Celebrations for March 8 - Small Pleasures

 

(folks, I don't know why the date says March 7.  I posted this at 12:10am eastern US time on March 8...)

Years ago, when I was in college, my friends and I had one of those 'what would you do if…' discussions.  You know the sort of thing:

 

What would you do if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?

(I always wanted more information: how am I going to die? Am I supposed to know in ADVANCE?  So, the question is What would I do if I knew I were going to die tomorrow - apart from having a full systems blow of a freak-out episode?) 



Why don't men dress like this any more?

If you could only go on one date this year, where would you go, and with whom?

(You mean no other date for the rest of the year?  So this would be my dream date?  Does sitting at home and eating rum raisin ice cream while playing footsie with Keanu Reeves - love the eyes - count?  No?  Whyever not?)

 

Quick! What did you eat for supper last night?

Fugu Sashini

(I hate that question!  I could have cooked a cordon bleu feast for friends using truffles, vintage Dom Perignon and fugu sashimi and I won't remember after being put on the spot like that.) 

There is one question of those, however, that I always enjoy answering.  This is because, for me, it expresses the things I find perfectly luscious and celebration-worthy:

 

 - What would you buy if money was absolutely no object at all?

Can you smell the lavender?

You mean if I could afford ANYTHING?

- Yes.

Oh…  Oh, my.  Let's see… 

1.  Every evening, when I got into bed, it would be to clean cotton sheets - and not too high a thread count - crisp is the word - that were freshly washed and hung out to dry in the sun - then ironed.  Yes, and three pillows on the bed.  AND a down comforter, crisp and white.

 

It's the sun that gives the lovely scent...

2.  Clean, brand new clothes every day.  This would be excepting my jeans, which would be nicely broken in and spotlessly clean.

 

3.  Flowers in every room.  Fragrant ones.  Freesia, lavender, sweet old-fashioned roses. (and visit this blog, which provided this lovely bouquet: http://jeanniesgarden.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-bouquet.html ) 

Ahhhhhh......

4.  A view of either mountains or ocean from every window.  Ideally, it would involve both.  I am not sure where that would be, but nevertheless - if I looked out the window it would be to see something splendid.  (I lived in a place, once, where every window opened to a view of a wall.  it was terrible.)

 

This is Barbados.  I'll take Kauai.

5.  I would own a desk like that owned by Beauty in Robin McKinley's book Beauty - the first iteration - when she first comes to The Beast's castle.  Stocked with all sorts of paper and pens.

 

Who needs sugar with these?

6.  And, whatever the season, fresh, ripe raspberries whenever I wanted them.  Or fresh, wild strawberries, so small and sweet that sugar is not only unnecessary but laughable.

 

I'll never be that wealthy, mind, but if you think it through, that list represents many of the things I find worth celebrating.  The crisp feel and smell of good paper, smooth, clean sheets, berries like the ones I picked at my uncle's farm a lifetime ago.  The sweet, almost honey-like smell of my cat's fur.

 

She does have sweet-smelling fur...

They are all worth celebrating.