I was sitting on the sofa thinking of all things in my life I love, compiling quite a list, one I’d like to share.
What I find interesting is how each one led to another to another to another.
Writing at the top of the list. A new notebook. The midnight blue of my computer screen when it first goes on.
Men who smell good, one in a well cut suit, one who willingly looks into your eyes.
Kissing, holding hands, laughing, legs wrapped together like yarn. New socks. Sex and the City reruns. 
Cary Grant, William Holden and all that’s Audrey Hepburn.
Little black dresses, Capezio flats. A scarf tied round your head 
Jackie style.
Jackie, big sunglasses, Jack Roger Sandals, horse posters, including one with her, gracing my many walls.
The Carlyle in the afternoon, ice cold vodka over ice, extra lime in a chilled crystal glass.
Potato chips.
American history, The Smithsonian, my heart thumping at the Vietnam Wall.
James Cagney tap-dancing down the White House steps in Yankee Doodle Dandy.
The Sting, Chinatown, Godfathers 1 and 2, when Michael says, “Nothing happens to my brother while my mother’s still alive.”
Rereading Movable Feast, Pride and Prejudice and Why Sinatra Matters once a year.
Essays by wonderful women: Mitford, Kerr, Ephron and Vowell, to name a few.
A pale pink rose by my bed, the pastels of Easter and Richard Diebenkorn’s, Ocean Park series. 
Watching Bill Hicks on YouTube 
almost forgetting he’s gone. My late friends Jackie, Nancy, Phil and my grandfather who taught me kindness.
Carmela, the basset hound, especially her ears. 
The film Funny Face, vanilla Madeleines, Patti Smith singing, I Love Paris in the Springtime.
The French Impressionists at The Met, a stroll up their grand staircase. The main Library where the lions live…
their gift shop when they put out all their Xmas ornaments early.
Walking across Brooklyn Bridge, seeing Lady Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.
The smell of salt water, fresh paint and gasoline, pipe tobacco and chicken roasting on an outdoor grill.
Anything on all fours that doesn’t bite, 
and little kids with a point of view. 
Spaghetti, wine, bread and cheese, black olives, pickles, hummus and ham.
My friend Joan, who always comes when you need her.
Bill, Ed and Rob gently correcting my grammar. Winston Churchill, who also wrote by ear.
Doris Kearns, David McCullough, Shelby Foote and all historians contributing to my love of history.
Teddy and Bobby, Lincoln and FDR, U.S Grant and Robert E. Lee, every film Ken Burns ever made.
Those few who read me daily, just because they like how I write.
Patrick, the cat down the hall, scratching at my door. The smile Al the doorman has when at 3 a.m., the elevator opens and I appear with tea and cookies.
Wow, did I pop a file.
So, what are a few of the things that you love.
Tell me.
I’d really like to know.
Stay tuned for, Things I Hate, coming soon. 
SB
I love that you love, and particularly that unresolvable grammar correction with Winston’s impulsive syntax. Symptom of an enquiring and open mind, I think.
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I will never write as well as Mr. Churchill, but he certainly inspires not to mention comforts this humble writer.
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Thanks for sharing such a great list, Susannah. Here are a few of my loves.
I love the spontaneous smile on my 2 yr old grandson’s face when he sees me. And how on the way home from a gathering, my Pookie always says, “You were the prettiest girl in the room.”
In the early morning or evening, if the temperature is just right, the mist that hovers over the water.
Having a few spare hours to put my feet up, sit back, and read undisturbed.
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Oh Skinny….I LOVE THESE. especially… “You were the prettiest girl in the room.”…awe
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I love your open heart that doesn’t close when wounded. I love your soft spot for animals of any sort. I love how you describe anything, it brings it to life!
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Thanks Kate. That was really fun to write.
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Thank You for including me in your list. I want to remain on it always and will come and share your joys and sorrows whenever I can. As you do mine.
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Hi Joan What a nice surprise. You’re right up there with spaghetti, Carmela’s ears and Sex and the City episodes. 🙂
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I love the sound of a purring cat especially when one is curled up in my lap. Solitude after a long day of dealing with people. Unexpected treats from loved ones. Finding a book I’ve been looking for at the library. Rereading old favorites. Spending time alone with my husband (when he isn’t driving me nuts) and that’s just a few off the top of my head.
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What a sweet list I so appreciate you sharing. It’s very inspiring to me to imagine a cat on your lap and a favorite book. Simple pleasures can change one’s world. 🙂
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Movies in the middle of the afternoon, jigsaw puzzles on a winter day, feeding the turtles on our morning bike ride, grandchildren hugs and kisses, Andrew when he calls in a good mood! 😉
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I’d like to feed turtles love how they swim. They have a great back kick. 🙂
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Not to overuse the word, but I absolutely love this list, Susannah. I feel like I’ve lived a whole wonderful day, just perusing the finer things in life just by reading your list. I feel like these should be printed on a poster. Thank you for writing this.
-David
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You’re so sweet. They teach you in 12 Step to keep a gratitude list to more or less keep your negatively in line. We always have so much to look to for comfort that quite often falls through the cracks.
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Your list made me smile. Some of the things I love: discovering a new favorite author (my latest is Harlan Coben), the view from my balcony, catkids Jack talking to me and Teddy cuddling in the morning, ice cream and brownies, hearing little kids laugh, seeing elderly couples holding hands.
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This is beautiful Patricia, thank you. Of course, I immediately saw Jack having a brownie and Teddy with ice-cream on his nose. 🙂
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First I Love your list and how potato chips slipped in at the top.
I love to love. I’m not happy unless I’m loving something or someone. I resonate with the Queen song “Somebody to Love” on a deep level.
On a side note Netflix just released American: The Bill Hicks Story.
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I can still cry all day thinking of him. All day.
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