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.  beeglobe

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

Mr Fabulous

 

 

  • Heidi says:

    I’d be tempted to scent him with something kind of out of left field — SL’s Daim Blond or Fleurs de Orangeur, or maybe vintage Guerlain Vol de Nuit.

  • annielill says:

    Put him in LEATHER,I say(Puredistance M might do it…Lordy,I feel faint,and I’m drooling….

  • For the ridiculously handsome Mr. Elba I’m thinking something Amouage, though I haven’t actually tried the men’s ones so I don’t know which one.

    I also have not gotten to see Fear the Walking Dead, but I want to. I don’t have cable anymore to save money, so I’ll have to get it online.

  • Sapphire says:

    We just started getting hummingbirds recently. I looked out and saw one trying to drink from the flowers on the seat cushions on our patio. Bingo! The feeder we had never used before finally came out of its box. Now we have about three of the little hovercraft regularly. They aren’t colorful, but they’re fun to watch and to listen to their wings, which sound like little motors. Ol’ Idris is just a tall drink of water, isn’t he? I would put him in Tom Ford Noir Extrme. Thanks for the drawing!

  • jen says:

    Idris should be wearing Royal Violets, cause it would be a nice surprise.

  • malsnano86 says:

    I’m waiting for autumn. I love it – and I do love that turn in the weather, too. (For some reason, I’m far more melancholy in spring, everything blooming and I walk around with my heart aching. Most of the serious losses of my life came in spring, and that may have had something to do with it.)

    Idris is lovely, isn’t he? I’m thinking, oh… lessee… okay, I’ll come clean: I really have very little experience with non-femmie frags. You know me and my floral preferences. I think I’d love to smell him in some dark chypre thing. (I mean, seriously – I just smelled Halston Z14 a couple of months ago, at the DRUGSTORE. Never smelled it before. And it immediately made me all big-eyed and swoony there in the aisle. Reader, I bought it for my husband.) There is probably something similar on the market with better materials, I just don’t know what it is.

    Oh, or leather. That would be good too. Tom Ford Tuscan Leather?

  • eldarwen22 says:

    Today it’s supposed to be no warmer than 69F and tomorrow 74F. Then we get back up into the 80’s and I have already broken out the Epic and Memoir. But still can’t wait for the heavy hitters and L’Air du Desert Morocain (which I love during fall).

  • maggiecat says:

    It’s still way too hot here in Dallas – but the highs are *only* in the low to mid 90’s this week, so we’re grateful. I hate the heat and can’t wait for Fall to arrive. And stay.

    And automatically scent all good-looking me with Ormonde Jayne Man because it’s gorgeous and wonderful and so are they.

  • SamanthaL says:

    Oh, I forgot for Idris Elba, I’d probably put him in some Hilde Soliani Bell’Antonio (my favorite scent on my BF) or maybe Olivier Durbano Black Tourmaline..smoky and yum.

  • SamanthaL says:

    I’d love to try some vintage l’Origan!! Right now in good old Reno Nevada we’re having our normal schizophrenic weather where it can’t decide what t wants to do from one day to the next, but for the most part it’s cooling down earlier than normal I’m even wearing Heeley Cardinal today, but mostly that’s just wishful thinking…it’s not that cool! But soon I’ll be breaking out the Filles en Aiguilles and Black Cashmere, I can’t wait.

  • Ann says:

    Howdy, dear! Glad you are enjoying your garden and the hummingbirds. We, too, are having an unexpected cool spell (59 last night!) and I welcome it. Turned on the whole-house fan and the thermostat dropped from 77 to 69 by midnight. Think I would scent Mr. Elba with Tom Ford Noir; that would be a warm, sexy sizzle on him (not that he needs anything to sizzle, mind you!).

  • rosarita313 says:

    I’m surprised every August to see flecks of color in the maple leaves and all the trees have that bleachy look they get before they turn, walnut leaves turning yellow and falling…I’m just not quite ready to let go of summer this year. We have a hedge of Rose of Sharon bushes that the hummers love and I have really enjoyed watching them, as always, and I totally get you about the quality of the light this time of year with that syrupy gold, beautiful and melancholic all at once. No need to enter me into the draw this time, doll. And Idris? Amouage Epic. Or whatever he wants. I wish he was just a bit younger, I’d love to see him as the next Bond, having watched all of Luther more than once.

