Ten Things I Love

1. Wednesdays. I love Wednesdays. I think it's because I associate that day with pleasant things. For instance, I schedule my monthly massage on a Wednesday. And another thing, I never have to cook dinner on a Wednesday because my husband grabs a sandwich before he leaves to play bridge. On Wednesdays, I know I still have three more days to accomplish great things before the week is gone and lost forever.

2. My monthly massage. I used to get a sixty-minute massage. That expanded to seventy-five. Now I'm up to ninety minutes. Not only is it relaxing, but it helps relieve the aches and pains that result from too many hours at the computer.

3. Television. I'm one of those strange people who love TV and isn't afraid to admit it. I enjoy Survivor and American Idol and Amazing Race and Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and Big Brother. My favorite dramas are 24 and The Mentalist and Medium and Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters. I love Desperate Housewives.

A little TV recording story: I hardly ever watch one of these shows live. I record them and watch them whenever I can, sometimes fifteen minutes here and ten minutes there. I have to be careful though. Last season, I recorded the American Idol finale to watch later in the evening. At the critical moment, just as Ryan Seacrest was announcing the winner and said, "The winner is....David--," my recording cut out. The first name of both contestants was David. Most annoying.

4. Pumpkin scones from Starbucks. The calories don't count, because I eat it with a venti nonfat latte. I only have the scone once a month. It can't hurt me.

5. Plain nonfat yogurt and frozen blueberries sprinkled with granola (preferably a low fat and very crunchy granola). I have this for lunch almost every day.

6. Movies. I haven't been to a movie in a theater in ages. I use Netflix. But I've had the urge to see a big screen showing lately, so I'm trying to decide between Star Trek and Angels and Demons. I even tossed out the question on Twitter this morning. Which one should I see? Kerrie Flanagan of Northern Colorado Writers blogged about Angels and Demons in The Writing Bug and gave it a thumbs down. Anyone else?

A little movie story: Many years ago, when I still ate movie popcorn, I went to see a thriller. At one point, the camera is following a character who creeps down the stairs toward the front door to investigate a noise. Through the glass panes, we see it's dark outside. The character reaches the bottom of the stairs. There's an explosive sound as a gloved fist crashes through the glasspane. My hands flew up...and popcorn went flying all over the people sitting around me. They were very gracious, probably thanking their lucky stars I didn't have a cola in my hand.

7. Reading, especially mysteries from my favorite authors. I'll name Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger here, but my list of preferred mystery writers is about ten miles long.

8. Chocolate. I like Lindt 85% cocoa dark chocolate. I can't keep it in the house all the time because...well, you know.

9. Wine. Hogue Gewurztraminer is my favorite white.

A little wine story: We have an old Concord grape vine in our yard. A couple of years ago I took our grapes to a business in our town that imports and also makes wine. A few months later, I went in and bottled, corked, and labeled my vintage, then toted it home. I even designed my own labels, some using a background of green grapes among the green leaves, and others using the cover art from my first book. The final product had a gorgeous, deep rose color and the aroma of Welch's Grape Juice. The flavor was lighter, and of course, alcoholic. I liked it. Liked it a lot.

10. Farmer's Markets. I'm delighted it's market season again. I usually visit one market on Saturday morning and another one on Sunday afternoon. I stroll the circuit of booths at least twice, once to survey and once to buy. The highlight of the season: peaches from Colorado's western slope.

It seems quite a few things I love are edible. I can live with that.