February 16, 2008

• My 10 Favorites, What are Yours?

  I started this list in the car on the way to the beach and it got ridiculous.  I’m used to doing the driving so I had lots more opportunity to look around, and in the space of five minutes I had ten favorite things like looking down the long row of trees in a mature orchard.

  She stopped at Starbucks but I was good.  When I am trying to stay away from coffee I drink toucha, the blackest tea I could find that’s not acidic.  It comes wrapped in a little ball and I get it at the Tao of Tea on Belmont.  Next door to the tea house is where they do tastings and sell tea and all the accoutrements.  I love watching him bring the big brass urn down and open the lid, never letting me get close enough to get my nose in there.  The tea is wrapped in delicate paper and I get two ounces.

  The sun shone through the windshield, and if you know Oregon you know what a treat sunshine is in February.  It was completely unexpected and, at the beach, glorious against the white froth of the ocean’s edge.  Sun is a precious commodity around these parts and on a day when everyone’s feelin’ the love it’s as if that warm glow is being reflected.  It softens my face, melts my heart.

  I love purses.  I would never pay that kind of money but my sister wanted to buy a Coach bag at the outlet store so we spent a good hour there, making the choice.  They have pullout boards, like a bread board, which the young lady urged us to use.  You’re suppose to take all the wrapping out of the bag and see if your stuff fits.  While she did that I looked at all  wallets and assorted coin purses, planners, and what-have-yous with the C design.  I used to think that was ugly but by the time I left I’d found a design I liked.  Probably because it was red.

  When I was thinking about my favorite foods the white cheddar cheese from Quebec that is aged for six months came to mind.  Probably because I can’t afford it these days.  I like to nibble on it like a mouse, alternating bites of City Sourdough’s bread, toasted with lots of butter. 

  Tonight I finished off the bottle of Frangelico I got for Christmas.  It came with two hefty glasses, which look like oversized shot glasses.  I love holding onto the narrow, thick base, bringing the delicate rim to my lips.  The sweet, amber liquid slides over the smooth glass, tasting silky on my tongue.  It sounds like I’m exaggerating but I’m not.  The moment that stuff rolls out of the glass and you get a whiff up the nose you are glad you poured too much.  But it’s deceiving because the bottom is so narrow you can’t tell how much is left so you sip it ever so slowly, savoring that hot hazelnut.  That’s when it’s best.

  I have a favorite perfume.  When I performed I would always wear Bourcheron. Now I wear it to bellydance at the blues bar.  It’s like being overdressed but it’s so smoky in there nobody can tell.  Not that they would.  But that parfume makes me feel special, reminds me who I used to be.

  I have a lot of favorite earrings, since I’ve been collecting them so long.  The last few years of my marriage I acquired mostly beaded jewelry, made to match my clothes.  Recently, I went through it all, holding each piece up to the window to watch light play with color.  I love delicate, simple designs, with a short dangle and a hint of seduction.  It’s the last thing I put on.

  Woops, not true.  Lipstick is the last, and I have a new favorite:  Most of my makeup is MAC and, like the earrings, I have a lipstick for every outfit.  This new one is called capricious. 

  I remember once when my then mother-in-law said her favorite thing was warm water.  I thought something must be terribly wrong with her that she’d narrowed it down to a thing so basic.  I totally get it now.

  But my favorite and most basic thing is that last moment before sleeping and waking where I am in communion with the entities of the light and all is well.  Sweet dreams.  I hope you all had a Happy Valentines Day. 

  • 3:07 pm
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