George and Liz, the hummingbirds that visit my front window every day for their sugar water fix. Eating tasty ethnic food in the company of "real" people. Driving my stunning 1988 Volvo 240 GL on day trips to Sauvie Island, the coast, Seattle...Movies, movies, movies, especially when they're playing at a cool local theatre. Book readings, live bands, the occasional play or dance performance, walking along the river front. Thrift stores. Music Millenium on Burnside. Drinking coffee at Stumptown while reading the NY Times. Playing scrunch ball with my cats.
Preferably humans (but if your cat feels moved to surf the net, send him or her my way) for friendship, creative inspiration, and even maybe, just maybe, that four letter word - LOVE.
It keeps changing...
Movies that strip away and reveal, that take risks, that are unpredictable. If you haven't seen a film directed by Mike Leigh, get your butt to the video store. Now!
PBS all the way, especially since I won't pay for cable. Great documentaries, Charlie Rose, and Gwen Eiffel's Washington Week in Review. And Antiques Road Show is addictive. Alright, I do get caught up in a few network shows: Seinfeld, The Office, Law & Order - regular and SVU, ER.
Recent reads worth mentioning: Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost, Frank Conroy's Stop-Time, and Peter Hoeg's Borderliners. A book that always makes me laugh - E. F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia.
Charlie Rose for being able to talk to anyone on any subject. Jeanne Morreau for defining what it means to be a sexy woman. Chief Seattle for these and many other profound words: "To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander far from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret. Your religion was written upon tablets of stone by the iron finger of your God so that you could not forget. The Red Man could never comprehend or remember it. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors -- the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people. "