What little things disproportionately improve your quality of life?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

I know that the big things (secure housing, relationships and finances, good physical and mental health) make all the difference. But I just turned on the car radio and it got me thinking about the small, inexpensive things that make life so much better. Here are mine:

Radio 4
The Sunday Times
Having a lovely coffee shop next to the small office I rent
Cheese from the market
Having a village library
Good footpaths nearby
An open fire
Being able to go swimming each week ( roll on Wednesday!)
Baths
Gardener's World and Call My Agent (French comedy drama)
Being on a good bus route (I'm now down to only one school run, thank God)
Brogues and colourful tights

What are yours'?

Missing my choir SO much but that used to bring me much joy.

Currently:

Tea in the morning (has to be Co-ops own 99 brand for some reason)
The neck warmer my mum bought me for my birthday
Clean sheets
Talcum powder
Cold showers (don't knock it till you've tried it - SO revitalising)
Reading in bed and indeed in the bath
My gorgeous greyhound

My instant pot, I love it.

Having a little stockpile in the freezer so I know that we've always got a meal in.

Reading my kindle in bed before I go to sleep.

Fluffy slippers.

Cups of tea in bed.

Living in a rural area by the sea.
Having a dog... got my first dog at 45. I walk 2 hours per day now, am pretty fit and have non stop love.
Knitting.
A nice husband.
Podcasts.

My cleaner
Roast dinners
Leggings (so comfy)
UGG slippers (see above)
Fresh, clean bed sheets
My husband

I'm clinically vulnerable and use a wheelchair

Zoom was an absolute marvel for keeping in touch with friends

A Contigo auto seal mug means I can drink my coffee where I like rather than by the kettle or where someone else takes it for me

A Helping Hands grab stick to pick up things I drop (lots!)

The electric wheelchair I have from the NHS. I only paid for the rise function (which lets me talk to people at head, rather than bum, height and reach my cupboards ) and tilt function (which allows me to nap or even sleep safely overnight at a push. It frees me from needing daytime care and means that if he wants or needs to, my husband can go away overnight without it being a hassle. He hasn't done so but the potential is there like an escape valve)

Sapori Cantuccini biscuits, the flavour of a holiday..

Freshly made bed

Organising linen cupboard so that have one shelf each for towels and bedlinen. The main improvement is putting all the pillowcases in a basket, end-on, so you just pick out what you want instead of angrily faffing everything out of a big wobbly bedlinen pile onto the bed while swearing.

Realising you can download audiofiles from BBC Sounds onto a USB stick to play in my car, which is great on the long journeys I currently don't make to mum.

A frostless freezer,
A gardener,
Good underlay for DCs upstairs bedrooms,
Good saucepans,

May not be little, but a basic need: living on my own in a nice, warm flat doing what I want and when I want it.

Yorkshire tea from a mug of perfect size, shape and thickness
Trees
Daffodils coming up in early spring
Sheepskin slippers
Radio 4 podcasts
Ready prepared and marinated meat for stir-fries
Comfortable wellies

Lurpak on toast,yum!!

Walks on crisp cold days

currently:
my new emma bridgewater winter robin mug
chai latte from my tassimo(in above mug!)
a nice scented candle (currently enjoying woodwick spiced balckberry)
my new memory foam pillow
my twinkly christmas fairy lights
my coffee machine with timer function so come down to fresh brewed coffee every morning
my fountain pen

• Living in a very walkable neighbourhood so I can walk or cycle most places. Not having to worry about parking is a real blessing!
• coffee maker with a timer
• clean sheet day
• always having a few batch cooked meals in the freezer
• my house plants

McDonald’s five minutes’ walk from where I live so I can have it as a treat on Monday night when I don’t want to cook and wash up

Getting a free coffee when I’ve collected enough stamps on my Nero loyalty card.

When my sister sends cute pictures of my niece, nephew and her kittens.

Changing into comfy clothes and taking off bra at the end of the working day.

Re watching my favourite films.
Getting a full night's sleep (rare)
Having fully stocked cupboard and fridge.
All of us being free of illness.
Tidy house.

Plush new carpets on the stairs, landing and my bedroom. It feels like nice-hotel living and I love it. Genuinely makes me feel happier.

Short distance to the primary school makes the mornings so much easier that they were when we lived further away. It's less stress and I'm in a better mood on the school run daily.

A really nice cup of coffee every morning after my dog walk. I grind Starbucks expresso coffee beans, make it on a stove top percolater, heat up full fat milk and froth it. Then I can face the rest of my day.

O.P. Please check Times 17th November, by John Naish, then abandon any burning.
You wouldn't boast how lovely it is to hurl plastic into the sea and pour poison in wells, and the equivalent is having either open fires, bonfires, fire pits, or, notably E V E R Y kind of wood burning stove.

Tea in bed every morning on a tray.
Tea made in bone china tea pot, milk jug and matching cup and saucer.
Having delivery slots booked right through to New Year.

Getting halfway down the first page of a new book and knowing I'm going to love it

A warm fluffy cat asleep on my lap

Clean and fresh smelling sheets

Stepping on the scales and seeing the weight I like to be

Bringing yummy leftovers to work for lunch, forgetting about said leftovers during the morning, then going for my lunch and realising I have a lovely lunch rather than crappy soup 🥳

A foam mattress topper. Bliss

Watching toddlers play.

fresh flowers
clean bedding, pure cotton
laundry smelling nice
kissing my dc on his soft soft cheek
occasional visits to waitrose!
chip buttys

Sheepskin slippers.
My Kaweco fountain pen. I just love the feel of writing with it.
A well-stocked Kindle.
DD going to bed without a fight and going straight to sleep.
Reading a wonderful book and knowing there are loads more in the series.
Being able to step into the garden on a warm summer morning or a crisp winter day, after decades of flat-living.