Thursday 13: 0708.30

Thirteen Things about MissMeliss
Things that Begin with P

  1. Paper – fine stationery, drawing paper, those old Big Chief newsprint tablets, or even spiral notebooks, I’m happy with pretty much any kind of paper. There’s something so intimate about the act of writing something by hand.
  2. Paretsky, Sara – creator of V.I. Warshawski, and generally interesting person, also created the “comfort foods begin with ‘p’ ” theory.
  3. Paris – I have a special affinity for the City of Light. I want to spend next May writing in Paris. I wasn’t born there, but I should have been.
  4. Parks – cities need parks, and I like spending time in interesting parks. Various arboretums and botanical gardens are nice, and the little park in my neighborhood is great despite the lack of swings, but my favorite parks are the postage stamp kind that are just tucked unexpectedly into neighborhoods. Urban treasures.
  5. Pedicures – everything is better when you have pretty toes. I love the whole process of the pedicure, from picking a polish color to soaking my dainty feet in frothy bubbly hot water, to having a foot massage. It’s sheer bliss.
  6. Pens – I am a pen snob. My favorite every-day pens have black or peacock blue ink, a micro-fine roller ball point, and a slim body, because I have small hands. I also like fountain pens, and calligraphy pens. Pencils, in my house, are generally used to pin up hair. I prefer ink.
  7. Pets – I’ve loved animals as long as I can remember, and to me, a house isn’t complete without a couple furry creatures wandering around. My dogs, Zorro Dogg and Miss Cleo, are my constant companions and offer entertainment, comfort, and unconditional love. Also, they force me to exercise. At other times I’ve had lizards, birds, and fish. And a cat or two, but they make me sneeze.
  8. Pillows – there is no such thing as too many pillows. I like to be surrounded by them, especially when Fuzzy isn’t home. I do a lot of writing in bed – I am most creative when I am comfortable, so bed, the bath, and the shower are where my mind is most free – and that means tons of pillows. I have five. Fuzzy uses one. Zorro likes pillows, as well, and if there’s one lying on the foot of the bed, or on the couch, you will find a chihuahua-shaped depression in the center, if not a chihuahua himself.
  9. Pink – after much of a lifetime of detesting pink, I’ve embraced it over the last couple years. It’s a happy, feisty, fun color. I still love red, mind you, but pink makes me smile. Also, I use pink pens whenever I have cause to be writing near other people, because they’re less likely to be stolen.
  10. Pistachios – salted or not, natural, or dyed red or green, these are my favorite nuts ever. Sweet, crunchy, and oh, so addictive.
  11. Pizzarelli, John – he’s a jazz guitarist, and his music is AMAZING.
  12. Play – whether it’s playing an instrument, playing on stage, playing all the parts of a story in my head, or playing with sounds while vocalizing, the operative word here is play. Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin recorded an album called PLAY many years ago, and it’s just amazing hearing the musical give and take of two musicians who are completely comfortable with their inner children.
  13. Porches – My house doesn’t have a front porch, and really, that’s the one thing I don’t like about it. I keep meaning to talk to Fuzzy about making a front patio in front of the arched dining room window, but we haven’t gotten to it yet. Anyway, porches are a really important thing to me – they represent sweet summer afternoons, and peace, and comfort.

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Trips Untaken

Earlier this year, as Fuzzy and I were preparing for our two week sojourn in the midwest, I got a call from a cousin I never knew I had, inviting us to a competing family reunion, two weeks after, in Pennsylvania. Unlike my great-aunt’s 90th, this reunion would have involved a visit to the town where my grandfather and his sisters and brothers actually grew up.

I knew, almost from the moment he called, that we wouldn’t be able to attend my cousin’s event – the timing was just bad – but I started looking at Pennsylvania bed and breakfast websites, and directories of expensive hotels. I don’t camp, but I love the personal service of B&B’s and I have a great affection for froufrou hotels. Either one will do.

I’ve never spent much time in Pennsylvania, and I still kind of want to visit – we have other family nearby, and friends on the way, and Fuzzy’s never really been to the east coast at all.

For the moment, however, it remains a trip we’ve yet to take.