Pickles & Dimes

Inspired by She Likes Purple, a list of things I love (her only rule is that you can’t list your significant other, kids or pets):

I love waking up to realize I can still sleep for another three hours. I love wearing my spring coat for the first time in six months. I love mowing the lawn and then sitting outside on the steps with a cold can of pop to survey my handiwork and compare it to our neighbors. I love throwing on my robe on a chilly morning. I love figuring out which spot to pet on a cat to make it purr. I love cracking open a new book. I love grabbing an oversized blanket for a nap on the couch. I love opening a new jar of peanut butter and inhaling deeply, and then using a knife to draw a heart into its creamy, unblemished surface. I love giving the rabbits in our yard human names like Carl and Harold, and seeing how close I can get to them before they bolt back underneath our deck. I love rifling through my bird book to identify our backyard visitors. I love new ultra-fine Sharpies. I love knowing that I have three birthday presents already sitting on my dresser, waiting to be opened, and that I finally, at age 33, have the willpower to wait until my actual birthday to open them. I LOVE spicy garlic buffalo wings and potato slices with melted cheddar cheese, dipped in sour cream. I love the hopefulness I feel during the first frame of bowling. I love a hot, steaming bowl of clam chowder. I love watching my lava lamp at work send up its first red bubbles. I love surfing Etsy for unique rings with green stones. I love looking at Caspar David Friedrich’s art. I love daydreaming about the no-kill animal shelter I would open when I win the lottery. I love shopping by myself, with all the time in the world, heading into the dressing room with an armload of items. I love sitting in a quiet room where I can hear the clock ticking. I love browsing through thrift stores for funky lamps and tin signs and necklaces. I love keeping score at baseball games. I love reading about interesting forensic cases. I love Marlene Dietrich movies and how black and white film and the right lighting makes everything glamorous. I love looking through my magazines for images to put up on my “inspiration board.” I love mini-donuts, and become giddy like a child when I see a stand at a fair or ball game or street festival. I love having a steady hand when I give myself a pedicure. I love taking pictures of my flowers, especially daisies and the scraggly rosebush that is 90% dead, yet still produces magnificent flowers. I love planning my outfit for the day around a single color in a ring. I love the moment when I put my car into park in an automatic car wash. I love swapping my winter clothes for summer clothes. I love going camping and sleeping under the stars and hearing other campfires crackle softly while the crickets chirp under the moonlight. I love walking to the farmers’ market on my lunch hour, picking out fresh-cut flowers. I love having the time to cook an honest-to-god home-cooked meal. I love curling up on the couch with a bowl of buttery popcorn and an unopened can of Mt. Dew. I love treating myself to Twinkies, Oreos and 3 Musketeers bars. I love planting my spring flowers, using the money we collected from our spare change throughout the year. I love getting email notifications that my online order has shipped. I love plain yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I love to eat vanilla pudding pops while I’m outside on our bench watching the squirrels bury things into our flower barrels. I love watching birds drink out of the puddles left by our sprinkler as they hop to avoid the spray. I love lighting candles that smell just like they claim. I love that moment camping when the tent is pitched, the fire is going, and I’ve got zero responsibility for the next two days. I love closing my eyes and listening to the sound of the surf, and how the wind rustling through the trees sounds the same way.

EDITED TO ADD: And bacon. Oh my god, how did I forget bacon?!? I LOVE BACON!