No, I can't belt out "... the hills are alive with the sound of music ..." but I can recite, sing-song, my favorite things. Here are a few of them: Sudden rains tempering a sizzling summer day.
Scent of mangoes ripening, adobo simmering, bread baking, coffee brewing. A warm corner, corn on the cob and John Steinbeck or Bob Ong on a rainy afternoon. Sunsets on a picture window in the campus I work in. Festive sunflowers on University Avenue. My girls giggling over some deep dark secret and letting me in on it. My boys looking at my girls with a silly grin and being overprotective with them. Reading a good story or blog piece; writing one. A "Q" on a blue and an "I" under and right of it, on a scrabble board. So ...stand me up, let me down, steal my thunder, rain my parade (or even step on my blue suede shoes) -- I cope, I get by. Simply by thinking, what else -- favorite things.
By the way, what are yours?
By the way, what are yours?
75 comments:
Hi Annamanila, I love to hear my kids giggle, the scent of a newly opened balikbayan box, the sound of raindrops, read a very touching post, see blooming flowers in our garden and the smell of newly cooked tocino. Btw, care to exchange links? I would be doubly honored.
Hi Annamanila!! Love those sunflowers too. Got caught, with matching sutsot from the univ guard, for picking some without permission. You know what I love, I love the smell of my kids' heads after they've been shampooed. I love the way a good cup of coffee makes me feel when I wake up in the morning. Loved this post!!
Rowena!
That sounds nice too -- a balikbayan box being ripped open. Except that nobody sends me BBBs. :)
Done. The deed (linking) is done. Pleasure/honor mine!
Rowena!
Omg, look what you made me do? I added you three times. hehehe Bayaan na lang muna ... I am so lazy to go back to my dashboard.
Cookie/Scrooch!
Actually, I was lazy to write a fullblown post. This is something already published in my internet-scrabble-club profile. And I guess I am feeling a bit let down. It will pass of course.
I linked you too. Link me din ha?
All very noble indeed.
Hi Ms. Anna,
I've been wanting to write a post like this - my favorite things - for a long time now. Yours just inspired me. Thanks for posting!
Cookie!
Forgot to tell your PMN BUMP post will appear at exactly 12:01 midnight. Now na.
Diogenes!
That's a funny way to put it. Oh well, I guess some of the stuff may be high sounding .. like sunsets? hahaha
I dare you post your fave things on quasifictional ... :)
Greymom!
I would love to read your favorite stuff on your blogsite. Will visit one of these days!
if i didn't see your name as the author as you, i would have thought it was me--same list, though i still have a lot to learn on scrabbler, and yes, i don't drink coffee!
"brown paper packages tied up in string..." yeah, really :-)
and a nice cuppa tea made by the husband :-)
Or a "Z" on a blue and an "A" next to it. :)
I love the scent of mangoes and adobo too. Reading books, sunflowers (our placemats have sunflowers designs!), eating warm corn, sunrise and sunsets. And the highlight? My children of course.
The list could go on. There are so many things to be thankful for and so many itty-bitty things to appreciate that makes life more exciting.
Have a wonderful week, AM!
is "Qi" a word? and is that 44 points?
Sexymom!
Ay, kindred spirit talaga! Up here.
That is so cute, Anna! =)
Have a great week! =)
Pining!
Cuppa tea made sweeter with TLC, yeah ...
Abaniko!
Only certified scrabholics know how a Z(or Q) on a triple with an A (or I) next to it and under feels like!
Play you soon.
Philo B!
Qi is a word (a new one). So is Za. If the Q or Z happens to be on a triple letter and counted twice, it goes for 62 points!!
This is how QI and ZA should look on the board, counted twice:
QI
I
ZA
A
Julie!
I know you love sunflowers too ... but they are so fleeting 'no. Short shelf life! But I guess that makes them so much more precious. Here's to fave things!
HB!
And what are yours .. besides spending quality time with D?
You too .. a great week for you!
Oh wow, this is a great idea! I actually have a half-done list of favorite things to post but never got around to it..:) I also love the second item on your list. :)
i also love corn and the scent of mangoes, adobo and bread! =)
other favorites: listening to music anywhere (even while working, cooking, reading, etc) and listening to radio dramas (hehehe), sunsets, cold, cold water on a hot day and the list goes on and on and on. =)
Hi Annamanila!! You just made my day!! I saw my article late na. Mga 8a.m. Wanted to do a funky jig when I saw it. Tenks!!!
