December 10, 2009

Heed this Hedonist

Eyes%20II.JPGShe's a multi-lingual Canadian adventuress who, after graduating from the University of Victoria, spent four arctic winters in a snowbound Yukon cabin (advising First Peoples on a project to save the endangered porcupine caribou), then another year on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) working to improve the archepelago’s economic development prospects. Today she's a Washington-licensed attorney who works on international business and non-profit issues (currently helping UW's law school with international career placements), and, at the end of the day, a happy West Seattle homesteader, with her husband (also an attorney) and 14-year-old Teddie (a shaggy Newfoundland who's been at her side since those days in the Arctic).

Meet Jacqueline Pruner, whose keen mind and active spirit find focus in a new blog, Heed the Hedonist, that celebrates the pleasures of the flesh and "self-gratification." Not porn, no, no, no. But pleausres like the "ahhh" in spa, the "oooh" in food.

Jacqueline has on several occasions stood in for Cornichon and contributed to this blog (and to our recent, jointly composed "Victoria's Secrets" series); since September, she's also had her own forum. And a handsome page it is, with posts arranged both chronologically (as in most blogs) and by category (Food|Wine, Spa|Health, Romance|Sex, Travel|Culture, Style|Pacific NW Living). There's detailed information about teas and spas (two useful specialties) as well as forays into the naughty-naughty (her review of Measure for Pleasure at her neighborhood theater didn't hesitate to quote the play's use of c- and f-words). Her training as a lawyer comes in handy when it's time to delve into legal minutiae of, say, what qualifies a pizza oven for certificaton by the Neapolitans as genuine, though overall she maintains a gratifying informality and breezy tone.

"Add a little hedonism to every aspect of your life," Hedonista says, providing an RSS feed so she can add some to yours without fuss. Cornichon--crisp, crunchy and slightly sour--is incapable, technologically, of making the same offer, alas.

Aspinal of London Ltd.
Posted by Ronald Holden at December 10, 2009 9:09 AM | TrackBack

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