Maria and I have this habit,  when we go to old antique stores, we each usually find something to buy the other. There are several vintage antique shops in Brattleboro, and I’ve bought all of my  desk lamps there.

I call them Raymond Chandler lamps, because they look like lamps that might have sat on Philip Marlowe’s desk on Hollywood Boulevard.

Usually, it’s something that supports or promotes our creativity. In New Mexico, Maria bought me this charming lady on the “Night Of The Dead,” she keeps me company when I write and reminds me of our looming mortality.

I love old, vintage desk lamps, I’ve always written to the light of them and to very old desks. I have one old lamp on my desk, I need another for the other side of my desk, it gets dark after sundown. I spotted this vintage blue desk lamp and I picked it up to look at it, Maria said she wanted to buy it from me, it cost $40.

A few seconds later I saw a used book of photos from Patti Smith, who has carried a Polaroid camera around for years. I bought it for Maria, it cost $10. Maria doesn’t like it if I spent a lot of money on her gifts, so I keep them inexpensive.

Maria and I both admire Pattie Smith and I knew the book would inspire Maria to create something lovely and original, which is always great fun to see.

When we got to our hotel, I set the lamp up on the windowsill and started reading the new Martha Grimes mystery, no one does mystery books better than these gifted British women. They just rock. I love my new lamp, it belongs on my desk.