Some things are just like that, don't you think?
It doesn't matter how many times you see, hear, smell, touch or taste them - they are always lovely; always just what you like.
I've made a very small list - because otherwise, I'd be here all morning and there are things to do. These are some of my 'Always lovely' things that are maybe not on everyone's list. (Because some things are undeniably always lovely for most people.)
1. Sting - well, I could listen to him all day and always find something different to hear in his arrangements. I really do think he's an excellent musician and lyricist and he's worked with some of the best around. Here is an smooth jazz version of one of his songs - with saxophonist, Branford Marsalis. Great stuff.
2. Nutmeg - the scent has to be possibly the most exotic, wonderful, sensual, deeply pleasurable and irresistible for me. Oh I do love it! Cinnamon, saffron and Jasmine come a close second - there are some of the same notes in these scents for me - but nutmeg is top of the list! Not a good idea to overdo it though as it can produce unpleasant side-effects...
3. Birdsong. Just about any birdsong is lovely to me apart from cooing woodpigeons. They always sound as though they're complaining and I feel compelled to add words to their complaints - like 'I CAN'T do it, Denise'...or 'Come HERE please, Betty'...over and over. No, not woodpigeons, but having lived in the town for the past two and a half years, I had forgotten how glorious it is to hear birds singing all day (and part of the night now, as we have nightingales!) When we lived in Huddersfield, we had a little wood behind our house, which was full of birds and we loved hearing the woodpeckers, owls, blackbirds and bluetits. Here in Villalobos, we have SO many that I am still learning which ones they are.
4.Getting into bed when the sheets are newly washed, ironed and crispy cool. Bliss. (And even better if it's someone else who has done the ironing...)
5. Fossils - aren't they always amazing? Not just to think that they come from so long ago but the actual shapes and patterns of things like ammonites... I don't think I shall ever tire of the joy of finding one or the fascination of peering at them embedded in rocks.
6. A fruit I haven't seen on sale here is the lychee but if I saw any, I'd snap them up regardless of cost because I could gorge on lychees all day. They have a flavour like a perfume and an delicious, delicate scent and I can't imagine eating too many! I love the process of peeling them - gently snapping the puckered shell from the super-smooth interior and, the eating over, being left with silky, shiny seeds. How I wish I'd saved a few - maybe I could have grown them for myself...
And that's my limited little list of always lovely things. It's even been lovely just thinking about them and I am listening to Rimsky Korsakoff now - if you have a few minutes to spare, and if it's only a few seconds, do listen to the clarinet twiddly bit at 7:30 which is a wonderful bit of seahorse stretching if you have that sort of imagination....
Ax
Oh I wholeheartedly agree with most of your lovely list - birdsong, Sting and freshly washed sheets would all feature on mine too.
ReplyDeleteI do find that funny coo-ing, like a deep vibration pidgeons make actually kind of comforting.
Have a wonderful weekend full of lovely things.
Sophie
Thank you Sophie. Sorry but pigeons definitely wind me up though I have tried really hard to like the sound. Doing anything exciting this weekend...? Axxx
ReplyDeleteWhat a very lovely list of very lovely things Annie, I love slipping between freshly laundered sheets too, and would happily change the bed on a daily basis if I didn't have the laundering of them..........can you believe I've never tasted a lychee, they sound delicious...................I'm going to make a cup of tea and have a little listen to Rimsky Korsakoff........another first for me.
ReplyDeleteKim xx
Fancy having the pleasure of discovering the taste of a lychee ahead of you, Kim! Hope you enjoy the Rimsky Korsakoff - it's very uplifting and always makes me want to dance.
DeleteAxxx
An interesting list, which tells us more about you, Annie.
ReplyDeleteA couple of your list items would also be on mine; the sheets and the fossils.
I do an assembly of my precious things and a use a trilobite which could be up to 450 million years old. The kids gasp - it's a bit of 'awe and wonder'!
My musician would be more difficult to pick but would probably be James Taylor, Jackson Browne or Paul Simon.
My favourite song ever would be Hotel California followed closely by the Welsh National Anthem sung by Tredegar Orpheus.
I could go on ... Enjoy your weekend x
The sheets, I think, are definitely always lovely - no matter what. I must say these aren't necessarily my 'favourite' things, but things that always seem good no matter what. What sparked this thought was the sight of the Sierra Nevada as I drove home from the school run this morning - certainly, no matter what they always seem good!! Perhaps I should have called the post 'No Matter What' - ah well! Axxx
DeletePS - there's an amazing version of 'Hotel California' in the film 'The Big Lebowski' in Spanish - give it a go....I love it but it may be an acquired taste! Ax
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMYyxqaaWew
Lovely list Annie. I adore Sting too...always have, and that particular arrangement is wonderful. I love the sound of the saxophone too, it seems to reach into your soul...if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI get irritated by pigeons. I remember my granny telling me that they say "my toe bleeds Betty" which is a bit odd isn't it?
I love the smell when I'm watering the garden, when the water hits the earth, and in particular the smell of the tomato plants. I also love the smell of my first freshly brewed coffee of the day, which I drink out on the balcony around 6am watching the sun rise...bliss!
Great post Annie, one to make us all stop and think about the things that we love.
Glad to find another Sting appreciator - it was his music that was on in the car - IS on in the car almost all the time. Occasionally one of us changes it but it always makes its way back...
DeletePigeons are just annoying - bleeding toes or not! They sit on the roof outside Ruy's room and drive him mad some days. I think he's just starting to get used to them because this morning he complained about the dogs barking all night, not the pigeons! Poor lad - country life takes some getting used to.
