Burblings

It’s election night and the buffet’s all lined up, even though it’s a love/hate thing for me. My stupid elbow is on a slow recovery route and that means limited extra-curricular typing (can’t do much about my actual workload though, eh?).  I thought I’d share a couple of thoughts with you.

Current garden highlights: It’s all gauzy English spring round these parts right now. Apple blossom, cherry blossom, lilac blossom. Looking out my back windows across the garden to the church, it’s pillows of whites and pinks – candyfloss colours resting on a lime green bed. But for me, the wonder of the moment is the last narcissus of the season to flower – poeticus ‘Actaea’. Irritating, as it hangs its head as though in shame – shame perhaps of its carnal, lustful perfume with the hint of the crypt, a limbcoiling of the most voluptuous with the soon-to-be-rotting. But I’ll forgive it its bended-head annoyances for the unnervingly lovely juxtaposition of beauty and the beast. Like the daphnes P wrote about yesterday really. See the photo – I’ve got it contrasted with forget-me-nots throughout the garden. But you can’t smell a pic. And man, that scent’s everywhere, with apple blossom mingling in for added KAPOW! factor.

Current perfume highlights: they’re limited. I think I can count on both hands the number of new perfumes I’ve tried since the start of 2009. I’m pretty contented with my stack, though they’re no longer highlights. A background thrum of pleasure, perhaps. I must get my arse into gear though. I need to start the sampling mania again. I might be missing it.

Current TV highlights: season 2 of Nurse Jackie. Is it wrong to see lots of myself in her? Not that I’m having an affair or popping dubiously acquired pills or snorting said pills or nursing fantastically or caring for two girls or living in Queens. And I never chew gum.  Glee of course, but then I’d have to hand back my gay badge/button if I didn’t. Not that I really know how to wear that effectively. However, Will Schuester’s preppy snap and ‘lessons in life’ leanings and puppy eyes and low body fat face and needy earnestness and whole schtick drive me doolally. And the schmaltz sometimes makes me yearn for some heavy duty grease dissolver. Why the hell am I watching this drivel?

Share yours and I’ll respond to comments later (after physio!).

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  • nozknoz says:

    I couple of years ago I had access to the BBC food channel and was in hog heaven :@) It was just so thoroughly interesting – from Daniel Day Louis’s sister to an obsessed young man trying to open a restaurant with food sourced solely within reach of the London metro, to people trying to make a living raising antique types of pigs or that wonderful Australian Chinese chef, Kylie Kwong, and so much more. The American food channel is just awful (or at least it was two years ago when I last had cable) – they even managed to ruin Top Chef. :-l

    I’m testing Czeck & Speake Cuba today, which is not seasonal but really interesting – mentholated and animalic and softly spicy. I didn’t care for their Frankincense and Myrrh or Dark Rose, but I may need Cuba this fall.

    It’s lovely hearing about your garden, Lee! Hope the elbow mends soon – anything that impedes wrist sniffing is a particular impediment for a perfumista. @};-

  • mary says:

    Our family has been without cable for about 7 years now– I missed all of Sopranoes, except two episodes. Only got to see 6 Feet Under when I checked out a season from the library. I will try fopr Nurse Jackie on the internets–thanks very much. My 11 yo daughter loves Glee– I was shocked into overjoy when my kids were singing that old Journey song in the back seat of the car– I thought it meant they loved me enough to listen to 80’s. They were shocked I knew the song. 8-|

  • Flora says:

    Lee, I have those very same Poeticus narcissus in bloom now – love them! If only their true character could be successfully bottled.

    Perfume: I am actually on a sampling binge, lots of unusual things arrived at once for testing – then I had to reset my nose with my precious Parfum Sacre’ for a couple of days so I will remember what really, really good perfume is supposed to do. Hopefully it will help me evaluate the samps. (I splashed the PS on with abandon after stumbling across a just-listed BIN bottle of the original version on eBay for a lower price than I would ever expect to pay for it, and I snapped it up. My one purchase this month!)

