Ten things

that are almost as good as sex:

1. A Cadbury's flake stuck in a vanilla cone (soft English ice cream).

2. The scent of rain when it first falls on dry ground

3. Favorite words: island, farthingale, celestial, wondrous, celandine, fathom, jewel, darkness, velvet, lustre, piglet, ragged, pagoda, marmoset, sandalwood, counterpoint, cantilever, sultry, orange, wilderness

4. That wonderful feeling of anticipation you get when you open a book for the first time by a favorite writer

5. Meeting an old friend after years apart and finding that you pick up where you left off with no awkwardness

6. Eating a mango

7. Werner Herzog's production of Tannhauser

8. Ingmar Bergman's movie of The Magic Flute

9. Starting a new book and knowing anything can happen, but you're not yet sure what

10. Writing the last page of a book and realizing you're going to miss your characters

What are yours?