Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Ten Things I (Still) Love

I'm traveling today, so this is a previously published post from May 2009 -- I haven't changed much in the last year, I guess, because most of this is still true:

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.

I should add, however, that traveling, especially through O'Hare, is not going to make this a particularly fun Wednesday. You can't win 'em all.

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 loves 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.

I did switch to Greek yogurt for lunch, but I still use the plain nonfat regular stuff to make frozen yogurt in the handy-dandy Cuisinart ice cream maker.

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?

Note: I went to see Star Trek. I don't think I've seen a movie in the theater since then.

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.

One slight change here -- I do keep it in the house all the time. I've learned to eat only one square (or less) a day.

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.

Sad story: The old grape vine died this winter. So sad.

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.

9 comments:

Simon Hay said...

That's a great wine story. I don't drink wine, but I do love peaches. I'm a fruit junkie. Your book arrived today. I have to finish Jesus, by Deepak Chopra first. One more day. Happy travelling. Be safe, Simon.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I loved reading this as I wasn't in your following last year, I like TV, But the cinema well for some strange reason I haven't been since I was pregant with my second child.....42 years ago. I don't know what put me off of it, I do watch fims on TV however.
Have a safe journey.

Yvonne.

Terry Odell said...

Enjoy your trip--I love your loves (and mine include a lot of food as well!)

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

So sad about the grapevine. How did you ‘train’ yourself to eat only one square of chocolate or less a day? That must take all kinds of willpower. Hope your travel day goes smoothly.

Unknown said...

Have a safe trip. Those are wonderful things. I want to try those pumpkin scones someday and a massage would be nice about now.

CD

Linda L. Henk said...

I'm looking forward to the Saturday Farmers Market downtown. No matter what, I'm looking forward to eating! Sometimes I eat chocolate, sometimes I eat extra sharp cheddar cheese, sometimes I nibble on tomatoes in the garden as long as they're ripe enough.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm glad you chose the Star Trek movie - I loved it. And I think it was the last movie I saw in theaters as well. :)

Ann said...

I am always suspicious when people tell me they don't watch television! Seems to be the politically correct thing to say these days. I limit my viewing to one sometimes two programs per day. Otherwise, I would get nothing done.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Yay! I'm back home. I was only two hours late because of the storms over Denver yesterday. Now to start getting caught up...tackling that full Inbox next. Thanks to everyone who stopped by while I was off doing other things.

Karen, the only thing I did last night before crashing was to watch the Tues and Wed American Idol shows. I'm thrilled DeWyze won, but I'm betting Bowersox becomes a big success too.