    • Musette says:

      Luther! I am having THE HARDEST time with Luther! I have been stalled on the first episode for MONTHS, A. MONTHS@ WTH? whyyyy? Maybe it’s because…I dunno….he seems kinda ‘off’. Does he really break into that girl’s flat and rummage about…with no gloves, no nothin’? And…..I dunno…the guy in the coma? Who cares? What’s the big deal, there. He didn’t throw him off the catwalk, he just didn’t endanger himself trying to save him.

      Does this get better?

      xoxoxoA

  • poodle says:

    My hummingbirds are still out there draining my feeders dry. They are such little pigs. I’m sad they’ll be leaving soon too. They are one of the best parts of the summer for me. It’s not supposed to be as humid today but it looks like the heat is back again for the weekend. It won’t last though, you can just feel it in your bones that summer is fading fast.

    • Musette says:

      yeah, this cold snap has my bones aching! Do you get just the one charm of hummers or are you on a migratory trapline? I’ve got my first migrators, they will move out of here in about 2 weeks and then I’ll get the last charm in mid-September. Then Everybody’s Out of Town until Spring. I do keep my feeders up until 1st week of November, though, Just In Case.

      xoxoxoA

      • poodle says:

        I have a bunch of them from spring to fall. It seems like there are more lately so I’m guessing some spend the summer here and others just stop by on their way down south.

  • I would put him in Donna Karan CHAOS. He would wear the shit out of it.
    Portia xx

  • Tiffanie says:

    Yesterday evening I had a close encounter with a startled hummingbird. As I walked quickly on the sidewalk I passed a large flowering hedge that the hummingbirds love. I must have walked into the path of a bird that was focused on feeding. That poor little bird hovered about 6 inches away from my face for more than 10 seconds before swooping away. I always feel like it is a lucky thing see the hummingbirds on my evening walks, but that was a close call for both of us. Oh, and it’s hot and humid here. Blergh.

    • Musette says:

      I have had that happen, Tiffanie – it’s kinda scary for both bird and human! But cool, too!

      Speaking of ‘cool’ – it’s sweater-cool here. And I am NOT liking it. Not yet. I would appreciate a few more weeks of hot and humid. Plenty of time for sweater-cool, once October arrives. Kids in windbreakers in August…in Central IL….that’s kind of bizarre.

      xoxoxoa

  • Jamie says:

    How lucky of you to snap a shot of your hummingbirds!

    I had a regular pack visiting my fuschia plants two or three times a day all month, but they haven’t been around in quite a while. Sad to see them gone, but who can blame them for searching out warmer climes?

    The days are definitely getting shorter & a touch chillier in the mornings now over on my end!

    • Musette says:

      If you are consistent in putting out feeders (reg sugar water is best) you will get consecutive ‘charms’ as they move to and fro on the migratory path (assuming your hummingbirds migrate, as mine do. IL winters would kill them stone-dead). It takes a year or two but you will begin to see a pattern and can start to identify which charms are in residence at which time on the migratory path. Nerdy stuff, to be sure, but heady-nerdy stuff! xoxoA

  • Maya says:

    I do not want to think about fall because even though fall is lovely, it means winter is coming! You’d think that having spent my entire life where there are very cold winters, I should be OK with it. I’m not. It was only fun in my neighborhood full of kids – all of us playing in the snow. Now I’d be happy wearing a tank-top outside all winter long! And shorts! Weather here in New England is pretty much the same as you’re describing. I admit I’m wearing Masque Milano Tango a lot lately – warm, sexy, amber – and I finally got OneSelf organic Hawaiian Flower Lei perfume oil – puts me right there in the tropics! I’ll wear it all winter and pretend I’m there. 🙂

    • Musette says:

      In the old days I would bail on Winter, right about mid-February, back around the first of March. My reasoning was those last 2-3 weeks were the most brutal and even if I came back to a March blizzard it simply Could Not Last. I’m going back to that habit, starting this Winter! xoxoxoA

  • LaDona says:

    Idris should be scented with something singular. Puredistance M, methinks. That has to be one of my favorites for men.