While I am totally still down with this thread where we GET IT ALL OUT. And I probably have not done a enough of that, I think we need to counter it with things that bring us joy.
So this is going to sound really stupid. Stupider than I normally sound! There are certain physical objects that that batshit closet organizer would say “spark joy,” I am going to tell you what mine are and then you can all back channel each other and say “Tamara Is Batshit Crazy” or go join the Tamara Sucks Sites or whatever. It’s l kind of two things at the moment.
First I have these four spoons that I really love. I’ve looked online to try and BUY ALL THE SPOONS! but apparently they are way more expensive than what I paid. But really not really expensive. I also really love my black and white salad bowls. I bought them both at a garage sale with my mother. It is her fault that I have 97 sets of dishes. When I was a little kid growing up in Tripoli, Libya, my mother would drag me to the souk. And ROSENTHAL was the mission.
For those unaware, a souk is like the mall in some countries. Except in Tripoli the “stalls” for lack of a better term are packed with STUFF. And this one stall had lots of Rosenthal. And we would go into the back room and look for the pattern Mama wanted. I say this to say I was raised to like dishes.
So I am genetically required to get all the feels from dinnerware. I feel like I have already told you about the four spoons I love. So I’ll shut up and stop being weird about the spoons.
But here is the thing. Maybe it is because my momma liked dishes (and flowers) a whole lot but I am kind of obsessed with these three little tiny bowls I bought at Ollie’s. Ollie’s is this kind of newish thing. I don’t know how to describe it. It is not for rich people. But they have A MILLION RUGS FOR CHEAP. The rug selection is what gets you in the door. The bizarre array of everything else reminds me of the souk.
So I was there replacing rugs because Banjo had fleas. And Also I love this store.
ANYWAY the point of this story AND I DO HAVE ONE is that I bought this little trio of tiny bowls. Like condiment bowls or something. They are very small. They look like pottery. I think I maybe paid two dollars or so for a set of three. I love them. They bring me joy.
What small things bring you joy during these sucky times?
My kids, grandkids and cats bring me joy. My two urns on the cement caps bring me joy. They are full of daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. Looking forward to buying my summer flowers brings me joy.
Oh I wish I had flowers….
I was JUST LEARNING to BUY THE FUCKING FLOWERS. For no reason. And now this.
☹️
Today was my birthday. Today is the first day I’ve felt human after more than a week of being sick as a dog.Heard from my family members in France and Spain: all healthy! Grandchildren called me and talked and talked stream of thought. My cat came over for loving. My oldest is feeling much better: recovered from pneumonia, it wasn’t COVID-19. Azaleas in bloom. I’m glad I could celebrate turning 60! Life is hard and challenging and then, suddenly, it’s a really lovely day. All these moments came together on one day. TT, thank you! I love your snark. I love your honesty. When I read here, I feel safe even if I don’t comment. I’m grateful! Thank you for letting me share!
Happy Birthday! I’m so happy you had a good day!
Thanks! There is good all around us!
Happy belated 3Gatos from me and Al Catta 🥂
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday. Feeling better again after being sick must have been one of the BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENTS EVER! And the news your loved ones are well. Memories you will treasure for the next 60 years!
Hapyy Birthdy~
Happy Belated Birthday! <3
Feliz Cumpleanos 3 Cats
Wishing you a very happy birthday!
Happy birthday!!
T, I get the plates thing! My mom was one to get bored with her day ware stuff and change it out. But would pack up and not sell the previous stuff. She’s always loved thrown pottery too (now my stuff is mixed in with it!) My BFF was baffled by this – her mother was still using the stuff she got when she got married. (White day ware, white china. She got her husband’s grandmother’s china – it is on display in a cabinet, but I COVET that pattern!
I got some flannel pjs from Costco a couple of months ago, in a gamble. Costco stuff typically doesn’t fit me. THESE DID. I grabbed them on a quick trip to my house to pick up my mail, washed them yesterday with extra fabric softener, and now, after a shower, have them on. I feel VERY cozy! We’re watching all the country stars on this ACM Concet at home. I’m waiting for the Kenny Rogers tribute.
