Pleasures

[stoutfellow]

neonnurse asks for a list of sensory pleasures. Mine's a mix of repeatable pleasures and one-shots, I guess.

Sight: Coming around a corner of a museum in - was it Rome? - and seeing Raphael's "Assumption", which had just been restored. Late afternoon August sunlight on the southern walls of the University of Chicago. Elizabeth Rohm's eyes. Mt. Rainier in the distance. A roe buck, from a distance of a few yards, on a trail in the Sierra; hydras and waterstriders, from a distance of a few inches, in a pool of water in the Sierra. Monet's "Waterlilies". The way the appearance of the cathedral in Milan changes in the course of the day. Otters, meerkats, and prairie dogs.

Hearing: Mockingbird song. Claudia Black's voice. Thunderstorms. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, especially the second and last movements. Ben and Murphy, when I provoke them into howling.

Touch: "Happiness is a warm puppy" - even a twelve-year-old arthritic puppy with bad teeth and cataracts. A warm and indolent bath. Comfortable and soft clothing.

Taste: There is, or was, a small restaurant in Hyde Park, near the University of Chicago, called the Medici Coffeehouse. They had a dessert called "Vaguely Reminiscent" that just evaporated on the tongue - was it the taste of coffee? caramel? vanilla? I could never tell... Dulce de Leche ice cream. Pistachios. Pad thai. My mother's teriyaki chicken, and her sweet'n'sour. Ripe peaches. Fresh shortbread.

Smell: Coffee. (The promise always exceeds the reality...) [Hmmm. I can't seem to come up with much in this category; but then, my sense of smell has been on the fritz for years.]

Comments

[filkferengi]

Smell: you forgot old books, chocolate, and roses.

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

"chocolate"

Yes. What idiot came up with chocolate-scented soap and body lotion? I can barely stand it when I can *smell* the chocolate, and there isn't *any*!

[filkferengi]

The better to tease you with, my dear. ;)

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Lovely memories.

Elizabeth Roehm *does* have gorgeous eyes, doesn't she? And just-opened coffee smells divine.

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

Great list! I agree with you pretty nearly across the board, and especially about the warm puppies!