Hello from Iceland! My family and I decided to take a “winter wonderland” trip, and so I’m getting good use of the long underwear, balaclava, wool socks, and hiking boots I’ve acquired over the years. I just bought a fleece cap with ear flaps that fastens under my chin, and couldn’t be more thrilled. As a devoted fan of the work of Philip Pullman, I have a special appreciation for the Northern Lights, so was thrilled to see them in full view. (If you haven’t read The Golden Compass//, get your copy today.) We’ve seen a geyser, gigantic waterfalls, Icelandic ponies, black-sand beaches, volcanoes, and most exciting, we climbed with crampons and helmets onto a glacier. What a beautiful world.

Onward,

5 Things Making Me Happy

 1 

Switching to a very different part of the globe, I was fascinated by this short video overview of ancient Egyptian history. What intrigued me was the observation that “Ancient Egypt is so old that ancient Egypt had people who studied ancient Egypt”—which is not surprising at all, if you think about it.

 2 

Speaking of Egypt, I was delighted to discover that the Met sells a page of stickers to accompany its extraordinary exhibition Divine Egypt, which meant that I now have a sticker of my very favorite object in the Met, God Horus Protecting King Nectanabo II. I would never have expected to be able to own this sticker; while I love this object and visit it often, it’s not the kind of thing that’s often sticker-ized.

 3 

One of the reasons I love visiting the Met is that it gives me time each day to daydream. Some people say, “Oh, Gretchen, your visits to the Met are walking meditations!” But really, they’re not. I’m not trying to direct my mind in any way, I’m letting my mind off its leash to wander wherever it goes. I do this pleasant daydreaming because I love to do it, and it’s also nice to know that research shows that it improves mood and fosters creativity.

 4 

I love the idea of an Admin Night party: Get together with friends for a night of administrative work. Each person works on their own bills, school forms, calendar management, or whatever boring admin work is draining them. These small tasks aren’t hard, but they’re relentless, time-consuming, draining, and boring. I would love to organize a night to power through these bureaucratic chores with friends. It reminds me of an “errand date,” where you and a friend run errands together. Research shows that we tend to enjoy activities more when we’re with other people.

 5 

Writing my book Life in Five Senses gave me great respect for vanilla, and I’m a huge fan of perfume, so I was fascinated by this article by my friend Aleksandra Crapanzano on why vanilla is having a major moment in perfume. One thing about perfume: You have to experience it in person. You can’t read about it, watch a video about it, listen to a podcast about it…in the end, you have to smell it for yourself. This is frustrating and also transcendent.

INTERVIEW

Chris Duffy