Oh, if any of you have Sirius XM, they now have a STAY HOME station. ALL UPBEAT MUSIC! I listened for about an hour or so as I scrubbed the bathroom I’m using from top to bottom, and organized some drawers since I’m obviously here for longer than anticipated.
But my governor, Jay “The Snake” Inslee, said Washingtonians are making a difference staying at home! We were able to send some of the ventilators initially sent to us off to New York, etc.!!!
Happy Birthday, 3Gatos. I hope you had a great day. There are two things that bring me joy. The first is my Mini-Labradoodle, Roux. She’s a chunky little monkey who rules the roost and I love her more than life itself. The other is a table that belonged to my mother. She passed away 27 years ago and tomorrow would have been her 94th birthday. This table isn’t my style at all, but it makes me smile every day because she loved it so much.
Makeup brings me joy. I love buying makeup and I love the whole application process..it really calms me down. Of course I haven’t worn any since I’ve stopped going anywhere to give my skin a much needed break, but on Easter I plan to dress up and do my makeup to make it feel more like a holiday.
My animals also bring me joy and make life worth living.
REALLY good sex followed by a lovely Sunday nap. Found my Kindle & it was fully charged. So am I.
Lucky you, two of my favorite things. I haven’t had ANY sex since Dec. 23, 2000. The last millennium! I was the girl who couldn’t go without it for a day. Twice a day. The last one did it for me. 💔 But I have LOTS of memories of REALLY GREAT sex. With BEAUTIFUL men. Way too many…
Nanette- Right there with you. Last time I was kissed was 2002. I’ve met a lot of handsome doctors but unfortunately I’m their patient.
I think sex is overrated. I could do without it– especially if I just washed the ____ sheets.
Oh god, not me! I miss sex so much. I loved sex! It’s been six years. Six years without so much as a kiss, never mind passion or sex. It hurts so much. I can’t believe that that part of my life is over at only 58. My ex hurt me so badly I just don’t have the courage to ever trust a partner again.
That was me at 49. After years of choosing inappropriate men, I had my first straight and sober romantic relationship. No drama shit. I chose a very kind man; we had the same passions, laughed so much. I didn’t just think he wouldn’t cheat on me; I thought he wouldn’t cheat on ANYONE. WRONG! I have since learned that incest survivors have boundary issues. That is when I shut down my romantic life for good. No more lost boys. No more sad boys. No more anyone in my ♥️. I know that isn’t good, but I came very close to suicide on this one. Because I blamed myself. Over that now.
I have a chronic pain condition. And I found that now that I have to work remotely, it’s really helped me manage my pain better.
I love this. The same thing has happened with lots of us with chronic pain. SOMETHING good has come of this.
TT- my mom has a set of dinnerware ( Botanical Gardens by Portmarion) and every serving dish, tray, platter; spoon, fork, mini spoon, mini, fork, vase, herb containers, sugar bowls, and the list goes on and on. I love the joy she gets when we would have company for dinner and she would spend hours preparing the table and food to make her guests feel welcome. She is like a little kid pulling out all her toys to play with when her friends come over. She gets so excited when she is at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s and finds a piece she doesn’t have. I always get a photo of what she has found. I love during basketball season hearing my dad from the other room cheer for the Boston Celtics. I love that my brother will call me a dumb ass but the minute some else does he is my protective big brother. I love that the silver lining in my illness is the precious time I get to spend with my parents everyday.
I have more dishes than humans should be allowed to have. Back when we would go out and get fast food, everything was served on a plate. And each kind of food goes on a different type of plate. I used to date guys who never understood why we were not eating straight from the container, or bag. Or who thought they should drink a coke FROM A CAN! Barbarians.
I love that in the face of despair simple acts of kindness are contagious.
So true.
A simple joy for me lately is following the huge brown bear’s nocturnal explorations via a neighbor’s trail camera. He posts the videos on YouTube, and that bear is YUGE. Doesn’t look like he hibernated milieu this winter.
Bought some more birdseed (it’s out of bear reach—I hope!) and have enjoyed watching and listening to them every day.
Much, not milieu. That was an off AC.
I adore Wedgewood’s Spode dinnersets. I have a set of ‘Victoria Plain’ and I have collected years ago now, platters and vases and my most beloved of all, ginger jars! In the Spode Batavia, Java and Sumatra patterns. Look them up, they are DIVINE. I need to get it all out of storage and start using them because life is too short not to be.
