What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by TheTimeLord »

Wilderness Librarian wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 11:42 am
TheTimeLord wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:31 am
surfstar wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:11 am Backpacking

Realizing that everything you truly "need", can fit on your back and be carried with you.
I have a friend who is getting into this. He was spent a couple thousand on a watch and GPS device. The irony of needing such technology to safely get off the grid amused us both.
Agreed that backpacking is complex & requires a lot of planning, strategy & effort to execute - that is part of its appeal.

You don't really "need" this technology for backcountry usage and it sometimes detracts from the aesthetics of the experience. Paper maps usually work very well for navigation. GPS helps to say "you are here and these are the attributes of this place." That to me is its most useful application and not even that helpful for most of my uses.

Some of my simple pleasures are stated by others but I would add: being alone in my house sitting in a rocking chair drinking morning tea and listening to NPR news and music; short bicycle rides especially through agricultural landscapes with the sights & sounds unique to that environment; reading books in my bedroom with a pendulum wall clock the only noticeable sound.
I believe one of the features of the GPS was an emergency beacon of some sort. The $800 watch made us both laugh.
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. | Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
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Michael Patrick
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Location: Madison, WI

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Michael Patrick »

Solitude and quiet in nature is nice and all, but give me a Gibson guitar and a vintage tube amp, preferably a Marshall, cranking loud enough for the neighbors to be able to enjoy it.
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KSOC
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by KSOC »

Psyayeayeduck wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:29 am
samsoes wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:51 am Waking up before dawn, thinking I have to be up in 2 hours and go to work, and then realizing it's Saturday!

(Soon, every day will be Saturday.)
I remember reading somewhere that early retirees and normal retirees alike eventually will start hating actual Saturdays since that is when everyone is doing errands at the same time.
When I was a working man I despised seeing seniors all over the grocery store Saturday mornings. I vowed I would never grocery shop on weekends. I now go early Friday mornings, and keep hitting Publix the same time the assisted living buses pull in! Ahh!
I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round. | Nobody told me there'd be days like these.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by TheTimeLord »

KSOC wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:23 pm
Psyayeayeduck wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:29 am
samsoes wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:51 am Waking up before dawn, thinking I have to be up in 2 hours and go to work, and then realizing it's Saturday!

(Soon, every day will be Saturday.)
I remember reading somewhere that early retirees and normal retirees alike eventually will start hating actual Saturdays since that is when everyone is doing errands at the same time.
When I was a working man I despised seeing seniors all over the grocery store Saturday mornings. I vowed I would never grocery shop on weekends. I now go early Friday mornings, and keep hitting Publix the same time the assisted living buses pull in! Ahh!
When I took a break from work I pretty much despised weekends because everywhere was so crowded compared to during the week.
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. | Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
Starfish
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Starfish »

I've been backpacking in tough mountains since I was 18 (including in the winter at subzero temperatures) but it is first time when I hear that you need a GPS something to backpack.
hfj
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by hfj »

Pickup soccer. I have a good skilled game nearby with plenty of international flavor and enough familiarity that there's a decent amount of friendly trash talk.

Cycling in the hills on quiet roads.

Working on piano pieces.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by TheTimeLord »

Starfish wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:53 pm I've been backpacking in tough mountains since I was 18 (including in the winter at subzero temperatures) but it is first time when I hear that you need a GPS something to backpack.
Personal Locator Beacons
Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with TOPO Maps and GPS Navigation
https://www.outsidepursuits.com/best-pe ... or-beacon/
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. | Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
RollTide31457
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by RollTide31457 »

Consume 2 to 3 cases of bottled water per week.
UBP
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by UBP »

My neighborhood bar offers dollar drinks when a contestant on The Price is Right spins a dollar. “Wheel deals” are a simple pleasure for many retirees in my community.
montanagirl
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by montanagirl »

Morning coffee, sitting out on the sun, weather permitting; bath before bed, reading before sleep,

Wash and repeat....☺️
Dottie57
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Dottie57 »

TheTimeLord wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:32 am
telemark wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:29 am Shark wheels with Zealous bearings on my Penny Nickel.
Are you just randomly stringing words together?
I wonder too. :happy
eldinerocheapo
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by eldinerocheapo »