BTW, you've been on my blogroll for some time na. In case you haven't noticed, madame :)
Gypsy!
So what are some of your fave things .. besides travelling?
Hope to see you before you leave. :)
Carlotta!
Yup, that's the wonderful thing about music -- you can enjoy it while doing other things. Inspires you to do your best whatever you're doing .. and happily.
Intsik!
Agree. Steinbeck has to be savored word after delicious word, phrase after exquisite phrase.
Hmmm ... i thought i sensed underpinnings in your blog pieces. I have questions to ask .. but I had better decipher answers between the lines. :)
Scrooch!
I have to say it here ... your BUMP piece is truly a good one, marvelously written.
Please start thinking of your Post No. 2 -- okay?
Ty for linking me.
Dahlink, I linked you even before you knew me. Hehehe. The honor and the pleasure was all mine :)
Worry not, just gave my brain cells a break. I'm working on a new one already. Besides, you're the last person I'd like to disappoint. Till then... :)
we should play scrabble sometime :)
Scrooch/cookie!
You're a cookie doll. The best there is. :)
Philo B!
Let's! :)
I love chocnut! ;-)
"My boys looking at my girls with a silly grin and being overprotective with them."
I love the picture you drew in my mind
:-)
Mitch!
Me too. Miss mo ba? Has Deye tried chocnut? You think she'd like it.
I also like chapati. Do you know how to prepare it? Was in Bangalore kasi for a month i think.
Auee!
Kasi I had five boys, then two girls. When my bunso was born, the Kuya was already a high school senior. Grabe talaga ... nagka-cut ng classes kasi 'nangangasim' sa kapatid.
Those scenes are stamped on my mind too. :)
Hay, naku! I was only a little kid when I saw Sound of Music. I used to imitate Julie Andrews. I would sing My Favorite Things, complete with curtain props, wrapped on my head. hehehe.
My fave things? Well, when I'm in a not so nice mood or situation, I would imagine myself sipping coffee in a cool, quiet place, with soothing piped in music.
Ay napatikim ko na sya, like naman nya!
I know Chapati, pero to make it? No. Eat lang hehehe!
Ohh, I love the scent of mangoes ripening...adobo...tropical rains...these are the stuff that really make me miss home.
My favorite things right now? My daughter's laughter, spreading out the mat on a park somewhere and gazing at the blue skies, traveling with my family to some unknown world. :)
just last week, it was raining hard, ang lalaki ng mga raindrops. i suddenly had this tremendous urge to have the rain all over me. so i went out back and just stood there. ang sarap! ang gaan ng feeling! i remembered the first - and the last - time i did this was when i was 6 or 7 years old. pinagalitan pa ako ng nanay ko, kasi hindi naman dapat talaga diba. nilagnat pa ako nung hapon so tumatak na sa isip ko never to play in the rain.
a little while later, i encouraged my kids to do the same (a 6yo and a 2yo). ang saya-saya namin! thankfully none of us got sick. and my son now constantly talks about our "adventure." o diba, nakagawa pa ako ng memory with them, walang gastos yan :D
so that's my new favorite thing :)
Love the rainy days too, and appreciate them all the more here in manila...
Ooh, would love that Qi + Qi on scrabble too. I miss u on ISC na.. been playing a bit lately but have not seen you.
See u soon!
Hi tita! Ako I love the scent of freshly cut grass, pages of books... I love laughing with my siblings and hearing them laugh...
Have a nice day po! :)
Rhodora!
You were just a kid then, I know. If I remember right, Sound of Music played in the theatres for years. The first time it happened? Teka, The Ten Commandments din yata. Ay, tagal na talaga. I remember i could almost (not quite) relate with the young Von trapp girl singing "I am 16 going on 17 ... totally unprepared am I ..." Haaay
Intsik!
Talaga? Hmmmm ... first, let me go back to your post. :) Basta cool ka lang dyan.
If not chapati, maybe you know some nice spicy Indian recipe that doesn't need too exotic ingredients.
Kathy!
I know how that feels .. to be craving for simple linagang baka you can almost cry. Pero di bale, if home is where the heart is, then you're home.