I’m currently living in not so ideal circumstances, with whatever cutlery had been collected. It sucks! I love me some decent cutlery. I also love good knives. I have Global brand ones in a block. I keep them in my bedroom some my adult girls can’t fck then up!
My KitchenAid mixer in cherry red makes me happy, and also my IPad. It’s the only Apple item I currently use and I really appreciate the beautiful engineering and the sensible but sleek design.
I suppose I should say my kids but they can’t keep from going out and that makes me somewhat fearful as an immunocompromised smoker. Oh yes. But I am cutting down and taking a bunch of Chinese herbs.
I love a good souk also. But being in Australia, I’m a long way away from one too.
90 Day Fiancé gives me joy. I’ve been watching different seasons and parts of the franchise. It amazes me seeing the mountains of spices. ..I don’t know how they don’t blow away, or go stale!
QueenJenn I have yellow Wedgewood. A little shop in Portobello Rd in London had a fire and they were selling stuff cheap. My mother bought the entire set and she, my sister and I had to lug it all back to the house on buses and trains to our home in Kent. This was ‘63 or ‘64. I gave it to my daughter along with all the Silver, crystal and the other set of China. It is stunning and so unexpected it.
I spent a week in Kent five years ago. Amazing. You are so lucky to have lived there.
I love to eat animal crackers. It’s almost like a ritual. I take one out, look at it, then make it walk like an animal, then I bite off the legs and gobble the rest. Thinking abt it even cracks me up.
The colorful paper napkins from ikea also make me happy. They have every color of the rainbow and a bunch of crazy designs. Someone once asked how can napkins make you happy. It never occurred to me that they don’t make everyone happy.
My sleeping pill is kicking in. That makes me happy too. Stay strong everyone!
THIS just made me happy. 😂
Your animal cracker ritual made me laugh out loud–love it!
How else are you supposed to eat animal crackers.?
Bite the heads off!
Not the way I do it. But lots of people I know do. Especially on the pink and white ones.
I practice mercy killing. The whole thing at once.
I have a soup spoon that is a round spoon. In fancy sets, those are consumme spoons. But this was our everyday soup spoon before the everyday tableware started making them like giant teaspoons. There were three left of the set of 6 or 8. Every time Mom would take one out, she would say “Don’t you just love the way some things look and feel in your hand when you use them?” EVERY TIME. There were three when Mom died. One for each of us kids. My brother and the Succubus were living at Mom’s when she died. I am SURE they heard Mom say it every time too. Mom wanted them OUT. But she died first. The Succubus ran away with two spoons. They were gone for 16 years of Mom’s last years. But she felt entitled to take two. My sister let me have the last one. One more reason I LOVE my sister.
I have a tea cup and sauce I love, that brings me joy, and my Crowns, my cat, my family, my partner. Also randomly yelling, “IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU BRAUNWYN!!!” hahaha
I would LOVE to see your crowns!
First of all, I loved the show Money Heist but kinda forgot about it and it just dropped a new season on Netflix— that made me happy. Also, I too love dishes and I have a pretty nice backyard setup so I wanted some new melamine dishes for different meals/seasons. All the stores are closed so I used Google out of boredom and Sam’s Club popped up. I got 2 new sets of dishes for only $30 each!! I usually spend way more and never would’ve thought to look to look there before. I know being on quarantine sucks but it’s actually made me get more creative and productive.
My daughter likes her melamine dishes but likes to mix them up. When I go to Target, well not lately, but when we could before all of this, I’d buy her several plates and bowls. They have a good selection of mix and match.
Old fashioned brooches bring be joy! I have quite a beautiful collection of them that I started quite by accident. I think I have well over 100 of them by now, in all kinds of shapes, colors and designs. Some are incredible intricate and beautiful, shaped like flowers, animals, insects, musical instruments, and even things like bicycles! My Mom gave me two very inexpensive ones that had belonged to my Granny years ago and I’d just thrown them in my jewelry box and saved them for sentimental reasons. Then when Mom herself died in 2010, my sister, who doesn’t wear jewelry, gave me the dozen or so that Mom had. I live in an area with tons of senior communities and I love to peruse the garage sales. I started to pick up beautiful brooches at these sales, never spending more than a few dollars. Friends who know about my collection have brought me brooches and pins as gifts, some from their own Mom’s or Grandma’s collections! I do wear my many of the brooches in my collection, and I get wonderful comments on them when I do.
