A quarterly (or perhaps monthly, I haven't decided) list of, well, stuff I like. It started as a list of "ordinary things in which I take inordinate delight" and has quickly ballooned. So, to stave off the firehose, I'll dish it out in regular installments.
In no particular order...
Bistro aprons.
John McPhee.
The man can write a book about anything - the citrus industry of Florida, the landscape of New Jersey, the geology of California, or even long-haul freighters - and make surprisingly compelling. One of my favorite non-fiction authors.
7-11 Slurpees.
Icees are just foul imitations.
Chiaroscuro.
Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi sure knew how to dramatically highlight a scene.
Mothballs.
The scent of napthalene (evocative of my grandparents' basement) preferable to paradichlorobenzene (evocative of a men's restroom).
Clutch purses.
More elegant than a shoulder bag, if inconvenient to carry.
Two-tone coins.
French ten-franc coins (pre-Euro), one- and two-Euro coins, Argentine pesos, etc.
Chik-Fil-A Polynesian Sauce.
It goes without saying that the nuggets are good. Better dipped in this stuff. Use it on your fries, too.
Lindeman's Bin 65 Chardonnay.
My go-to white wine. Inexpensive, found everywhere, and not oaky plonk.
White Sands National Park.
Tulips.
Far better than overdone and out-of-season red roses for Valentine's Day.
Photoshop Elements 2.0.
Most of the functionality of spendy Photoshop, for a fraction of the cost. Better than later versions, too.
Hats.
Not baseball caps! Honest millinery, nobody-wears-em-anymore chapeaux. Pillboxes, particularly.
Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner pencils.
I can make it through weddings and funerals in this stuff - no easy feat.
Cornstarch.
My preferred thickening agent for sauces and pies, plus it keeps meringue pies from weeping. Doesn't need a lot of cooking, like flour, to get rid of the floury taste. And let's face it. The physics-defying paste you can make with cornstarch and just a touch of water can keep kids occupied for a while. Use the term "dilatant fluid" to impress your friends.
Hot pink.
It's not just for flamingos anymore. Plus, in combination with black, it has a sort of 1983-wannabe-punk-girl pastiche.
Ice cream soup.
Stir up ice cream (optional: add chocolate syrup) until it's the consistency of loose soft-serve. Instantly improves the texture of virtually any ice cream - it's sometimes the only way to make cheap ice cream palatable.
Postcards.
Sending and receiving. Next to pressed pennies, it's a cheap souvenir, a fun gift to give, and a great way to get attractive pictures of some destinations without a fancypants camera or fortuitous lighting/weather/views.
Turtlenecks.
Passion fruit.
Tic Tacs, Liliko'i chiffon pie, and shave ice syrup. This summer, I'm going to try making some passion fruit sherbet. Sephora's old passion fragrance was quite wonderful (though nothing compared to their blackberry scent).
Plain blank paper.
Lined paper just doesn't have the same flexibility. Fold in half the long way to make the perfect size paper for a grocery list.
Large mirrors.
There is one in one of the Wood Hall sitting rooms I have always coveted and tried to hatch a clandestine plot to cart it off. Fortunately, some are available at places like Ikea for a lot less physical labor under the cover of darkness.
Spelling it "grey" instead of "gray".
Ceylon Cinnamon.
Softer and more citrusy than canela cinnamons, which tend toward harsh.
Penzey's Spices.
The official spice purveyor to our household.
Levenger True Writer fountain pens.
Inexpensive, considering the quality of the pen. Good medium nib. Threaded caps. Not too masculine.
Curry ketchup.
I'm out of the stage in my life where french fries were just the vehicle for the ketchup, but I lapse whenever I have curry ketchup. Takes a trip to Europe to get it, though...
Sticky notes.
The explosion of shapes and sizes has brought me great delight, but there's something timeless about the original light-yellow Post-its.
Panel for Edwin R. Campbell No. 1-4. Vasily Kandinsky, 1914.
Saw these at MOMA last spring and was immediately taken by them. Never gave Kandinsky much regard until then.
