A good night's sleep, chocolate, the happiness and satisfaction of sharing on AgingCare forum. Does anyone have some favorite things to think about? Yes, this phrase is from the song in the movie "The sound of Music". My husband and I often resort to using movie lines and song to improve communication. We were the only two in a gathering of people who heard the background music playing. We both had the same (cassette tape/CD). A connection bringing two people together. To this day, we crack up when one uses a simple movie line to make a serious point.
SO, What is one of your favorite movie line, some of your favorite things?
I've also learned that there are some tricks the street and highway panhandlers use. (1) stay on the major cross road or highway intersections, (2) be out in rush hour (3) add "God bless" on the sign they hold. Maybe there's a school they go to or website they have? That sounds callous, but to clarify I'm referring to those who panhandle instead of work; I'm not referring to someone who really is destitute. But how to tell the difference???
I used to give to panhandlers on the streets of Detroit, but when a few of them got aggressive I became more than a bit frightened.
The ones calling from foreign countries are a real nuisance; Often they use spoofed numbers, but they have a distinct way of speaking. One has been harassing people for months, inferring he's with the IRS and is attempting to help the recipient of the call avoid prosecution for fraud.
His spiel begins "this message is intended to contact you." "Contact" is pronounced con tact', with emphasis on the second syllable. I can't figure out his accent - it's not British; it's a blend of different countries.
Your comment on wood reminds me of how much I like the smell of wood being cut - that woodsy aroma that makes me feel as if I'm in a forest.
Once we visited Mackinac Island and rode around it on bikes (no cars are allowed - only pedestrian, horse and bike traffic). We stopped at a forest and leisurely sauntered through, inhaling that fresh and somewhat exotic scent of the combination of trees, plants and perhaps something mysterious that we never identified.
It always reminded me of Longfellow's poem, Evangeline:
"This is the forest primeval. ..."
The scent of junipers and pines in winter is also especially enticing - so appropriate for those cold days, days in which spirits are high as it's just the beginning, not the end of winter.
The look and feel of real wood after you have polished it
A row of newly pressed (ironed) clothes hanging neatly by colour and type in your wardrobe (oh god I did do this too)
Highly polished shoes (I should have been in the army)
Seamed stockings (back in the day when my legs looked good in them)
The smell of lavender wafting on the breeze
Essential oils of jasmine and geranium mixed with ylang ylang and a minuscule amount of patchouli (too much and I vomit)
The smile on a genuine poor persons face when you take the time out not to give them money but to buy them a meal - a real one not a burger and a drink or perhaps some shoes for their feet - While on holiday I did this in Jamaica to a genuinely poor gent who said good morning to me every morning and doffed an invisible cap to me - he had no shoes and his clothes were clean yet ragged. When we went out to dinner that evening I bought an extra meal and a huge coffee and went outside and found him and gave hime the meal. Next day he was waiting for me with a bunch of flowers (I didn't like to ask where they came from).
Before we went home we asked all the people on our holiday if they had clothes (male ones of course) that we could donate to this sweet old man - he was about 70/80 but looked much older. Well I tell you generosity was amazing. One couple gave me 100$ (US) so we went to the local minister who knew him well and asked what we could get him for the money we collected (almost 900$ in total) The minister said he needs shelter and this would get him a refuge home - not for a huge length of time but enough for him to get well again - let me tell you those acts of human kindness meant a lot. The minister arranged for him to go to his house and have a shower and he would have been able to cream his body forever we gave him so much aftersun and suntan cream that we weren't taking home with us. About 6 pairs of flip flops that would last him a while.
Thats a favourite memory for sure
The wily robin sat on a spade waiting for the worms to merge from the freshly dug earth
The blue tits spending their lives chasing madly around the gardens and trees looking for food for their chicks
The wobbly walk of puppies taking their first steps
Watching ducklings trying to clamber up a step when following their mum who made the step easily
Cooking for friends and sending a whole evening talking about old times and silly things we did
Dad's diaries - they are so precious too
The way the early morning mist burns off leaving a warm sunny day
Splashing in puddles like a big kid
During the Beatles Era, a mated pair of mallards took up residence in my parents' neighborhood. My sister named them Loretta and JoJo, after the Beatles' song. They would waddle down the dirt road, stopping occasionally to rest or explore one or other of the neighbors' yards. Eventually at the end of the season they would disappear.
Sometimes they would return after a few years, sometimes it was much longer. We saw another pair in the same favorite place this year, and of course Dad and I decided that was either Loretta and JoJo or their children or grandchildren with their spouses.
It was so pleasurable, so relaxing and soothing to watch them leisurely explore yards, waddle around, rest for a while, quack occasionally, and sometimes come up when someone offered them something tempting to eat.
Those are some of the very special pleasures of spring and summer.