Your story made me happy. Love brooches and have all of my grandmothers. It also makes me happy when my 20 year old daughter asks to borrow one with her jeans and t-shirt.
That’s awesome Lisa! I have two adult daughters and my younger one loves my brooches too. She’s an old soul who at 24 is a member of a knitting circle with a bunch of 60 to 80 year olds! They adore her.
PS, I wear my brooches with t-shirts and jeans all the time too! 😁
I have several of my grandmother’s brooches too. They bring back so many happy memories. (I now collect vintage brooches and silver charms). Her Avon brooches are at least 30-40 years old and look brand new. I love the vintage Christmas tree brooches and I have the ones I bought for Mom too.
I love dishes, china, and flowers too. It’s kind of kitschy but my Fitz and Floyd dishes bring me joy. I change them with the season. They are decorated in cute animal themes for the holidays – the Easter bunny plates are the cutest.
I adore dishes and change them out especially my full set of Pfatzgraff Winterberry dishes for Christmastime and my Laurie Gates Shamrock dishes for Paddy’s Day. The Laurie Gates dishes were a cuter, cheaper alternative to Belleek china which was way out of my price range. I have one piece of Belleek which was a wedding present 37 years ago! My newest piece of dishware that is bringing me joy everyday is a New Orleans Tricentennial coffee mug that I use everyday for my cups of coffee! I also have a glorious, in full bloom shamrock plant that is frankly showing off right now! LOL
I also purchased two 7 ft. y’all blue juniper trees last year that are thriving very well here in south Florida! And my succulent plants and peace lily are growing so much that they need to be re potted but I love the pots they are in so conundrum there…
And I am in love with BritBox! I have binged out on Gavin & Stacy, Benidorm, Boy Meets Girl, and I am obsessed with the British soap opera Emmerdale!
Hubby and I are also watching/re-watching Midsommer Murders, Shetland, Father Brown, Wallander, Prime Suspect, and finished all seasons of DCI Banks.
Hubby and I are both good cooks so we are also eating way too much.
I have a thing about dishes and silverware. I don’t know why I am in love with these three tiny cheap bowls but I will take any tiny bits of joy where I found them.
My slow cooker and my IPOD bring me joy.
Gnocchi makes me happy. And I love blankets. And deviled egg trays.
My blueberry bushes are blooming, I saw two bliuebirds , a few cardinals and a woodpecker outside my kitchen window this morning.
I’m a coffeeholic…and by that I mean 3-5 full 12 cup pots a day…anyway I’m not a person who likes or attaches to “stuff”. Then this Christmas my DIL and my 2 oldest grandgirlies got a travel mug and put “Gma Fuel” on it with some kinda thingy..not clue I’m not crafty! Now that little travel mug goes everywhere with me and I’m never without it! I look at that and just grin!!
My windchimes bring me joy when there is a gentle wind. My Dishes The Birds and the Bees by Sango make me happy because my Mom had them too and they remind me of her every time I use them. Random acts of kindness bring me joy.
I like that after watching 90 Day Fiancé and Love After Lock Up I don’t feel so bad about my decision making skills.
Allergies be damned, but I love the bloom. Nature is lit!
Have you watched Tiger King? It was 7 hours of distraction that I truly needed.
IF I never see the words Tiger King again it would be a joy.
2nd Reminder for you to block Tiger King….
I do block it. But yet here it is again…
When I saw Brandon McMillan’s negative comment, I decided TK could wait. Maybe forever. Brandon was raised in the circus. His parents had the big cat show. Back when things were different. His brother (RIP) started a big cat sanctuary to balance (atone for?) things.
I have a cookbook collection that brings warmth and joy to me. Every book is well loved and it’s own personality. My oldest go back to 1890’s they are all like friends to me lol. I’ve filled up two walls of my kitchen with them. My kids have put climes on theirs when the time comes I’m gone from here. These cookbooks spark joy to me.
