Things I love: a little at a time.

I saw this sort of thing here and I see that Lynn is thinking of doing it too.

Well I have an awful lot of things I love, things that make me happy. And I HAVE to talk about them - some more than others. So rather than do one giant eyecrossingly big single post, I'm going to do this in installments - some now, some later. Probably not as a series of daily installments; maybe spread it out over the next two weeks.

And I'm not going to (necessarily, unless I run out of other things) go for the BIG things here, the stuff that I'm thankful for that I think any REASONABLE person would be thankful for: that I enjoy (generally) good health, that I have a good job, that I have my freedom. No, this is going to be more little things that I appreciate and that make me happy.

So here goes. 1 through 20. In no particular order, just as I think of them:

1. Getting into bed on a Friday night when you don't have to be up any particular time or don't have to do anything in particular the next day.

2. the translated little videos of the "Kogepan" cartoon on YouTube. They're odd and sweet and amusing and DIFFERENT (they were made in Japan and I think some of the cultural differences come through). I find myself watching them from time to time, even though I've seen all of them. (I think Episode 10 is my favorite).

3. Coming home at the end of the day, having some free time, and finding that a magazine or two has come in the mail, when I have time to relax and look at it. (I subscribe to lots of magazines: several knitting and quilting publications, also Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, Victoria, Cuisine at Home, Eating Well, and Cooking Light).

4. Baking bread. I've gotten more into doing "old fashioned" bread (the kind you have to knead and let rise) instead of bread-machine bread lately. There is something so SATISFYING about making your own bread - not in any kind of "look at me, I'm a locavore!" smug sense or any kind of "stickin'-it-to-THE-MAN" sense, but more in a sense of wonder, of "look what I can do with some powdered wheat and some dehydrated fungus and a little sugar and warm water." Making bread is probably as close to alchemy as a person can actually get.

5. Mythbusters. It's one of the few television programs I will happily watch re-runs of, because I watch it for the interaction between Jamie and Adam and for the explosions more than for any kind of plot line or story.

6. Big thick Victorian novels with lots of characters. They're nice to disappear into.

7. Getting up early on a summer morning and going out and doing fieldwork before anyone else is out, before it gets hot, while the sun is still pretty and it's quiet.

8. When my students joke and laugh in lab and it's the sort of funny, we're-enjoying-ourselves kind of joking and laughing. Especially when the jokes they are making incorporate terms and processes they're learning about in class; that tells me that (a) they're enjoying class and (b) they're understanding what they're learning.

9. Walking into a quilt shop and being able to smell the bolts of clean cotton. Being surrounded by all that color and design and possibility.

10. Good homemade pizza. (Yes, I do think homemade - when it's done well - is better than most restaurant pizza).

11. A day when I get a lot of "work" work done, and I can see the progress I'm making and I feel like I've actually DONE something.

12. Walking into my air conditioned house from a 96 degree day outside. I know, it's horribly un-environmental and all but I LOVE air conditioning. L. O. V. E. it. It makes the difference between me being miserable and dysphoric all summer long and me being fairly normal.

13. Then again: that first cold fall day, when you can begin to think about pulling out the winter clothes and making hot soup and all those kinds of things is pretty wonderful, too.

14. Doing all kinds of yardwork, getting really grubby and sweaty, and then being able to come in and take a nice shower and get clean again.

15. Having a box of yarn or fabric come in the mail. It's almost like Christmas!

16. Making a nice cup of hot tea and sitting down with a book or magazine for a short break.

17. Masala chai with demerera sugar and milk, or even better, masala chai with "sticky milk" (sweetened condensed milk).

18. Quilts - on the bed, in magazines, at antique stores. I love looking at them, looking at the color schemes, looking at the different patterns of fabrics used. I love making them. I love being able to curl up under one on a cold winter night. Quilts are one of those things that are "nicer than they need to be" - you could get by with just a simple blanket or cheap comforter from the store, but instead, people take the time and effort to make something complex and beautiful. And I love that, and I celebrate that - the idea of taking the effort to do something more than the bare minimum because it is WORTH doing.

19. Handknit socks. It's the same thing as with quilts - it's a doing-more-than-what-you-have-to-do thing, which makes something that is considerably nicer than what could be bought (though perhaps with socks the difference is more subtle). Knitting socks is also FUN. By the time you get bored with one part, you're on to the next one. And they're portable - you can carry them with you on vacation, or while waiting at the doctor's, or even while sitting in front of the computer.

20. Being indoors (at home) and not having to go anywhere on an evening/Saturday when it's cold and rainy, or snowing, or some other kind of undesirable weather outside. One of the times I'm most grateful for having a comfortable house with interesting things to do in it.

21 to 40 to come later...