Curaprox CS 5460 Ultra Soft Toothbrush (3-pack)
The first and most important material recommendation I could give any person is this 3-pack of toothbrushes. They come in punchy colors (and in the 3-pack, the selections are made for you, so the color-ways are always a lark), they keep your gums safe from untimely gingival recession, and, most importantly, they really, and I mean really, clean your teeth. The last time I was at the dentist, the sweet Gen-Z dental hygienist started laughing and said, "What am I even supposed to clean here? There's nothing on your teeth!" I simply couldn't say. Maybe she's born with it? Maybe it's Curaprox.
A Touch of Mistletoe (Barbara Comyns)
A bit harder to find than her other books, but A Touch of Mistletoe is my favorite. Here, Comyn's protagonist, Victoria Green, navigates through poverty, love (Oh, Gene!), mental illness, womanhood in a particularly British patriarchy, and the stolid simiplicity of everyday life in the middle of the 20th century. Comyns is also a sly genius when it comes to building spaces and describing interiors. She needs you to know what color a character painted a room and the way that light filtered through a window at any given moment. But she needs you to know it because it happened, not because it was artful.
Put that wallpaper on your light switch.
Wallpaper is expensive, and despite my best efforts, very few people want to come to my wallpaper-this-room-with-me parties. Many companies will let you get a sample of their very expensive wallpapers for just the price of shipping or even for free (Check out Wallpaper Direct for the free-free stuff). Then all you need is your old plastic light switch cover, scissors, some tape or Mod Podge, and about 8 minutes of your one, precious life. You could really use any paper you want for this. I've done it with prints from old calendars and art books. Get yourself free of that old yellowing light switch cover and buy nothing in the process!
Les Tam-tams
My sister-in-law lived in Montreal for 15 years and every time we visited, we made a trip to the Tam-tams. First-rate people-watching, big fun for kids, and best of all: it's free.
