Thread: Happiness is... Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.
To visit this thread, use this URL:
http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=025702
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
:
... opening the curtains to a flood of bright summer sunshine at the start of a long weekend when there is nothing that you have to do.
... picking those first veg and fruit that you grew yourself in your garden or allotment.
... a really good book that keeps you absorbed, to the point where, when you come to the end, you wish there was more.
... an old friend you haven't heard from in years suddenly getting in touch.
... being told that something you were worried about isn't going to happen.
... actually completing a course or a project you embarked on a while ago, and have been doing intermittently for way too long.
... sitting under the shade of a tree by the river on a hot day, with your favourite flavour of ice cream -
and lots more. Just add your own!
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on
:
...it was a Monday lunchtime in early 2001 and some friends and I were on a little narrow gauge railway in the foothills of the Himalaya just poddling along to the next town for some lunch and we suddenly realised that with the time difference it was rush hour in Britain/Western Europe - we smiled because it no longer involved us.
...eating a fresh ripe mango.
Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on
:
May I channel Snoopy? A warm cookie.
Being met unexpectedly at an airport by three of my great-nieces (and their mother)
Watching a very favourite young man beginning to grow into teenagerhood. So gentle and caring with his grandmother who has dementia.
Just being with more family for a few days than I expected.
Posted by chive (# 208) on
:
Seeing my best mate's toddler smiling madly when he sees me and hearing him shout my name when the door bell rings.
Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on
:
Discovering (again) that there are people who do stuff just because it makes them happy, while satisfying their innate geekhood: Farm Machine Music
Posted by The Machine Elf (# 1622) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
Discovering (again) that there are people who do stuff just because it makes them happy, while satisfying their innate geekhood: Farm Machine Music
intel made a working one rather than the animation (though I'm not remotely convinced it actually makes the music percussively)
Posted by BessHiggs (# 15176) on
:
-a small town parade featuring every fire truck in the county, the mayor on horseback, the local high school band, grizzled old men on restored antique tractors and little kids on bicycles & 4-wheelers, all decked out in red, white and blue.
-a great night with good friends, telling stories, sharing dreams, and laughing so hard tears run down your cheeks.
-knowing you live in a place where you belong.
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on
:
quote:
Welease Woderwick: ...eating a fresh ripe mango.
Stop it! We still have four months to go for mango season here ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
Posted by Crazy Cat Lady (# 17616) on
:
The annual party at Worthy Farm!
With enough money to afford a beer, some hippy tat to take home and questionable food from vans.
And no all night partying teenagers near my tent
[ 06. July 2013, 22:29: Message edited by: Crazy Cat Lady ]
Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on
:
... waking up and not having to throw up. (Sorry for the graphic/gross post but I have some major stomach problem that is worrying me and making me feel like hell... a day without throwing up is becoming quite rare for me, sadly)
...having a wife who loves me even though I try her patience so much!
...a handful of saltine crackers eaten after three days of not being able to keep WATER down!
...having great friends and great cats!
...drinking a cup of finely crafted hot chocolate with whipped cream in the winter, drinking an Italian soda with whipped cream in the summer.
...being outdoors near large bodies of water. I love the beach but not when it's blistering hot outside. The lake is wonderful too. Lake Washington in Seattle! Swimming at Matthews Beach!
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by The5thMary:
...being outdoors near large bodies of water. I love the beach but not when it's blistering hot outside. The lake is wonderful too.
Totally agree with this. I don't mind if they're small lakes or rivers, either.
... sitting out on one of the boat landing stages on the river on a summer's day, the wooden platform rocking slightly with the gentle swell of the water; watching the boats and the wildfowl go by and the sun sparkling on the river, the meadows in the background. This is one of the high points of the summer for me (I discovered this particular landing stage 30 years ago and still enjoy it just as much).
... boat trips along the river/harbour. That moment of excitement as the boat starts to leave the shore, the spray of foam and bubbles, the curious wildfowl that come along for a short while in the wake, the smell of sunwarmed varnish and feel of hot wood, the view you get, and the fun of trailing your fingers in the cool, rushing water (assuming there's nothing lurking). Pure magic. Always goes so quickly, though.
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on
:
This is pretty good just now. I am sitting in the garden, it's warm and sunny. No one in the immediate vicinity is mowing anything, the only sound is birdsong and the calling of wood doves. I am eating enormous, juicy Turkish cherries and watching the gentle play of dappled shade as the faintest breeze meanders across the vegetable patch.
Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on
:
It's not good any more, it's 11.30pm and it seems to be getting more and more muggy.
I hate tennis but on the news just now they said that Murray & co were playing in 50 degrees C - 50! Ye gods. What is wrong with these people?!?
...sorry, tangent then. Actually I can't think of anything happy, my brain has melted.
