Books, comforts and people for a deserted isle

Have you ever thought about being shipwrecked on a deserted island, and if so, with whom would you like to be stranded, and what books and comfort foods you would want to have with you?  I had never given it much thought, but recently I read something, can't remember where (part-timer's), about the ten books you would want to have in such a situation. That got me to thinking.  (Yes, I know ...  a dangerous thing, that!)  And, the following lists are what I came up with after some very interesting time spent pondering.

My comfort foods on a deserted island:

  1.   Rice and gravy

  2.   Steamed broccoli

  3.   Vanilla ice cream

  4.   Dark chocolate

  5.   Baked mac and cheese

  6.   Seedless grapes

  7.   Eggplant Parmesan

  8.   Pot roast

  9.   Cottage cheese

10.   Tiramisu

The only thing I really went back and forth on was the choice between tiramisu, creme brulee, and flan. I can still change my mind before I actually do get stranded, can't I?!  I also had a bit of a go between rice and mashed potatoes, but I realized that I really do like the texture of the rice better.

Do some serious thinking about this and see what you select.  Don't just pick what first pops into your head because that defeats the purpose.  The idea is to find out what really are your Favorites, not just Likes.  It may surprise you!

My books for a deserted island:

  1.   The Unvanquished by William Faulkner

  2.   The Once and Future King by T. H. White

  3.   An Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
  4.   Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

  5.   David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

  6.   Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 

  7.   Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
  8.   Here Be Dragons Sharon Kay Penman 

  9.   A comprehensive survival guide with identifying edible plants, making potable water, etc.

10.   A Journal with an unlimited number of pages.

I would burn some twigs for making my marks until I could gather some feathers large enough to create quills for writing, and, of course, I would then make ink out of crushed berries!  Well, wouldn't you?! Also, I wanted a variety in my reading material because who knew when I would be able to download to my Kindle again!  So, there is poetry and reference as well as favorite reads.

And last, but not least, my company for a deserted island (These can be living or not, real or not, and you can choose, at the time of being stranded, whether you want them all at once or one at a time, etc., and how long they can stay.  My rules!):

  1.  The Dalai Lama for wisdom and joy.

  2.  Leonardo Da Vinci for engineering skills.

  3.  My Daddy for companionship, humor and fishing skills.

  4.  Matthew Gannon for companionship and conversation.

  5.  Ben Gannon for humor and to keep me grounded.

  6.  Mohandas Gandhi for wisdom and insightful conversation.

  7.  Mother Theresa for inspiration and joy.

  8.  Johnny Depp for insightful conversation, humor, and music.

  9.  Kris Kristopherson for music and poetry.

10.  Neal De Grasse Tyson for astronomy and insightful conversation.


Well, I guess you can see that I enjoy "insightful conversation" a lot!  I have only recently realized how important this is to me, and just how much I need and miss it.  And take my word for it, J. Depp is more than just a pretty face. Among other things, he actually owns an island.

And, if you are one of my close friends reading this, and are thinking "Why aren't I on her list?", then I will explain.  What kind of friend would I be if I wanted you to be stranded on a deserted island, for heaven's sake?!  Now, let's just leave it at that, okay! Besides, maybe you are stranded on a nearby deserted island at the same time, and you would have your lists and I would have mine, and then we could build a boat to go from my island to yours, and share what is on our lists! Bet you didn't think of that, now did you? 

Now, what about a Bucket List?  Do you have one of those?  

I made one many years ago for myself that was 3 typed pages long!  I have been able to cross a few things off as having been accomplished, but in the last few years I have had to revisit my Bucket List many times, and trim it down to a more reasonable size.  I have had to pick and choose what I really REALLY wanted to do in light of my resources as well as my energy and my age.  

My Bucket List

(in no particular order!)

·    Visit William Faulkner sites in Oxford, Mississippi. 

·    Go to Key West, FL & see Hemmingway's cats & stop by Jimmy Buffett's bar.

·    Go to the beginning of the Mississippi River in Minnesota.

·    Go see A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor live.

·    Spend a month in Wales.

·    Spend two weeks in Cornwall & King Arthur sites, & also go see the White Cliffs

      of Dover.

·    Visit Scotland & most especially the Isle of Iona.      

·    Visit two more Mayan sites:  Tikal & Palenque

·    Ride in a hot air balloon.

·    Visit San Diego & go to the zoo.

·    Learn to cook Asian & Oriental foods really well.

·    Make a quilt.

·    Travel up the West Coast by train & visit Oregon and Washington State.

·    Take a weaving retreat with the Navajo Indians in NM/Arizona.

·    Remodel my kitchen just like I want it.

·    Fix up my Studio just like I have dreamed of it.

·    Screen in part of the back porch.

·    Build a koi pond in my yard.

·    Visit Bryce Canyon in Utah.

·    Go on an Alaskan Cruise.

·    Get a tattoo.

·    Create my own little “beach” in the back yard with a hot tub.

·    Have a greenhouse of my own.

·    Build a chicken coop and raise chickens.

·    Buy a charka & learn to spin cotton really well on it.

·    Learn to play my ocarina.

·    Attend at least part of “Burning Man”.    

·     Visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water”.

·    Attend a Steelers home game.

And, I am sure that I will need to trim the list down again at some point, but I think that I can get around to doing most of the things eventually.  Hopefully!  The traveling outside of the US will be the most likely ones removed, due to cost, but that will be okay. I have already been able to travel and experience more great places and things in my life than I ever thought I would by now.

This weekend, I will be going to a knitting retreat in Gainesville, Texas, north of Dallas - Ft. Worth, and I am so excited about it!  Our usual Knit Camp retired last year, and some of the gals that attended it and our Wildflower Fiber Retreat have organized this new one and named it "Chix Packing Stix". Love that name!  It will mean a four hour drive each way for me, but hopefully it will be an easy one, and maybe I will stop in for a look-see at my old college town of Denton to see how much it has changed in the last 40 plus years.  If not this trip, then definitely on another because I have a feeling this new retreat is going to be a blast!  I will share when I get back, for sure.

Meanwhile, here is your assignment:  Over the next week or so, think about what you would put on your lists for a deserted island, and, even more important, make your own Bucket List.  Put some real thought into it.  Find out what it is that you really enjoy, and who you'd like to have for company.  You may be surprised at your answers!  You will probably learn a few things about your self in the process. The Bucket List will be the easiest to make, so you might start with that one.


Except for the heat and humidity, everything is cool here on HeartSong Farm.