I'm Thankful For...You

(My new iMac)

To all of you who have commented on my unfortunate computer situation, I thank you. It's slightly ironic that immediately after revealing my "we shall overcome" knitting story I was faced with another test of character, thanks to the machinations of a corrupted (ruthless? immoral? unscrupulous?) hard drive.

After crying for a day, here's where we stand:

Plan A (a.k.a. "Recovering My Data") is looking quite slim, and in all likelihood, I will probably lose all of my photos from 2009 (around 3,000) as well as countless bookmarked ideas that I was researching for future blog posts (which is an awful lot of homework down the drain). What makes it especially frustrating is that I have been backing my files up on a regular basis, but apparently, I was doing it wrong. (Oh, the sheer lunacy of it all.)

Add to this the O. Henry-ish coincidence that for months I've been longing for a new computer. Now, thanks to this unfortunate real-life plot twist, I have one. My new machine is lovely and sleek and hopefully has only honorable intentions for the relationship we are about to forge together. But it's a slightly hollow victory because, like walking into an empty house, it contains nothing personal in it.

And having said that, I'm ready to move on.

Dramatic beat. A shaft of sunlight enters the room.

So here's Plan B (a.k.a. "The Fresh Start"):

I was thinking as I lay awake last night in bed that since blogging is, in its most satisfying aspects, a shared journey, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to invite you to help me fill up my computer with ideas.

Sometimes the inspiration for a blog post comes down to a single word, one that is so intensely redolent of a person, place or thing (or period of history or style or even a feeling, for that matter) that it sets into motion a Sherlockian treasure hunt for what lies beneath.

Herewith, my list so far:

Adventure.

Art.

Aperitifs.

Aesthetes.

Beaton.

Bistros.

Blotting paper.

Bohemians.

Brilliance.

Camellias.

Caravanserais.

Country manors.

Decadence.

Dinner parties.

Disarray.

Dusk.

Élan.

Exotic travels.

Fete champetres.

Gardens.

Gipsy caravans.

Glamorous souls.

Hedgerows.

History.

Lavender.

Mitford.

Moonlight.

Morocco leather.

Novellas.

Portmanteaus.

Pot-au-feu.

Rhubarb.

Risktakers.

Sheep.

Souks.

Thistles.

Tweed.

Untidiness.

Vivienne Westwood.

Weald.

Wellies.

Wit.

Would you be so kind as to add a word (or words) that you would like to see explored on this blog? Truly, truly, I would be so honored.