By Caitlin Kelly
Late afternoon sunlight
Fireflies (aka lightning bugs) twinkling in the darkness
A pot of hot loose-leaf tea
Freshly laundered pillowcases
A hummingbird hovering in our garden
Snoozing under a throw
Reading for hours and hours, disappearing into another world
Exploring rural antique stores and flea markets
Watching a movie, in the cinema, eating popcorn
Vanilla ice cream
A single espresso
Walking barefoot through wet grass
A calm and quiet place to sit and think for a while
A long phone chat with a friend living far away
Walking through a lovely landscape
A vase filled with tulips
A crisp apple (possibly with a sharp cheddar)
Broadside 
I like your list., Caitlin. For me, the first things that come to mind are seeing the sun stream in through my windows, watching how the light on my garden changes throughout the day, and last but certainly not least, petting my sweet rescue dog – and observing how, over the years, this formerly-mistreated dog has learned to trust me.
All good! I had a dog like that — it can take a long long time.
That’s a long list. Let’s see:
1. Having some good sushi
2. Reading a good book
3. Writing a story and seeing it materialize before my eyes.
4. Watching a good movie in the theater (with no noisy kids or other interruptions).
5. Baking something sweet
The list goes on and on.
Movies in a quiet theater are so so great!
Indeed. Too bad a lot of people disagree on that point.
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Thanks for the idea. I answered on my blog! http://www.vanwaffle.com/2018/10/29/simple-pleasures/
But the idea is to answer here…:-)
I couldn’t do it without my own photos. I wanted my readers to see it, along with a link back to your post.
I like cooking a Sunday morning lumberjack breakfast
Standing in a trout stream, smoking a good cigar. Jose’s a lucky fellow. I don’t know many women who like the smell of a cigar, regardless of quality.
Shooting up a roll of film.
Painting miniatures and constructing miniature buildings and terrain.
I like going to the movies and eating dudcorn. It’s a bag of popcorn, drowning in butter, with a box of milk duds thrown in. You get all the caramel loveliness, but they don’t stick to your teeth.
Shopping for books. Our local used book merchant gives generous store credit and my wife works in a library, so there are tons of donated books available to trade.
Last but not least I like writing replies to your blog posts. It’s nice to have a good think.
Thanks for being such a good sport!
These all sound great — not so sure about the dudcorn although I’ve heard of it. I like both parts too much to mix them up.
Oohhhh, shopping for books. I very rarely buy books as I am surrounded by 1000s I have not yet read. I keep buying Serious Tomes that I should read and never do.
I have tomes, no doubt about that. For me they are basically reference books for wargaming. Some games have lots and lots of detail and the more you know about the scenario, the better off you are. Novels and such I will donate when things get tight, but I have listening to a lot of books lately. They’re great when I’m painting.
I have never really gotten into audiobooks, but maybe I should.
walks in the quiet woods, books and crosswords and coffee, getting my hands in the dirt of my garden, beautiful things – well made, whimsical art, fresh baked bread – slathered with irish butter
That bread sounds great! I have yet to ever try making bread.
I love that you titled this “simple pleasures” as opposed to “guilty” pleasures. I think as a society and people we have enough to feel guilty about. Is it ok if I steal your idea and create my own post about simple pleasures? Here’s a few of mine…fuzzy socks and how they feel on my feet, a strong cup of coffee with cinnamon sprinkled on top (of course with cream and truvia!), petting dogs of all kinds, peering out the window of my cozy, warm townhome, at the lightly falling, silent, magical snow.
Love all of these! I add cinnamon to just about everything — including my homemade spaghetti meat sauce.
I don’t believe in guilt, in this sense. We all deserve pleasure, leisure and enjoyment in life. Anyone who shames you for that is crazy.
Love your list! I’m with you on the beautiful afternoon light — my favorite time for photography. But I also love taking a walk just as the sun rises. Along with hearing my husband’s laughter, it’s the little pleasure without which my day just doesn’t feel complete.
Thanks! Light is so lovely — and places are so different in every different season and time of day, for sure. I love autumn’s low slanting light.
Husband’s laughter, for sure!
It’s these simple pleasures that are the best after all. 🙂
exactly!
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