Happiness: Now, Here

One of my newest favorite things: a felted tea cosy from Delightful Knits' Etsy shop (photo from etsy.com)

I can feel the hopes and goals for 2008 gently swirling around the outskirts of my thoughts. I'm anxious to get to them, eager to grow and do and change and be. But they tell me to be patient and assure me that they'll wait. They tell me to take care of my present situation before I forge ahead into the future.

For the past six days I've been knocked down with a flu-cold combo. It's had me burning up with fever and aching all over (but not in the way that people get feverish and ache for each other in romance novels). I've been nursing a sore throat, doing my best to evade a cough, and blowing something akin to jellyfish out of my nose. I can't help but wonder if this is the Universe's ironic response to my request for a day to just sit and read. For days now I haven't been able to do much but sleep, read, and watch BBC America and Food Network. It sounds nice, but I could do without those gross jellyfish.

So while I recuperate and let my unconscious mind dream unfettered about this year's Mondo Beyondo list, I thought I'd make a list of my favorite things. At a time of year when the focus is on the ways we aren't good enough and how we resolve to change, it's nice to think about what we already love in life. The idea for the list comes from this Jen Lemen post. Be sure to read the comments for other people's lists, then check out Karen's budding list over at Chookooloonks as well as Stephanie's list on Cool People I Know.

Jena at Bullseye Baby (which I recently discovered) has an edifying post about the slight difference between "nowhere" and "now here." It's just a small space, a breath; but it makes all the difference in the world.

In random order, here are 25 things that I love, here and now:

1. My husband's funny dances, silly songs, and imaginative stories
2. Fresh, ripe raspberries and cherries
3. The slate-blue color of the world at twilight
4. Smooth grey pebbles
5. Freshly laundered bedding
6. The ocean
7. A good pot of Darjeeling
8. Wearing my new Superhero necklace (which mysteriously matches everything I own)
9. Back rubs and foot massages
10. Fresh cut flowers from farmers' markets
11. Immersing myself in a good novel
12. British accents
13. The way Cheska's fur smells after she's been sitting by an open window
14. Ice cream, cheese, clotted cream (okay, most dairy products)
15. The smell of freshly cut grass
16. Thai food
17. The rare moments when my whole family laughs in unison
18. Serendipity
19. Words like serendipity
20. Dreaming about travel
21. The way Gatwick lets me know each evening that it's time for his favorite treat: a dish of water over a few pieces of kibble
22. Twinkly faerie lights
23. Buttered toast
24. Sending and receiving real mail
25. Avocados

What makes you happy?