“Claims” not climes oops
I also love dishes. Right now I have five sets. My favorite is Mikasa. It’s very simple but elegant. My grandson gives me joy and I don’t even mind all the homeschooling we are doing right now. My dogs give me great joy and I can honestly say they are my love at first sight. Also, Tamara this site gives me joy. Thank you!!
The weather has been beautiful lately; there is not a cloud in the sky today. The azaleas and dogwoods are in full bloom and the birds a chirping. It doesn’t get much better than that. As difficult as this virus situation is, I love that it has forced people to slow down and notice things they don’t typically notice.
Do y’all suppose the animals are wondering what happened to all the people?
On the subject of dishes, I have my great grandmother’s china. It is so delicate and pretty, and I am thrilled to have it.
I love small dishes, little bowls of all types and colors. I am someone who does not like food touching so I use about 5 dishes when I eat. I just ordered a new set that will be here on Friday….I am very excited 🙂 Also, I feed the birds and squirrels in my backyard, it was something my Dad did so I feel that I must continue the tradition. It’s a shit storm everyone morning and evening but I love the chaos. Last night I saw a hummingbird for the first time ever and now feel the need to create a feeder for them.
I love Minions. Can’t explain it but they crack me up. I have one in my car and when we pull up next to someone I hold him from the bottom and have him rise up and look around while I stare straight ahead. Then we drive off. My Minion gives me great joy🥰
I would DIE LAUGHING if you were next to me at a stop.
I have coronavirus and am recovering after being very sick. I’m so grateful to come out on the other side. I’m grateful for my family and everyone who just were there. I’ve got food, a nice house, people who love me and I love, my pets, I’m a lucky person!
Bless your heart Lisa! I’m so glad you are doing well!
Lisaj, wow! Thankful to hear you’re recovering! Take care.
Thank God you are on the mend. That brings me joy!
So glad you are feeling better.!!
Be safe, Take care
Omg! I am so happy to hear you’re doing well now! Thank you for letting us know, for me personally at this time I am pretty afraid but just hear this makes me smile. Take care Lisaj.
So glad you made it through! Plus, you bring hope to others. Get all the way we’ll soon. 🌷
My moment of joy today was spritzing a little of my fav perfume, Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue, just to feel pretty and pretend I had somewhere to go other than the kitchen, kids’ rooms, etc.
Has anyone suspended their kids from school yet?
My favorite meme I’ve seen so far was these simple words: “Homeschooling not going well. Two suspended for fighting and teacher fired for drinking on the job!”
On the verge.
My Opal nugget ice maker now made by GE. Or as I call it my “rabbit turd” ice maker. I’m so thankful for it during this quarantine!
We made it through another day! It’s all I can think about, period. N95’s expected delivery in 7 days, fingers crossed we make it!
I do read a bit Tamara but I confess, I’m behind on most everything. Hugs to you and Banjo! I love you and your TT followers to the moon and back!
We’ve locked down a bit more today no food can come in the building. Beverages if they’re sealed and can be sprayed down. The facility is providing meals. I, party of one is thrilled! Alot of our staff has no clue or understanding. Just going out, getting in your vehicle, possibly going to the grocery store for food (one grocer, one Walmart) in Winslow? Yikes, you should have seen the craziness since last Wednesday, crazy insane shopping. (I stand on the brick wall in the fenced in outside area at work I can see the parking lot of Safeway) I heard Walmart was a mess, they finally figured out how to slow the flow….I guess BUT, I’M NOT GOING THERE!
I have a dish fetish too. Currently using dishes I made years ago in ceramics. Have Royal Dalton, a few pieces of fiesta ware, anyone have bonus dishes from supermarkets back in the day? I do.
Too many sets, love them all but my favorite (probably started my dish fetish as a child) is bone china, by my great aunts, who hand painted glazes and fired in SD for many years. All the girls in my family have a set (mom gave me most of hers when I finally stopped moving). I’ve seen them all but mine is my favorite! with the most delicate pink flowers, scalloped edges wuth platinum highlights, every dish and service you can imagine! Absolutely gorgeous!
I’m going to pull them out more often when and if I ever get home.
