Satin sheets and sand wallowing and other forms of hedonism

My two-year-old nephew Sam recently took his first trip to the beach (well, his parents took him—it wasn’t like he hopped a bus there), and like the sensible person he is, the first thing he did when he saw all that silky white sand was throw himself down and have a good, luxurious wallow (that’s what he’s doing in the photo there). Good to know he’s continuing the fine family tradition of hedonism.

On the way to becoming adults we all more or less learn impulse control (we learn not to throw food in a fit of pique, for instance, though there is a festival every year in Bunol Spain—called La Tomatina—which is basically the world’s largest food fight for grownups), but we probably forsake a lot of pure joy for the sake of dignity and social acceptance. I might really want to throw myself down and wallow in the sand, for instance, like a two-year-old or a Labrador, but odds are I would kick my shoes off to feel the cool sand squishing through my toes instead. More dignified. Less likely to lose an earring that way.

But I’ve always been a bit of a hedonist. Textures, lighting, atmosphere, smells have been very important to me for as long as I can remember. Is it my inherent sense of drama? My need to set a scene? Who knows? But some of my forays into sensuousness have been less successful than others. Back when my personal aesthetic was still developing, for instance, shortly after I’d replaced my David Lee Roth poster (he was wearing leather pants, I believe, and chained to a chain link fence) with Gustav Klimt’s ubiquitous “The Kiss” (I felt like such a sophisticate) I decided satin sheets would be sexy as all get out, so I bought a set. And they looked lovely on the bed, but the thing is…they’re slippery.  I learned that if you get into bed too fast you shoot right out the other end. Especially if you’re wearing a satin nightie. In fact, you rocket over them like a puck over ice when you wear a satin nightie. And of course, once I managed to finally get in bed and stay there, I learned that all my other covers would slide right off the satin sheets. I woke up freezing and disoriented any number of times, only to discover all my blankets in a wad on the floor next to the bed. Finally, as I wasn’t about to wear Velcro pajamas in order keep my covers clinging to me, I gave up on the satin sheets. I just go for cotton with a very high thread count these days. I might be a hedonist, but I’m a practical hedonist, with a lust for a bargain.

          These days, some of my favorite sensations: Freshly shaved legs against Egyptian cotton sheets. The aforementioned cool soft sand squished between my toes. My cat’s feathery tail casually wrapped around my bare shins. That moment when you sink into a bathtub, breaking the smooth surface of all that waiting warm water. A new shower gel between my fingers. A clean flannel nightie fresh out of the dryer. My friend Ken says he loves crawling into a feather bed beneath quilts, and the feel of a brand new fleece blanket. And then there’s my cat (cats are the ultimate unabashed hedonists), whose favorite thing is my lavender robe…whenever he encounters it—say, as he’s walking across my bed—a look of sort of stunned pleasure crosses his face, and he goes totally motionless for a time, cross-eyed, savoring it. And then he makes a nest in it and goes right to sleep. Like the robe is quicksand, or something.

         What are some other good sensuous, tactile pleasures (vs. sensual pleasures, the sort you might find on p. 260 in WAYS TO BE WICKED? <--Hee!! A plug!). Do share. I'm all for learning about new kinds of hedonism. :)

Comments

[Starfish]

Oh, my! That's an exceptionally cute baby!

[Sanjay]

Velvet beneath my toes.
Running a fork through soft spongy chocolate cake.
Smell of Sandalwood in the morning air.
How libraries and bookstores smell.
Opening a crisp, new book with the pages raggedly cut and still stuck together.

[Caro in SD]

Hilarious, Julie! The other thing with satin sheet is men and their toenails! What do you have to do to get a guy to cut his toenails? Not to mention pets and their toenails. My satin sheets were a snagged mess within a week.

[Julie@julieannelong.com]

Starfish, Sam *is* an enchanting child-- thanks for noticing. LOL.

And Sanjay...oh, yes, I love that feel -- the crispness of opening a new book. And the way a new book *smells.* It smells like promise! LOL.

mmmmm...Smells...boy, we could write for days about wonderful smells. Maybe we should devote a whole blog to it. :)

You cracked me up, Caro! Yeah, my sheets were snagged in no time, too. All in all, a failed experiment in hedonism. And I've learned that 90% of men just don't CARE what's on the bed. LOL.

[Haven Rich]

Sorry I haven't been around much Julie, but we just launched our store and whew I've been busy.

Anyhow, my favorite things are:

The feel soft baby blankets (yes I'm odd)
Soap running down my skin in the shower
I'm totally for Egyptian cotton sheets
Cashmere is another biggy
the smell of a new book
feathers (see I am odd)
the feel of painted canvas

As you can tell I'm really big into letting my senses take over. I love listening to music...and I mean really listening to it (unlike my husband who might know the catch line). When walking in a store near the clothing or blanket isles I touch everything. I have this thing about touching book covers. I always smell flowers (that phrase stop and smell the roses, that was meant for me lol).

Well I suppose I should stop while I haven't freaked anyone out.

[Julie Anne Long]

Haven, you're not odd—I just think you're a sensualist, like the rest of us romance lovers! I love thick paint on canvases, too...those guards in blue jackets at museums are always eyeing me, because I like *yearn* to touch the paintings. LOL. The MOMA here in SF has several original Matisses that are lovely and brilliant and thick with paint, and it requires *great* impulse control not to touch them!

You've done a wonderful job with the RI store, btw! Great stuff! I'll have to get some xmas gifts there. :)

[Haven Rich]

Hehe, thank you Julie. It's good to know I'm not the "freak" of the group. My sister says I'm strange because I like to feel things. But as I've tried to explain to her a million times, its impossible to explain how something is, without having felt it.

I'm so glad you like the store. Today I added a some new items, including baby stuff and some guy things (some of them I think are really funny).