Things I (heart)

It's been an on-and-off distressing couple of days, both in everyday life and in the news.

So here's something lighter - a list of little things (and some perhaps not so little) that make me happy.

Amazon Prime. I still cannot get used to the idea that I can order books or a dvd and have it at my door two days later with no shipping charge (and yes, I know - that charge is paid up-front as the yearly "membership." But with the amount of stuff I order - both for me and as gifts - I think I get my money's worth).

Oak Hill Raspberry Vinaigrette salad dressing - it's hard to find and my supply comes from the gourmet shop in my parents' town (I always cart a bottle back in my suitcase when I go visit them. It's just GOOD. It's a little bit sweet but not sicky sweet. It's got a little horseradish in it for punch. It tastes wonderful on spinach salad. And it's low fat AND low salt, if those things are important to you.

Getting stuff in the mail. I mail-order lots of stuff, partly because I hate a lot of types of shopping (clothes shopping, ugh) but also because I love coming home and finding a box of something I ordered on my front porch. If there were a company where you could pay a small fee for monthly "surprise" boxes of something that interested you (like a sampler of teas or a couple of mystery novels), I'd totally sign up for it.

My bed. I love being able to get into bed at night - to surrender the day, to say "now nothing more can happen to me." I have a fairly ironclad rule - if my phone rings after I've gotten in bed, I don't answer it. Because 95% of my after-9pm phone calls are either wrong numbers or some idiot who is drunk-dialing (which I guess is another sort of wrong number.). I read in bed even though the anti-insomnia folks say you shouldn't (if it's a good novel or an interesting book of history, it never seems to interfere with my sleep - I don't read scientific journals or try to re-write papers in bed though). Right now I have five pillows on it - two forming a sort of headboard, one for my head, and two for me to rest my arms on when I sleep on my back. Somehow it seems more comfortable and secure with those additional pillows on either side of me. I started doing that the last cold I had, to force myself to sleep on my back (so I wasn't so congested) and I realized it was really comfortable.

"All ages" "graphic novels" (a/k/a books of funny cartoons). I've ordered a few over the past year or so - all of Andy Runton's "Owly" books, the Little Dee books, a few others. It's a comfort and joy to be able to open one and be immersed in that world. I'm slowly figuring out what authors, styles, and genres I like - it has to be the very light, very happy-ending type of stuff - "All ages" is the designation usually used for this, meaning there's nothing to overly scare children or offend parents. I also think I'm going to buy the Pogo reprints when they come out. (Oddly enough, for a rather conservative pair, my parents talk about having been HUGE Pogo fans when it was originally in the newspapers. I have one or two of the compilation books - picked up at used book stores over the years - and I feel like I maybe don't UNDERSTAND the era quite well enough to get everything in them. (But I do get stuff like the "Malarky" bits).

My yarn and fabric "stashes." If you're not a crafter, you might not quite get this, but a lot of us who do these things accumulate quite large collections of "raw materials." I have several of the large flat underbed-type boxes full of folded quilt fabric, and several of yarn. A lot of the stuff was acquired on sale, or in a situation of "the company is discontinuing making this yarn and I like it and I want to make such-and-such project with it, so I better buy it now". Right now, especially, the stash comes in really handy, because I'm not DRIVING anywhere (gas prices but also the time factor - something in me rebels these days at making an hour's round trip just to shop). So instead, I'm pulling stuff out of the stash and using it to make quilts or to knit up. It's kind of like having a root cellar, only for your craft.
(See also: liking getting stuff in the mail. There are several online yarn and fabric purveyors I like to order from when I want something specific or when I need, for example, a particular color of fabric to work with what I've already got).

My white-noise generator. It's one of those Sharper Image Sound Soother things and was something like $150 when I bought it last year but it's more than paid for itself in the better sleep I get. While it doesn't cover everything up (like neighbor's dogs and especially loud diesel duallies), it does cut out a lot of the ambient noise and I find I sleep more soundly. And getting decent sleep is extremely valuable to me.

Ticonderoga pencils. Only brand I will use. They don't seem to cheap out like some other brands and use a graphite that breaks easily. And the wood seems better quality. I buy these in huge boxes (like, 48 pencils) and keep them in my office. And if I loan someone a pencil, I insist on getting it back. (And well I should - they're MY pencils, darnit, I bought them.)

J. R. Watkins "Apothecary" Lavender hand creme. I bought this on an impulse on my last trip to Target and I have to say it is the BEST smelling lavender product I've had - it's more floral and less "harsh" - some lavender scented things, I don't know if they use more of the leaves than flowers, or if they use some cheap syntho-lavender, but some of them have almost a dusty or acrid after-scent. Not this - it's nice and floral and rich. And I use it more (which I really should because I have dry skin) because it smells so nice.

So there's a list. And oh, I know - things aren't supposed to be important, people come first, and all of that. But there are some little things that are just NICE and make life a little happier.