What Possessed Me: April 2009

The beautiful and intrepid Janelle from Ngorobob House, a wonderful blog about daily life in Tanzania, horses and the perils of smoking cessation tagged me recently for a meme. Meme = not having to come up with new content while pretending to pay attention on a conference call.

1. What are your current obsessions?

I could go on and on, but here’s the shortlist: Gardening in small spaces, hugging baby polar bears, Peppermint Patties, becoming a person who makes her own butter, scouring Ebay for Brunschwig & Fils remnants, torturing the cats and then demanding that they love me, car dates, monogrammed Goyard totes, other people’s perfect noses, kale, trekking across West Africa, female genital mutilation, trying and failing to get into shape, rereading books I loved as a teenager, strawberry shortcake, health and human rights, the Middle East, other people’s blogs, how my butt could have gotten this big on a diet of kale.

2. Which items from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

I have been known to wear my clothes until they fall off my body. My parents’ housecleaner once picked up an item of my clothing and asked me quite innocently if she could use it as a rag. Though I admire beautiful clothes, I hate shopping and can’t bear to spend money on nicely designed, classic garments (which is what I should be doing at this stage in my life), so I have a few things that I wear each season until everyone around me threatens to take up a collection. Lately, I have been rocking some awesomely horrible Mom Jeans. I honestly don’t know how I could have bought them - it must have been one of those "OK, they fit let's get out of here" scenarios, but there you have it – I’m stuck with them and I assure you that I will wear those ugly bastards until they split down the middle. And when that glorious day comes, Fauxhawk and everyone else in the world with eyeballs will dance with joy, since they will no longer be forced to look upon the dreaded MJs.

3. What's for dinner?

Wait – who’s cooking? Because it’s not me. I’ve been a bad girl and out every night this week. Usually I whip something up using whatever isn't covered in a fine layer of mold. Lately it's been a lot of Greek salads, flounder livornese, or this fantastic Moroccan chicken recipe.

4. Last thing you bought?

A panama hat and a bowtie for my dad's birthday.

5. What are you listening to?

I am completely and utterly addicted to public radio and BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour.

6. If you were a god/goddess who would you be?

I was named after the goddess of spring and the queen of the Underworld, so I thank my parents for hooking me up with this question.

7. Favorite holiday spots?

I like going anywhere that requires several injections and a round of anti-parasite meds.

8. Reading right now?

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart (who travels across Afghanistan by foot), and a host of gardening books including the wonderful City Gardener’s Handbook by Linda Yang.

9. 4 words to describe yourself.

Adventurous, confused, silly, curious.

10. Guilty pleasure?

Falling asleep while watching movies, sleeping late, eating while standing up, ordering in, taking cabs.

11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?

Fauxhawk, my brothers, Steve Carrell, Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron Cohen, Laurie Rosenwald, and Sarah Silverman in Jesus is Magic.

12. First memory?

Eating Sicilian pizza with everything on it and giving my family the Double Whammy (my version of the stink eye).

13. Planning to travel to next?

I’m headed to London in a few weeks to visit my girls from graduate school. I can’t wait to see them.

14. Best thing you ate or drank lately?

Fresh ginger lemonade (make a simple syrup with water, sugar and a hunk of shredded ginger, let cool, combine with lemon juice and ice water – so DELISH).

15. When did you last get tipsy?

That would be Tuesday night, drinking beer, eating onion rings and sharing dating horror stories with old friends.

16. Favorite ever film?

A Room With a View.

17. Care to share some wisdom?

Most of life is faking it. Feed your hydrangea coffee grounds. Buy TP in bulk. Travel widely. Let your heart and imagination be extravagant.

18. If you could change one thing in your life what would it be?

Fake it less. Gain a clearer sense of purpose. Hug a baby polar bear.

19. What makes you grumpy?

Gratuitous rudeness, unhelpful people, know-it-alls, waking up early, mediocre food, a messy house.

The rules: answer all the questions, change one and add one.Who's up? How about some new friends (but only if you are also desperate for content and feel so inclined):

A New Simple Something!

Even Cleveland

Gus and Other Things