What is your thing that’s good for your soul?

[Blondiebeachbabe]

Very rare day off. I’m sitting in my garden, looking at the sea, listening to the radio, sipping a cocktail and also doing some word puzzles. There are birds in the bird bath, the sun is shining and this is so good for my soul! Absolute bliss!!

Yes to animals and nature and time with old friends. But no-one has yet mentioned the joy of a really good tidy up and clear out (and trips to the dump), where the result is a wonderfully calm and peaceful space.

And purring cats on your lap while you're reading, obviously.

Hearing a classic disco tune on the radio, turning it up, and having a groove in the kitchen. 🕺

My hammock, more specifically having a nap in my hammock and it’s on my ‘To Do’ list for the next 3 days, I have made sure I have time each day for an hours afternoon nap.

Art galleries.

Museums.

My plants.

Fresh coffee.

A good find in a charity shop.

Peonies (just bought my first bunch of the year).

Eating the produce I’ve grown.

Rare phone calls with friends of decades.

My Simple Things magazine.

A good book.

Looking through trees up to a blue blue sky on a sunny day.

A lovely department store wander.

Hearing a baby babble happily or a small child bubbling over with mirth ( and the word ‘mirth’)

Music: Offenbach Barcorolle, Pachelbel Canon in D major

Such a lovely thread😊

No men

No matter how shitty everything is, my gorgeous cat sleeps on my feet every night.

People of all shapes and sizes and ages are good for my soul. I can be having a very bad day at work and then I get to listen to someones stories about their life and it is so restorative. I love all the random facts I learn. Teasing out past joy from the reticent and the downright cantankerous is my superpower !

Birdsong, I know 99% of the time they are saying ' stop looking at my Mrs' and 'Fuck off this is my patch' but they do it so beautifully

Finding a vaguely heart shaped stone on a beach always makes me a bit giddy.

Reading. Nothing makes me happier than reading. Every spare minute I have it’s spent with my kindle. I didn’t get into reading until the past few years but I always remember my mum saying “you’ll never be bored if you’re a reader” and it’s very true!

I do agree with a really good blitz of the house! So invigorating and satisfying!!! 😄

Learning how real people used to live in the past. I can’t get enough!

Also being outside in any weather. I can walk down the hill to swim in the sea and then back up. Feels good.

My girl.

My family.

I followed a hare along the lane the other day until it popped through a gate into a field and turned to look back at me.

Cross stitch while listening to an audio book or podcast, cup of tea to hand.
Losing myself in a book.

Lately I've really enjoyed doing the odd bit of volunteering.
Last night I helped give out running medals, bottles of water and cans of cider on the beach for a charity run. After, all the helpers spontaneously cracked open a tinnie and watched the tide come in. The best evening ever!

Learning to play the piano.

I've been having a think!

Knitting. I knit vintage patterns and it makes me very happy.
Old cookery books. I've got so many, and I can't bear to get rid of any but I have to get more because I love them. Victorian is my favourite but I'll go as far as the 1960s for the right kind of book. Big fan of the 20s/30s too.
Hawthorn trees.
Laburnum trees.
Old bone china clip-on floral earrings. Heavenly.

Certain authors.

Cold water swimming in the winter.

A couple of dear friends in particular.

The poppies and cornflowers nodding in the hedgerows. Every journey to pick up my younger from school brings me joy at the moment.

Trying to learn the piano. I'm bad at it, but it is definitely good for my soul!

Needlepoint.

Oh, and the strawberries from the farm on the way back from picking up my son. We always have to buy two punnets because only one makes it home. Tiny little sunbursts of heaven for your tastebuds, those particular strawberries, and sharing them with son makes them even better.

Beekeeping. You have to move carefully and respectfully through the hive. Everything slows down and you can think of nothing else. You witness this mysterious world, a complex society of females, immensely busy, always working, governed by a single queen. They can be brutal but everything is done for the good of the colony not the individual. It is truly wonderful thing.

Trees.

Someone I care about really listening. Good convo.

The feeling you have when you first meet someone and youre getting to know each other and the yearning and excitement and need for each other. Only happens once or twice in a lifetime.

Sitting outside at dusk on a warm evening in a garden or forest.

A glass of red.

This very evening. Both my DCs are home for the weekend along with DS’s GF and we have laughed so much.

Belief in Jesus Christ
My DH and DC
My dogs
Coffee

Interesting that most posters appear to be rural and many coastal.

Sunshine
The beach
Nature
Sport
Music

My dogs , they fill my heart with joy I love them so much
the woods
the foxes badgers and deer and mr crow

A good cup of coffee in the morning with time to enjoy it.

Running in greenery.

Swimming outside when the weather is hot.

My little dog popping her head up like a ferret, using her paws to prop herself up so she can see over low walls on walks.

Drawing.

When one of my teens joins me on a long dog walk and chats to me about what’s happening with them.