    TV: The last season of Lost is winding down and I am already having severe withdrawal. A local designer just won Project Runway and I am still pumped over that, I never miss an episode. Now watching the new season Dancing With The Stars, so help me I can’t stop! I have also discovered the excellent science fiction show Fringe, starring the excellent Australian actor John Noble (who played Lord Denethor in Lord of the Rings) and it’s one of the more believable shows of this genre that I have seen.

  • carter says:

    Edie Falco freaking amazing. I haven’t yet seen NJ, but I’ve seen her on stage and boy, do I miss Carmella.

    And speaking of snorting and popping, try shooting-up instead. Cortisone rocks. Yesterday I got it injected into my hip joint which has cartilage tears, bone on bone arthritis, cam and pincer impingements (it’s, like, deformed) and inflammation out the wazoo…literally. Today I’m fixing to audition for the New York City Ballet.

    I still need surgery, but in the meantime this is heaven. Seriously, Lee, it will give you relief and take down the inflammation and give things a chance to settle down and relax. If you’re not into shots, ask your doc about Flector patches, which are basically time-release NSAIDS applied topically and don’t have to be place precisely on the joint (I can HEAR you, March[-x) ) to work. Above or below the elbow will do the trick. There are also Lidoderm patches, but they have to be applied directly to the site of the pain, so you may not get as much relief unless you have a lot of referred pain.

    In either case, they have both definitely taken the edge off for me, but that shot is the bomb, baby. Listen to your old auntie Carter! Give yourself a hand and be good to your joint. <:-p

    • carter says:

      Reprimand Roddy FAIL. But we can both hear you, March [-x

    • Flora says:

      I know what you mean, I am STILL in severe Sopranos denial. It’s just not the same to watch the reruns on basic cable with all the juicy bits bleeped out.

      Yowza, that hip thing sounds awful! I have only had one of those cortisone shots in my hand, I can’t imagine getting it in a large joint. I have arthritis in mine but I control the pain with turmeric extract pretty well.

  • March says:

    I’m over here rereading the Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire Again, in between my Portuguese lessons. Gibbons really speaks to me, you know?

    /:)

    That flower, sigh. I can practically smell it through the screen. I was over at church this morning doing the flowers (yes! I am in the flower guild! I can’t believe I haven’t been struck dead yet.) Arranging lilies and freesia, among other things, in a quiet, incense-y place is a rather nice way to spend the morning.

    • Lee says:

      Yeah – wilkommen in Europa, baby.

      THe pound is now worth a coupla nickels or something.

      How tumultuous do you think the power shift east will be?

      Lilies and freesias and church, oh my.

      You’re just what the guild needs.

  • Disteza says:

    We decided to thumb our nose at Comcast’s continually-rising cable prices, and have no TV service! We realized we just didn’t watch much TV, so why be robbed blind for a service we barely used? We make up for it with Netflix though, and I’ve recently finished watching the entirety of House of Cards, because the smarm on that is brilliant! We’ve finished watching Red Dwarf, all the seasons, and have moved on to Jekyll, which is quote entertaining. I’ve thrown Dark Shadows in as a counterpoint to all the BBC shows, and hopefully they’ll be releasing season 4 of Dexter soon!

    • Aparatchick says:

      House of Cards was wonderful! Ian Richardson was amazing in a disgusting way.

    • Lee says:

      House of Cards is apposite today. Excellent and terrifying. And funny.

      Have you seen The Thick of It? More comedy than drama. Dark satire about 21st century British politics.

  • janh says:

    Do you get FX? My new crush is Raylan Givens, the cool dude on “Justified.” Love him.

    • Lee says:

      Will check that out. I don’t get FX. I don’t get much real TV actually here in the UK – except documentaries and a couple of dramas.

    • carter says:

      Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Total abject adoration ^:)^ Loved that boy in Deadwood, too. Besides Yankees baseball (Jeter’s butt and all) it’s the only thing I’m watching these days.

      • janh says:

        A friend at work knew him when he was a college swimmer and said they wrote that show just for him.

  • Tamara says:

    Nurse Jackie is the B O M B:x

    I love her dysfunction and her vunerablity.
    She is tougher than nails with a dark heart , I adore her.

