167. I Love ... driving in October

 

Slowly, 

scooping up the beauty 

and rich colours

of the leaves

with my eyes.

Soaking it in;

the yellows and oranges

but particularly

the reds.

I could drive the 

country roads

from dawn to dusk,

and it still wouldn't

be enough.

166. I Love ... that my Grandies love Creating

 

They expect it.

That when they come to our house,

they will be pulling out the 

paper,

pens and crayons,

tape and glue,

scissors and stapler,

and did I say

paper,

paper,

paper.

And maybe rocks and wood.

Everything is fair fodder.

And don't I LOVE IT.

165. I Love ... hosting workshops

The energy,

the creativity,

the laughter,

the sharing,

the learning,

the creating.

What fun it is to have a group

around my kitchen table;

playing together.

164. I Love ... Still Loving

Yes.

I am growing older

All that means

is that I

have found

more things 

to

Love.

I Love ... finding past writing

I counted once,

how many journals that I have.

Shocking.

Sort of.

Not my fault;

they kept inventing prettier & prettier ones

that pull me in 

and won't let me go.

I have to come up with something

to write in them to justify 

'yet ANOTHER one'.

Which actually is how 

'My Loves' 

began. 

It started as 500 Loves

but considering it has been xx years,

and I am aging with 

TOO many journals

that simply drop off,

I changed it to 200

to be more realistic.

When I come across a journal,

as I came across this blog

7 years after I started it,

the words I wrote

often surprise me.

It makes me wish I wrote

more consistently.

163 I Love ... certain words

for no particular reason

other than

I do.

Indigo

Melody

Birdsong

Songbird

Ceremonious

...

I don't even know

that I love them

until they present themselves

and I think,

hmmmmm ...

I love that word.

162 I Love ... the smell of fresh cut hay

It takes me back

to my childhood.

It takes me back

to the farm,

to the horses,

to my Dad.

It take me back to our kitchen;

figuring out after lunch

whether it would be 

dry enough

to bale.

I revisit

standing on the hay wagon,

grabbing

heavy, prickly bales

and pretending

that I was strong enough

to lift them easily.

I was not.

I drove the tractor instead.

But I rode on the

bumpy, noisey thing to the field

and back to the barn, 

breathing in that wonderful

summer fragrance.

The smell of the hay,

the feel of the sun;

it all comes back -

a whiff of the past.

161 I Love ... spring green

It seems to happen within

moments.

Brown.

Brown.

Brown.

Perpetual deadness

for what seems an

eternity;
then literally

springing

to life; 

not even 

before our eyes.

it's just

 not there 

one minute

and there

the next.

Bright.

Fresh.

Vibrant.

New life

green.

Even in the 

grayness

of a rainy day

it is a-light.

Forcing itself

up

through the old,

the decay.

Tender.

Fresh.

For the tiniest

fragment

of time.

160 I Love ... the Golden Hour

I love the gentleness

of the sun

as it bids farewell

to another day.

Golden

is the perfect 

name for it.

Precious.

The intensity of the day

is set aside;

the darkness of the night

has not yet arrived.

For the briefest 

moment in time

there is a perfect light

cast over the world.

Shadows are softer.

Birdsong is softer.

There is a stillness

in the transition;

a calmness,

a beauty;

a gentle light 

that is the

Golden Hour.

159 I Love ... photo books

I am glad 

to have gotten to live in a time

when creating them is so accessible.

Photos embedded on the page,

piece of cake;

not stuck in a book with little black corners

that let go;

or worse still,

that miserable cellophane

with lines of stickiness

that greedily grabbed on to your photo

forever.

When it was forced to release it,

it kept layers of the backing 

for itself.

Add some narrative.

Have some fun.

Enjoy its arrival.

And it is still at your fingertips 

to order more.

158 I Love ... knowing exactly where something is

It doesn't happen enough

in my life.

More often the thought is

'Where is ....???'

And then the search

begins.

First in my head.

Where did I stick that?

Where could I have put it?

And then the physcial search

which 

may or may not

be fruitful.

On the rare occurences

that I can go

directly and confidently

there ...

I am happy.

157 I Love .... driftwood

Nature's sculpture.

Water and wind and sun

taking an 

ordinary

piece of wood,

turning it into

Art.

Content to be

discovered or not.

  

156 I Love ... phone cards

It probably won't be long

until they are

obsolete.

Everything gets there quickly these days.

But

the invention of them 

was brilliant and exciting.

No worrying

about how much would be on your

phone bills.

Because it is already 

paid for,

it feels like free calling.

ADDENDUM: October 2025

I don't think phone cards even exist anymore.

Everyone basically has FREE CALLING

155 I Love ... having no plans for the day.

No 

'To Do'

No

'Have to's'

No

'Musts'

Wide open.

Morning. Noon. Night.

A full day of really nothing,

or maybe something.

154 I Love ... Independent Restaurants

A dining experience.

A memorable meal

that can bring back

the memory of 

the time and the place.

I could be the food;

it could be the decor,

the little touches;

it could be the people.

A chain restaurant

can feed you

but it rarely feeds

your memory bank.

153 I Love ... Independent Coffee Shops

Ones that make you feel

like you don't really know

where you are.

You could be in

Europe 

or a different city.

Non 

cookie-cutter decor,

cookie-cutter menu;

not

'been-in-one-been-in-them-all';

not

'any-town-every-town'.

152 I Love ... meeting someone I don't know well at a cafe

and getting to know them

Discovering

what we have in common.

Hearing a new story.

The intimacy of sitting at a table

sharing a cup of tea 

and stories

with potentially

a new friend.

150 I Love ... working hard.

Physically.

That feeling that your body

has when it has been

taxed,

when it has been 

used

as it should be -

heart beating,

muscles working,

brain focusing

on doing

not thinking of doing.

Feeling in the end,

exhausted

but

accomplished.

151 I Love ... meeting a friend at a cafe

On an ordinary day

as opposed

to a special occasion.

Chai latte,

uninterrupted talk,

no distratctions

just

talk,

talk,

talk.

149 I Love ... a home that says who lives there.

One you walk into and

instantly know

the personality

of those who abide there.

The intimate details

that speak 

of all that the creators of it

love

not just the sterile showcase

of an Ikea or Brick

room display.