Dave Matthews Band Crash.
This, along with U2's Achtung Baby, is always the answer to "what should I listen to?" Familiarity a bonus when you're trying to get meaningful work done but want some music on in the background.
Jellied cranberry sauce.
All the taste and shaped like the can! Not my husband's definition of a "sauce", but I don't care. It's not just for Thanksgiving anymore.
Uniforms.
It's true, men in uniform have a certain je ne sais quoi.
Desk Set.
It's wonderfully anachronistic film. Well, I guess it wasn't then. A delightful look at a time where dresses came in boxes, office drama involved efficiency experts, and people called a human for information instead of punching queries into google.
Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz.
A rare sparkling red that's well-balanced and just a little heady.
Orange County Public Library Home Delivery.
Responsible for soliciting more money in overdue fines from me...certainly exceeding their cost of delivery.
Easter Candy:
Cadbury Creme Eggs
Fondant yolk goo wins a couple authenticity points. As authenticity of chocolate eggs go...
Marshmallow Peeps
Only if they're uber-fresh. Prefer the chicks to the bunnies. No real color preference, but I tend towards the yellow.
Cadbury Mini Eggs.
Put on a paper plate and microwave for ten seconds, fifteen if you're feeling kicky. Eat. You won't be sorry.
Boeing 767s.
Smoothest planes on takeoff. Widebody but not ungainly.
TI-68 calculator.
My calculatron since high school; still the best. Displays the input in a string on the screen, no clearing or new lines between operations.
Pilot G2 pens.
Awesome gel pens - perfect for grading. Handy to have in the backpack, plus they come in navy blue, turquoise, and other great shades.
Walgreens EasySaver Rebates.
I haven't paid for toothpaste, a toothbrush, or cheap hair goo in years. Helpful for trying new foundations and lip glosses for free. New stuff every month.
Banana ice cream.
Ice cream, in general, is one of my favorite things. But banana ice cream is definitely my favorite flavor.
In no particular order...
Bistro aprons.
John McPhee.
The man can write a book about anything - the citrus industry of Florida, the landscape of New Jersey, the geology of California, or even long-haul freighters - and make surprisingly compelling. One of my favorite non-fiction authors.
7-11 Slurpees.
Icees are just foul imitations.
Chiaroscuro.
Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi sure knew how to dramatically highlight a scene.
Mothballs.
The scent of napthalene (evocative of my grandparents' basement) preferable to paradichlorobenzene (evocative of a men's restroom).
Clutch purses.
More elegant than a shoulder bag, if inconvenient to carry.
Two-tone coins.
French ten-franc coins (pre-Euro), one- and two-Euro coins, Argentine pesos, etc.
Chik-Fil-A Polynesian Sauce.
It goes without saying that the nuggets are good. Better dipped in this stuff. Use it on your fries, too.
Lindeman's Bin 65 Chardonnay.
My go-to white wine. Inexpensive, found everywhere, and not oaky plonk.
White Sands National Park.
Tulips.
Far better than overdone and out-of-season red roses for Valentine's Day.
Photoshop Elements 2.0.
Most of the functionality of spendy Photoshop, for a fraction of the cost. Better than later versions, too.
Hats.
Not baseball caps! Honest millinery, nobody-wears-em-anymore chapeaux. Pillboxes, particularly.
Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner pencils.
I can make it through weddings and funerals in this stuff - no easy feat.
Cornstarch.
My preferred thickening agent for sauces and pies, plus it keeps meringue pies from weeping. Doesn't need a lot of cooking, like flour, to get rid of the floury taste. And let's face it. The physics-defying paste you can make with cornstarch and just a touch of water can keep kids occupied for a while. Use the term "dilatant fluid" to impress your friends.
Hot pink.
It's not just for flamingos anymore. Plus, in combination with black, it has a sort of 1983-wannabe-punk-girl pastiche.
Ice cream soup.
Stir up ice cream (optional: add chocolate syrup) until it's the consistency of loose soft-serve. Instantly improves the texture of virtually any ice cream - it's sometimes the only way to make cheap ice cream palatable.
