Quarantine Rhythms

Quarantine Rhythms

So. Seven weeks into this COVID 19 mess, how is everyone doing? Have you figured out a pattern to your lives yet when the days just run together?

I'm finding a rhythm to life without anything scheduled and am quite enjoying it. Although I fear my brain will have turned to mush and I will NEVER be able to complete a thought again once we come out of all this. And we WILL come out of it. I predict a new normal, but there will be a normal once again.

Are y'all getting dressed? I read in the Wall Street Journal yesterday that deodorant and shampoo sales were down.  I am still getting up and getting dressed although I have the leggings and sweatpants in high rotation.  Every morning I put on my perfume and mascara. And I AM using deodorant so I'm not responsible for the sales decline.
The perfume may seem silly but I've always worn it for myself and besides, one of the first signs of having contracted this virus is losing your sense of smell. I figure if I spray on my perfume and can't smell it....better be checking my temperature.

My two perfumes.

Corona virus testing at its finest.

Not that I've been going out a lot but the grocery store needs to be visited at least once a week. No point in not eating well while sheltering at home. We have experimented with sour dough and actually got a starter up and running. Our combined attempts at making bread have been less than successful. While edible, they have been a bit dense. At least the flavor is there! I did print off a high altitude recipe to try, thinking that may have been part of the issue. Also, apparently the older your starter, the better the results and this starter has not fully matured yet.  I'll let you know.

No-knead sourdough.

Also, no-good sourdough.

Entertainment has had to include binge watching  Tiger King because...of course. It's Quarantine 101. Such a train wreck and did Carole Baskin really feed her husband to the tigers? Who knows?  Since then, not much TV.

My amazing and talented nephew photoshops these pics.

You want a pic with Joe Exotic? 

I can hook you up.

There has still been snow here in Colorado, garden planting can't start for another month, so the outdoors, while tempting, has not been my first choice. If it is a good day, the dogs get walked.  Other days I sew. This afternoon we are going to get the bikes out and see if I remember how to ride one.
(Edited to add: I got on the bike. I fell off. Seriously. Skinned my knee. Guess I don't remember.)

My sewing machine is here with me in Golden and it's been getting lots of use. Masks are required to go out in the Denver area and I'm not going to wear just any old thing...I had to make some. I tried a couple of different patterns before settling on one that is more fitted rather than the more ubiquitous pleated pattern.
And then I had to make them for friends. And family. At this point I'm ready to start a mask making company...looks like we will be wearing them for a while. One for each outfit.  (Ha! Like I'm wearing "outfits".) Hit me up if you want one!

See why I put on mascara every day? 

My eyes are the only thing you see.

I carried on a wonderful one sided conversation with a stranger at the grocery store the other day because everyone looks the same. 

Although he looked at me like I was crazy.

And then the big treat is going out to lunch. Now...don't get your panties in a twist. Denver doesn't have a secret stash of open restaurants.  I wish. Lunch out is now driving through McDonald's, eating it in the car or bringing it home. Or picking up lunch somewhere and finding a not blocked off picnic table to sit at.  The other day we drove over to Idaho Springs which is just about 20 miles west and picked up lunch at a microbrewery, Tommyknocker. Best BLT ever. Then we drove up into the mountains to eat. The plan was to find a picnic table near Echo Lake but it was snowing at that altitude, so we ate in the car and watched the snowflakes. Amazingly these simple acts of "getting out" make the days pass quicker and give me a sense of some normalcy.  Taking a drive still qualifies as social distancing as far as I'm concerned.

To mark the end of the week we've been trying to have at least one nice dinner some night during the weekend. As in, maybe get out the good dishes. Definitely find a decent bottle of wine. Eat in the formal dining room. Put on real clothes. It's good to make an effort. There needs to be a way to mark time.

And the nicest thing? Sunday's are a day of rest. No projects or effort required.
Maybe make a big breakfast, stay in bed, online church (honest- I know some of you are giggling), read the Sunday funnies. Zero expectations.

I hope everyone is managing. It's such an amazingly interesting time in the world. Document this quarantine, for yourself, for your kids.  All at once, the entire world is in the same boat.  The level of creativity and ingeniousness arising from everyone being at home is astounding. Great works of art being recreated in homes. Howling at 8:00pm just to communicate to the neighborhoods around us. Everyone, every age learning how to use Zoom. As much as we are physically apart, the world still strives to connect.

Stay safe, wash your hands, wear your mask.

Perfume, Portrait, Power

Perfume, Portrait, Power on a Sunday Morning...


O rats, I've been AWOL again.

I have all these little thoughts pinging around in my head but I just can't seem to organize them.