Morning coffee and the newspaper
Free video poker (Omaha Hi Lo Pot Limit)
A cigar and single malt scotch at sunset
Holding my grandchild in my arms and rocking her to sleep
"Dream, Dare, Do."
260chrisb
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by 260chrisb »

This is fun; mine include coffee, a great aged rum cocktail while watching the Weber smoke, any bike ride outside, and a spring or fall drive in a vintage Porsche 911. Hmmmmmm……..had the coffee, rode the bike at the Y, got some rum, maybe I'll go for a drive and then put something on the grill. It's turned out to be a pretty good day!!
squirm
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by squirm »

Tetris
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buccimane
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by buccimane »

Golf

Getting Hair Cut
A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still
PacerVol
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by PacerVol »

Café Verona and watching the sunrise on my deck.
HoosierJim
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by HoosierJim »

Sailing - with just enough but not too much wind.
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Will do good
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Will do good »

Simple Asian food.
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El Greco
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by El Greco »

A nice glass of wine with dinner
An occasional cigar after dinner
A good, clean shave
Driving away from the car wash
Petting my cat's belly
friar1610
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Location: MA South Shore

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by friar1610 »

canderson wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:55 am

On a hot lazy summer afternoon, relaxing on the couch with the Res Sox game on.

Sure hope the Sox make it more relaxing to watch them by the hot, lazy summer than they have thus far! :oops:
Friar1610 | 50-ish/50-ish - a satisficer, not a maximizer
McDougal
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Location: Atlanta

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by McDougal »

Dancing with my wife.
lws
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by lws »

reading
singing
watching tv
monitoring university classes
bicycling
walking
gym
cooking my own food
gardening
visiting small towns in the area by car or train
taking the train to the beach
socializing with friends and family
Broken Man 1999
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

In no particular order:

- a good pot of coffee.
- a frosty adult beverage.
- a grilled grouper sandwich.
- a local pub's naked buffalo wings.
- a good cigar to smoke whilst I read a good book and drink a frosty adult beverage.
- going to dinner with old friends, and new friends.
- hanging out on the driveway with wife and neighbors passing by.
- going to all the various activities of the grandchildren.
- going to cookouts at daughters homes.
- hosting cookouts/brunches at our home.
- going to Publix or Sam's or Costco. Wife normally doesn't like me to go as for some reason she thinks I put too much in the grocery cart.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Starfish
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Starfish »

TheTimeLord wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:07 pm
Starfish wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:53 pm I've been backpacking in tough mountains since I was 18 (including in the winter at subzero temperatures) but it is first time when I hear that you need a GPS something to backpack.
Personal Locator Beacons
Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with TOPO Maps and GPS Navigation
https://www.outsidepursuits.com/best-pe ... or-beacon/
Not only they are not needed but partially spoil the experience.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by TheTimeLord »

Starfish wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:21 pm
TheTimeLord wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:07 pm
Starfish wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:53 pm I've been backpacking in tough mountains since I was 18 (including in the winter at subzero temperatures) but it is first time when I hear that you need a GPS something to backpack.
Personal Locator Beacons
Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with TOPO Maps and GPS Navigation
https://www.outsidepursuits.com/best-pe ... or-beacon/
Not only they are not needed but partially spoil the experience.
I am going to trust my friend's judgement on what is best for his personal safety since I cannot come up with a scenario where a device used for an emergency somehow ruins your experience in non-emergency situations.
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. | Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
Starfish
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Starfish »

Part of the experience is given by the isolation and perceived danger. Some call it "adventure".
I am not discussion your friend choices, just making it look as a mandatory piece of equipment.
123
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by 123 »

Walking our child to elementary school in the morning. After a year or two she wouldn't let us walk her all the way to the front of the school, we could only go so far as the nearest corner to the school, after which she would appear to have walked herself to school to her friends.
The closest helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
hershey102d
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by hershey102d »

Psyayeayeduck wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:29 am
samsoes wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:51 am Waking up before dawn, thinking I have to be up in 2 hours and go to work, and then realizing it's Saturday!

(Soon, every day will be Saturday.)
I remember reading somewhere that early retirees and normal retirees alike eventually will start hating actual Saturdays since that is when everyone is doing errands at the same time.

