was lady-in-waiting to Empress Sadako of Japan. She kept a remarkable written record of life in upper-class Heian society in a collection of witty anecdotes, shrewd character sketches, lyrical diary entries and 164 lists. These lists are often considered the most striking feature of Shonagon's work, as they draw the reader in with titles such as "Surprising and Distressing Things," "Elegant Things," "Things That Give a Hot Feeling," "Hateful Things" and "Things That Make One's Heart Beat Faster." The original manuscript of her work has long been lost, but this important and powerful work has been copied down through 10 centuries and comes to us now as "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon."

Keep your own list of simple splendid things. . .

bittersweet chocolate...hummingbirds...information...handmade paper...postcards...big chairs...walking hot tea with honey...street musicians...faded grey t-shirts...gargoyles...smooth stones...cinnamon toast...book shops old photographs...mandolins...sunflowers...haiku...rain...rosemary...Erik Satie...stand-up comics...black & white movies sidewalk cafés...Sunday papers...artichokes...silver rings...Audrey Hepburn...eavesdropping...cracked ice...bare feet periwinkle...olives...warm bread...down pillows...museums...chopsticks...vintage posters...calligraphy...record collections maps...Edward Gorey...avocados...martini glasses...ocean breezes...madeleines...straight-leg jeans...braided hair acoustic guitar... black bread...brown mustard...sleeping late...tomatoes with salt...New Yorker comics...mountain tops warm sun...dancing...the smell of cut grass...Indian food...doodling...cotton clothing...skating...street food...foreign cities the full moon...to-do lists...flannel shirts...foreign languages...huevos rancheros...driving fast...woodcut prints...menus meerkats...the Beatles...movie credits...crêpes...bicycles...lemonade......English gardens...denim...champagne Andy Warhol...butter tarts...absinthe spoons...butterscotch...bagels with cream cheese...bay windows...reading in bed iced coffee...fresh herbs...tangerines...quotations...the smell of wood burning...wind chimes...inks...midnight quiet

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