But here are a couple of things that have caught my attention this past week.

THIS video:

I've written about perfume before and how I crave the power of a signature scent. I've pretty well settled into Ce soir ou Jamais.  I am also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hermès new scent, Galop d'Hermès, out this month.  Who knew roses melted my butter? Certainly not me. Roses bring up visions of little old ladies and floral sofas covered in plastic.   Maybe roses have arrived and thrown off their old person mantle. Or maybe I am just a little old lady now. 

Anyway, this video just leaves me in awe. It's an ad for a perfume I have never experienced but man! I want THIS power from my perfume! If only a spritz  could enable me to shoot lasers from my fingers. If only.

If you can't see the video, click here.

I promise it is worth it. 

And THIS portrait. (Can a picture of a bird really be called a portrait? I guess so.) Isn't he awesome? 

Such a powerful glare.  Not only is it a magnificent photograph, the bird himself has a pretty bad-ass rep. A deathlike stare combined with a machine gun staccato call-all while he EATS baby alligators for lunch! Plus in one of natures little perverse whims, he poops his legs to cool himself down. Power plus eccentricity. A perfect storm? 

Portrait of a Shoebill

Sorry, I don't know who to credit this photo to....

So I guess the theme of last week was power. And I was attracted to it. Because both of these things are power full. 

Until I get my brain coordinated...hugs and kisses and machine gun noises.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Also, Happy Labor Day holiday to all and many thanks to the people that do the jobs that most of us wouldn't want to. The jobs we don't aspire to. But also the jobs that need to be done. Thanks to the janitors, the trash men, plumbers, (Where would we be without plumbers? Knee deep in crap, I tell you) dishwashers and busboys. Thank one of them this week. 

Follow Up Friday: Smells like Teen Spirit?

Follow Up Friday:Smells like Teen Spirit?

O dear.

Yesterday's post had to do with No. 36: Find a Signature Scent.

Then this morning, thanks to the blog Life in the Boomer Lane, I was alerted to a study in the American Journal of Political Science.   The official title is "Assortive Mating Ideology Could Operate through Olfactory Clues".   (Huh?)

Basically a study was done that exposed people to the body odor of either "strong conservatives" or  "strong liberals".  People tended to love the smell of those that had the same political ideologies. And they were leery of those whose political beliefs did not jibe with their own.

Apparently this is not such a groundbreaking study after all.

Way back when:

Bizarre matchmaking: The article from a 1924 edition of Science and Invention magazine recommends smelling your partner's scent via a hosepipe attached to a capsule they are inside. If the smell isn't 'too objectionable', you're a perfect match!

So by choosing Ce Soir ou Jamais as my perfume, am I attracting someone like minded? Repelling people whom I might otherwise have a great deal in common? Attracting political crazies? Maybe this perfume has something to do with my recent neighborly interactions?

I may be meddling with biology here!  Consider the consequences. 

That perfume I wore back in the 80s? Is that why I am married to the person that I am married to? 

Yikes! I don't even remember what perfume I wore. I no longer wear it because I no longer like it. What are the implications? 

Could we alter someone's opinion of us just by switching fragrances? 

Maybe I should give up a signature perfume and find an assortment that I can wear depending on the occasion. 

What would a right wing conservative perfume be? 

And the "let's go smoke a few then tie dye some t shirts" perfume? 

Wonder what cologne Hitler wore? Ahh...according to this, he refused to wear cologne. Was that so his true political ideas could shine through? 

My mind is boggled. 

No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance or Two

No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance


Wow! This one was hard.

But I think I have it nailed.

I wrote about my reasons why I wanted a signature fragrance here.

It's about power as much as smelling lovely.


I tried a few for a while. Some I liked enough to hang onto the idea of at least.

CK One- very gender neutral and fresh and summery. Light.
Ralph Lauren's Romance.  I got good reviews on this one. People frequently told me I smelled good.
But after a bit, I tired of it.
I still have a thing for Jean Naté powder in the summer.

But the winner is Annick Goutal's Ce Soir Ou Jamais. It means "Tonight or Never" in French.  Right there, the name is the perfect reason to wear it.  Don't you love the idea? Tonight or never....the possibilities.

Ce Soir ou Jamais

It should have a ribbon and label but I've lost those in use. 

And it's odd. Tea rose based. Not a scent I ever thought I would take to. But I love it. There is something else there, also, but what? I don't know.

I've been wearing it all summer and can see it holding up just as easily in the cold weather. Maybe even better.

But the clincher?  After walking out of the post office one morning, my great mail lady dashed out behind me.
"Nancie, what perfume is that? It reminds me of a day at the beach."

