10 favorite things that begin with the letter S

Over a week ago, I was given the letter "S" for a favorite things tag by Protege and while I have had these things in my head for a while now, I hadn't yet put them down here on my blog. So, finally, my list of the first five favorite "S" things-- my part 1. (part 2 will follow...)
And if anyone wants a letter to create a list of favorites, just ask!

1. Solitude
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I am not an anti-social hermit, but I do like to have my time alone. And although I love a good party, getting together with a friend, and being with my small family, I also need my time to be by myself, in my own head and engrossed in my favorite solitary pursuits(painting, creating, reading --even sipping a cup of tea while looking out the window) I am never lonely, but feel perfectly happy by myself. And I can get really cranky and feel trapped if I don't get my "me" time.

2. Scarves
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I can never resist a patterned or colorful scarf and have an ever growing collection, somewhat neatly folded in a drawer. I love wearing one draped or tied around my neck--always adds just the right touch to whatever I am wearing. I just bought a turquoise fringed one over the weekend that happens to look great with a favorite brown jacket. Now, also, my daughter likes to wear scarves, so we keep sharing and borrowing each other's accessories.

3. Sangria

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I like to make and drink both the traditional red or the white type of Sangria often in the summer. It is meant to be sipped in a lawn chair and with friends. (I did find a recipe for a warm Sangria recently, though..so I might be able to enjoy it in winter, too)

4. Summer

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Summer is the time when one

sheds one's tensions with one's clothes,

and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.

A few of those days and you can

become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.

-- Ada Louise Huxtable

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I think at least 85% of people would pick this season for a favorite "S" word. And not just because I am in the final push of winter and wanting those greener times to come. Summer is so simple--you roll out of bed, walk out of the house barefoot, pick flowers for the table or vegetables for the plate and can even have your breakfast outdoors with the birds. You don't need to spend any money to enjoy this season--get on a bike or in a canoe

-sleep outside in a tent

-grow your own food

-eat outdoors with friends (even better if there is a pitcher of Sangria).

Even if you have to work, the day seems longer and you can still enjoy the warm evening hours after,

by sitting outdoors (I like to watch the bats overhead at dusk from my back deck), taking a walk for an ice cream cone after dinner, or even a swim in the ocean(my preferred time to be at the beach, after most everyone has gone).

5. Sunday paper

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I like to be the first one up on a Sunday morning, so I can open the door and be the first one to bring in the fat Sunday newspaper and be the first one to read it with a cup of just brewed coffee ( in...solidtude). Sunday just wouldn't feel like Sunday without the big newspaper to read leisurely, creating a big mess, on the couch. Even as a child, I was the first to run out for the newspaper on Sunday, excited about the comics section and then eventually started reading the other sections as I got older. Sometimes I'll even go out later in the morning to buy the New York Times or Boston Globe to give myself even more to read(and really challenge myself by trying to fill in the NY Times crossword puzzle).