twenty of the best

I'm finding this 30-day blog journal tougher than I anticipated. Nevertheless, onwards with day 6: in no particular order - twenty of my favourite things.

1. Chocolate. 'Nuff said.
2. Coffee, especially the lovely, aromatic grounds with cinnamon from the old-fashioned grocer-shop near where I live.
3. Rose and geranium body lotion from Ne@l's Y@rd Remedies. Bonkers expensive but oh, such a lovely treat a couple of times a year.
4. D@unt Books on Maryleb0ne High Street. I can't count the hours I have lost myself in there.
5. "0n the S@nds" by Har0ld H@rvey - I love this painting and I have a print of it hanging above the desk. My friend Too bought it for me 15 years ago, after we spent a summer week in Wales, reading on the beach.
6. Reading. Again, 'nuff said
7. This ALI blogging community. I've said it before and I will say it again but - I don't know how I would have got through this past year or so without you.
8. Diet c0ke. It's a guilty pleasure.
9. My MP3 player. I never leave the house without it.
10. My camera. I never leave the house without that either.
11. My 10-year-old pink zip-up hoodie. It is soft, warm, comfortable and unexpectedly flattering - what more can a woman want from an item of clothing?
12. Hot chocolate with marshmallows - heaven in a mug.
13. C@mden L0ck Market. It has changed so much since I used to spend happy Saturdays there with friends as a teenager in the 80s but I still love it (though better in the winter when there are fewer tourists).
14. Not setting the alarm clock at the weekend. I'm not really one for long lie-ins but not getting out of bed until 8.00am on Saturday and Sunday mornings is just delicious.
15. Scr@bble. I love it, although Significant Other won't play the board game with me, so I play on In Yer F@ceb00k with - well, anyone who offers really.
16. My hair straighteners. Without them I have a barnet that resembles M0nica in "Fr1ends" when she goes to Barbad0s.
17. The power shower in the bathroom. I had it put in 2 days after moving in, it cost so much money especially after just buying the flat, that I had to live off scrambled eggs and bananas (not on the same plate) for 6 weeks just to help pay for it. But even now, 12 years later, worth every penny.
18. The fluffy red blanket we keep on the sofa. Snuggled under that, watching tv on a winter's evening everything seems right.
19. Significant Other. Despite the horrible and painful times we are going through right now, whatever happens he will always be the father of my children.
20. My darling little cat.