Since I have said "No" to so many of the suggestions so far in the thread, I thought it would be a nice idea to post a list of stuff I'm more positive about.

 

I should point out that this is a list full of wishful thinking, not an indication of the kind of life I actually live, most of the time! I have a garden full of weeds, eat supermarket pizza, and go weeks without a journal entry. But some of the time, it's like this:

Mottoes, words that mean a lot to me

"Here, now, this" (to remind me to focus on the present moment)

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." (sorry - rather naff but I love it)

Gift I would love

A little box to store imps for travelling - eg about 8, maybe made of tin, wood, whatever. I'm a very minimalist packer (comes from mountaineering, though I wouldn't take imps for that) so something compact and light would be ideal.

 

Places

home - the house from the road, the kitchen, the garden, the sitting room with the fire on in the winter, the conservatory when it's clean, my study when it's tidy (erm, about 1 day every 4 years...)

museums in general, particularly of everyday life, and with reconstructed rooms

old buildings

gardens

bookshops

libraries

small shops

London

the Downs

the English Lake District

the Scottish Highlands

Mottisfont Abbey garden

RHS Wisley

The British Museum

the Ashmoleon

the V&A

Denis Severs' house

Horsham Museum inc the garden

Bologna

Orleans

Corsica

New York, particularly the East Village

San Francisco

Chicago

Bath

Chester

 

Things to wear

Menorcan sandals

long skirts

gloves

hats

ruck-sacks

walking boots

 

Activities

climbing

dog-walking

reading

working in the garden

camping

scrambling (rough high walks without a rope)

yoga

writing fiction

writing lists

looking at books with lots of pictures in, and specialist magazines

baking bread

planning days out

running

making collages

re-using things creatively

board games

card games with normal playing cards

learning new languages

trying new food

skiing

studying grammar

 

Practices and chosen habits

open relationships

trying to be less judgmental

meeting huge challenges

shopping locally

meditation

organic gardening (and food purchasing)

journaling

blogging

supporting farm animal welfare

giving away spare plants

mooching in charity shops

mindful housework

home-grown veg and flowers

Fair Trade

Freecycle

herbalism

paganism

trying to understand people I disagree with

Non-violent Communication

NLP

 

Ideas and subjects that interest me

local history

Tarot

history of science

time travel - into the past

religions and spirituality around the world

Quakerism

tantra

the idea of making my own clothes - I still don't though!

the idea of couch-surfing

the idea of house-swaps

Linux

Wikipedia

 

Pleasures that fit nowhere else!

afternoon tea

the National Gardens Scheme

early mornings

clicking refresh on a lively, friendly internet thread

cutting out pictures from magazines

being at a gig (Deep Purple, prog, classical, - or ballet)

taking an exam I've worked hard for

getting things by post

finding or making presents for people

Visual art and inspiration

Constable

Turner

Stubbs

vintage London Underground posters, and railway posters

photographs from c. 1890 to 1960

installations, esp by Olafur Eliasson

vintage packaging

fonts (I mean typefaces, not church ones though they can be nice)

wood engravings

1890s and 1930s fashion

copperplate writing

photographs by Edwin Smith and Bill Brandt

The Simple Things (magazine)

Hortus (periodical)

engraved invitations

the Folio Society

Angela Barrett's illustrations (eg Amazon, not AB.com)

Brambly Hedge pictures

Molly Brett

Quentin Blake

Anita Jeram - cards here

landscape photography

Authors/others who inspire me

Eckhart Tolle

Penelope Fitzgerald

Adam Nicolson

Bear Grylls

Graham Stuart Thomas

Prince Charles

Alys Fowler

Roger Deakin

Mary Wesley

The Book of Tea

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (sorry that sounds so patronising)

Films

Orlando

The Village

Wallace and Gromit

Television

Sherlock

Black Books

Gardeners' World

 

Things produced by these people:

Neals Yard Remedies

Rough Guides

Dartington Crystal

Abel & Cole

Hotel Chocolat

Natural things and animals

birdsong

roses

wildflowers

meadows

robins

swallows

deer

oak trees

rivers and waterfalls

ponds and lakes

mountains

blackbirds

every possible kind of weather

dogs, cats

donkeys

lambs

frosty mornings

autumn light

the new moon

owls

elderflowers

hearing a cuckoo

long hair

horses

 

Human-made things

toy mice

steam trains

books

handmade clay flowerpots

leather things

tweed

red telephone boxes

vintage cars and commercial vehicles

wood fires

wind-farms

tall ships

maps

beeswax candles

horse-drawn carriages

thatched roofs

lava lamps