A Glancing Light

Before I forget, the winner of the Bits & Pieces draw is Anne Launius-Berbling!  gmail the evilauntieanita, remind me which giveaway, etc and I’ll get the smellies out to you.

And don’t faint:  I’m caught up on the Sends!  Yeth!  There are still some outstandings but that’s on y’all.  If you won something gmail me, lmk which post and I’ll get it out to you!

We’re having unseasonably cool weather here, great weather for sleeping..but it’s a bit too soon for my tastes.  I love the change of all Seasons, even Autumn into Winter..but there is a melancholy attached to Summer into Autumn.  Excessive heat keeps at least one aspect of Autumn at bay but no matter the temps, there is no denying the shift in light.  Now is the time for those bleakly brilliant blue skies that show just a tint of violet underneath.  And the sharp, sharp shadows, with everything thrown into high relief.   Sunday 4p was one of those days; I went out to harvest pole beans and the light bouncing off the leaves moved me to tears.  El O is ready to call the White Coat Guys.  But everybody feels it here, even folks who like the cooler temps  – the streets are quieter, as if the kids know the futility of trying to hang on to Summer.  We are closing the blinds much earlier, even before the dark sets in; that atavistic urge to burrow is setting in fast this year.  Sunday evening I watched the premier of Fear the Walking Dead – my chair is right next to the porch window.  Coincidence that I closed and locked that window and pulled the drapes shut?  I think not.  I probably wouldn’t have , had FtWD premiered on a hot July afternoon.  But a 58F night in August?  Shut the house UP!   Who saw that premier, btw?  What did you think?  I loved it!  It was reminiscent of Max Brooks’s book World War Z where it doesn’t go all ka-blooey all at once, instead trickling in little dribs and drabs.  Let’s face it, even us Zombie Pros?  Early on, a gal comes down the street sort of stumbly, maybe in her pajamas?  You are probably NOT going to shoot her in the head, first thing, right?  Right.  So right there…y’know?   It’s gonna take awhile before everybody gets with the program.  And in the  meantime the government is trying to keep it under wraps, folks are getting bitten ….but before that is the low-level anxiety and dread…people are so unused to listening to their gut and we rely on our fragile society…hey, I gotta tell you, I probably wouldn’t fare any better …and I know allll the zombie signs.  I’ll probably ignore the early signs so as not to murder somebody who might just have a hangover….

‘My’ hummingbirds have already started their Southern journey.  On the traplines now are the ones who are first to arrive here in Spring on their way North.  This is one of their annual stops to and fro – it’s a delight to see them in Spring and a bittersweet delight to see them, come August. They’re hitting the feeders and all the flowers in the gardens, prepping for the next leg of their journey.  This group isn’t used to me, as ‘my’ Summer tenants are, so I get a lot of side eye from the females, as they check to see if I’m a threat.  I had one come within 4 inches of my face, as if she wanted to demand my name, rank and serial number.  No matter she was in my garden, she wanted to be sure I was okay – once she settled down 2 others came and they all fell amongst the flowers.  I would’ve gotten my feelings hurt, having to sit still in my own garden…but the whole purpose of that garden is for those little heathens and their kith and kin.  So I shut up and sat still.  And they rewarded me with a phenomenal aerial display, especially among the globe thistles.  

I’m starting to turn my perfume interests inward as well.  The frothy roses are giving way to the more complex chypres.  Lots and lots of Amouage Body Creme – not quite ready for Epic but I find myself reaching for Jubilation 25 a lot, especially after my evening shower. The juicy, fresh lemon scents are giving way to spicy orange like Noir Epices and vintage Coty l’Origan (people want to fight me on the orange in l’Origan, claiming I am making that up – but it’s one of the original Chypre-based perfumes, with bergamot, orange and peach prominent in the top notes).  l’Origan is too intense for a closed-up room, imo, but it’s perfect for now, when it’s in the high 50s at night and the windows are still open.

Hey, who wants to try some vintage l’Origan?  Tell me what’s going on in your neck of the woods – cooler?  blazing hot?  Did you see Fear the Walking Dead?  What did you think?  Tell me sumpin’ and I’ll have Chloe hit random (with one manicured pawnail, I might add – she just got her nails done and she was a Queen! about it).   I have a couple iterations of the vintage that are interesting to try.   Since I’m on a roll, you’ll probably get those samples before Halloween!

oh, wait!  Before I go?  Best thing about the pending shift to Autumn?  Idris Elba on the cover of Maxim.  Never mind that he’s wearing my tweed coat from freshman year in college.  He is…..omg.  He is just……..you know, I prefer him clothed.  The more clothes, the better.  Because….removing…y’know? slooowwwwly.   What perfume would you scent him with?

Mr Fabulous