Life's Little Pleasures (1)

I was exceptionally tired one day last week, but still determined to change the bed linen before brushing my teeth and falling into bed.  I had found a duvet cover that had been lying at the back of the linen shelf for about a year (I’m not very tidy) and it was like bumping into an old friend.  It has a blue background with a palm tree and various unidentifiable shapes around it in gold and green, but all in muted colours – nothing bright. 

And it was heaven – the feel of the clean, cool sheet and duvet cover against my skin and my face on the pillow slip smelling of lavender.  I’m sure I fell asleep within seconds with a smile on my face, and awoke the following morning feeling totally refreshed. 

As I drove to work I was remembering this and it struck me that there are so many things in our lives that bring us small nuggets of pleasure; why not try to list them?  The big pleasures in life are the same for most of us, I thought, but the little moments that seem to make everything else seem better, brighter and more comfortable are also worth recording and could be different from other people's.  I reckoned I should be able to come up with a dozen or so, and could write a post about it.

Since then my brain has bombarded me with LLPs (Life’s Little Pleasures) – all day, every day, ever since.  I scribble them on the backs of envelopes, the spaces on the back covers of magazines in between the ads, e-mails to myself from work, and in a little notebook I also carry around with me. 

Having now assembled them into some sort of order, I’ll see where this leads me.  It will take several posts, but I probably won’t make them concurrent, since each one can stand alone.  I’d love to know what other bloggers think of my choices, and if they have any to add themselves.

Home and Hearth

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”

~ Jane Austen

Sleep – I love that brief moment before I drift off, then waking in the middle of the night to the reassuring sight of the digital alarm-clock which tells me I have a few hours’ more sleep before it screams into life.  And if you can add to that the thrumming sound of rain outside and the combined warm and reassuring bulk of John’s back and the cats on the bed... bliss.  Please share with me this lovely little poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.
.

A Hot Bath – sinking into the hot sudsy water with a sponge to support my neck and a ten-minute read before my ginger cat Rusty’s curiosity has got the better of him and he’s jumped onto the rim of the bath.  He sways slightly to regain his balance as I hold my breath – the water would be too hot for him if he were to fall in.  He just manages to edge his way round two of the sides, fascinated by the bubbles, and then keenly interested in the feet beneath, which he tries to reach with his paw.  Getting braver he leans cautiously into the water, determined to catch the ‘things’, but eventually gives up and jumps off with his whiskers covered in foam.

The cats – I’ve written regularly about them on both blogs, but the small pleasures come from suddenly realising that I understand what a look on the little face means – something around the eyes, the tilt of the chin.  And it makes me laugh with delight at its pragmatism:  that’s my chair, get off it… you haven’t fed me for hours… I’m lying on your side of the bed because I feel like it, so lump it… I’m purring because I must ensure you like me enough to feed me on demand… .  Occasionally they lie on the bed purring while I stroke them, and yet there’s no food in sight.  They may be reaffirming their bond with me, but I resolutely ignore it and assume it’s because they love me.  Cuddle time is one of life’s best little pleasures.

Non-Housework - I’ve already admitted that I’m untidy, and there’s another pleasure to be gained from this.  Good housekeepers keep their houses tidy because they couldn’t bear to live any other way, whereas the unique pleasure I derive from seeing my garden and house tidy and clean once a fortnight is because I haven’t had to do it myself.  Certainly there have been times when I tackled the garden and enjoyed planting and watching the flowers come up, but what it made me feel was fierce pride and satisfaction and even a hint of obsession, because I couldn’t sit still to admire it if there were still weeds around to be pulled up.  Or if having vacuumed the house and dusted the furniture I’d see red if anyone walked on ‘my floor’ or put a teacup down on ‘my coffee table’... The pleasure was in there somewhere, but it was altogether a stronger and possessive feeling, far more complex than a simple pleasure. 

My list has only just begun.  Watch this space.  And tell me what your little pleasures are.

-oOo-

Photo Finish

from Lonicera's non-digital archives

A visit to Bowood House, Wiltshire

-oOo-