So true! My favorite days flipped after retirement . . . used to look forward to the weekend and dread Monday. Monday now means no lines or traffic.
student
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by student »

Surfing the web such as youtube and bogleheads.
carolinaman
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Location: North Carolina

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by carolinaman »

28fe6 wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:44 amcoffee
+1. Starbucks Pike Place made at home.
ddurrett896
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by ddurrett896 »

Double shower in Master Bathroom.

It's the on only time where its just us...no kids, no phone, no email.
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Sandtrap
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Location: Hawaii No Ka Oi - white sandy beaches, N. Arizona 1 mile high.

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Sandtrap »

Morning coffee (fresh Kona beans shipped from family on the Big Island) :D :D :D
Reading Bogleheads, posting.
Tai Chi-QiQong
Martial Arts w/DW (home dojo)
Photography
Taking a "toy" out for a spin with DW.

Puttering . . . since retiring I've become an expert "putter-er." :D
Last edited by Sandtrap on Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Wiki Bogleheads Wiki: Everything You Need to Know
HawkeyePierce
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by HawkeyePierce »

A hot bath filed with epsom salts and a little olive oil.
Nowizard
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Nowizard »

Feeding the birds and watching the different varieties that come. Looking for specific birds that come at specific times such as Cardinals, hummingbirds and doves that come in early morning and late afternoon, others that come at various times.

Tim
jeff1949
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Location: Salem, OR

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by jeff1949 »

Sex with my spouse. :D :sharebeer
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Go Blue 99
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Go Blue 99 »

Morning coffee while surfing the web.
Saturday afternoons.
Telecommute days.
The post-workout high.
Rolling down windows on a nice day and blasting my favorite songs.
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WestUniversity
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by WestUniversity »

Coffee, wine, food, friends and family...
mega317
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by mega317 »

Go Blue 99 wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 2:12 pm Saturday afternoons.
I have, and I suspect you do too, about a dozen Saturday afternoons each fall that aren't exactly simple pleasures....
Actually now I'm on the west coast there is potential to ruin a whole day.
bloom2708
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Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by bloom2708 »

Not working.
Not snow blowing.
Not shoveling snow.
Not lawn mowing.
Not working on some unnecessary home improvement purchase or project.
Not shopping for something else I don't need.

Most anything else is enjoyable. :wink:
Last edited by bloom2708 on Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TomCat96
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by TomCat96 »

creative writing.
bernoulli
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Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:13 pm

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by bernoulli »

drinking earl grey in the morning
walking with my spouse
petting my cats
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RootSki
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by RootSki »

Cannabis 8-)
mak1277
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by mak1277 »

TheTimeLord wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:07 pm
Starfish wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:53 pm I've been backpacking in tough mountains since I was 18 (including in the winter at subzero temperatures) but it is first time when I hear that you need a GPS something to backpack.
Personal Locator Beacons
Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with TOPO Maps and GPS Navigation
https://www.outsidepursuits.com/best-pe ... or-beacon/
I have one of these, primarily for my wife's peace of mind when I'm out in the woods solo.
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DanMahowny
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Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by DanMahowny »

60-90 minute showers.

Driving with windows down and AC on full blast.
Funding secured
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Orbuculum Nongata
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Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2014 12:58 pm

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Orbuculum Nongata »

Riding my 2019 Trek Stache 7 everywhere. And of course... coffee.
Potential - distraction = performance.
Nicolas
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Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 7:41 am

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Nicolas »

Listening to Apple Music on my new iPad beamed to my Mass Fidelity Core Bluetooth speaker and subwoofer... and coffee.
Oakwood42
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Location: Philadelphia

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Oakwood42 »

ohai wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:07 am
livesoft wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:41 am Seeing my friends and neighbors every day and chatting with them while walking the dog for a few hours.
So this is retired life...
lol
Oakwood42
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Location: Philadelphia

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Oakwood42 »

buccimane wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:17 pm Golf

Getting Hair Cut
Love getting hair cuts!
suewolf
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Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:15 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by suewolf »

- my second cup of Sencha / Matcha loose leaf tea in the morning
- bicycling regardless of the weather and at my own speed
- feeling healthy
Snuffycuts99
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2015 11:09 pm

Re: What Are Your Simple Pleasures?

Post by Snuffycuts99 »

Hunting, hiking, cycling, camping, listening to music, a nice, warm fire
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