    But I love Edie Falco anyways.
    I don’t have a green thumb at all but my neighbors “The Mermaids” do! Thats what they call themselves. I live in a tiny lil’ culdesac (is that how you spell it?) with 100+ yr.old houses and only my landlady had children and they are grown and gone.
    Her sister and her two best friends live in the other homes and they all garden like crazy, we have historical garden tours in the summer and everything.
    When they finish for the day , they sit out there and drink wine (thats when I sneak out there to join them!) ;))
    We live by the river and it is all very “Secret Garden” like. Livi( my 6yr.old) is thee littlest mermaid of the group and can name all the flowers.@};-

    • Lee says:

      i’d want her as my nurse.

      can i come visit?

      • Tamara says:

        Me too:P

        And yes Lee you would be most welcome, I read about you gardening and think that you would just adore it in our lil’ neck of the woods, it’s that lovely.:d/

  • Tom says:

    Am I the only person that doesn’t much care for “Glee”? I guess so..

    Pretty cast but they seem to be working overtime to jam those songs in there and they use AutoTune on everyone (even though they can actually sing- can’t they save that crap for the Real Housewives?), making them sound like Cher. [-(

    • Lee says:

      oh yeah, the plotting is awry for the second half of the season – songs have become too thematic/programmatic. and the tuning is ridic. it’s got a lot not going for it, as i already pointed out. enjoy it nonetheless.

    • carter says:

      I hate it. Except for Jane. I even hated the one with Kristin Chenowith, which was the last time I watched it.

      • carter says:

        Too harsh? I guess I’m just old. But then I hated Fame, too. When you grow up watching Singing in the Rain, Meet Me in Saint Louis and The Band Wagon, what passes for a musical these days just makes depresses the heck out of me. I know, I know…I’m old.

    • Style Spy says:

      I’ve never watched Glee. I have two theater degrees. I’ve sung enough freaking show tunes to last me several lifetimes.

  • Musette says:

    Well right now it’s all I can do to keep from killing everybody in my house, so I got nothin’.

    Except! I watch NCIS while cooking or cleaning.

    Which is all I seem to do nowadays.

    Thank God for USA network.

    I was sampling vintage Mitsoukos but She really isn’t helping matters, preferring to ENCOURAGE me to mayhem.
    Switching to Nos 22 and 19.

    xoxo >-)

    • Lee says:

      hugs to you a. you need to head off with my seckaterry for some south seas sun.

  • maidenbliss says:

    Lee, I wish you healing! I just opened my mail and got my sample of l’homme de coeur. This is how every man should smell, IMHO. I can’t stop smelling my hand. Thank you for the tip.
    England is so beautiful in May. Maybe Actaea is hanging her sweet little face in a demure, shy, I’m blushing sorta way. Is there a perfume that comes close to her scent?
    Your garden looks/sounds enchanting.
    Haven’t been watching much tv, but was addicted to the Sopranos. I’ll have to tune
    in to Nurse Jackie. And who doesn’t adore Will?:d
    @};- for your elbow

    • Lee says:

      i can’t recommend nj enough. and glad you’re loving l’hdc.

      i can’t think of much that matches her smell. the limited l’artisan fleur de narcisse gets her base notes right but misses out all the pretty.

  • Style Spy says:

    A second for Modern Family (hands-down the funniest thing on TV currently)and if you are looking for hotness without schmaltz, I strongly recommend Timothy Olyphant on FX’s “Justified.” The man is a stone-cold fox and will revive any latent law enforcement fantasies with a vengeance. (You can find full eps on fxnetworks.com.)

    I have been a hungry perfume hound of late — sampling like mad and falling in love at the drop of a hat. Currently bathing in a new darling, Sacrebleu, and seriously considering a bottle of Manoumalia.

    • Lee says:

      thanks for those tips. will definitely investigate

    • janh says:

      Ekk, just read your post–“JUstified” is soooo cool.

    • carter says:

      Yep, Justified is funny and dry and cool (thank you Elmore Leonard for the character and the source material) just like Timothy Olyphant who has been lighting my fire since he was Sheriff Bullock in to Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen(%). Just great, the whole shebang. What terrific writing by David Milch and one of the best cast ensembles ever! Those were the good old HBO days and boy, do I miss ’em.

      Sacrebleu and Manoumalia…wow, come sit over here, hon, and we’ll watch us some tee-vee together.

