Appetizer
Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?
Anticipatory.

Soup
What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?
I’m not sure if it’s the cooler evenings, so that when the sun goes down I can hang out wearing flannel pajamas, but still wear short sleeves in the day time, and so that I can open the windows wide, and not use the a/c at night, or if it’s the smell – that smell of leaves and rain and wood smoke, mixed with a dash of pumpkin. I think, actually, it’s kind of both.

Salad
Have you ever had any bad experiences online?
I’ve been singularly lucky in that I’ve had a few minor annoyances, but nothing I’d classify as major, or even really bad.

Main Course
Name three things that make you happy daily.
– Fuzzy. Even when our only real contact in a day is kissing each other goodbye as he heads to the office (I work from home), there’s a twinkle in his blue eyes and a warmth in his tone that makes me feel loved and safe.
– The dogs. Zorro and Cleo nag me until I take them for walkies, thus forcing me to have daily exercise, and remind me that it’s a good thing to just sit on the deck and bask in the sun for a few minutes every so often. At night (like now) when I’m blogging from bed, they curl up next to me, and every so often, I run my fingers through their fur, and look into their sweet faces.
– My own imagination. I like people, really, but I’m also completely comfortable and at home alone inside my head. I feel sad for people who cannot cope without external stimulus.

Dessert
What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?
Windex. Seriously, it does everything: counters, sinks, the top of my glass stove, the inside of the microwave, mirrors, and, oh yeah, it kills ants, too.

I’ve been on a reading jag these past few days, reading novels that take place in France, and living with lamplight instead of bright overhead lights. This is a recurring theme with me; when the weather is cloudy there’s something so cozy about clicking on a single soft pink bulb and it doesn’t matter of the base it’s screwed into is an expensive piece by Murray Feiss or a ten dollar ceramic thing from Target, as long as the mood is right.

With my plush microfiber living room furniture all in cranberry, and warm tones on the walls and carpets, lamplight is especially cozy, and in my head When I move to the bedroom, everything is nautical stripes and medium woods and with the tiny bulbs in the bookcase headboard illuminating just the spot I most need, I pretend I’m in a ship at sea, and the sound of wind and rain beyond my window becomes the sound of surf instead.

Some may think this mental escapism is unhealthy, but I always know the reality of my location. The imagined space simply sets a mood.

Everything I know about poker, comes from one of three sources: Star Trek: The Next Generation, late nights in the common room in college, or my Uncle Joe. Sadly, the first is not interactive, the second is decades past, and the third died several years ago, having smoked himself into an early grave. He died happy, though, and there’s something to be said for that.

While I’ve seen ads for online poker, and I’ve been curious about such sites, I don’t have huge amounts of money to spend on card games. That being said, when I checked out Bet365 I felt like it was a safe environment. No old men in plaid pants waiting to scare you, no cigar smoke and one account lets you access poker, yes, but also bet on football or horse racing as well, all from the comfort of your own home.

It’s a safe environment – especially for women, there’s only one password and login to remember, and best of all? Green visors are optional.