10 on the 10th - What I really like or love

"Show us photos of things you really like or love."
That sounds like an easy enough prompt for this month's 10 on the 10th, but as I wrote in my comment to Marsha's preview post, it really seems impossible to choose just ten from my thousands of cat pictures, especially because so far there have been 12 cats I've had the honor to serve.
Not kidding, at this point I didn't even know if I was going to get to ten this time, not because there are not enough things (which I will be interpreting loosely as cats and other animals are not things, neither are people, but you know I don't show people on my blog, anyway), but because I probably don't have pictures of them all.
Also this is difficult because we already did the "Diamonds in your life" post in April and I'm bound to repeat myself. Sorry about that. I'll try to choose different pictures at least.
As usual, the order is quite random (except for the cats, they rightfully insisted to be at the top) and I could keep going if I had the pictures for it (for example movies and music are missing for lack of good pictures) or if I had thought of the other things first.

1. Cats.
I love them. I'm obsessed with them. They are beautiful and elegant (most of the time), they can be very goofy and sweet, and they can be very effective predators. Big and small. Also they have been with me through good times and hard times.
The names are in the order they came into my life.

2. Animals.
I didn't have any pets of my own as a kid, but I always had animals in my life - dogs at my friends' houses, cats, cows, and bunnies at the farm of my godmother's parents.
Then the ex and I had not only our little zoo at home once we moved in together, but also the little zoo in my hometown where we volunteered. How many people can say they have been "combed" by a coati (there was no one around to take a picture, sorry)?
This is just a very, very small selection of animals from home and the real zoo.

3. Books.
You already know this picture, but I think it expresses it best.

4. My collections.
I have already told you how I feel about my collections, but at least I can show you some different pictures.
My main collections are Steiff animals and vintage Barbies.
 

5. Flowers.
I'm no gardener and like to tell anyone that I have ten black thumbs. That doesn't mean I don't like flowers or plants, though.
I have taken these pictures in our little garden and on trips, in Botanic Gardens and zoos.

6. Beads and wire and cabs and everything else you can create with!
That probably doesn't come as a surprise. There is so much you can make and do with tiny bits of glass or roving, stone or metal.
Here's a little selection.

7. Museums and libraries.
Can't say I always approve of the method of acquisition, but I could never resist a nice museum.
Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures without someone standing in front of a museum or library.
These are the best I have (a mix of Cardiff, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London, and Weil am Rhein).

8. Cemeteries.
They have something peaceful. I like the smaller ones, with trees and with benches where you can sit and dream and feel the stories of the people around you.
My town has two cemeteries that we call the old and the new one (the new one opened up in 1903). The old one is around our oldest building, the Oberhofenkirche (built from 1436 - 1490).

9. Vintage.
Vintage this and that. Toys, furniture, decorations, books, paintings, calendars, clothes, fabric, tools, needles, dishes, glasses ... I could go on and on. Unfortunately I have neither the space nor the money for everything I love, but I may have one or the other item around.

10. Chocolate.
I can't help it. I don't have the habit of photographing chocolate, though. So this one picture from a birthday a few years back will have to suffice. These are so-called "Göppingerle", named after our town and made in our oldest café (macaroon with a vanilla souffle in fine chocolate, available in different flavors).