Go Away, Irene! Scat! G'wan!!
By March (yes! it’s true! I posted this on Saturday, with a Sunday update at bottom. We are fine, just a little yard cleanup. Hope the rest of the East Coast Posse is too.)
The air is heavy and still this morning, overcast – not Irene herself knocking at my door, but the weather she pushed ahead of her. It still feels ominous, no birdsong from the trees. I gave up on the morning paper and decided to write while the electricity’s still on.
Like my east coast brethren and sistern, I’ve hunkered down. Spent the last three days in measured preparation – batteries, flashlights, non-perishable foods, gasoline in the cars, gasoline for the generator blah blah (I skipped the extra toilet paper; what is that all about? Actually, don’t answer that.) I reacquainted myself with the mysterious workings of the generator, which is now locked and loaded. Well, actually, it’s chained to the side of the house and blockaded by my SUV (a precaution against thieves, not the wind). We’ve taken down and stowed everything outside that I can envision as a projectile in 100-mph winds.
They keep messing with us, forecast-wise. First it was kind of … eh. Then they upgraded. Then Kate, who lives on the eastern shore, called to tell me the watermen were pulling their boats. If you live near the coast, you understand that level of code-dire immediately. The watermen do not pull their boats for any little ol’ blow. That’s when I got busy double-checking the windows, revising our sleeping arrangements, and pre-loading the generator.
A hurricane smells like Karma. No, I’m not saying I deserve it – who the hell deserves an angry visit from Ma Nature? This, the same week we had that bizarro mid-Atlantic earthquake? Whiskey tango foxtrot, people. (Also while I’m being completely random, my understanding is we completely misuse the word karma in its proper meaning.) No, a hurricane smells … faintly and creepily of ozone in the distance, although maybe that’s my imagination. The bird-absence does disturb me. I’m talking about LUSH Karma, which I reviewed here, describing it as “an inky-green scent somewhere between vetiver and pine, with a pale-straw-citrus note of lemongrass and a resiny base.” That was the spray-on. In the push-up solid it seems sweeter…. like if they made a lemongrass-incense birch beer. I wouldn’t want to drink it, but it smells wonderful, and completely weird.
In the meantime, there’s the EdP of Guerlain Jicky sent from a dear, dear friend – didn’t Luca Turin say it’s closest to the original, intended smell of Jicky? Any Jicky fans know the huge difference between the lemony effervescence of the EdT and the heavy-lidded skank of the parfum… you know, this middle ground smells like I’d stomped through a field of Martian lavender, and the girls detested it. I gave myself three (okay, four) unhealthy sprays before heading off for errands the day of the earthquake, and I did get a couple funny looks. I have a theory that to some people it smells like household cleaner – like, I just took a break from scrubbing the bathroom tiles from top to bottom to run to CVS for a hot minute because I realized I was out of toilet paper. What version of Jicky do I prefer? I prefer all of them. I think I’ve decided, after much experimentation, that the EdT layered over the parfum is the most lethal my personal favorite.
Mariage Freres Marco Polo Tea – no, no, that’s not a new perfume. Lawl – I can see you hardcore perfumistas jumping onto google (Mariage Freres now has a fragrance line?! Who do I know in Paris….) Nope, somebody sent me a care package with Marco Polo tea in it. I like tea. This tea smells and tastes divine. I am no tea connoisseur. I also got a mixed tea care-package from another sweetheart with good summer herbals (like raspberry for iced), and some interesting chais, and I saved the USPS shipper box so I can smell it. The only common teas I don’t like are the Greys, Lady and her husband the Earl (although I like bergamot just fine in perfume), and lapsang, which I adore in perfume and in tea is like drinking through a dirty sock.
HOWEVER. I’m going to close today’s random perfume, freak-of-nature, and March-resurrection post with this hot tip from me to you tea freaks out there – my friends went camping, and they stuffed all their teas into a Zip-Lock bag for a week, mixing her lapsang and his Twinings English Breakfast together. I brewed myself some English Breakfast at her house when they got back, then spent three minutes huffing it in ecstasy, and she finally understood my incoherent moany questions and explained how she did it — make a faintly smoky English Breakfast. So – if you’d like to experiment, take your favorite black tea, tuck it in a sandwich baggie with some lapsang for a day or three, wait till the smell transfers a bit, and brew the black tea. Yeah, yeah, some of you tea queens are already making mental workarounds for the fact that I used tea bags (quelle horreur!) and Twinings (le monsieur yuck!) but the concept’s still worth exploring.
