Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The Five things I am the Most Grateful for

Okay, so I'm going to exclude the obvious, being family, friends and health. You can take those for granted. I'm talking about the small things that might mean nothing to others but are important to me.

1) Every evening, when I get home from work, I feed the cat, get changed and prepare my rum and diet coke with three crackers topped by smoked salmon. I then take it all to my study to check my blogs and write before preparing dinner at 7.30pm. This is a special wind down time by myself - only the cat can interrupt me. When I'm having a hard day, I really look forward to this moment of my day.

2) After dinner I go back to my study to write but these days it's rather chilly in New Zealand - imagine wearing long-johns and thermals to work under my business clothes because the office is so cold. So I dream of how my electric blanket is warming up my bed. Now, I like to stay up late and keep working while the house is quiet so going to bed is not a priority but that electric blanket calls to me all evening. When the weather warms up, I actually go through withdrawal symptoms when I have to eventually turn it off. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke or drink coffee but I have withdrawal problems with an electric blanket. Go figure.

3) Having a good book on the go is essential in my life. When I finish a book, I must have another lined up or I feel bereft until I find a new one. It's like a close friend that I can return to when necessary. I don't have a lot of reading time in my day and I never read for long stretches at a time but just knowing that book is waiting for me makes my life worth living.The one in the photo is perhaps one of my favorites of all time. Even though I wasn't keen on Jodi Picoult's latest book, Change of Heart, I have loved all her others. Any suggestions of 'must read' books?

4) Movies. You have heard me go on about movies before and how they are my weekend passion. Well, give me a bad week and I long for the weekend so I can go lose myself in the wonderland of someone else's fantasy, diet coke and choc-top icecream in hand. The day after tomorrow I'm off to see Hancock - got to see what that twist is all about. Thank goodness no one has yet dropped a spoiler about it unlike that in Wanted, which I am dying to see when it arrives.



5) The sun in winter is such bliss that it should be canned. We have had sunshine for a few days here while the temperatures have been so chilly I have had to wear the above-mentioned bulky underwear. So the feeling of the sun on any bare skin available is a joyous pleasure and of course there is that essential vitamin D that you can't get any other way except through a pill. Unfortunately I just saw the weather forecast and it's going to be yucky again.Enjoy it, you guys in the northern hemisphere, it'll be back here soon enough.

14 comments:

raine said...

I get rather attached to my electric blanket too, lol--although we get more than chilly (no complaints, Cananda, for example, is BRUTAL).
These are all good examples--especially the wind-down time. :/

Suzanne said...

Raine, the funny thing is I didn't get an electric blanket until a few years ago. I was determined not to be so elderly - now it's one of my top 5 luxuries.

Suzanne

raine said...

Ha! I just got mine two years ago.
And I don't figure it's got anything to do with age (I refuse to think so, lol). With heating bills as high as they are, it certainly helps when you have to keep the thermostat down.

Suzanne said...

I turn the blanket off as soon as I get in bed because I'm afraid I'll fry but those first moments when I slip between the sheets is pure heaven.

Suzanne

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

A great post. I don't have an electric blanket anymore, but I do have a electric mattress pad on my bed, which I LOVE in the winter! Thanks for visiting my blog while I've been sick. I'm going to try and slowly catch up over the next week.

Suzanne said...

Sandpiper, I've been wondering how you are.
I don't think a pad would be big enough. I already wish my blanket was bigger because I have to curl up my feet to get on a warm bit.

Suzanne

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Suzanne, I looove smoked salmon too!!! YUM!!!

Sorry you have to wear longjohns under your suit at work. I live in them myself during the winter.

Our summer never has taken hold. It has an autumn coolness to it. I have been in the pool four times and not in Lake Huron even to wade.

I have a blog link to share with you. Someone who lived in my neck of the woods has moved to NZ and blogs about his nature adventures. :D

http://ruahineramblings.blogspot.com/

I sure love how we meet great people through blogging. :D

My portrait photo has been taken and I have sent in my artist information. Almost completed with this project, but I had a lot of phone calls to make this week.

Stay warm!

Hugs, Nancy

Suzanne said...

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out.
I'm sure summer will get your way soon. We are back to sunshine again today.

Let us see your photo when you get the official one. That must have been fun.

Suzanne

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed visiting you web site and wanted to thank you for visiting my blog.

Suzanne said...

Good to see you here, Abraham. Thanks for dropping by. I hope your wedding anniversary went well.

Suzanne

Bernita said...

"Enjoy it, you guys in the northern hemisphere, it'll be back here soon enough."

Just thinking that myself.

Suzanne said...

Sorry, Bernita. I'm being selfish, I know, but winter does that to you.

Suzanne

Rinkly Rimes said...

I am Australian but don't cancel me for that reason as I was born in the UK. I was interested to read about your Blanket Addiction because, believe me, I'm going through the same experience here in
Newcastle NSW. I don't think I could ever cope withan English winter again.
My Blog is Rinkly Rimes, a daily 'jpt' in rhyme about this and that.

Try me.

http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com

Suzanne said...

Thanks rinkly rimes for dropping by. I am sure your need for an electric blanket in Newcastle is far superior to mine here in New Zealand.

Suzanne