Peanut buster parfaits are definitely a treat, along with banana splits. Or dilly bars and buster bars....and I'm getting a chocolate craving again.
Dandelions - they're pollinator food! I love all my dandelions and would never cut them. Once I saw a little bird dining in a dandelion plant. I think it was an oriole but it was years ago and I don't remember for sure.
Clean sheets and clothes, dried in the wind, are incomparable to those dried in a machine.
Your closing paragraph is so insightful and touching. I couldn't help thinking of the Memories song from CATS. Thanks for sharing.
And isn't the DQ awesome....especially a good old banana split or peanut buster parfait!!!
I love the smell of the grass when it's just been cut.
I know folks hate dandelions, but I love them...their little sunny yellow faces....
I love the feeling of putting on a fresh clean cotton gown after a good hot bath with lots of lavender scented baby powder...
remembering all my favorite things and seeing others, reminds me that there will always be a way after all this..because the things that bring me the most joy are simple and do not involve one other person to enjoy or obtain them...
A visit to a Dairy Queen on a similarly hot day.
Watching the clouds lazily drift by.
Watching ducks, geese and swans leisurely paddle around a pond or lake.
Freshly picked herbs, especially lemon balm, spearmint, oregano or sage.
Watering the flowers early in the morning when the birds are singing and turtle doves are cooing in the distance.
Watching kittens and puppies sleeping in a little pile with their Mamas by their side.
Getting in my little truck that used to be my Daddy's and getting a soda at the drive through and going through the countryside, seeing all the pretty freshly plowed fields...and that smell of damp earth.
Watching Mama sleep when she's feeling good.
Getting cards in the mail.
My first cup of coffee in the morning, especially on a cool fall morning.
Horses groomed and ready for a show
Kicking up the leaves in the autumn (fall)
Making sand castles on the beach
Standing on the shore feeling the sea wash the sand from underneath your feet
Hearing little children giggle
Laying by the ocean listen to the waves crashing on the rock or lapping on the shore
The mewl of a kitten calling for its mama
Young lambs friskily jumping in the fields
Waterfalls
Rainbows
Have you noticed that what we love is nature?
Crystals in snow which appear to be rhinestones or diamonds.
The myriad colors of leaves in the fall.
The soft patter of rain as it touches the house.
The smell of grass after it rains
The way raindrops sit on leaves
Snow when it is pristine and white
The sun setting over the sea
Corn fields waving in the breeze
New borns - every single one of them human or animal
Things that scare me
The look of sadness I see in my Mum's eyes sometimes
Her frailness
Her utter dependence on me
Despite all the angst the trust she places in me not to harm her in any way
The potential to hurt her when I have to help her move
Watching fireflies in the evening or just before the sun sets.
This will be one of my favorite places when the sun is too hot to go outside.
A few of my favorite things..
Early morning coffee on the deck with my babies.
Creekbanking and floating down the river in an inner tube (Jeanette...I know we're related)
Falling asleep while watching old B&W movies..especially horror flicks.
Being outdoors. Floating down Oregon's gorgeous rivers catching trout, pulling up on the bank and frying some up for lunch, then continuing on down.
Splashing about in the pool. Better yet, teaching my big pibble how to splash around in the pool and float in her raft. haha... we are water girls :)
Tinkering around my house, tending the garden and creating my back yard sanctuary.
That's about it... I do have some favorite things I used to do. No need to go backwards though :)
My very old clock that I managed to fix
Having a clean tidy room that I like to be in
These are a few of my favourite things
Tightly made beds with crisp ironed sheets
A week that goes by without people to meet
Watching the swans as they glide silently away
This is a favourite of mine every day
Mulling over albums with pictures of Dad
Remembering all the fun times he and I had
Laughing and giggling and speaking pig latin
While mum scowled and snarled in her blouses of satin
When she kicks off
When she starts to scoff
When I'm feeling blue
I'll simply remember that this is a phase
And then talk to all of you
Because you really are my life line xxx thank you
I just cannot be laughing this hard, the endorphins are killing me.
Boiling up kettles a new tea pot to christen
Brown plastic bin liners tied up and left
Robbed of a life - I feel bereft
Cream coloured diapers and crisp panty liners
Doctors and nurses Oh is there anything finer?
Wild geese that dragged me back here just to care
Yes I can moan and yes I do dare
Her in pyjamas with tea stains all over
Refusing to put on her nice new pullover
Silver white hair that she brushes all day
God help you if you take her mirror away
When the Cow snarls
When her words sting
When I'm feeling tied
I'll simply remember my lot in this life
And then commit suicide
Just a parody and no I won't - I wouldn't give her the satisfaction!
SendMe2Help, I think folks just scroll through the messages page by page until they find a thread to which they want to respond. I don't believe there's any way to tag threads. You could just keep bumping the thread up to keep it more visible.