Sitting here, typing this post, looking out at a Whiteout World. Yesterday I was in the borders, ripping out Creeping Charlie (every little bit counts) tearing out new grass and tying up emerging rose canes. I worked like a rented mule, knowing this blizzard was approaching but not believing/believing…I’ve lived in the Midwest for most of my life so this ain’t my first Last Hurrah Rodeo…still..waking up to a White World after weeks of warm green? Shocking. February is that crazy dude that always gets on the third subway stop – you know he’s crazy, he’s always been crazy – but every now and then he’ll pull out a flute and enchant the whole train car with a Brahms lullaby but if he doesn’t you’re okay with that because you know he’s crazy. March? March is That Cousin. You know – the ‘iffy’ one who sometimes shows up to Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Edna’s; you’re almost (sort of ) happy to see him because he’s your Aunt Lula’s baby boy and you remember when he was a clumsy, lovable 3 yr old. And most times, when he comes to family dinner, he’s okay-ish. Kinda quiet but fixes his plate and sits in the family room with Uncle Ray and Uncle Bobby to watch the game. But! If he comes in with a wild look in his eye and sits down at the main table…you always find yourself inches from the door because you know, any minute now, he’s going to start pounding the table and talking about microphones in the pachysandra. This time March went into the family room to watch the game – but something pinged! and he decided to come into the dining room, get wild and tell you about the pachysandra. And maybe the curtain rods. And before you know it, he’s knocked over a carafe of red wine all over Aunt Edna’s white tablecloth.
yesterday
today
Well, thinking he might come sit at the table I started working towards the door. My work paid off, though my shoulders are unappreciative. The dirt-filled pots are snug in my little greenhouse – they’ve got to be around 70F for my dahlia bulbs to germinate and the greenhouse, though unheated, serves as a solarizer for the dirt. Today is not the day to open that door. I planted a couple rows of peas (both germinated and ungerminated)already because Peas Don’t Care and I was curious to see if they would withstand some seasonal changes. They’re fine. They’re peas. Peas are the Honey Badgers of the vegetable world. The cute little pea seedlings that are potted up look great – snow is a great insulator and doesn’t hurt plants the way a freeze does. But, still, it’s just weird, all the heavy, wet snow. That insulation works on a sensory level as well – we’re at the edge of an already-teeny town, it’s Monday (when 2/3 of the 5 shops in town are closed) – and the snow muffles what little sound there is. It feels as if I’m the only person for miles around. I’m happy to be snug in my office, looking out on the White World….and I am awash in vintage Ubar. I am usually not a huge sandalwood fan but there is something so cozy and comforting about the sandalwood and citrus opening, with that luscious hint of red rose.
I was going to write about how sorry I felt for myself, in all this snow….then I just started giggling! I am NOT feeling sorry for myself! Here I sit, in warmth and comfort, with my borders edged and my peas growing. Everyone I love is in decent health and relative contentment. I have blizzard-level amounts of food in my pantry & freezer. I just made from-scratch hot chocolate and I am hitting it HARD. The birds are fed and watered (water is essential during Winter, even more so than birdseed). The Girl and I will go out for a walk in a little while, so I can re-anchor myself to the world. Then I will get back to work so I can get paid. Then I’m going to germinate some Cleome for the cutting garden. Later I will put a ham in the oven (from the Blizzard-Level freezer) and make some lemon broccoli (from last season’s harvest) & scalloped potatoes for dinner. I will do all of this in Ubar. Vintage Ubar. That smells like a ruby and canary yellow diamond necklace looks. Ham that smells like ham! What a great day, huh?
So. That’s it for me. I got nothing other than an armful of Ubar and a Pretty Good Feeling. So. Let’s do a Feel Pretty Good Day giveaway! Tell me something GOOD. I don’t care what it is – if you are just glad to have gotten up this morning, that’s fine. Just something you are happy to be happy for. I’ll pull a couple of winnahs and send you out some fun goodies from the Messy Armoire. I’ll be back in 2 weeks to announce the winners – and by then I’ll have a fabbo review of actual perfume, I promise!
xoxoox
I’m happy to have passed half a century of life yesterday and find that i still feel like 21 (not always, but most days). Life is not perfect but i’m working on it!
