Material Things

I haven't done a survey in a while, but it seemed like a Wednesdayish sort of thing to do, so I've stolen this one from Chinook Wind.

WALLET: Brown embossed leather with a half-sun shaped detail clip to hide the magnetic clasp. Picture thingy is full of memebership cards and one ancient picture of Fuzzy. Holds too many receipts and too little cash.

HAIR-BRUSH: Two, both from Aveda. One is a wide, rubber-bristled paddle brush that is great for long straight hair. It's almost like a smoothing brush, but softer, for tender human scalps, the other is a metal-bristled brush great for detangling. I use them both.

TOOTHBRUSH:
I have a SoniCare I never use, mostly because the buzzing freaks out my sinuses. For actual use? I think the current one is a Reach model. It's purple.

JEWELRY WORN DAILY:
I'm a simple person when it comes to daily glitter. Just my wedding band and engagement ring.

SOCKS:
Yes. I wear white cotton anklets whenever I'm in sneakers, and the rest of the time? I have a drawer full of trouser socks, and funky socks that color coordinate with every outfit, except that the lime green ones disappeared. At home, though, I mostly wander around barefoot.

PILLOW COVER: We generally have five pillows on the bed. Of those, at least two always match the sheets, and if the others don't match, they coordinate. Yes, I have a linen fetish. This should surprise no one.

BLANKET: The handmade quilt a friend brought from China for our wedding is the blanket that makes me happiest. Cotton. Pretty colors. Thick enough to make me feel warm, but the cover always feels cool to the touch. Aside from that? The Nautica cotton bedspread that coordinates with my Oxford stripe sheets is thick and lovely.

SUNGLASSES: Whatever was cheap, until I had LASIK. Now? Maui Jim's. This is the first pair I've managed to not lose.

UNDERWEAR: Cotton, usually French cut or high cut, always color coordinates with my outfit. Never underestimate the value of pretty underwear.

SHOES: For sneakers, I love Ryka's, although I think my current pair is from Reebok. Otherwise? I swear by my two pairs of Ecco soft suede Oxford flats. They're like work-safe sneakers, that's how comfortable they are. When at home? A pair of $7 black thick-soled thongs, if anything.

NAIL POLISH:
None right now. When I do have my fingernails polished, it's generally a French manicure, or just clear or pale pink, because I have small hands and bold color makes them look smaller. On my toenails, however, I prefer OPI red.

HANDBAG: Several years ago, I bought this canvas compartmentalized thing meant for holding a Franklin planner. I never managed to put the planner in the bag, and have been using it as a sort of purse, because it has pen holders, key hooks, and lots of little compartments. (I like compartments.) Someday I will own a grown-up purse. Maybe.

KEYCHAIN: A round loop that has the car fob, and little card-swipe things for Curves, PetCo, PetSmart, Albertsons, and Blockbuster. I have way too many little car-swipe things.

COMPUTER: A home-built desktop in silver and green, with a 3.06 Ghz processor a gig of RAM, and various other cool things. Also, I added a mod-light to it, so when the lights are off the green panel glows even greener. And the computer I'm on right now is a three-year old Vaio laptop in dire need of replacement.

FAVORITE TOP: A forest green mock turtleneck. It's my best writing shirt, and it's amazingly comfortable.

FAVORITE PANTS: I work from home, so I live in comfy knit pants and sweats far too much of the time, but when I go out? There's a pair of multi-pocketed jeans I really love right now.

SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER: Aveda's clove shampoo and rosemary-mint conditioner, most days, hair detoxifier and cherry almond bark conditioner, every week or so, and Infusium 23's leave-in hair repair spray (the stuff with the consistancy of water), because it's just amazing stuff.

PERFUME: I almost never wear any, but I like Clinique's Happy.

CD IN THE STEREO RIGHT NOW:
Last CD played was the Dresden Dolls cd that the Creativity Elf sent me.

CAR: Forester. Forester Gump.

IN THE FRIDGE: Many many containers of nonfat Yoplait and bottled water, leftover chili, cheese, apples, yams, chicken meant for tonight's dinner, three bottles of apple cider, salsa, cream, sour cream, ricotta, pasta, pasta sauce (pesto and marinara), a partly used box of Pomi, and half a container of non-fat organic milk. I think.

TELEVISION: Living room, bedroom, my office, Fuzzy's office. No, we're not addicted. And actually, we don't watch that much tv.

STEREO: Mostly, we use our computers, or I use my Zen.

TELEPHONE: We have those Siemens wireless phones where you can have just one handset plugged into the wall, and four extensions, though, we only have two extensions. We have a conventional wired phone in the bedroom. And a fax in my office.

CELLPHONE: Motorola v400 (I think?). It's cute and effective and has a camera and I haven't managed to break it or lose it yet. I have Cingular as a provider and I love them to bits.

WHAT DID I REALIZE ABOUT ME:
Surveys are an excellent waste of time, but I really should be getting ready for my interviews so that I can afford to buy more clothes and shoes and electronic toys, and, and, and. (Really, I'm not that shallow, it's just fun to pretend sometimes.)

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Shadows and Storms

I woke to the sound of wind so forceful that it sounded like the crashing of ocean surf, and I wanted to float on waves of sleep for far longer than I actually did. I love listening to the musicality of wind: the rustling of leaves, the ripples of the water in the pool, the jingling of the windchimes, the hollow sound of the air as it passes over the cracked open windows, and the creaking of the house, as if, shiplike it's being tossed on invisible seas.

This afternoon when I left the house via the front door to check the mail, wind grabbed the storm door from my hands, then slammed it closed with so much force I thought the glass would shatter. It didn't, but the noise scared Zorro, and the force of the wind was so strong that Cleo, bouncing against the door with all her might, could not push it open.

Still later, as I sat on the couch sipping cool water and eating re-heated chilli, I looked up at the window and thought I saw a gecko. Thinking it odd, as geckos are generally only out at night, I walked to the window, and found that what I was seeing was the imprint of two gecko-forms intertwined, so detailed that the eye-bulges showed, in the dust on the screen. I was so amazed by the form I forgot to be embarrassed about how dusty my windows are. I considered taking a picture but the light would have obliterated anything that wasn't lost in reflections.

Tonight, the wind continues, and it will lull me to sleep very shortly, I hope, so that I can be well rested for tomorrow.

I wish sweet dreams to all, this evening, and a pleasant coming day.

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