Postcards.
Sending and receiving. Next to pressed pennies, it's a cheap souvenir, a fun gift to give, and a great way to get attractive pictures of some destinations without a fancypants camera or fortuitous lighting/weather/views.
Turtlenecks.
Passion fruit.
Tic Tacs, Liliko'i chiffon pie, and shave ice syrup. This summer, I'm going to try making some passion fruit sherbet. Sephora's old passion fragrance was quite wonderful (though nothing compared to their blackberry scent).
Plain blank paper.
Lined paper just doesn't have the same flexibility. Fold in half the long way to make the perfect size paper for a grocery list.
Large mirrors.
There is one in one of the Wood Hall sitting rooms I have always coveted and tried to hatch a clandestine plot to cart it off. Fortunately, some are available at places like Ikea for a lot less physical labor under the cover of darkness.
Spelling it "grey" instead of "gray".
Ceylon Cinnamon.
Softer and more citrusy than canela cinnamons, which tend toward harsh.
Penzey's Spices.
The official spice purveyor to our household.
Levenger True Writer fountain pens.
Inexpensive, considering the quality of the pen. Good medium nib. Threaded caps. Not too masculine.
Curry ketchup.
I'm out of the stage in my life where french fries were just the vehicle for the ketchup, but I lapse whenever I have curry ketchup. Takes a trip to Europe to get it, though...
Sticky notes.
The explosion of shapes and sizes has brought me great delight, but there's something timeless about the original light-yellow Post-its.
Panel for Edwin R. Campbell No. 1-4. Vasily Kandinsky, 1914.
Saw these at MOMA last spring and was immediately taken by them. Never gave Kandinsky much regard until then.
Dave Matthews Band Crash.
This, along with U2's Achtung Baby, is always the answer to "what should I listen to?" Familiarity a bonus when you're trying to get meaningful work done but want some music on in the background.
Jellied cranberry sauce.
All the taste and shaped like the can! Not my husband's definition of a "sauce", but I don't care. It's not just for Thanksgiving anymore.
Uniforms.
It's true, men in uniform have a certain je ne sais quoi.
Desk Set.
It's wonderfully anachronistic film. Well, I guess it wasn't then. A delightful look at a time where dresses came in boxes, office drama involved efficiency experts, and people called a human for information instead of punching queries into google.
Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz.
A rare sparkling red that's well-balanced and just a little heady.
Orange County Public Library Home Delivery.
Responsible for soliciting more money in overdue fines from me...certainly exceeding their cost of delivery.
Easter Candy:
Cadbury Creme Eggs
Fondant yolk goo wins a couple authenticity points. As authenticity of chocolate eggs go...
Marshmallow Peeps
Only if they're uber-fresh. Prefer the chicks to the bunnies. No real color preference, but I tend towards the yellow.
Cadbury Mini Eggs.
Put on a paper plate and microwave for ten seconds, fifteen if you're feeling kicky. Eat. You won't be sorry.
Boeing 767s.
Smoothest planes on takeoff. Widebody but not ungainly.
TI-68 calculator.
My calculatron since high school; still the best. Displays the input in a string on the screen, no clearing or new lines between operations.
Pilot G2 pens.
Awesome gel pens - perfect for grading. Handy to have in the backpack, plus they come in navy blue, turquoise, and other great shades.
Walgreens EasySaver Rebates.
I haven't paid for toothpaste, a toothbrush, or cheap hair goo in years. Helpful for trying new foundations and lip glosses for free. New stuff every month.
Banana ice cream.
Ice cream, in general, is one of my favorite things. But banana ice cream is definitely my favorite flavor.
What a distinctive list...just when I thought our shared brain was a permanent fixture, I am surprised by four out of five of these.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, when I am arbitrarily rich and famous, I will do the Kennedy-George-magazine thing and make you head editor for our "Taste" section. I thought of a title for this future magazine of mine on the way home yesterday: Panache. What do you think?