Saturday morning after the cold snap and it’s now warm and raining. After sleeping in, I’m now sitting in my living room, drinking coffee and trying to type with a large, gray, madly purring cat draped over my arm. This morning life is good!
‘Proper’ summer has arrived late in Melbourne this year, so I’m very happy that we’re having more than two days in a row of warm weather (please know that it’s not my intention to rub it in to all you folk enduring freezing conditions in the northern hemisphere; before I know it it’ll be winter here, so I’m just enjoying it while I can!).
I love seeing everyone’s good things. It is excellent. My good thing is this…I just returned from a London weekend with my 15-year old daughter. We had a great time shopping and wandering around. She learned to love curry even more and we ate it nearly every day. This was great because it is not expensive!
Got friends, got furballs, got a job and a house. There is food in the fridge. Drinking a cup of coffee. Next week is Spring Break, and perhaps some breathing room. Feeling pretty good today.
Every time I want to feel Good And Sorry for myself, those darn blessings keep coming to mind. A healthy new (first!) grandbaby. A loving husband. My son and daughter in law (I can take no credit for her, other than having raised a son with good taste, but him I have some responsibility for…). A job I love most days. Spring. Perfume. You know, the good stuff.
My daughter and her boyfriend dug me out of the snow and cleaned off my car, so that was really nice. I made it into work OK, so that’s good. Love your pictures…my boyfriend is a gardener, so he was doing the same things you were on Monday. Thanks for the draw.
I am enjoying sunny days. It finally stopped raining
JUST having the ability to spray on perfume is magical. When the weather turns foul we can escape to Tahiti or a tropical rainforest with just a few spritzes. Not it is it good it’s magical
Today was pi day and I had pie. Pie is almost always good!
I was curious about the preponderance of pachysandra in this tale and looked it up! For the uninitiated, it might indeed make for a livelier conversation piece when wired for sound. 😉
Today’s ‘something good’: After many years of planning and saving, my friend opened her dream coffee shop. I stopped in for a tea on my way to work and was greeted by a sea of familiar faces, both behind the counter and as patrons! It’s a lovely thing.
I bought myself a nice dress and I’m waiting for spring so I can wear it.
it was a sunny day and the snow is melting — I wore Mitsouko to a coffee meeting then had lunch with a good friend and his delicious baby!
Something good…spring is on its way! Thanks so much for the opportunity!
I’m happy Spring has come to my little town in Southern California. I’m tired of the coldness and wetness!
my friend from a FB fragrance group sent me a surprise bottle of Aomassai today.. today is a good day!
I love snow, so I consider that good news. And I just bought a composter and am excited to try and turn my food waste into something useful.
I’m delighted by the first spring days in Paris, my newly bought summer dresses and having met some lovely FB friends from San Francisco in person for the first time.
Thank you for the sweet giveaway xx
Best,
Despina Veneti
veneti.despina@gmail.com
I am happy the power is back on after the blackout last night!
Good stuff for today, my friends goats had 2 sets of twins and they are adorable! So sweet. I love goats, make me smile every day!
Ham and scalloped potatoes is my favourite thing in the whole world, I think it is my curse that no one else in my life enjoys them, inconceivable I know. My good thing is that I overslept two whole hours this morning, but guess what, I start late today anyway! So it all worked out and I guess I needed the sleep. 😛
This is such a great post! I’m near San Francisco & your word picture is perfect.
Just a couple of weeks after feeling I’d never be warm, or dry, again, it was 74 degrees today, true spring glory. I don’t know how long it will last, but the sky is blue, bulb are about to bloom. After flood-inducing rains, the hills are gloriously green.