Oh yes, tomatoes and coffee - wonderful - and newly baked bread... the list is quite long, isn't it? Stop and think and smell the roses, Ayak. Always was good advice. Axxx
Lovely post which, as Ayak says so rightly, makes us stop and think for a moment.
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of the earth as rain hits it...so I'm well suited here.
Birdsong in the early mornings.
Seventeenth century English. Such clear expression!
My dogs plonking their chins on my lap. (Closely followed by an impatient paw if strokes are not immediately forthcoming).
Handel.
And, of course, Test Match Special....
I could have put so many more things, Helen. I love the idea of being charmed by 17th century English - I wonder who you're thinking of?
DeleteDarwin's pawing is sometimes a bit too insistent to be always lovely...though I could watch his lolloping run forever.
Handel AND Bach...oh, and Mozart and....well..
As for Test Match Special, I certainly always loved the music but haven't watch cricket for many years now and find I can live without it - but I like to think of you enjoying it. Axxx
Well, as an example:
Delete'I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken' - ~Cromwell before Dunbar - as a try at negotiation.
Not to speak of Donne, Herrick, Herbert et al plus the restoration bunch....but just take a look at the Putney Debates for a clear expression of the wish for equality.
Will do - I have always loved Donne; the others I know less well so this will be most interesting reading. Thanks. Axxx
DeleteI love them all except Sting. I think it's got something to do with "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (I KNOW it has!)
ReplyDeleteMy ex was a school teacher, I'll say no more...
He's not everyone's cup of tea but the song you mention was a LONG time ago - he's done all sorts since...but I don't think I would have minded if he'd been my teacher.
DeleteBut I know what you mean so I'll say no more.
Axxx
I love your list, but would swap anything by Ray Davies and the Kinks for Sting and one of my joys when moving back to the country is listening to the nightingales as I walk the dog by torch at night.
ReplyDeleteMusic is very personal - I love Ray Davies and the Kinks too but there's something about Sting's music that means I just never tire of it. The nightingale's song is definitely not over-rated, is it! Lovely, Axxx
DeleteAgree with Capriccio Espagnol,but how about Concierto Andaluz by Rodrigo ? Listen to the heath in the slow part !
ReplyDeleteFor me a good 2nd is the Welsh National Anthem, if not best...
The album If on a Winters Night was a revelation, shows that Sting is not just a pop singer. (Have known that as of his The Police days ! Miel
Hello Miel! This wasn't a 'favourite's' list - just an always lovely list and yes, Rodrigo is always lovely, especially that second movement. Sting is extremely talented, yes. See you soon. Axxx
DeleteYour list is absolutely spot on, Annie, especially nutmeg and seahorses. I would love to have seen your special seahorse dance... And I agree about wood pigeons; they block every other bird sound out. I have them in the roof of my studio, along with something that sounds suspiciously like a giant rat as it runs across above the ceiling. But before you pointed it out, I hadn't heard those phrases; now I am sitting typing this and hearing stuff like, 'George... don't do that' in about ten different wood pigeon voices. So, thanks for that! You know what, even somebody megafamous like Sting might be a bit pleased that he is one of your seven most favourite things in the whole world : )
ReplyDeleteI think my seahorse dance was rather special, Hita - and lovely to hear from you!! Hope the wood pigeons don't drive you mad now....
DeleteNot wanting to get Sting's hopes up too much - this isn't my favourites list you see - but a list of things I simply don't tire of. A one and only favourites list is just too hard. But maybe I should tell him....
Axxx
Mmmmmmmmm-- all lovely!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Elizabeth. Axxx
DeleteI love your list Annie.... and it has been great reading other people's too. I have given this a lot of thought...or at least have tried to as and when the grandchildren have given me more than 30 seconds to think of anything. Clean sheets is clearly a vote winner....and musical high points feature for most people ( Paul Simon, Nanci Griffith, and Beniamino Gigli for me) For me....a few views through the windscreen of the car have become important...and always delightful.....the first view of Castle Hill as you come into Huddersfield, Stoodley Pike from Mankinholes....the first view of the abbey in Caunes, the lighthouse in Sheboygan.....all special places which evoke tingly feelings. At the moment, a hug from a little 5 year old as he emerged from the arrivals door at Montpelier airport is taking first prize amongst my special always good feelings.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting response, Janice, because it was the view of the Sierra Nevada that set me thinking - and then, of course, I forgot to include it! Typical me.
DeleteAnd yes, the first view of Castle Hill did pretty much the same for me when we lived in Huddersfield - I always loved it - and funnily enough, the first view of the sea whenever we travel in a 'seaward' direction!
I bet that hug was very special. Hope you've had a few moments more to yourself now to reflect on the lovely time you've all had together.
Axxx
A gorgeous, beautifully-written post. I love the distinction you make between favourites and always lovely, Annie. :-) Of your list the ones that do it for me are the smell of spices, the sound of birds (yes, even woodpigeons in moderation, as they always make me think of sleepy summer heat) and the sheer luxury of a freshly-changed bed. Mmmmm....
ReplyDeleteOn my list would be our ash tree in all seasons, the countryside under fresh snow and that first cup of tea in the morning. |:-)
Couldn't the list be almost endless once we start to think of all the little things, Perpetua? I agree that certain trees do it for me and I've developed quite a thing for a big Scots Pine in our neighbour's garden - as I walk past in the morning, the sound of the breeze and the needles create a very special sound. I have to have a moment's indulgence beneath it. Spices too - love 'em! Romy is much the same and every so often has to rush to the spice rack for a quick fix of cumin!
DeleteI should, of course, have mentioned my own morning necessity - which is coffee - that is always very, very lovely!
Axxx