What makes me smile

(The Best Socks in the Universe)

Alto2’s photo meme challenge to me involves three questions:

• What makes you smile (other than Emma)?
• What makes you sad?
• What place/thing gives you peace?

I’m going to have to do this in three parts because I couldn’t limit myself to one photo for the subject of what makes me smile. Since I had to leave out Emma, I decided to leave out all other people in my life who make me smile.

There are a lot of things in life that make me smile. This is just a small, in no particular order, sampling. All photos are mine from the past year or so.

I started with The Best Socks in the Universe. They truly are the best socks in the universe. The first time I slipped them on my feet I grinned from ear to ear, loving the warmth, the fluffiness, the cushioning, the softness, the wonder of these socks. Working as a pharmacy tech, I was on my feet all day. Putting on The Best Socks in the Universe after a long day at work was pure heaven. They’re not actually called The Best Socks in the Universe (although they should be!). They’re made by Gold Toe Socks and I got them at their outlet store in Lancaster, PA.

(Fireworks)

Fireworks always make me smile, especially serendipitous fireworks. M and I frequently find ourselves wandering upon fireworks displays when we’re traveling. We’ve seen them in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland as well as in all the places where we’ve lived: Columbia, South Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Huntington, West Virginia and southern Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Akron and Kent, Ohio. I’m sure we’ve lucked upon them in our travels throughout the U.S. too. Of course we always find a fireworks show to attend on the 4th of July. (M and I met on the 4th of July.)

(Turtle Beach)

Turtles sunning themselves by the side of our pond. There’s an area to one side and at the back of the pond where the turtles gather on sunny days to soak up the rays.

(The Purple Quit Fairy)

A friend sent this to me when I quit smoking. The Purple Quit Fairy helped me through many a craving.

(Hiking in Quail Hollow)

Hiking makes me smile. Perhaps it’s the endorphins kicking in from the exercise, but I think it’s because I love being outdoors at almost any time of the year.

(Wildflowers)

Wildflowers, domesticated flowers, flowers that are considered weeds, any kind of flowers. I particularly enjoy our wildflower meadow near the pond. We scattered the seeds and were surprised to see them come up (we hadn’t had much luck with them in the past). The meadow changes from year to year due to all the birds it attracts. The birds eat the seeds and usually leave a few while they’re at it.

(Snow)

Snow almost always makes me smile. I hear they may finally be getting a decent amount of snow in the Bogs this year. It’s too bad we’ll miss it. The pond is frozen and once there’s some snow on the sledding hill, we could be having lots of fun zooming down that hill.

(Hot air balloon)

Hot air balloons fly over our home in the Bogs quite frequently when the weather is right. We’ve also seen them land nearby.

(Books)

Piles and piles of unread books. Reading is another of my favorite activities. One of the things I’m enjoying most about this sabbatical is having the time to read.

(On the pond.)

Boat rides on the pond. Our pond is 1.5 acres. We have two boats: a row boat and a pedal boat. I’m better with the pedal boat than I am with the row boat (I tend to row in circles sometimes…lol!).

(Oktoberfest)

Festivals and celebrations of all kinds. When I was a child my parents used to take me and my siblings to the Farm Fair every summer. The first festival/fair M and I went to when we were dating was Serendipity Sunday.

(The Warhol, Pittsburgh, PA)

Play. I think this photo is a good representation of play. It’s the Silver Clouds room in the Warhol Museum. Seems to me that everyone who enters that room ends up smiling.

(Penguin at the National Aviary. Pittsburgh, PA)

Penguins!! Penguins always, always make me smile. That may well be why the first animal I learned how to draw was a penguin. 🙂

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

Sensuality

(Photo by Robin. 2006)

My first photo meme challenge is from Kel at the X facta. I don’t know if this is a bit of a cheat or not. On the one hand, I have posted this photo before. On the other, I didn’t post it on this blog. I think Kel should make the call on whether or not this is a cheat since this photo is a result of her challenge/suggestion for a photo meme.

I am, I think, a sensual person. I would venture to guess that most of us are, in some form or another. Picking one particular sense as a favorite was a tough challenge. I tend to plod through life rather slowly, enjoying being in the moment, and that brings about a heightened awareness of my senses.

My vision isn’t that great. I wear glasses to correct that, but I still miss out on a lot of details. I compensate for that somewhat with my photography. It allows me to see things I might otherwise miss. I can’t blame it all on my eyesight. I’m just not a very visual person in some respects. (One exception to this was at the Mummers Parade when I had to choose between seeing the costumes and listening to their music. I really wanted to see so I sacrificed sound for a little while.) I’ve often thought I’d make a poor witness to a crime. I don’t notice things like hair color, eye color, height, weight, clothing. Even with people I worked with on an everyday basis I would fail to notice new hair styles, cuts, or colors, new outfits, etc. I’d eventually notice. Just not right away. It would take a day or two. I pick up more on things like mood and personality. If asked to describe someone, I’m more likely to think in terms of happy or spacy or calm or sad or something of that nature.

I have a keen sense of hearing, something that used to drive my sons nuts because they could never sneak up on me. Or sneak out of the house or out of their bedroom. I enjoy live music, but often have a difficult time at concerts. Loud sounds, especially continuous loud sounds, physically hurt my ears making them crackle and pop, building up pressure until my ears ache. Ear plugs are wonderful things.

Like most people, I enjoy eating and the variety of tastes available in the variety of foods we have access to these days. I take my time when I eat, savoring the flavors. I’m a good cook and I think that’s due to a good sense of taste and an intuitive knowledge of what works well together. My olfactory sense is pretty sharp too, which is a good thing as they say smell has a lot to do with what you taste. I know one or two people who have lost their sense of smell and they lost their sense of taste with it.

The only sense remaining is touch. If I have to pick just one, then it will have to be touch. I enjoy the feel of the elements — wind, sun, rain, snow, and ice — when I’m outside. I like the contact of my feet with the earth, even through my shoes, although barefoot is always best if it can be done (cool grass, hot sand, squishy mud). There’s the feel of water when I’m swimming, silky and smooth if it’s warm, choppy and chilly if it’s cold. I enjoy light sensations (a gentle breeze, a soft touch of the hand or lips) as well as heavy sensations (a good massage!). I prefer natural fabrics such as cotton and silk, and it’s a very rare occasion when I’ll wear synthetics. I pretty much have to be forced to it.

I love hugs and kisses and contact with other people (especially my husband). Holding hands, snuggling, cuddling, tickling, carressing… all good things. And there’s nothing like a hug or kiss from my granddaughter.

I bet you’re wondering about the photo of the laundry and what it has to do with touch. Well, it’s the sheets, of course. Freshly laundered, soft, cotton sheets that have been hung outside to dry bring with them the warmth of the sunshine, the soft-crispness created by the wind, as well as the wonderful scent of fresh air. And this might be more than Kel (or anyone else, for that matter) wants to know, but nothing beats the combination of those fresh sheets and just shaved legs.

So, yes…touch. It’s a definite favorite of mine.

It’s the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something. ~ From the movie Crash, 2004

More photo memes to come. I’ll be tackling Alto2’s tomorrow. Thank you all for the suggestions. This is fun. 🙂