The family’s newest pet, a ragdoll kitten, retrieves. ? When I toss her little felt mouse across the room, she fetches it & drops it at my feet for another go.
I don’t know what Ubar is, so it’s research time.
Tonight I’m attending the first concert in my life! It’s one of my favourite musicians, Loreena McKennitt. I’ve been a fan for many years and it’s the first time I have the chance to hear her live. I’m so excited!!!
This was a lovely post! I live in Texas now, but the vast majority of my life (and heart) belongs to Ohio. I don’t miss driving in the snow, but I definitely miss staring at it from the couch, wrapped in a blanket.
Right now, I’m happy to have friends visiting from aforementioned Ohio. It’s always fun to play tourist and show them around Austin, and, of course, delightful to see them in the first place.
Musette! I’m finally home for Spring Break and helping my Dad recover from his recent leg amputation (which is going great!). It’s been really hard being away from home while he recovers and Mom takes care of him, so it’s been such a relief to clean like a madwoman and cook and such. And we have a very heavy snow headed for us today, so I’m looking forward to another quiet day inside.
My feel pretty good day also revolved around gladness that March herself wasn’t mad and it was only the crappy old month. And I wore Amouage Gold just to stuff it in March’s face (not you, dear). And like everyone else on here I automatically think of cuddling with the kitties while imagining what fabulous things may be part of the giveaway, one of which would be amazing if it were Ubar or another Amouage since I love Gold but really really love my new Lyric which I could wear every day. But won’t.
Hey stuff it in my face, it is deeelighful!
Very happy to read of gardening! I too am an urban apartment dweller, but it’s something I love to imagine so Thank you!
I should be in bed right now but the whole time change is throwing me off right now. Been a crazy day at work today. Soon as people heard about all the snow, you should have seen them storming the grocery store today buying everything they could. Good thing I did my major grocery shop on Sunday, so all I really needed was a gallon of milk. I’m waiting on that bottle of L’Heure de Nuit to arrive on my doorstep. I’m hoping it isn’t delayed and hope that Neiman Marcus packaged it well and FedEx doesn’t have a bunch of elephants that jumped on it. Wearing Amouage Gold tonight and about to turn in for the night.
Well, I’m the grump here. When you said to tell you something “GOOD”, I thought “”what’s good about being in New England, waiting for a nor’easter to dump 18+ inches of snow on us?” The governor put out a travel ban that goes into effect 5:00 AM on all state roads – emergency vehicles only. So what’s good? I’ve got it! March is the official month of spring. Winter can roar as much as it wants to but it’s on the way OUT. 🙂
We’re having thick dense fog after a hot sunny day here in San Diego. My sweet doggie is being extra cuddly and I am taking full advantage. And the wisteria has started blooming, my birthday flower! Life is good.
Its not snowing here, although its cold and rainy. We’re all cozy. The dishwasher broke, but the repairman was honest. Its been a good day.
After that horrible time change I slept in for a whole hour this morning (take THAT daylight savings time) and was only awakened by a cute cat launching herself off my check because her automatic feeder had dispensed breakfast. Which was startling, but made me laugh. 😉
I’m not at work right now, there’s a zonked-out cat on my lap, and tomorrow isn’t Monday. All three of these things are making me very happy.
I just love this post. Saturday was a happy day. A whole day with my favorite person in the world to whom I’m glad to be married and my enormous black and white furball of a cat. We spent the day listening to music, cleaning the house and cooking, with bloody marys in the late afternoon and a big platter of homemade onion rings, it was awesome. The best part was that I knew it was awesome, the whole day.
We will be going back to TX for a few days over Spring Break to visit friends in our old stomping grounds. If I am lucky (probably won’t be, but this trip is really for our boys), I will get to go to Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom. Also planning to go to Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum to see hundreds of thousands of tulips in full bloom along with dogwoods and azaleas. It is to die for.
