These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things
Life is full of simple things that can make you smile
Whilst whiskers on kittens are definitely a favourite of mine, I can do without bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens. Although Julie Andrews’ long list of favourites was sung out with a strong, beautiful voice, I’ll take to writing mine down.
Halloween decorations and pumpkins
As it is now the season, I have to begin with anything remotely pumpkin-y or made with straw or hay. I have an inner compass that pulls me in the direction of Halloween decorations, whether in a store or on someone’s porch. On days when my willpower is weak, I have to physically restrain myself as I pass displays filled with orange and yellow trinkets, pulling me in like a tractor-beam from some bad science-fiction movie.
Not having been raised in North America where these things are tradition, they swiftly became one of my favourite things when I moved to the continent in 2017.
Christmas Lights
Whilst Christmas is very much a thing in South Africa and Australia, the tradition of adorning houses with lights is not so prevalent. In South Africa, your light display would probably be stripped and stolen in less time than it takes to drink a cup of eggnog! In the southern hemisphere Christmas is a summer holiday and so the feeling of the season is different with the sun setting too late to appreciate all the twinkling.
Wandering through chilly Canadian neighbourhoods with a blanket of snow on the ground and marvelling at the multicoloured light displays is about one of the best things I can do for my soul.
American Football
As I wasn’t raised with it, many find it difficult to understand why I have such a love for American Football and to be honest, I have no explanation to offer for why this is so. For as long as I can remember it has appealed to me but as the internet was not around when I was a kid, and I didn’t know about Game Pass whilst I lived in Australia, it was only when I arrived in the US in late 2017 that I was able to indulge my addiction for the game.
Now I’m somewhat of a superfan and pretty much beyond any hope of rehabilitation!
Squirrels and chipmunks
Despite being born and raised in Africa where, arguably, many of the most amazing members of the animal species reside, I have become obsessed with squirrels and chipmunks! My love affair with these critters is strong and true, and feeding them from my window in London, Ontario, is one of the things I look forward to the most when I return home.
In fact, on my most recent return, I bought a bag of squirrel peanuts from Dollarama before getting myself a single grocery item… sad, but true!
Veggie burgers & Bud Light
For many years I denied myself a simple burger. Obsessed with exercise and a sugar-free diet, I was the picture of peak physical condition, but life was meaningless without veggie burgers and fries. And before you all scream at me for enjoying Bud Light, remember that I’m a total lightweight and the “American beer is not real beer” thing flies over my head like Canadian geese in the winter!
Call me uncivilized, uncultured, unsophisticated; hell, call me whatever you wish, just order me a burger and a beer whilst you’re up.
Sweet Potato Pie
I discovered this particular delicacy whilst living in San Antonio, Texas. Outside of the American South, you don’t find this exquisite sugar-filled treat unless you make it yourself, and thanks to the wonderful Miss Trisha Yearwood, I can now make a scrumptious one. A few of my fellow Canucks have been converted (queue organ music) to this holiday favourite as the first dollop of the sinfully delicious treat touched their taste buds. Can I get an amen!
I must give an honourable mention to the humble pumpkin pie which is also a favourite.
Margaritas
Another gem that came out of my time in San Antonio, Texas, courtesy of the large Mexican population that resides there, is the margarita. Bubba’s 33 massive offerings (everything’s bigger in Texas) kissed my tongue like a lusty señorita and made me a believer — queue more organ music! For the next few years I struggled to find another good one — sorry Canada and Costa Rica, but y’all can’t make decent margaritas.
In mid-2021, the angels began to sing again as I margarita’d my way through Quintana Roo, Mexico. Arriba, arriba!
Washer and dryer
Being born and raised in South Africa and then spending 15 years in New Zealand and Australia, I was never accustomed to moving wet clothes straight from the washer to the dryer. Clothes are hung out to dry and only placed in a small dryer in the winter months to speed up the drying process. When I arrived in the US, I fell in love with the ease of doing laundry. As a digital nomad, I only get this pleasure when I returned home for six months out of the year, the commercial grade washer and dryer in my little basement apartment greeting me like a long-lost friend.
To celebrate my return home every year, what do I do? Toast with a glass of champagne? Throw a parade? Nope, I do a load of laundry — come and join the freak show my friends!
Tim Horton’s Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ending off my collection of favourite things is a cinnamon raisin bagel from Tim Horton’s. Apart from doing a load of laundry, indulging in this deliciousness is one of the first things I do when I get home every year. Slipping into a booth on a Sunday morning as I settle in to write eases my weary soul.
Sipping on a coffee and munching on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with butter brings more joy to this little immigrant’s heart than you could possibly know.
I hope you enjoyed my motley assortment of randomness. With the world full of difficulty, division, and just plain misery, let us revel in our joys. Here are some of mine and I’d love to hear some of yours — who knows, maybe yours will bring me some joy too!
A Christmas tree in the snow as it flashes
Feeding a line of squirrel gatecrashers
A long pass to touchdown as the crowd sings
These are a few of my favorite things
