Snowflake Challenge 2025 - Day 14

[dizzojay]

Challenge #14

In your own space, create your own fandom challenge. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

 

Hmm, I’ve had to think about this one, and I’ve eventually come up with this…

The Snowflake Challenge is all about positivity, so in that same vein, my challenge is tell us about your happy place, or at least one of your happy places.  A place, either physical or virtual, that brings you joy, or peace, or just good old-fashioned contentment.

And secondly only if you want to, no pressure, incorporate your happy place into a fanwork as or when the muse takes you.  Maybe link it back to this post.

I’ll start:

One of my happy places is at conventions with my fandom family, but I’ve already written in this Snowflake challenge about the joy that conventions and fandom bring me, so I’m going in a completely different direction here.

In the autumn of 2024, I went away for a few days with my husband, the long-suffering Mr Dizzo, to Stratford upon Avon, here in the UK.

On the first full day we were there, we had been walking around the town and we stopped off at a coffee shop and bought a couple of lattes and cakes.

The weather was beautiful with cloudless skies.  It was warm enough not to need a coat, but mild enough not to get hot and bothered, so we sat outside the shop.

On that lovely morning, we sat and drunk our nice coffee, soaking up the atmosphere of this amazing town with Shakespeare’s house right opposite us.  There was a busker playing good music a little way away, and we sat, chatted, enjoyed our drinks, enjoyed each other’s company, listened to the music, people watched, and lived in the moment.

It had been a long time since I felt that relaxed and contented.

I will, no doubt, go back to Stratford upon Avon again because it is one of my happy places.  We may even go back to that same coffee shop, but on that one day, the stars aligned and gave me the perfect experience.

I have a weekend with no commitments coming up and so have time to spend, so let’s see if I can convince my muse to write a fanfic about the Winchester Boys in Stratford upon Avon!

  

Comments

[prisca]

I guess, my happy place is everwhere where the fandom takes me. It can be Middle earth today and Ohio, Herrington tomorrow. I love to be a fan girl.

[dizzojay]

That sounds like a wonderful happy place with lots of inspiration for fanfiction!

[pronker]

You and your spouse sound sublimely happy and I'm happy to read of your day near the Bard.

My happy place isn't a reality yet, but I live in hope it'll happen in 2025: I want all my income on direct deposit and all my bills on automatic payment, with $5 cash left over each month so I can go out for breakfast, my favorite meal of the day.

[dizzojay]

I'm sending every positive vibe your way so that your happy place becomes a reality.

[pronker]

Thanks a million!

[venusinthenight]

Ooh, a past Snowflake had this prompt a while back. So I'll just direct you to that. (Icon of choice for this reply is a clue.)

[dizzojay]

That sounds like a great happy place combination. The coast holds magic for a lot of people - there is something quite hypnotic about the swoosh of waves against the beach!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

One of my happy places is gardening. This time of year, it's a lot of planning ahead. The first two pictures in this post are an example of that. Three of my seed orders arrived today. :D

This is my yard in snow. These are from December when we planted our new hollies in the Midwinter Grove. If you go back farther in my photos, there are some from the warm season too.

So if anyone wants a bit of vicarious gardening, feel free to borrow mine.

Re: Thoughts

[dizzojay]

I can see how gardening is mindful and therapeutic for so many people. Our gardening options are limited because we have two rabbits, so anything we plant at ground level gets chomped, therefore we stick to maintaining our established shrubs!
We love to feed the birds in our garden and we have a few fish in a little pond which are very relaxing to watch!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Our gardening options are limited because we have two rabbits, so anything we plant at ground level gets chomped, therefore we stick to maintaining our established shrubs!<<

Here there are wild rabbits everywhere. I like to plant things they don't enjoy eating, because a lot of stuff they will devour. It's how I got into ornamental alliums, which my pollinators also love. More delectable plants I often put in containers out of reach.

>> We love to feed the birds in our garden and we have a few fish in a little pond which are very relaxing to watch!<<

Oh, that's awesome. :D Hmm, you could probably grow horsetails. They're so gritty basically nothing wants to eat them.

[greetingsfrommaars]

a happy place for me is walking along the river in the late afternoon and seeing the ducks and geese and people out and about!

[dizzojay]

Beautiful. I can just picture it :)

[silveradept]

I suppose I do have happy places, they're usually when I get to be the person that I completely am, without much or any worry that being that person is going to bring disaster or social disapproval on me. There was some bit going about that said people with common neurodivergences learn to distrust the feeling of happiness because happiness usually means something is about to go very wrong.

[dizzojay]

That's a very interesting take, I hope that your happiness doesn't always lead to bad things, and that you can learn to trust and enjoy your happiness again.

[switchbladeeyes]

About a 30 minute drive from me is a lake I like to visit when the weather is nice. I very much enjoy sitting on the beach, but sometimes the relaxation is disrupted by people who decide that everyone on the beach wants to listen to their music. So while I generally enjoy the beach, my true happy place is out on the water on a paddleboard. It is quieter on the water and their are near places to explore including: (1) a place accessible only by boat that has a lot of little islands with can paddle around (and lots of chances to see wildlife), (2) a place below a nesting area of egrets and herons where you can observe them (only viewable from the lake itself because the area is protected), and (3) a spot where you can paddle to a sign barring further passage because the area beyond is owned and monitored by a prison. I’ve also been kayaking on the lake, which I also love (though paddleboarding is my fave). I had some a health issue that precluded me from going last year and the year before, but this year it’s unde controlvand I think I’ll make it back out on the water!

[dizzojay]

That sounds fabulous, and I have everything crossed for you that your circumstances improve and you can get back out on your paddleboard again.

[musyc]

My happy place is the Night Hunters exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo! They used to call it the nocturnal house and I still do half the time, but at least the volunteers always know what I mean when I get lost again.

Bats and fennec foxes and aardwolves and so many small cats! It's my favorite spot in the whole zoo. (Second favorite is the Komodo dragons!)

[apachefirecat]

OOO! Please be sure to post that if you do!! :)

I begin to think that we all, if not at least most of us, have other places we'd rather be where we get lucky enough to visit on occasion. For me, it's normally a certain harbor city in Florida, only one hour away from here, but I have ALWAYS had a fascination with London (which, thinking of, I'm pretty sure I can contribute to the first series of Marvel's Excalibur). I honestly kind of THRIVE on y'all's posts of places in London where I'll likely never actually get to visit, so THANK YOU! for sharing this! :)

Honestly, one of my favorite books is London A to Z, basically just a traveler's guide to London back in the day....