Move Over, Julie Andrews

Welcome to the Daytona Fever 500.

😀

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens (my whiskered one is a troublemaker) are Good Things, but if I was to sing a song about my favorite things (and I *do* sing, as you will see when you scroll down), I would not include bright copper kettles (copper rusts) and warm woolen mittens (allergic to wool!) among my favorites.

And just what would you include, Feve? you are wondering.

As if I wouldn’t tell you.

😛

MY 500 FAVORITE THINGS
(kidding, I’m kidding…  there are only ten)

Nicknames:  There is something special about nicknames, when they are developed between two people.  Being bestowed a nickname by a friend or lover – one that is exclusive to the two of you, sui generis – is an intimate and unique way of sharing a story, your story, and the symbolism gets stronger as time goes by. Terms of endearment are dear to me as well, especially when I know that they are mine alone to say or to hear, but there is something about a nickname that takes it one step further.  It is somehow more powerful.  Perhaps because it is something that belongs only to the entity that is defined as “Us” (whoever that ‘Us” may consist of).  There is, after all, something to be said for pride of ownership.

Snuggles:  I am of two extremes about touch.  For the most part, I am a hands-OFF kind
of girl.  But physical touch is one of my love languages, so with the people I care about – people who are “my” people – I can be a cuddly bunny.  (The kitty is an excellent snuggler, by the the way.)  It is rare for me to find people who ‘match’ me in that way, but when I do…  Well, let’s just say the term “wrapped up in you” can be taken literally.

😉

Conversations:  The kind that free-flow with the tide of thought.  These are rare gems.  When people can just relax and not try to justify or convince or persuade or soapbox, but just…  Talk.  Think.  Share.  Question.  Answer with more than one word.  Engage.  Listen.  Truly listen, without argument or judgment, but with the goal of understanding.  Let one concept or word or phrase or idea spark another and then another and another.  I have had the pleasure of experiencing those kinds of exchanges at various times throughout my life, and some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been with other bloggers.

Link Shares:  I love it when people share links with me.  An article, a song, a quote, and info page, a photo.  I like it any time (provided it’s well-intentioned), but I especially like it if it is done post-conversation (see above), because it shows me they are thinking about the things we discussed, and that shows me – in a tangible way – that they are invested.  I also love post-conversation ‘follow-up’ emails.  Particularly when those emails include additional information about something we discussed.

Old Hollywood:  I am a fan of classic movies, particularly from the 1930s to the 1950s. I grew up on Cary Grant and John Wayne and know entirely too much about Katharine Hepburn and Myrna Loy.  The fact that the studios (back when there were hundreds of them) used to put out a movie a week and that a month-long shooting schedule was considered an exorbitant expense…  Five days to three weeks was the average production schedule, start to finish.  It’s mind boggling.  Watch The Maltese Falcon some time and keep that little tidbit back of mind throughout.  Or His Girl Friday.  There is no one in modern movies who can compare to the directorial genius of Huston or Hawks.

The Detecting Couple of the Martini Era: “Is your husband working on a case?” a reporter asks. “Yes,” replies Nora Charles. “A case of scotch.”

And the lines!  Ironic:  “How dare he make love to me and NOT be a married man!” shouts an irate Ingrid Bergman.  Even more ironic, but in a completely different way:  “Put me in your pocket, Mike,” says Katharine Hepburn, breathless.  Sigh.  Love ~ LOVE ~ LOVE old movies.

(I love quotable movies in general, and there are some more modern ones that I enjoy ~ Galaxyquest, anyone? ~ but classic Hollywood takes the cake.)

Music:  I am particular in my varied tastes, and I do not think of music as background noise.  It is something I focus on, something I listen to.  It is not a distraction, it is an activity unto itself.  I can perform tasks (driving, cleaning the house, etc) to a “soundtrack” of sorts, but if I am listening to music, that is exactly what I am doing.  I am not filling the silence with white noise while I concentrate on some ‘greater’ task.  And when I like an artist, I hear something new every time I hear their cuts, no matter how many times I’ve heard the same track before.  There is an art to listening.  And listen, I do.  It could be a manifestation of my ADD/OCD tendencies working in tandem that jacks up my senses in this way.  Or perhaps it is a result of my classical training.  I am a musician.  I married a musician.  I play two instruments, and I sing.  I belt out lines from little-known songs at random times.  I hum softly to myself, or carry a tune in my head, almost all the time.  If you talk to me on the phone for any length of time, you will hear me sing.  I carry lyrics in the pockets of my memory, and I have lived a life creating harmony in dissonance.  Music is an emotional experience for me, and often a physical one.  It is also intensely personal.  I won’t go to just *any* concert, and I certainly won’t go *to* a concert with just anyone.  Live music is especially potent in its effects.  I laugh and I cry.  I sway my hips and raise my hands and hold my breath and move my feet.  I experience music. Actively.  Someone who once loved me told me I was his favorite song.  It is one of the most uniquely tailored compliments I have ever received.

Books:  I love books.  Real books.  I love the feel of them in my hands.  There is something special about holding bound spines and turning pages.  Books tell stories beyond what is inked on the pulp they contain.  Reading fuels my imagination.  I devour books with a voracious appetite, and I collect a genre that may surprise you.

Date Nights:  My husband and I get very few of these.  But when we do, we set about discovering new things together, and we learn new things about each other in the process.  I am lucky enough to be married to somebody who cares about experiences.  We share them.

This is a 1% representation of my nightly reality. Cameras can never do the colors justice.

Sunsets:  I’ve been asked why I prefer sunsets to sunrises.  It could be a matter of which coast I live on – the sun doesn’t rise with much oomph in my neck of the woods.  {It could also be that I’m not a morning person.  The sun peeking through curtains means I have to get out of bed.  Five more minutes, Feve mumbles, burying deeper into the covers.  I don’ wanna get up.  😉 }  There is something poignantly symbolic about watching the sun go down.  The inevitability of the end, I guess.  And every sunset is different.  The western sky is ablaze every night with hues of pink and orange and colors undefinable.  Sometimes it is a golden glow; other times it is a purple haze.  No two are the same.  Yet every one is beautiful.  And, just as in the cycles of life, the end of each day is a natural requirement for the beginning of another.  Sometimes there is relief; sometimes there is sadness.  Always there is the assurance that a bright light will be on the morning’s east horizon.

Orgasms:  If I said one of my favorite things was sex, you’d say, “Duh.”  But really…  Sex, in and of itself, is NOT one of my favorite things.  (Gasp!)  Because, truthfully…  It’s not the act of sex (intercourse has its place and its purpose, but there is very little joy for me in simply fucking) I like so much as the orgasm.  I like having them and sharing them.  Granting them.  Demanding them.  Denying them.  Controlling them.  I like listening to my lovers, watching them when they cum.  I like being asked for orgasms.  Building them.  Delaying them.  Gifting them.  Experiencing the release.  I like the hitch in his breath, the involuntary twitch in my legs, the strain and the pleas and the desperate wanting that pushes us both over the edge.  I like the slow dance and the fast ride and the Now, please please NOW and the Cum for me, baby.  *shiver*  Yes, orgasms are most definitely one of my favorite things.

Ahem.

So.

What are your favorite things, hmmm?