The other day, one of my Facebook friends commented “I love how the random, simple pleasures in life make people think of Tray. 
” and that got me thinking about a series of Simple Everyday Pleasures posts on this blog. So here we go:
Please, feel free to comment with your own!
My friend John wrote this post in his blog today and it warmed my heart and made me smile. No matter what ugly things might be going on, there’s got to be at least one thing for which you can be grateful.
something I am grateful for today
In our region, once the temperatures get up to summer levels, the warmth is invariably followed by high humidity, which makes for tough slogging. Some of you will nod your heads sagely, others will not really understand what this
humiditybugaboo even is. Depends where you’ve lived. Anyhoo:The last few days here, the temperatures have gotten into the high 20s (that’s
low-mid 80sfor you non-metrics down there). Which is hot enough to be calledsummerhere, and feels even hotter when it suddenly pops up out of nowhere like this and you haven’t had time to adjust your internal thermostat gradually. However:at the same time, the humidity has been, like, below 30%. For here, that’s really dry. Usually our hot weather has humidity of around 80 or 90%. So this feels so different from our regular hot weather — this is like being in California. (Where I loved being, BTW…)
Bottom line: this last little while, we’ve been able to enjoy California weather without having to leave home. How could you not be grateful for weather this nice?
The first time I heard the word “lemon” negatively was when I was a kid…definitely under the age of ten. My gramma was complaining about a car she bought and she kept repeating “it’s a lemon” with such disdain. I couldn’t imagine how a car could be a lemon. With a lemon that big, imagine the money I could make at my lemonade stand!!
I love lemons. I love lemonade. I love the smell of lemons. I love the texture, the look of them, the scent. So fresh and inviting! So clean! I love rolling them on the counter before I juice them. I buy lemon scented dish detergent and liquid hand soap for the kitchen. I love the act of making a twist to garnish a beverage. I also love making lemon drops: Sweet and tangy vodka drinks that make everyone say YUM!
And the best lemon-related trick I ever learned was from Aunt Patsy. She said to put the peels into the garbage disposal and run it. My sink smells lemony fresh! (It usually smells like garlic, which is a whole other post, bel
This post comes with a shout-out to Shawneemonkey, purveyor of sock monkeys and the one who introduced me to the Lemon Drop. Salud! Here’s the recipe:
who wants a Lemon Drop? YOU do!
first off, you need simple syrup. it’s equal parts sugar & water – bring to a boil, stir for 3 minutes, cool and put in a tightly-covered jar/bottle in the fridge. use as needed.
cut a little wedge o’ lemon. run it along the rim of your drink glass, then dip that rim into some sugar. hang the wedge on the rim, if you’d like.
squeeze a fresh lemon. you may get enough juice from 1/2 a lemon for 1 drink.
in a cocktail shaker full of ice, add the following (tweak as needed):
2 oz vodka (lemon-flavoured, if you have it)
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrupshake the heck out of it.
strain it into your sugar-rimmed glass.
drink. enjoy!
I don’t know where I’d be without my friends. I could sit here all day, typing just one line about each of my friends and what they mean to me, and I don’t think I’d even come close to finishing. I don’t dare try, for fear of forgetting something (you know how it is when you’re a woman of a certain age). But seriously, how does F, with her chronic illness, put up with my whining? And A, with money struggles of her own, finds a way to send me tiny gifts in the mail. Or J, the eternal optimist — how can she even stand listening to me and my crankypants? And S, with 10 years between us and only communicating via email, she’s the sister I would have chosen, she’s so supportive and reassuring when it comes to my crazy.
But they do. Because they love me and see things in me that make me a good friend, even when I don’t feel like one. God bless my friends: You people lift me up. Thank you.
Overdone, commercialized, too stressful…whatever. It’s about letting someone know you love him or her, whether or not he or she is your lover/partner/spouse. Share the love — it can only make you feel better. (And yes, I remember the times when I was alone, and yes, I was bitter, but I still gave my mom a valentine.)
I love my husband, my doggies, my mom, my sisters and brothers, my nieces and my nephew. I love my in-laws (really!), my aunts and uncles and my cousins. I love my friends. I love my comfy jammy bottoms, my studio, tuna on rye and sour cream and onion potato chips. I love sushi, blue skies with fluffy clouds, wine and a well-written tv show. I love music that makes me happy, with lyrics that I can sing along with. I love you. I love me. I love love!
Be open to it.
Love Doesn`t Kill You
It might break your heart, but the physical risk is low
You might feel so bad that
you wanna die
but if you died you would never know
that it didn’t kill you
We’ve all felt so bad that we wanted to die
but if we died we would never know
Love doesn’t kill you
It makes you feel better
With apologies to Fastball, I can’t find a legal paid download of “Love Doesn’t Kill You” anywhere and I really want to share the song, so here it is. Enjoy. xo
I love that Andrew McCarthy is just as adorable today as he was in the 80s when I had a crush on him. There really are no other words other than “Renew Lipstick Jungle
I am such a teenybopper.
What’s Right With the Word? Sleep, falling asleep, sleeping, thinking about sleep, a nice warm soft place to sleep…
This might be my new favorite website: Cute Things Falling Asleep. Be sure to check out the chick and this funny baby. I think this site is going to be handy, especially if you need a sweet little pick-me-up.
Meanwhile, I’m going to try very hard not to fall asleep at my desk.
It’s the end of the year, we wrap things up (figuratively and literally), we think about all the current year has brought us and we dream about what the coming year has in store. The winter holidays are not a burden, they are a joy. The celebrating and the gifts and the cards are all ways to show our love, respect, affection and admiration. And you don’t have to do them all. And you definitely don’t need to make excuses for what you do or don’t do.
Another thought: Anyone who is reading this, especially those of us in the U.S., are so blessed. Blessed beyond reason, when you really think about it. Concentrate on what you do have, rather than what you don’t, and you’ll see it, too.
Now, I realize this is more of an american thing than a worldly thing, but it’s what’s right in MY world these days. Thanksgiving leftovers. Plate after plate of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, and, if we’re lucky, rolls or biscuits. The stuffing is my favorite. And since we host Thanksgiving here, here is where the leftovers live and my husband and I spend the weekend eating leftovers, with barely any dirty dishes or prep required. I love that.
And the joy of turkey dinner leftovers can only really be expressed in the heartbreak of not having turkey dinner leftovers with this narrative from A Christmas Story:
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!
We didn’t get them on purpose when we got our car; we just lucked out! Every time we get in the car and I have a bit of a backache, or I’m having a rough day, the heat on my seat is so soothing. And we realized the other night that they come in handy because my husband is a warm person and we don’t put the heat on too much when we’re driving, so the seat keeps me warm when it’s a little bit chilly. The best of both worlds!
Runner up for What’s Right With the World: Daniel Craig.
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