  • Lynne1962 says:

    OMG, I love spring!! Just caught a whiff of my miniature lilac bush, standing next to my blooming peonies. Absolute heaven!! A perfume lovers’ dream for sure.

    Current loves in a bottle are several Ateliers: Orange Sanguine could be sipped thru a straw: Trefle Pur and Neroli are lemon-y and orange blossom nirvana. Really long lasting for colognes.

    Hope your elbow boo-boo heals really soon. You need a secretary you can dictate too,,,right??:d

  • Shelley says:

    See, now, I don’t get ashamed from that poeticus…I get leaning down for the wee folk. :d/

    Or, maybe, modest, because it’s hardy and fragrant, and those big trumpet show-offs aren’t? 😉

    Currently, I’ve dug and started two asparagus beds, planted fruit trees, put in a few types of bramble berries (will I regret this later after they really start to take? we’ll see…), divided, dug, planted, lather, rinse, repeat. Garden fragrance of the moment include tartarian honeysuckle, a big hedge wafted this way and that.

    Current perfume highlights include a share of some fabulous Sous le Vent. I have to agree with the owner of the bottle…this stuff rocks. What a beautiful chypre/not-chypre. Eat my more-interesting-than-clean shorts, it seems to say.

    Best with continued progress on the elbow…not *too* much gardening until it’s ready… 🙂

    • Lee says:

      Thanks shelley. We’re eating our first asparagus this year – so delicious. the patience is worth it. watch out for those brambles – they easily become thugs…

  • gator grad says:

    Wow. That’s what your yard looks like?? I can never believe when people have such beautiful yards, because we can hardly keep the grass looking good.

    • Astra says:

      The key is that if you’re not a gardener, keeping up the yard is work, but for those of us who are, it’s relaxation. I’m indulging myself when I work on the yard. 🙂

      • Lee says:

        Well, i don’t always feel indulgent after 3-4 hours of weeding, but in general I’m with you completely.

  • sybil says:

    Glee is schmalzy, but charming…that’s all I’ve got in it’s defense.

    • Isa says:

      I think the same.
      Love almost all the songs (and those I dislike, they make them funny) and the characters are charmingly surrealistic 🙂

    • Lee says:

      I’m with you both.

  • Louise says:

    Darling, so glad that your limb is unkinking…glad we can’t say that of you 😮

    Your daffie is so lovely, if ashamed. I wonder if it smells close to our locals here (which are weeks gone by)? I am beginning to appreciate narcissus notes in perfumes-Le Temps d’une Fete, and especially Annette Neuffer’s Narcissus Poeticus. The latter is stunning-very intensely, and yes, almost embarrassingly fleshy, with a lovely bitter edge :d/

    I’m a TV slacker at the moment. Just not up with what’s good-but will Nurse a try.

    Happy Weekend, all! 😡

    • Lee says:

      Very different to normal daffs which are long gone here too. This is your late spring bloomer – the joker in the pack… You’ll love NJ. edie falco is a marvel.

  • Fiordiligi says:

    Good morning Lee. Nothing coherent to add after staying up till 3am to watch the election results but giving up as there was no discernable trend – and waking up to find more of the same! We live in interesting times.

    Never seen Glee, I fear. Don’t think I’m exactly the right demographic.

  • Mrs.Honey says:

    Perhaps you are watching Glee for the music? It is my guilty pleasure, the only drama that I watch.

  • bryan says:

    The true foil for all the schmaltz…two words….Sue Sylvester. HA.
    Love Love Love Nurse Jackie. Has there ever been such a quasi-anti-hero? I mean you can’t but hope she gets away with all the snorting and lying…buy why? Good writing perhaps.

    I used to love 24. Not sure if you get that across the pond, but this season sucks anyways. And I love 30 Rock, Modern Family, and the Good Wife. I’m a TV junkie, so I won’t bore you with the rest of ’em.

    Love your posts Lee, and I truly wish I could get a smell snapshot of your gardens.

    • Lee says:

      Thanks b. am typing one handed with gel pack on elbow – forgive the lack of caps.

      i don’t watch this stuff on tv here – internets, baby.