list #48: overlooked pleasures

I’ve been reading Barbara Holland’s Endangered Pleasures, a wry, hilarious series of essays on topics as diverse as Naps, Disasters, Using People, Crowds and Bad Words. (I think I saw a link to it on Sarah’s blog, though for the life of me I can’t find the post containing said link.) Holland laments the disappearance of some pleasures (such as cigarettes) and ardently defends others (such as Spending the Summer). And always, always, she advocates for savoring all the pleasures you can.

Breakfast with tea and a beloved book - a pleasure indeed.

In my life, pleasures aren’t endangered so much as overlooked – I often forget to savor the daily ones, or make time for the bigger ones. So (of course) I thought I’d make a list. Please add yours in the comments!

1. Washing my face. There’s nothing more rejuvenating at the end of a long day.
2. That burst of juice when you peel and eat a clementine, and the way your hands smell like citrus afterward – no fancy lotion required.
3. The pure abundance and possibility of a stack of books waiting to be read.
4. Dark chocolate, in any form (most recently: a dark-chocolate-dipped pretzel from a local chocolatier).
5. Flipping through a magazine at my leisure.
6. Twinkle lights. All year long, but especially now.
7. Honey coating a sore throat.
8. Perfectly painted toenails (and the fact that they STAY that way so much longer than fingernails do).
9. Browsing Etsy.
10. Casting on for a new knitting project – oh, the possibilities!
11. The comfort of returning to a favorite book or movie.
12. Mail in the mailbox. (I’m always waiting for something wonderful to arrive.)
13. Fresh herbs – green, pungent, tasty, a little wild.
14. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Muppets, in any form.
15. Sunshine, especially now when the days are so short.
16. Running down to the corner store for milk or tortilla chips or toilet paper – because it means I don’t have to drive anywhere.
17. Writing with a real (read: non-ballpoint) pen.
18. A whiff of salt air (which you can smell on our street when the wind is right).
19. Savoring my favorite long-form blogs: Good Letters and Art House America.
20. Spending unscheduled, unplugged time (or long phone talks, when the former isn’t possible) with dear ones.
21. The satisfaction of a little job done: the hole mended, the drain unclogged, the watch battery replaced.
22. Being prepared for the weather, e.g., wearing your rain boots when it actually rains.
23. A straightened slipcover (a rare thing in our house).

What’s on your list of overlooked pleasures?

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