My clock “knows” to Spring ahead, but I still have to set the alarm, which I forgot to do yesterday evening. However, I woke up at six minutes before seven and still managed to be at my desk at a few minutes before eight, properly dressed, fairly well made-up and well-perfumed with Tuscany per donna. So that’s good, and what with our college town on Spring break, there was a mellow Monday vibe that allowed for a second cup of coffee and some uncomplicated data entry while the snow began to fall! Only garden daydreams so far by me, but neighbors have cut down some trees last month and I just might have a new garden spot in the yard – COULD there be six hours of full sun by June?
something i’m happy for I’m happy to be on spring break spending some time with my family and hopefully getting a tooth that has been killing me for a couple months pulled this week as well and I’m happy to have wonderful blogs like yours to read and happy to have a chance at perhaps winning some goodies as well! Good luck with your gardening i miss that sometimes i grew up around a farm but live in an apartment in the city now maybe one of these days will have the opportunity again.
How about something cute? My lab mix Dusty was in a playful mood and jumped up on our bed with his favorite stuffed animal under his paws. He just sat there with a smile, his tail going back and forth like a windshield wiper on high. My little boy, as we’re getting him ready for bed, runs into our room and scrambles up onto the bed. He gets behind the dog, and like sticking your face into a table fan on a hot day, he leans forward until the dog’s wagging tail thwacks him in the head over and over again. He found this hysterical and was giggling the whole time, which led his father and I to laugh too at the utter silliness of the moment. The dog looked delightfully clueless.
Great post, Musette! My good news for the day: just registered my youngest son for high school, my oldest son is home from college for spring break, and I have an interview for what could become a new lab job set for Thursday! Fingers crossed!!! We are experiencing Winter’s Last Stand down here on the Gulf Coast too; it had been warm for weeks, and we barely had any winter at all, but now I can’t go outside without a jacket. Just when I thought my long sleeves were finished for the season…
Thanks for the giveaway! And it sounds like your gardening is well underway!
Love this post SO. MUCH. What a beautiful example of the joys of simple pleasures. Today started out very difficult, first day of semester, horrible fight with husband the night before and a headache to boot. But when I got to the bookstore to study for six hours, I found that my new organic chemistry textbook is so well written that I was awash in the wonders of chemistry for hours, loving it. Also wore Moonlight in Heaven for the first time and it worked beautifully to get me through the cold temps today. So lovely.
Good news, huh? How about I’m happy to know “March the human” isn’t mad, but instead “March the month” is! Saw the headline and thought, “Oh gosh, what happened now?” Vintage Ubar. Love it but can’t wear it without breaking out into rash but I know you smell heavenly.
I AM MAD. This weather is bullsh!t. It’s frozen all the blooms on all my idiot plants that came out too early. I am *particularly* mad about the early magnolia blossoms, because I really love them. They’re all brown and gross now. I’m also mad because OPM didn’t close the gubmit so those of us in DC are supposed to go to work. As if! It’s sleeting out there and has been for hours. I couldn’t open the back door (iced shut) so had to shepherd the small moron dogs out the basement door blah blah blah. But hey, now I’m inside drinking coffee and yapping on the Posse, so it’s all good!
Well OK then, I stand corrected! 🙂
We are supposed to get that snow tomorrow, but being Canadian, a March dump of snow ain’t nuttin.
Curled in bed with warm fuzzy doggies after doing a job I like and then watching a silly movie and practicing cello. Everything is warm and sleepy and awaiting spring.
All is good
I am enjoying a new furbaby at home , a lovely brown striped tabby named Sweet Pea or Peapod ,depending, She is getting along very well with my spoiled diva dog Pearl . The charcoal gray wet gave us a break for the weekend and we had sunny 60 degrees and dry for the weekend , did a small amount of garden cleanup and my mini daffodils are starting to bloom. As if you couldn’t tell, Spring is my favorite season. Also would love to see more pictures of the Girl , she is beautiful.