A day at the beach? Sign me up!  
A scent that will make someone run out of a building to inquire about?
Again, sign me up.


I still want to visit the custom perfumer.

But for now. Ce Soir ou Jamais.

Numèro 36 est fait.

Happy Thursday

T.G.I.T.
Thank Goodness it's Thursday.

I confess. I got nothing. At least nothing new.

My challenges are getting to be more of a ...challenge.   They are time specific or place specific. And I'm not in the right time or place! 

But.
I do have a garden update.

It's starting to bloom!

Daffodils near the drive.  Sorry- didn't realize this pic was a bit blurred.

 Goodness. I thought I looked at these when I took them. Must not have had my glasses on.

Anyway, more daffs in the zoo/garden.

 Johnny Jump Ups!! Particularly exciting because there are a bunch of them and we didn't plant them.

Left over from the previous owner and they must have appreciated the fertilizer that was sprinkled about last fall.

 Even the Allium is trying to get in on the action.

Tulips and Grape Hyacinths.

The Grape Hyacinths are also volunteers. 

I wish I had seen these beds when the original owners were here.

I bet they were lovely.

However, those pesky vegetable seeds I planted aren't doing much. That would be No. 39: Grow a Vegetable.  Apparently I planted the most under achieving seeds ever. Especially those tomatoes. The green peppers are at least making an effort...

And outside the sugar snap peas have sprouted and totally surpassed the inside sprouts.

The slacker tomatoes. 

Honestly. They are no larger than they were a month ago.

The green peppers at least look more robust.

Still. Not much of a showing.

Another thing that I have been working on is No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance. I have always had a thing for gardenias. Ask anyone who knew me in Mexico- there was a gardenia lotion available only there that I lived in.  And while since then I have never considered myself a "floral"scent person, guess what I realize I've been attracted to? Yep. Florals. 

This morning I read two different blogs that were espousing grown up versions of gardenia perfumes. Off to "The Perfumed Court" website and decants are on their way to me. Yay! It's an early Mother's Day present to myself. Maybe one of these will be "the one". Or at least "the one for right now".

(What did I order? Arquiste Boutonniere and Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion. I'll let you know…)

And Thursday is the last day to get in on the double give-away for a blanket from my new venture, Cherry Creek Co.  That's No. 10: Start a business.    Click here to enter. Or go here if you just want to see the lovelies and buy one flat out.  That's okay with me, too.

Have  a great weekend.  After this week, I need a break! 

No. 36- Makes Scents to Me

NO. 36- Makes Scents to Me

No. 36: Find a "signature" fragrance or two.

Finding a signature scent sounds like fun.

But not for me.

I have fabulous allergies AND a horrible sense of smell.   Perfume that smells great in a bottle will smell like the cat box needs cleaning once it is on. Perfume is chemistry, chemistry, chemistry.  Chemistry was not my best subject.  Actually, I don’t even think I took chemistry.

BUT… I love it when someone smells good. I love that intimacy of getting close to someone and noting they have on perfume or cologne.

I love the memories scents can evoke.

Grey Flannel cologne on anyone totally takes me back to a cabin in Hartford, Ct. in the late 70s.  The guy that wore the cologne is long gone but that scent was such a part of him that I will never be able to connect it to any other time or place.

Aramis reminds me of my brother, Paul. I think he bathed in it when we were in high school. It’s odd that I don’t know whether he continued to wear that cologne as an adult.  The 70s again.

My brother, Paul. 1973

Diesel fuel and wood smoke on a crisp morning will immediately transport me to San Miguel. If I close my eyes I will be walking to class. I can see/feel/smell in my mind the buses belching their exhaust as they pass and the street vendors hawking breakfast tacos or corn con chile y limón being cooked over small wood burning stoves. 1975

San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Mexico

And nothing beats the smell of two teenaged girls that have dashed off to school, leaving a path of Juicy Couture and Hollister in their wake. 2012

In the land of teenage girls

(This is not to be compared with the fog of Axe trailed by teenage boys, a stage this house has thankfully passed. 2005/2006/2007)

So I want that power. For people to recognize a scent that belongs to me.

But it’s hard to find the perfect scent among all the choices. 

Where to start?

I’ve found some websites that offer samples. News to me that you could order decants of certain perfumes in trial sizes.

Some of the options, including decants from The Perfumed Court

But still, you need to have an idea of what to order.

So- what makes a scent perfect?

I’m taking suggestions. What are your favorites? 

And where do scents take you?

For samples of different perfumes- more perfumes than you could ever imagine- click here or here or here

For a really perverse but terribly entertaining read on perfume, read this .

For a little (entertaining) insight into how the brain and smell work together, click here.