Simple pleasures

[Rabbitheadlights]

Not AIBU but ...

What are the simple things that bring you joy/ satisfaction?

I'll start

The heel/crust of a seeded granary loaf with lots and lots of butter.....

The morning cup of coffee before anyone else wakes up and the house is still....

@beachWaves2 .... This is the point.

I love that slightly deadened hush you get after a heavy snowfall. Like the whole world's been put on mute. I find it really peaceful.

Walking down to the harbour where we live and buying fresh seafood for lunch with crusty bread and fresh fish for dinner then strolling back home along the beach. I always say to my OH 'isn't it lovely we can do this' to which he replies 'you always say that'!

And just recently.. jelly from a paper dish eaten with a plastic spoon. I had a garden party for my youngest DD, and my older DC all came home for it, alongside my step DC and some primary aged friends of my DD. The house felt like home again. Noise and chatter, the older ones ribbing each other in a good natured way, the younger ones having a ball. And I was eating this jelly from a paper dish with s plastic spoon, watching the fruits of years of hard work being a mum, brimming with pride, but also transported back to when my older ones were small and I'd do the same kind of party food,, which threw me even further back to when I was small and my mum did the same for me. And obviously it was an absolute joy to have them all under my roof again, but somehow that dish of jelly made it all the more profound.

Sorry that was a ramble!

Hot toast with melted butter
Morning cup of coffee in bed
Watching my dog run happily around the garden
A walk on a sunny day.

Being all cosy inside when the weather is rotten outside. Definitely fresh bedding and pyjamas. Clean and tidy house. Walking the dog then watching him sleep after. Fresh bread and butter. Stew and dumplings. Hot bath and dry clothes after you have been soaked and cold. Opening a new book. Less so now I have a Kindle. Sofas, fires, red wine and blankets. Late summer nights in the garden. Sitting on the boat at anchor listening to all the birds. So many!!!

A 'mega shower' as I call them.

Full body exfoliation, deep hair conditioning treatment, face mask, nails clipped

Lovely

Small grandchild totally comfortable in a snuggle.
Sandwich made by someone else.
Clean bedlinen.
The flipside of the pillow on a hot night.

That first morning cuppa.
The sound of rain on our caravan roof.
Walking barefoot on the beach.
Watching my 3 dogs run like idiots in the park.

A really good bookcase filled with interesting books, preferably in a second hand bookshop and preferably one that also sells coffee.

100% morning cuppa tea!! Hits differently

When it's my morning for a lie in, lying in bed with the window open (even when it's freezing outside) reading a book and having a cup of tea.

My new routine of sitting in a comfortable armchair and reading with a cup of tea and a biscuit after lunch before carrying on with work for the afternoon. I often work from home, but have only just got the house back to myself during the day and I'm loving the peace.

DS struggled a lot with lockdown, so I'm at my happiest when I can tell he's recovering

When I'm sitting by DS and he reaches to put his arm around my neck/ shoulders. He's much too small to reach, but I'll happily squish myself down so that he can.

When DS finds something really funny and he does a really deep chuckle. It only happens occasionally so you know when he does it, he's at the "can't control his laughter" stage

When DS is singing made up songs to himself while he's doing something else. He only does it when there's nothing on his mind.

Coming out of the ocean shivering and pulling on a T-shirt that’s hot all through from lying in the sun.

The smell of the air right before a thunderstorm.

Garden tomatoes so ripe they’re about to split open, with a sprinkle of salt.

Glimpsing the full moon at night when you didn’t remember that it was time for one.

Unexpectedly hearing a song from another (happy!) period of your life.

When my cat lies across my chest purring.
I put my arms round her and she looks at me and blinks happily.

I'm reading through all of these and picturing myself there, listening to the birds, or walking on the beach, or eating jelly from a paper plate it's really very easy to see why all of these things bring joy and it's also having a relaxing effect on me too

@Rabbitheadlights

The heel/crust of a seeded granary loaf with lots and lots of butter.....

This is absolutely one of my favourite things. An extra little sprinkle of salt makes it even better!

Another really simple pleasure that I appreciate so much is not having to be woken by an alarm clock. We are able to allow ourselves to wake up naturally every morning and the difference it makes to my mental well-being is quite incredible (long back story to that).

Leaving a crappy job at the end of the day, even better on a Friday (and best of all when you quit all together)

Now going to read the rest of the thread - this is my favourite type of thread, so soothing and joyful.

Another one .... When you pop your head into your young DC bedrooms at night to check on them, and just watch them sleeping for a minute, the sense of peace, love and contentment is quite overwhelming

Seeing a magnolia tree in full bloom.

A nice apero, maybe a sherry with some cheese and olives.

Buying a Kindle book, and it's there in a flash!

(The smell of a garden after rain....There's a word for it...Petrichor! )

The cleaners have been, everyone else is out (very rare since lockdowns) and I'm on my own in a clean house with a glass of wine or cup of tea, an M&S sandwich and a good book on my kindle.

Sticking your feet in the wet sand by the sea
The magic hour before the kids are down
Putting your face up to the sun (especially when there's a beautiful breeze!)
Swimming
That moment after you wash and dry your feet and spray them with a tea tree foot spray (boots version and is only €2)
Pjs just out of the dryer on a cold night

New socks
New pants
Full fridge
😁

Sunsets,that linger. Waking to the sound of my cat asking for breakfast & then an hour of snuggles with him. Cool days I dislike heat.
Early mornings with the first cuppa I've always been an early riser,about 5ish walking with my wife & ending up in a restaurant.

A cup of tea.

The sound of my baby laughing.

Cuddling up with DH on the sofa to watch something good on TV.

Sitting in bed with a good book, stopping every so often to look out of the window at the view of open countryside.

Walking the dog in the fields at sunset, especially in summer with the smell of flowering rapeseed.

The fridge and cupboards being full after the weekly shop.

The feel and smell of a print newspaper or magazine...I will keep buying these as long as they exist, online just isn't the same.

A hot bath.

Buying an ice cream and a Coke at the same time...money was tight when I was growing up so I was allowed one or the other as a treat, never both. It still gives me a thrill to buy both and I'm in my 30s!