Lady Cess!
Ay, oo nga ... thanks for reminding me of that simple pleasure. Maligo sa ulan. I should do it again soon with my children .. never mind that I am this old, never mind that they're all grown up.
Ang alam ko masama lang yan pag mahina ang ulan. But when its pouring ... its healthy! (I think. pero i guess nasa sanayan yan eh di ba).
A Pakistani e-buddy was telling me very recently ... they were so long without rain in Lahore ... their temperature went up to 42 centigrade (oooh can you imagine that?) and they were all praying for rain. At last, the rains came in torrents... and everyone, young and old, rich and poor bathed in the rain, laughing, and thanking the heavens. :)
Chateau!
Haven't played for a while. Partly because there's nobuddy! :)
I will see you Friday dinner!
omg, it's today. Bravo, Queen of the Day!
Sasha!
Oo nga, the smell of grass is nice too.
You too .. have a good week!
I am also doing that Z and Q on the blue but until now I don't know what they mean hehe
Anyway one of my favorite things or feelings is to see the heaps and heaps of my laundry gone.
Verna!
Just for you, I looked them up.
Qi (also ki, chi, or khi) -- vital life force (according to Chinese philosophy). For example -- tai chi, rei ki, qi dong.
Za -- pizza
Oh, ha.
We have very similar tastes. and I'm so happy that we do. sudden rains, brewing coffee, sunsets, John Steinbeck, a good story (at the beach preferably) and scrabble. These are also some of my favorite things! :)
Having the best scenery unfolding before your eyes, lighting conditions and weather perfect... And I have my camera with me to take it all. :)
Coffee brewing, bread baking -- i like to wake up to those scents too. Plus bacon (or tapa) frying!
i like the smell of the barbecue the old fashion way, i love to hear the children singing and playing piano, the sound of the rain...i love April crisp air...
Hi Rey!
You another camera buff! Maybe I see your photos real soon.
Jerry!
Omg, that's really nice to wake up to.
Belle!
Ah yes ... barbecue scents are yummy! Crisp April air ... that should be spring in AZ. Have a godo weekend ahead, Belle.
How lovely. I love those list. I keep going back to your profile to read them in scrabble.
I'm sad too but thinking of my favourite things brings a smile.
Reading my favourite bloggies is one of them. And of course, flying kisses, butterfly kisses and bear hugs from my daughter always.
Jigs!
Am so glad we have lotsa things in common besides being both anarchic. :)
Leah!
Ay, you're sad too -- pareho tayo. Hamo na. Ganyan talaga. We know enough naman about life that whatever goes down must come up. (Ay mukha bang naughty? hahaha).
Anyway, I owe you an email for my contact details. Will do it now. Called Salay Handmade na.
Hi Annamanila, thanks a lot for putting me in your link. Saw my name nga. Am so happy, you made my day...Btw, gave you an award. Pls visit my site.
Curling up on the sofa with a good book with just the perfect natural temperature and lighting and then falling asleep.
Rowena!
Ayyyy! Malapit na akong ma-convince that I really rock. Ty, ty.
Ilagay ko na yang badge. :) Lapit na. lol
Toe!
Yup, i can imagine you curled up --with Steinbeck too? did you ever get to read him?
suddenly, i recalled the words QUEBEC and XI during our scrabble days. now i can only play with my PC.
Do you play online scrabble? Try the internet scrabble club (www.isc.ro).
quebec used to be a scrabble word? It's a proper noun, isn't it?
Hey Anna, would love to meet up! I heard from Abaniko that you are in my neck of the woods! That's great!
"in my neck of of the woods" ... di ko getz. Paki-explain lol ... Lets plan something. You got a tentative departure date?
i love the smell of freshly-mown grass, i love choppy boat rides and my two-year-old singing to julie andrew--or at least making up the lyrics. and i love your blog. certainly one of my favorite things :p
oops, julie andrews
Coffeefreak!
Choppy boat rides! Hmmm .. you like a bit of danger ha.
And I forgot ... another fave thing is being told I am being read by fellow bloggers.
Thanks lots. Will visit you one of these days.
ooh! love the sunset too. i should add this in my existing list. :D
Freeze!
Thank you. I'd love to visit you some time ... now if if only ...
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