August Things

After feeling that vagueness with regard to posts, we’re on warp speed for August. I received a small lot of samples yesterday and boy do they contain food for thought. A sample set should drop early to mid next week. But as I’ve got this written, it’s where we’re going this week. Just before we dive in, one of my things lists in a paragraph for a bit of fantasy.

1 – Something from Lucifer vir Honestus jewellery (https://lucifer-vir-honestus.com/):  I don’t ‘need’ jewellery and don’t look at it much, but this stuff, particularly the Quercus ring, is calling to me; 2 –Fantasy holiday: it would still be Paris with someone else paying (this is fantasy, remember) … a five star hotel for a few nights with in-room breakfast on my terrace, a visit to the Nose perfume shop, a walk around the Belleville neighbourhood because it’s supposed to be edgy and interesting and I’ve never been there; 3 – Turning our village hall into a small but choice deli: we need decent bagels out here in la la land plus a load of different cream cheeses, proper smoked mozzarella – a very mini Zabars (https://www.zabars.com/); 4 — A bottle of perfume (of course) drops through my letter box: it’s Perfumer H Smoke because while it’s on my ‘list’, it’s so pricey that I’m probably unlikely to pursue it and decants seem impossible to find, which means it appearing as if by magic would be ever so helpful.

So, onward.

Yesterday, we awaited Antoni, the first storm of the season. Not much rain, but high winds. Our recent weather has meant new bugs I’ve never seen before showing up in the garden. I mean, seriously: weird small flying things that gather under vines.

A recipe popped up a magazine last weekend which cried out for trying. So, I did.

It’s a raspberry vanilla fridge cake. Turned out to be very easy and verrrry nice. One of those crumble bases, some fruit, a cream cheese and double cream filling. I used mostly hedge row blackberries (with a few raspberries to make up the weight) because the berries are just mad this year. Early, huge and delicious. My mother used to make a fridge cake with chocolate wafers and a double (ie, heavy) cream filling. Do those wafers still exist in the US? Like chocolate necco wafers?

My orchid decided to bloom in its new, bigger pot, with new bark. I kept picking up this weird great smell behind my work area and finally realised it was the orchid. Lemon floor wax (but no vanilla, like Shalimar EdT). Absolutely great. I feel so lucky it decided to do this.

An Ikea visit! Is it pathetic that I looked forward to this? My last visit to the local Ikea took place the first week of lockdown in 2020, just before I moved from my house to the rental so building work could be done. It was terrifying: we knew enough about Covid to be worried about it, but masks weren’t yet being discussed. I needed some stuff to make the rental manageable, so blew through the store trying not to breathe too much or get near other people. This visit was a bit more relaxed. I like visiting the room set-ups to get ideas (like an in-person version of my home design porn magazines). Dinner at the café and new hand towels, as most of mine are shredding. Oh, and no cinnamon buns, sadly. They’d run out.

Finally, I’m planning for the week off at end of month. Years ago, someone said to me “Don’t wish time away” when I think I must have said “I can’t wait for X or Y” – “Be in the now”. I try to tell myself that every day, even when I’m reading a really deadly report on European real estate trusts that appears to have been translated via Google Translate. But still, sometimes you’ve got to plan or things won’t happen. I haven’t had time off for more than a year and all this is going to be is several lunches out, a hair cut with time to visit shops I don’t generally have time for, and, actually, doing soe DIY like painting over the area in the kitchen where the glass roof leaked (the leak has been fixed).

So, beyond my usual bleating about the bakery and the farm shop, that’s the lay of the land.

I wore Le Labo Ylang 49 to Ikea. For some reason a hefty floral seemed perfect. Maybe to warn people off in the line at the café.

Oh, and I’m reading the Turin/Sanchez 2018 perfume guide (ie, not the first one) which popped through my door a few days ago.

The intros are very well done and it’s always fun and interesting to see what they love that I love or in fact that I hate. And this version is full of houses I’ve never heard of. What’s that about?

Pics: Pexels and my own