Category: Note to Self: Amuse Thyself

Telluride Daily Planet, Sunday, October 2, 2011 It’s not like I didn’t grow up playing board games. Scrabble, Monopoly, Parcheesi, Battleship, Mastermind, Numble, RSVP, Risk, Stratego, Trouble, Connect Four, Facts in Five. My mother — and sole opponent — was also my personal trainer in the formative crossword years.Any real instinct to play, however, has long…… Continue reading Friends don’t let friends play Words with Friends (It’s addictive)

Telluride Daily Planet, Sunday, May 30, 2010 However much I’m not a fan, I’m standing at the counter at Starbuck’s, the one embedded in a supermarket, surrounded by groceries you won’t want once the caffeine has shriveled your appetite to something the size of a nut. I’m in the mood for a dark, bitter, and…… Continue reading S is for Small

Telluride Daily Planet, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Every year, after I make the same self-absorbed resolution to keep a journal (25 years and counting), I go off to buy a great little book that begs for the scratches and loops of elegant, urgent writing. Let’s see, will it be the chunky spiral-bound 99-center or the Hemingway-approved…… Continue reading Kitties Swimming

Telluride Daily Planet, Thursday, October 22, 2009 It’s Sunday morning, the coffee pot is half empty, and I’m plugging my ears, trying to muffle the familiar voice of Will Shortz, the New York Times crossword puzzle editor and NPR Weekend Edition’s puzzlemaster. Even through my fingers, though, I know exactly what the only person on earth…… Continue reading Anagrams, Part I