The red and white toile from my grandmother’s set was all bonus dishes! She had fancier, but that was what we ate on most, so MANY HAPPY memories. I have some purple glass hexagonal plates and cups and saucers a friend’s mom won bowling! Only 1 bowl. I guess she had a low score that week.
My Mom’s health started deteriorating maybe the middle of last year. And gradually her activity slowed, and we brought her to several doctors. She had two surgeries in three days in October; one of which was a stent. She was then told she needed another surgery for an esophageal issue, but two days before she had it they canceled it because her heart wasn’t strong enough. She endeared several more tests and was then told she needed a pacemaker. We scheduled the surgery and waited. COVID-19 hit, and Mom’s surgery was put on hold. We waited weeks, and Mom was getting more and more weak, more and more scared. Friday we got the call that Mom would be having surgery today and none of us were sure she was going to make it through the weekend. At 6:03 this evening, my Mom called me, from the hospital, after having her pacemaker put in. She sounded weak, but relieved. So my moment of joy happened today, at 6:03 PM when I heard that voice and knew she would be coming back home tomorrow to celebrate her 76th birthday.
@Jenny
You have brightened my day.
Birthday wishes for your Mammy
May you be poor in misfortune
Rich in Blessings
Slow to make enemies
Quick to make friends
But rich or poor
Quick or slow
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward
seeing my indoor plants growing tiny baby leaves bring me joy in my life… 🤍 i baby these plants to the point that even while i’m away from the country, i set my Dyson air purifier on for 2-3 hours to give them some clean air to breathe… yes i’m crazy too 😝
It was so nice to read these comments! The dishes (now I am wanting new ones!), the plants, the animals, the spoons! I am very happy your mother is coming home for her birthday and that you are over Covid! Best wishes to everyone for the next weeks that we are past this mess and starting our lives again!
The sound of mourning doves gives me joy
I live in the bourbon capital of the world. We just moved here in February. The most distinctive thing about this town is the smell, the lovely smell at certain times of day. You can smell the yeast cooking in the distilleries and it smells like bread cooking. Usually around 11 am. I haven’t experienced that smell in awhile.
I was outside today around 11:30 and I smelled the faintest scent of yeast in the air. It was so comforting and it just made me so happy. It is normally much stronger but I was reflecting yesterday how much I miss that smell every day. That faint scent was like a reminder, that we are still here, there is still life to live, and …yeah I don’t have a strong ending for this. I’m sure y’all get it.
Another day!!! Thank you Tamara for this touchstone. I realized after I posted a comment that I went negative, so sorry to you and everyone here.
We are in the process of making strict changes in our building to protect our residents and ourselves as well. I honestly have NO problems with it and decided naturally when educating coworkers the time to be nice, lend an ear, forgive ignorance is over. I kindly remind, “you know me” but I’m not going to be “nice” when it comes to protecting “IT ALL”!
Yay! We are ok another day. I haven’t been caught up here in a minute but I’m off the next 2 days and I just want to hang out with ya’ll! Zoom meeting with all family tomorrow at noon. I have more to say but I’m pooped.
Please, everyone stay home. Isolating, and distancing is working.
Has anyone seen the moon tonight? Gorgeous!
YOU GUYS!
Sirius XM is free until May 15. I already pay them for the service, and I don’t even care. I think it is nice and I’ll continue to pay.
Of course, this being a site where we all know Bravo, Radio Andy is on Channel 102. Most are doing their shows from home, including Jeff Lewis and Andy. I also like Bevy Smith a lot.
But they also have a new STAY HOME channel… upbeat music that is meant to uplift you and encourage you that you can stay home! Channel 179! If I was still doing my pottery classes, I’d recommend that we stream this channel (we switch it around. We tend to listen to a lot of Pink Martini and Pink Martini channels that give us similar stuff)
There are also channels dedicated to genres, and decades. I jam to 70s and 80s.
If you have an Alexa, you can tie in your account. Alexa is a picky bitch and doesn’t always understand the channel names so I have to say the channel number!
I’ve been thinking about family since I discovered the joys of La Mamba’s and I am missing my Mammy,
God I wish she was here now, we use to delight in winding her up as she came out with some cracking mammy sayings.
I would love for her to be here and say to me
You’D better wipe that smile off your face or I shall knock you into the backend of next year.
IF ONLY