Inspired by the recent posts of Helen and Rachel, and also by my fabulously talented niece's star turn as Maria in her school's production of "The Sound of Music", today's blog is a few of my favourite things. I'm tempted to start with raindrops on kittens, because Lovecats. But...no. Although I am sensing a theme...
1. Musicals. Not only because of my inspiration, but because I don't believe I've met a musical I don't adore. A long time ago I started buying the souvenir coffee mug from each show but the number was getting ridiculous. Being a country gal, one of the added benefits is the trip-to-the-city, usually a girls weekend because my menfolk couldn't be dragged, bribed or cajoled into a musical. Last year we did Grease; next weekend it's off to The Lion King.
2. Rain(drops). Okay, so I might not always include the wet stuff on a list of my favourite things, but after a long, extremely dry and brutishly hot summer, the droughtbuster rain this past week was spectacular. The soothing beat on the roof at night. Waking to soft grey light. The sight of green shooting all over our barren paddocks. Sheep and horses gobbling up the sweet new growth. The smile on my farmer husband's face. What is not to love about a good autumn rain?
3. My Herb Garden. This is a gift from my youngest after I mused about the scarcity of decent herbs at our local supermarket. He resurrected the old barrow from our junk-depository and despite my poor record with plants, four months later it's still going strong. Barely a meal goes by without the addition of a little something from the barrow.
4. Summer Fruit. I tried to narrow this down, but how can a person choose between mango and peaches and cherries? They're *all* my favourites, whether fresh and stand-alone or poached/stewed as part of a dessert dish, or for breakfast with Greek yoghurt and a sprinkle of toasted muesli. Yum.
5. My Kindle. An obvious choice but how could I not include the source of so much enjoyment? I've been wanting the Paperwhite since it was first released but told myself I had to wait for my Nook to expire. It's still going but there are books/deals only available on Amazon. I *needed* a Kindle. So.
6. The Real Book Experience. Despite my intense love of the Kindle, I have not given up on paper books. I still love the new-book smell, the weight of a hefty hardback in my hands, the beauty of a skilfully produced picture book. Cooking/food books are a particular favourite as well as travelogues and memoirs. At the moment this is on my bedside table:
What is your favourite type of book that you must have in paper? Whether to read or to flick through the glossy pictures?
Love reading about your favourite things Bron and so happy you guys finally got some rain. Putting a little spring in your lamb's steps!
ReplyDeleteWe have very similar likes! I nodded my head at all these things - even the herb garden which I don't have but would very much love to cultivate. Maybe one day...
I'm a sucker for a recipe with lots of glossy pics - I own hundreds of them. Of course, I rarely use any of them but they're there just in case :-)
And anything Born Jameson in paper of course! I came across your Princes of The Outback anthology that you'd signed for me when I was doing my great bookshelf clean out (aka procrastinating) last week. It was top of my "keep and re-shelve pile"!
Seriously, any book that I love I want a paper copy of and be able to put it on my keeper shelf. That's the one draw back about digital books I love - I don't get to have a hard copy of them :-(
I'm a bit the same with recipe books, AA. I love looking at the pictures more than cooking from them. I must write a character who is a food stylist; that would be a perfect excuse for copious food porn. Right?
DeleteI'm flattered that paper copies of my books have a home on your keepers' shelf. Totally flattered. I agree about that problem with digital-only books; when you would love a paper copy to shelf but there isn't one.
Hi Bron, I think we share quite a few of those favorite things (except, perhaps, rain- we get enough of that here, thanks!).
ReplyDeleteI am a recipe book hoarder and only buy ones with heaps of glossy pictures in, so I couldn't imagine trying to cook using a kindle..(although I do LOVE my kindle). And like Amy, if I find a fiction book I absolutely adore then I want it in paper form to add to my overflowing shelves!
Whenever you find yourself with too much rain, Louisa, feel free to send some our way. Farmer Bron can never get enough. (Rain, that is.)
DeleteI can't imagine using the Kindle for recipes...although I do sometimes google something and cook from my laptop. But not often. I'd rather the paper recipe because no matter how careful, I usually end up splattering something on the computer.
Hi Bron
ReplyDeleteI also love your favourite things I would also add my grandchildren :) and I love my kindle but I also like to have hard copies of my favourites especially if they are autographed :) and as for cook books yes I love looking at the pictures and seeing what I made turn out the same as the picture LOL
Have Fun
Helen
Oh, grandchildren would have to be at the top of any list of favourites. I don't have any (yet) so I live vicariously through my sisters' and they are all so cute and precious. An endless source of delight...and funny comments.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you if you can manage to cook dishes which turn out looking like the pictures. I'm a pretty decent cook - my meals taste just fine -- but they're never as prettily presented as the pictures. Plating is not my forte.
I love musicals, too! When I was a child, my father produced the musicals in our high school, so I used to walk over & watch rehearsals after school. I know a lot of those songs by heart! As for books, I prefer paper over ebooks, so I have a whole room full of them. I especially like the trade size in print.
ReplyDeleteSharlene, how cool that your father produced school musicals and you got to watch rehearsals and learn the songs. Do you have a favourite?
ReplyDeleteI think maybe Oklahoma.
DeleteBron! Musicals are the best. :-) Happy sighs. What a lovely list of favourites you have. I have to admit that it's taken me a little while to warm to my kindle, but now that I'm used to it, I love it. I've even cooked a very simple recipe from it without splattering it (I know, amazing). But paper books are still my favourite. At the moment I have a lot of academic tomes, but I need the print copies so I can write in the margins and flick back and forth at will -- something I find a little challenging on the kindle.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I haven't bothered to actually learn stuff about the Kindle beyond (1) Buy (2) Read. At some point I must study the fine print, so I can bookmark and highlight and write notes. Although given that I only read for entertainment/enjoyment on the Kindle I'll only ever need the bookmark.
ReplyDeleteAm in awe of your splatter-proof cooking abilities.
So many good things here to enjoy, Bron! So glad to hear you've been getting that lovely rain too.
ReplyDeleteI need to have 'real' travel and cook books. Absolutely. And there are old favourites I love to reread 'in the flesh' rather than electronically. Just seeing their covers and smelling the pages is a treat.
Sorry if my love of rain sounded a bit too gleeful for anyone on the coast who's been getting too much of the wet stuff. As I said to Louisa, send the excess our way any time.
DeleteWith you on the 'real' travel and cookbooks, Annie. And isn't there something special about the smell of books?
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ReplyDeleteFabulous favourite things, Bron! We're finally getting some lovely rain here too and it's just wonderful. The whole garden seems to be breathing a sigh of relief after a really harsh dry summer!
ReplyDeleteI'm a reasonably late comer to the world of e-readers but I'm an enthusiast simply because of the space & weight thing. I can take lots of books in a small "package" - great for travelling. But there's still nothing like holding a "real" book - I love it!
I like to have classics in hard copy, Bron. I've just bought an old complete set of Charles Dickens to replace a set I lost along the way, and I'm on the lookout for a complete set of Jane Austen to replace the set I lent to someone and never received back. It can't be just any old set, I have to feel the love. I've got Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, George Eliot and more.
ReplyDelete