C words

This was fun to do, and not so mind-blanking as some memes, which demand that you remember more than one interesting fact about yourself. As allocated by mountainear, I must:

• Write about ten things I love that begin with a given letter - in my case C
• Post the list on this blog
• When people comment on my list, I must assign them a new letter, and so the game will continue.

Easy, I thought, grateful that I didn't get Z, and immediately threw together a long list, whittled it rapidly down to 12, and now, having removed cheese and cashew nuts, here are the chosen 10:

• Children. Especially those under the age of 8, after which they know more than you. And especially under-8s with imagination and strong opinions; they leave me speechless with admiration. Or sometimes just speechless.
  

• Cats come such a close second to children it's almost embarrassing. Tabbies with attitude, fluffy ones with pantaloons and a mincing high-heeled walk - aaah, the very meaning of life-affirming!

• Cake. Both baking and devouring. Especially good old-fashioned plain cakes such as madeira or Victoria sponge, despite both transferring with ease to hip and thigh.

• Chiropractic. Once I discovered this, and got over how weird and assaulting it can feel, my life and my back changed dramatically for the better.

• Carrots. In almost any form, but especially cooked in a tightly sealed pan with only a little butter...... In a Hate List, I would have Carrot Root Fly.

• Cryptic crosswords. Though not as much as when my mother, astonishingly good despite English not being her first language, was still here to ring up late on a Sunday to get through that last difficult corner. "What have you got for 19 down? Oh....of course!"
  

• Camera (digital) and...

• Computer. Both in daily use, although I remain the despair of the Lovely Son for getting worse with practice.

• Candlelight. Not an option at home with the Wild Child while she remains a high speed omni-investigative kitten, but one of the reasons that Amsterdam is such a magical place at dusk, despite always sending you home with candlewax somewhere on your clothing.

• Cashpoints. I am old enough to remember the days when banks intimidated customers by being grand, formal, miles apart, and only opening at the most unreasonable times. Now we can despair about our bank balances while standing in the public thoroughfare.
  

So, if you want a letter and a crack at this, feel free to comment!