And I do love warm woolen mittens.

I love tea, my favorite is a robust chai of any persuasion. A strong bergamot scented pot of loose leaf Earl Gray is my ultimate indulgence. Hot beverages on cool days. Coffee in the morning, with just milk, no sugar. I like fru-fru sugar-filled coffee-ish beverages. My fall always has a few PSL. I love “seasonal” lattes.

I love color. My favorite color is purple. I love the palest of lavenders to the deepest almost black plums. I also really like blue. I employ frequent use of jewel tones in my projects and in my decorating. I joke that in winter I look like Mrs. Weasley; covered in colorful mismatched knits. I love silly printed socks.

I love fiber arts, obviously. I love the smell of indie dyed yarn. I love creating beautiful things from nothing but string and sticks/hook. When the mood strikes, I love spinning my own yarns. Even if I do go years sometimes without touching my wheel. I love textures. I love projects that look difficult, but are easy. I like unfussy clean lines. I like sewing quick projects, after a few hours I find it difficult to be excited about it. I love sharing my joy about everything with everyone.

I love to cook. I’m pretty good at it. I love vegetables and tofu and fresh baked bread. Even though my favorite meal is a sandwich, a tuna sandwich in particular. I love cheese. My favorite is Brie, particularly the pungent ones. I have a sourdough starter named Hamilton. I’m an imprecise bread baker, my loaves are always good but never the same twice. I love biscotti and scones and kinda sweet cookies.

I love to read. I love fantastical fiction. Single subject non-fiction. I love gaining knowledge about anything. Learning is my JAM. If a book is interesting, I’ll read it. I like reading when I knit. I’ve recently discovered that I do, in-fact, not dislike audio books. They are great for when I can’t decide if I’d rather read or sew or crochet. While I CAN read and crochet at the same time, I’m really slow at both together.

I love my friends, even if my social circle is small. Now that I live so far from my closest friends, the time we spend together is really intense. We rarely remember to take pictures of our times together, we are too busy enjoying each other and laughing loudly and raucously.

I enjoy moving fast. I love to bike. I liked to run (when I still could). I still dream about running (albeit slowly and for short-ish distances). I like lifting heavy things only to put them down and repeat the process. If I don’t get enough exercise, I get anxious and jittery. Similar to a dog.

Don’t even get me started on music. I like so much music, that its difficult to pin down exactly what I like. But I like weird. I enjoy live music. I’ve been to hundreds of punk shows. My partner in college was in a punk band- it was fun going to different places and seeing what their scene was like. I’m on a limited scope indie rap kick right now: Aesop Rock, Hail Mary Mallon, Atmosphere, and Sage Francis are what I’m listening to when my kids are NOT in the car. I love classic rock. I LOVE riot grrl bands from the mid-90’s, I still find the messages poignant and the music still speaks to my soul. I like listening to Radiohead’s Kid A album when I ride trains/regional rail lines. There is lots of music I dislike, but I’m not going to talk about that.

I’m a cat person. I like dogs, but still prefer cats. I love how aloof and independent cats are. Maybe it’s because they remind me of me. I miss my cat. He was my constant companion for almost 18 years. It was sad to let him go, but it was time. Someday we’ll get another cat, but I can’t fathom replacing him now.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Just some things that bring me joy. What brings you joy?