[ 07. July 2013, 21:28: Message edited by: Pine Marten ]
Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on
:
I think my single moment of greatest pleasure in my entire life was one Sunday afternoon rehearsing Mozart's Requiem, sitting there trolling along accompanying the arias and listening to the fabulous counterpoint singing. It was perfection.
Posted by Jade Constable (# 17175) on
:
Smelling the sweet peas in the garden.
Eating peas straight from the pod, which has just been picked off the plant.
Washing drying in half an hour outside (and smelling so much better than machine-dried laundry).
Warm grass beneath bare feet.
Piles of squirty cream on fresh berries.
Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on
:
Sunshine glittering on the water, warm soft sand underfoot. plunging into the cool surf, the buoyancy of salt water, the taste of salt, the bobbing of the waves.
Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on
:
Sitting quietly with Madame and Dlet, having a simple dinner on a Sunday evening, glasses of a pleasant red at hand, and knowing without saying just how much we loved each other and enjoying the moment.
Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
... opening the curtains to a flood of bright summer sunshine at the start of a long weekend when there is nothing that you have to do.
And then going back to bed with the curtains open for a good read before officially getting up.
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
:
... the temperature coming down from a horrid, muggy 28° to a civilised 16°.
Posted by Egeria (# 4517) on
:
Being able to watch Berkeley's awesome Fourth of July fireworks from my building (if I stand in just the right place, I can see most of the show)--with San Francisco's thrown in for good measure.
Coming to class feeling unprepared and finding that my students are excited and full of questions and that the class goes well anyway!
Reading those original documents (especially letters and graffiti) while preparing lectures and hearing voices from the distant past speaking in my mind.
Contemplating my current screen saver, a collection of pictures of our basketball team's (and the band's) trip to the Final Four. Roll on, you Bears! We are so proud of you!
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
... the temperature coming down from a horrid, muggy 28° to a civilised 16°.
This.
Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
... the temperature coming down from a horrid, muggy 28° to a civilised 16°.
This.
It's all what you get used to isn't it? I would love the temperature to be 28 deg. (hold the humidity to no more than 60% though) instead of the freezing max of 16 degrees we've had today in Sydney's winter. Brrrr. 28 degrees is perfect.
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's all what you get used to isn't it? I would love the temperature to be 28 deg. (hold the humidity to no more than 60% though) instead of the freezing max of 16 degrees we've had today in Sydney's winter. Brrrr. 28 degrees is perfect.
Yes – so nice not to have to wear a second layer, have the electric blanket on, and not need the electric fire. I’m loving this flood of warm sunshine. It’s not too hot, and still possible to get around as normal. At last I get to wear my summer clothes and I don't even need a jacket, for once - or an umbrella.
I’ve waited two years for this and I'm making the most of every moment. I'm sick of pearl-coloured skies, and lukewarm, overcast days that never amount to very much. This is ideal.
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
... the temperature coming down from a horrid, muggy 28° to a civilised 16°.
This.
It's all what you get used to isn't it? I would love the temperature to be 28 deg. (hold the humidity to no more than 60% though) instead of the freezing max of 16 degrees we've had today in Sydney's winter. Brrrr. 28 degrees is perfect.
Up to a point. There are loads of nesh buggers around here though who seem to need a cardigan when it gets below 20, whereas I wish it was socially acceptable to wander around in a pair of underpants above about 18C because I'm generally too hot with clothes on. There seems to be a lot of variability even amongst folk "used" to the same climate. I'd love to be in your 16C. Unlike Ariel, for example, I haven't needed a second layer since March when the snow melted and don't expect to again until November.
On Sunday afternoon I nipped outside to get some herbs. It was like walking into a furnace. I lasted just long enough to pick some sage but I couldn't have borne being out there any longer. It was about 26C apparently. I have to therefore dispute Ariel's "it's not too hot" and the idea that you can function normally in this weather. I can't. Not without aircon and staying indoors as much as possible.
[ 09. July 2013, 12:53: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
:
Well, it makes me very happy just now (and the thread is about happiness, so it's the right place to post it).
I'm also going to add:
... picking fruit on a summer's day - sunwarmed fruit falling ripe into your hand; going home with a bag of freshly picked strawberries, raspberries or cherries.
... blackberrying in the autumn, and going home with purple fingers and enough fruit to make a pie. Autumn isn't properly autumn without a blackberry pie, IMO.
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on
:
As the Great White Shark once said, happiness is a long walk with a putter ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
.
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on
:
Happiness is walking in the evening after a hot day and recalling hay-making on the farm where I grew up.
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on
:
Happiness is seeing the Milky Way stretched across the sky. It's so rare to find a place with no light pollution. The crescent moon last night couldn't hide most of the magnificent stars we were admiring!
Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on
:
Happiness is my missing cat showing up on her own safe and fine after a week and a half.
