Things I like

 —dogs.  They must be some of the most wonderful animals on the planet.  I like them big, I like them small, I like them bouncy, I like them placid.  I just don't like large dogs with big teeth jumping round me with their mouths hanging open hoping that I'm going to give them something to eat, and surely that's understandable?  (I should probably mention here that I don't have a dog, and that a family member with more authority than I have (a parent!) is very against the idea of a dog in the house.)
—Handel's music.  I just love his style, and of all the baroque composers he has to be my favorite.  I know some people prefer Bach, but Handel's music sounds nicer in my opinion.  It's just that little bit more open and flowing, and it seems more warm hearted and smiley.
—little children.  When you talk to them you realize that they have ideas about the world and what's going on around them, and most of them are wonderfully creative.  They're also refreshingly truthful.
—daydreaming.  I know it's not a very useful occupation, but it always makes me feel happier if I've time to think, time to daydream, and time to just generally sort things out in my head.
—talking to people.  Or rather, other people making an effort to speak to me, because for some strange reason I'm always nervous of going and talking to others lest they don't want to talk to me, or I say something that puts me in a bad light...and I really shouldn't worry about putting myself in a bad light, because there is no point in doing so.  Anyway, I enjoy talking to people when I'm not worrying about appearing a total idiot or saying something that really upsets them.
—food.  I don't like food excessively, but it's very pleasant to sit down and eat something that's been freshly cooked.  And it doesn't matter whether that something's bread, apple crumble, cake, or a simple first course; it's nice to cook, and then to eat.  If you eat what you've cooked, you feel as if you've earned your food.
—live music.  When someone half competent plays the piano, it's enjoyable.  And the piano is probably my favorite kind of instrument, if only because I've heard so much of it.  And even I can play very simple things on the piano.  Playing the piano and hearing it played are both enjoyable, and I get to do both frequently. 
—beating my brother at chess.  Now, he is five years younger than me, but he still succeeds in beating me more often than I beat him.  I don't play chess particularly competitively (it isn't the end of the world if I lose!), but I do like winning.
—smiling at people in a kind and maybe motherly way.  Ha.  Motherly.  Motherly.  What do I know about a motherly way of smiling at people?  I'm certainly not a mother!
—listening to a sermon that seems directed at me in an encouraging kind of way.  (Although sermons that seem directed at me in a rebuking sort of way are probably better for me, a sad fact of life is that I don't enjoy listening to them as much.)
—thinking long and hard about a small issue that has been troubling me and then coming to a satisfying conclusion about it.  This is especially true if the matter pertains to Christianity.
—knowing that some people other than me care about issues that I feel strongly about, that there are others who think like me.

No, nothing really prompted this post.  I just thought that I'd like to blog about some things that I like.  After I counted them, there were only twelve things; but I don't really feel like adding any more.