I Have A Thing About...

...Formal dining rooms. Several years ago, architectural trends moved away from separate rooms and into "open living spaces." Good Lord, WHY? I love rooms. I even love rooms within rooms. But mostly, I love a formal dining room. One that's big enough for a table with leaves that, when extended, seats ten or twelve. And has enough room for a china hutch, a buffet, and another sideboard and still has space to maneuver around the table and your dinner guests. With some delightfully gaudy chandelier hanging over the table. Sconces and wallpaper. Oooo...I love a formal dining room.

...Men in white oxfords, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. I can even tell you why. His name was Doug. We were in the 7th grade and it was the first time a boy had literally taken my breath away. If you add a watchband tan line to that combo, I am likely to fall out.

...Lithus in linen. Interestingly enough, Lithus in a white oxford, blue jeans, and cowboy boots does nothing for me. It doesn't suit him. But put him in linen... Holy crap. It won't matter if Brian Dennehy, Cho Yun Fat, Morgan Freeman and Tim DeKay are all lined up in front of me wearing white oxfords, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. I won't even notice. Not if Lithus is in linen. Or his flightsuit. Sweet baby jeebus, don't get me started on his flight suit.

...Painted nails. There is something about having my nails done that makes me happy on a core level. Somewhere along the line, it came to represent me being me at my best and strongest self.

...The Talking Heads. The band, from the 80s and 90s. An entirely new genre showed up about that time. I think it is currently called "early new wave" or "classic alternative" or something like that. I love many of those bands. So many of them that I have just deleted the beginnings of a list, because once I start, it will simply turn into a litany. But none of them make me feel it down in my gut the way the Talking Heads do.

...Big Band and swing music. Yep, as much as I love the original wave stuff, I love me some Frankie. Billie. Rosemary. The Andrews Sisters. Back when the Lovely Cats threw me my 40th birthday party, she told me to send her a list of songs and she would create a playlist for the party. Once I sent it to her, I remember her saying "don't you want something people could, you know, dance to?" I reminded her that these were my closest friends in the world and they knew exactly what kind of music would be played at a party for me. My last dance of the night was with Lithus to The White Cliffs of Dover. I don't think I've ever been so happy.

...Copper, pewter, and iron. The metals that harken back to metalsmiths hammering over flames. Sturdy, powerful, and meant to withstand whatever life throws at it. Nothing petite or gentle here.

This is far from an all-inclusive list. I have a thing about a whole hell of a lot more than just these. But these are the ones that I have been reminded of recently. They are some of the things that make me core happy, and core happy is good.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.