Saturday, July 17, 2010

Simple Pleasures

Since Tom's gone, I've found that a key to my sanity is to find joy in the simple pleasures. Here are a few that I've thought of this week:

1. The way a freshly-vacuumed carpet looks.

2. One-on-one snuggle time with Clare and James.

3. Enjoying a cup of wine and an episode (or 3) of BBC Robin Hood with my sister after the babies are in bed.

4. Crawling in to a bed with fresh, clean sheets.

5. Seeing Clare play outside in the sprinklers in her swimsuit all by herself.

6. The smell of clean floors (thanks, Shan!).

7. The quiet of the early mornings before babies are awake, when I have time to read, drink a cup of coffee, and do my morning meditation.

8. The feeling of sore muscles. I figure that if it hurts, it means it's getting smaller. :)

9. Hearing Clare and James giggling like crazy as they play together on the floor.

10. James's 2-tooth grins and Clare's hugs and kisses.

11. Video-chatting with Tom. I'm so thankful that technology allows us to hear and see him even from so far away.

12. Eating/drinking/cooking with fresh herbs from my back deck. This week we've used our basil, rosemary, mint, and lemon thyme. It's so awesome.

13. The generosity and friendliness of our neighbors. The other day one came over and gave us an enormous bag of freshly-picked rainier cherries from a tree in their back yard, and today our next-door neighbor gave us a couple of fresh crabs that they caught yesterday. Sooooo looking forward to eating those tonight! What a treat.

What are some of your simple pleasures?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Carrie - I identify with so many of the items on your list, although I don't get to chat with Gerard while he's gone! :(

Our initial plantings did NOT do well with the cruddy weather but our second plantings are coming up quickly. No basil yet, but plenty of parsley. I'm anxious for the basil and cilantro - my two favorites!

The Herring family said...

Jen, we had cilantro too. I thought that it withered because of the rain, rain, and more rain (which is probably did) but then as soon as it was sunny it did great for a little while and then flowered and just kinda quit. Then I did some reading on cilantro thinking that I did something wrong, but I guess it's just a really fast-turnaround plant once it gets hot enough. I love it so much that I'm thinking of getting another plant, though. :) Basil is one of my absolute favorites, too. Lots and lots of italian cooking happens here in the summer time.

Amelia said...

hmmmm I needed to hear something like your list, Carrie! Thank you!
I say the WY breeze on a hot summer day! (you know how I hate being hot!! ;)
"stay away from me, I'm HOT!"

Unknown said...

Oh where do I begin...eating a Popsicle on my swing outside when it's 95 degrees, a long shower (which really means a break from babies), random kisses and cuddles from my boys, shopping online with my hubby-making our "someday wishlist," pizza night every once in while so I don't have to cook :), weekends in general when Daddy is home all day long!