entertained and doesn't disappoint, having my one cat (the loyal one) greet me when I come home, a night that's the right temperature for sleeping--no AC or heat required, and a really good cup of tea. That's enough. LOL
Shirley
Shirley--I like the smells of baking, too, but whereas cookies and brownies are nice to smell, they do get cloying after a while for me. The savory smell of roasting meat is such a joy; it is the promise of a family meal and it never smells overwhelming to me.
I miss my cats--Jared always said that the best part of their day was when I got home. I always made a big fuss over them and they loved it. But you're right: that unconditional love that an animal shows when you come home--they expect absolutely nothing from you--is great.
Mikey--Some dreads are terrifyingly awful, that's true. But some are cared for and well-kept, and I will always be a sucker for braids. And I agree with mail/pkgs. Sadly, Real Letters have become such a rarity in our lives. What will we leave behind for our museums and things? I think of all the wonderful letters I have read penned by Mary and President Lincoln, John Keats, Edgar Allan Poe, etc. and it makes me sad. Very little of our own correspondences will be left behind. One letter of Mary Lincoln's has a visible waterspot on it that is widely believed to be a tearstain. How remarkable! But in this age of email and text messaging, that is impossible. We cannot see that sort of emotional legacy beyond silly emoticons and poor spelling and IM shorthand. Sigh.
OH, LADIES! HERE IS A LOVELY SITE! BRITISH MEN WILL READ EXCERPTS FROM NOVELS TO YOU. NOT ONLY MAY YOU LISTEN, BUT YOU MAY LOOK AT THEM AS WELL. AND THEY ARE ATTRACTIVE.
Ladies? I'm really digging this Dan guy ;-)
On an unfortunately similar note, who thinks it's sexy to write about smoking? Disgusting.
Post a Comment