July 18Unidentifiable…I stepped outside this morning to the most wonderful scent. It rained last night, and the air was moist and thick, although still cool enough that it wasn’t unpleasant, and the most amazing scent was all around, rich and fragrant, floral without being insipid, layered with woods and earth and green, growing things. The primary note, however, was the floral, and I have no idea where it came from. I walked all around the garden, sticking my nose into things, trying to figure out the source, to no avail. An hour later, it was gone. If only one could bottle such things, tuck them away and treasure them to enjoy even years later. I think, even on a really bad day, such a scent could do wonders for my mood. If only I knew what it was… 8:40 AM GMT | Read comments(0)July 16A good day…Today was a good day, but I have to admit, I’m still struggling with letting myself relax. My last day of work I thought, now I’ll be able to take a little break before I get back into it and figure out the rest of my life, but no, apparently not. First the dentist flummoxed things up – amazing how much something can hurt inside your head! – then the guilt thing started creeping in…Why haven’t I accomplished this yet, why isn’t this done, I should have mastered this already, and so on. So today, nothing really. Slept in, walked the dog, watched dozens of blue and black tiger swallowtail butterflies flitting about in the woods, messed around with the camera and the computer, putzed around, basically. A good day, but I’m still trying to feel all right about it… 7:47 PM GMT | Read comments(0)May 07Neglect…I’ve been neglecting my site and blog – not to mention Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Too many hours at work, not enough hours in the day, too little energy in the tank, too many other things to do…Enough excuses now? At any rate, I’m trying to get back in the habit again. I have all of next week off, so that will help tremendously. I’ve been thinking about scent, my favorite scent, lately. I’ve been in search of this elusive scent, but I think I may have finally found it. There are certain fragrances that always appeal to me, some that suit certain moods or types of weather, but I think my favorite is not any one of them, but the combination of all of them. When I open the wooden box that holds all my perfume samples, it is truly heavenly, a wondrous experience for my nose. Vanilla, of course, vanilla, dominates, then all that luscious amber and spice, sweet sugar, smoke and woods and dried fruit, but underlaid with more austere things: oakmoss, salt, hints of citrus, that merely highlight those primary notes. It’s a big, lush, larger-than-life oriental, rich and redolent, and absolutely delicious. Maybe I should order more samples…. 8:11 PM GMT | Read comments(0)February 20Bring on the sun…This winter has just been brutal, weather-wise and other-wise, as well, so today is just what I needed: clear, bright sunshine and 53 degrees at the moment, and if we’re lucky, we could go up a bit more in temperature. I hate to whine about the weather, because I know it has been far worse this winter other places – 2 feet of snow back in Ohio and Pennsylvania – but I am definitely acclimated to Asheville now, and normally, that means almost no snow and highs in the 40s, not lots of snow and ice and temps below freezing! Perhaps I should schedule a trip up north for a little reality check…or not. I think I’ll just soak up the sun today and cross my fingers that this is the beginning of spring… 10:09 AM GMT | Read comments(0)February 03Brutal day…Absolutely brutal. Started off with Mom confused and nodding off, has now progressed to completely unresponsive. Don’t know what we would do without hospice, but even with hospice, I don’t know how long we can keep this up… I’m not even sure if I dare go to sleep tonight… 8:10 PM GMT | Read comments(0)
I stepped outside this morning to the most wonderful scent. It rained last night, and the air was moist and thick, although still cool enough that it wasn’t unpleasant, and the most amazing scent was all around, rich and fragrant, floral without being insipid, layered with woods and earth and green, growing things. The primary note, however, was the floral, and I have no idea where it came from.
I walked all around the garden, sticking my nose into things, trying to figure out the source, to no avail. An hour later, it was gone. If only one could bottle such things, tuck them away and treasure them to enjoy even years later. I think, even on a really bad day, such a scent could do wonders for my mood. If only I knew what it was…
Today was a good day, but I have to admit, I’m still struggling with letting myself relax. My last day of work I thought, now I’ll be able to take a little break before I get back into it and figure out the rest of my life, but no, apparently not. First the dentist flummoxed things up – amazing how much something can hurt inside your head! – then the guilt thing started creeping in…Why haven’t I accomplished this yet, why isn’t this done, I should have mastered this already, and so on.
So today, nothing really. Slept in, walked the dog, watched dozens of blue and black tiger swallowtail butterflies flitting about in the woods, messed around with the camera and the computer, putzed around, basically. A good day, but I’m still trying to feel all right about it…
I’ve been neglecting my site and blog – not to mention Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Too many hours at work, not enough hours in the day, too little energy in the tank, too many other things to do…Enough excuses now? At any rate, I’m trying to get back in the habit again. I have all of next week off, so that will help tremendously.
I’ve been thinking about scent, my favorite scent, lately. I’ve been in search of this elusive scent, but I think I may have finally found it. There are certain fragrances that always appeal to me, some that suit certain moods or types of weather, but I think my favorite is not any one of them, but the combination of all of them. When I open the wooden box that holds all my perfume samples, it is truly heavenly, a wondrous experience for my nose. Vanilla, of course, vanilla, dominates, then all that luscious amber and spice, sweet sugar, smoke and woods and dried fruit, but underlaid with more austere things: oakmoss, salt, hints of citrus, that merely highlight those primary notes. It’s a big, lush, larger-than-life oriental, rich and redolent, and absolutely delicious.
Maybe I should order more samples….
This winter has just been brutal, weather-wise and other-wise, as well, so today is just what I needed: clear, bright sunshine and 53 degrees at the moment, and if we’re lucky, we could go up a bit more in temperature. I hate to whine about the weather, because I know it has been far worse this winter other places – 2 feet of snow back in Ohio and Pennsylvania – but I am definitely acclimated to Asheville now, and normally, that means almost no snow and highs in the 40s, not lots of snow and ice and temps below freezing!
Perhaps I should schedule a trip up north for a little reality check…or not. I think I’ll just soak up the sun today and cross my fingers that this is the beginning of spring…
Absolutely brutal. Started off with Mom confused and nodding off, has now progressed to completely unresponsive. Don’t know what we would do without hospice, but even with hospice, I don’t know how long we can keep this up…
I’m not even sure if I dare go to sleep tonight…