What Makes you Happy?

Not being at work 😊
A day with no one else in the house
Walking the dog
Reading
Yoga
A holiday on my own
Live music events with my OH

From reading these posts it seems we all love the simpler things in life. Nobody has mentioned shopping, big houses, fast cars, or acquiring things - or even holidays. At the end of the day we all want the same things.

Dogs. When I go for my walks I see the same dogs and their people. They tell me about what the dogs get up to and it always cheers me.
Beautiful countryside.
Chatting with friends.
Most of all my happiness comes from my family.

GG13, I know exactly what you mean. Quite wonderful. My GC have recently outgrown that practice and it is a miss but I go with their 'maturing' flows, of course. Another joy is having an active diary which gives me much to look forward to no matter how insignificant. I get a real kick is when I deal with a chore (big or small) which I had kept putting off for no good reason at all. Pathetic but true. My besty is poorly and lives a bit away but once I have a trip organised I'm walking on air until it happens. Oh yesss. Each night, when my head contacts the pillow, I regurgitate my day and select best/worst that happened. Usually go to sleep with a smile on my face. One blessed individual here. Great topic, Fairycakes. Thank you.

What gives me the most pleasure is when the GC sleep here and I pretend not to hear when one or two of them creep in to our room in the early hours, snuggle up and fall back to sleep.
That is just absolutely priceless.

I think all of my favourite things have been covered. 👏

#1 A day when no parcels or visitors are expected so I can turn off the door bell and relax completely knowing that I wont be disturbed.

#2 Unpacking a parcel of stuff from abroad that I ordered weeks ago and have forgotten the exact contents.

#3 Seeing the kitchen just after my cleaner has left.

Our home and the area where we live it’s familiar
My family I don’t ask much I want them healthy and well
I love sitting with my granddaughters and listen to them reading out loud from their school books
Seeing our friends we have known so long they are like family
Nice comfort food not fussy
Flowers and herbs from our garden in a lovely vase our daughter gave me. The birds and wildlife that visit our garden I love my veg patch when it’s productive
A nice long walk in the woods with our dog
Relaxing knitting nothing fancy just for charity
Period dramas or series on tv that get my attention
Cooking and baking pickles and jams anything to do with food and basic liquor making
Crafts painting mainly butterflies drawing making (fairy houses) mostly in summer months
I like to photograph insects and flowers and Google Lens for information
Exercises while listening to music nothing strenuous just to keep the joints happy
Home study courses to top up my knowledge can never get enough of that

Simple things :

Today was cold , but so beautiful .
There's white bloom on my quince , the promise of yellow daffodils and deep blue hyacinth .
A long hot bath .
A sprinkle of talcum powder .
Scent .
Fresh clothes .
Fresh linen .
Buttered toast or crumpets .
Homemade chicken soup .
A lamb casserole .
A cream tea .
A good film .
A murder mystery .
A documentary .
A great book .
Time to write .
Drawing , painting and making crafts .
Embroidery .
Going to the local cinema .
My old church complete with the smell of incense and the incredibly beautiful stained glass windows .
Horses grazing in a field nearby .
Puppies
Kittens
Children laughing and playing ...

Getting a good night’s sleep and waking up healthy and refreshed. Family and watching the grandchildren and great grandchildren grow and develop. Our lovely bush garden with lots of trees and colourful parrots visiting . Having faith. Gone off storms because there was a huge one here at 1am and it hit the roof, distorting the gutters. Glad we weren’t out on the decking watching that one.

woodenspoon
After a recent bout of ill health I am grateful for recovering my health.

I know exactly what you mean. I too am recovering from ill health and just being able to do normal everyday things makes me happy. Poor health has a huge impact on our happiness.

Marydoll:
when I wake up in the morning and find I am still here! 😉

🤣🤣🤣

My family and when I wake up in the morning and find I am still here! 😉

The cat curled up on my lap
Going on trips. They don’t have to be exotic.
Steam trains
Children’s books, particularly pop up.
Regular theatre trips, sitting near the front.
Still singing and performing.
Putting on my makeup.
Sketching and painting.
Period dramas on tv.
Films from the 40s.
Cosy murder mysteries.
Books.

My DH. I'm so grateful to have him.
Having a small splurge in the sales on-line and opening the parcels when they arrive, hoping my purchases will fit and not need returning.
Reading my kindle in bed.
Speaking with my sister and knowing she's also enjoying her retirement.
Setting off on a trip with DH in the car.
Hearing from my children and knowing they are doing well in their lives.
Finding that first snowdrop even though it's not in my garden.
Buying the first bunch of daffodils of the year.
Meeting with friends and enjoying the banter.

My family in particular when I have the pleasure of my granddaughter to care for ( 9 months old ) or they are all around for a family dinner.

A good drying day for the washing.

Hearing a much loved piece of music on the radio.

Being notified by the library that a keenly anticipated book I’ve ordered has come in.

Getting into bed with lovely clean sheets.

Enjoying a piece of home made cake whilst watching a favourite tv programme.

After a recent bout of ill health I am grateful for recovering my health.
A walk along the coast with fish and chips for lunch.
A good book and magazines to read.
Being able to get to my local library.
Learning new things such as crochet.
Watts app to friends and family.
FaceTime- a wonderful invention for keeping in touch with long distance family.
A nice cup of tea or coffee when I get up.
Seeing the first daffodils of the new season.
Going for walks with my DH.
Belonging to the NT and using my card as much as I can.
Being able to afford things even though I’m retired.
Just some of my things that I am grateful for.

I agree Fairycakes. It’s the simple things in life that make me happy:

Having those I love nearby or easily contactable via the wonders of modern technology
Reading a good book or a magazine
Doing puzzles
Gardening (when the weather allows 😁)
Sitting in the garden on a warm day and enjoying listening to the birds singing, admiring the flowers, watching the insects being busy, busy, busy
Enjoying a nice cup of tea or coffee, glass of wine sometimes
Being with friends
A day at the seaside/countryside
Listening to music or to a play on the radio
Relaxing by the fire on a chilly day
Watching tv if there’s a programme that interests me
Keeping my home clean and tidy
Going to my coffee morning group

Yes, I’m contented with the simple things in life, and count my blessings for what I’m fortunate to have because I realise there are so many in the world who can’t enjoy these simple pleasures for so many reasons.

Same Fairycakes, so many blessings - feeling safe & cosy at home, fit enough to get out & about to walk in the local area or potter about town. Always seem to find nice folks to chat to. Plenty of music, podcasts or books to absorb, still enjoy diy and gardening . A sewing frenzy now and then, even housework haha. I am truly grateful for the safe and contented life now, it makes me feel very happy.

Oooooooo lots of things. Usually the simplest of things...
My family, i love them all.
I love sewing so that makes me happy.
I write books, that makes me happy.
If I can help anyone at all.
Visiting ppl and having a laugh, that makes me very happy just to know that I have made someone laugh.

😊 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😊 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😊 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😊 😃 😀

My family contacting me, seeing a friend, looking at my garden, especially on a lovely spring day.

Definitely the simple things in life make me happy.

Being at our cottage by the sea.
Walking by the sea with little pooch.
Being in the forest
Sitting by the woodburner reading a good book.
Being with family and friends.
Having fun making music and playing Bridge.