Posted by snowgoose (# 4394) on
:
...sitting on the garden wall, in the morning before it gets too hot, with a cup of tea in my hand and a cat sitting next to me.
...watching a goldfinch hang upside down on a sunflower to get the seeds.
...sewing something with a sewing machine and having the bobbin run out right at the end of the last seam.
...my husband (an early riser) bringing me a cup of tea on a weekend morning.
...the sound of rain.
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on
:
Being somewhere with not much light pollution or fog and watching the Perseids shooting stars.
Body surfing a wave on a beach with a long shelving wave that takes you several hundred feet.
Good Ice Cream on a hot day.
[ 15. July 2013, 04:58: Message edited by: Palimpsest ]
Posted by Galilit (# 16470) on
:
Buying another Bible.
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Egeria:
Being able to watch Berkeley's awesome Fourth of July fireworks from my building (if I stand in just the right place, I can see most of the show)--with San Francisco's thrown in for good measure....
I used to be able to do that when we visited my sister when she had a house in Kensington. We could see the Golden Gate out her living room window and Sausalito and Oakland displays as well!
******************************************************************
Happiness is catching a perfect wave at Malibu County Line and riding it all the way in without falling off my board and yelling to my surfing buddies "I'm the king of the world!"
Going flying with my friend who owned the Piper Archer and being allowed to handle the controls on a perfect takeoff from a small airport!
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on
:
Bring in southern Spain at the time of the melon harvest. Melon is so much better when eaten only a few miles from where it is picked.
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on
:
Charentais melon sprinkled with a little ginger and a dash of Pineau de Charente - bliss
Posted by Anna B (# 1439) on
:
... weaving!
... noticing a beautiful magenta flower today while on a walk with the dog; I thought it was an orchid at first but it turned out to be sweet pea :-)
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on
:
...being at a summer cabin surrounded by nothing but forest and water.
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
:
... the temperature returning to Civilised Levels™ (i.e. 15° - 19° C) after hitting 30° the other day.
Posted by que sais-je (# 17185) on
:
Coming home to the allotment after two weeks of sun and no rain to find that very little has been scorched and most is burgeoning.
Happiness is having heavy clay soil that holds water.
Posted by QLib (# 43) on
:
Being able to swim in the sea before 10 o'clock this morning.
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on
:
..the smile on a neighbour boy's face this morning when he learnt he had got admission to the course he wanted.
Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on
:
My children being home for the summer
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on
:
...A cigar called Hamlet.....
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on
:
The weather for the weekend - cloudy, max 22C. Gods be praised, I can go outside again.
Posted by Thurible (# 3206) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
...A cigar called Hamlet.....
Tis what I was going to say too. (For why.)
Thurible
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Thurible:
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
...A cigar called Hamlet.....
Tis what I was going to say too. (For why.)
Thurible
And you can't read it without hearing Air On A G String ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
:
Every Brit of A Certain Age™ can't hear that piece without thinking of Hamlet cigars; D. played it the other week at his organ recital, and there was much grinning.
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on
:
... and the rest of us can't hear "Happiness is" without hearing the slightly nasal delivery of John Lennon singing "is a warm gun..."
Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on
:
Well what I think of when I hear "Happiness Is..." is this:
"Happiness Is" lyrics from "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
:
... being on holiday. ![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif)
Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by Nicolemr:
Well what I think of when I hear "Happiness Is..." is this:
"Happiness Is" lyrics from "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"
or Reasons to be Cheerful
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on
:
...going on a fantastic holiday, then getting to sleep in one's own bed after arriving home!
Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on
:
Götterdämmerung on the BBC Proms. Greatest classical music festival in the world. Awesome performance. At the end I was grinning like an idiot, through my tears.
Posted by ken (# 2460) on
:
I only heard the first act cos I had to go to a pub quiz. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Posted by Sopralto (# 10245) on
:
. . . getting up before dawn to go out on an early morning low tide
. . . a purring cat on one's lap
. . . fresh fruits and veggies of the season
. . . a newly blocked knitted lace shawl
Posted by cattyish (# 7829) on
:
quote:
Originally posted by snowgoose:
<snip>
...sewing something with a sewing machine and having the bobbin run out right at the end of the last seam.
<snip>
Oh, the happiness of a completed and appreciated sewing project!
Sewing on the hand crank machine and producing something anyone would be delighted to wear right now.
Cattyish, dreaming of the Singer 128 K.
Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on
:
... the annual Mill Race Folk Festival in Cambridge, Ontario. Archie Fisher is singing there today. Sheer bliss.
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on
:
...laughing properly with the missus.
...a weld which looks like someone did it who knows what they are doing.
...a surprise mutual experience from youth, shared with someone else's friend you met in a pub.
...finding something really good in a skip.
and, of course,
The Greatest Gift that I Possess. (Sorry)
© Ship of Fools 2016
UBB.classicTM
6.5.0