PS apologies, this isn’t proofread as carefully as usual. Also, they keep comparing this storm to Isabel, and if they’re right, DC will be shut down for the better part of two weeks. I hope they’re wrong.
Sunday Morning Update — we’re fine! Power never went off, basement is dry. Heavy rain and 35 – 40mph winds most of the night. Lots of leaf litter but surprisingly little damage in the immediate area, except for two trees down from our neighbor across the street. Glad I didn’t park there. Still gusty. Fingers crossed for NYC and the rest of the north...
Showing up very very late to say how glad I am to see a post from you, Marchele, and to hear that all is well out your way, weatherwise. Sounds less damaging than what the snowpocalypse did to your roses. Sending you an email soon, btw, now that I know your back in internet land.
I hope I’m not too late…just wanted to say welcome back March, and I’m glad you seem to have weathered Irene pretty well. Lots of good wishes your way! :-)
Hey March, good ta see ya!
As for tea snobbery, what’s wrong with Twinings? It’s what I drink.
Oh dear, does that prove I’m a tea pleb?
Tant pis.
:)
Late to the party, but, when you get right down to it, what party am I not late to? Good to read you, March, welcome back!
Welcome back, March!!! We missed you much!!!
I also received a wonderful selection of teas from a perfume friend (thank you, Ann N.!). One of them was Mariage Freres Marco Polo. So delicious. She also sent Tea Forte Orchid Vanilla – yum! As to the Earl Grey – did you see Octavian’s post over on 1000 Fragrances – that the IFRA has banned the use of bergamot in tea, and the English are rebelling cause the Twinings just ain’t what it used to be? Oh, someone, please stop these people from banning every good thing in existence.
OK – I stand corrected (sorry). This is not confirmed that the IFRA has banned the use of bergamot in tea. The Daily Mail article says that Twining changed their formula, and customers are angry. It doesn’t say they changed it because of a ban. They’re saying they simply added *more* bergamot!? Anyone know if the use of bergamot oil is banned from food products? Strange if true cause bergamot is a fruit. Hello.
Hi, Karin! I’m a Brit and saw Octavian’s article about the story in the Daily Mail. It was no news to me as I have for some months been following all the complaints from customers on Twining’s own blog; it was rather amusing to see very polite responses from the company to the first few, but as the onslaught grew, Twinings became silent! As far as I am aware, there is no banning of bergamot and the feeling is that it is purely a matter of economy: substituting synthetic for the real stuff will no doubt decrease production costs. That and the fact that they closed the factory here in the UK and set up in Poland to great distress all round, but no doubt good for their finances.
Interestingly, they ceased making my favourite tea of all time, Rose Pouchong, three years ago as its harvest in China had been hit by flooding. They kept announcing that it would return, only to bring out Rose Garden in its place last year – an entirely different tea and, unlike RP, made with synthetic flavourings; their explanation was that this would help with consistency of quality. I am beginning to suspect they don’t credit us with much intelligence!
Yes – you’re so right – like we’re not going to notice??? Sometimes finances aren’t a good enough reason to diminish the quality of a product. Raise the price and let your customers know why. The loyal ones will still buy it – but perhaps that’s not enough to sustain business. Some people would rather just buy something cheaper, regardless of the taste.
Absolutely.
x
so glad to see something from you, march! miss you tons.
my friend who lives very close to you was concerned about the saturated ground not being able to handle the extra rain, but it seems he came through it okay, too. best to be prepared, because often it’s the aftermath that’s hard – no water, no power, etc. that’s what happened here after ike.
love jicky – have the parfum de toilette and edt. still haven’t popped for the parfum, but may some day.
the bergamot in those teas make my tummy hurt – can’t drink them, either! one low-brow tea i really like is twining’s darjeeling. it’s mellow, and you can’t overbrew it to bitterness.
be well.
So glad to read a posting from you, March! Our Hurricane Irene outcome was almost identical to yours. A tree down across the street, lots of leaf litter, didn’t even lose our power, thank the Lord! because nobody in my family, except me, seems to be able to entertain themselves without electricity!
I enjoyed reading about the Jicky and the tea. I’ll have to try the teabag experiment. :-)
I’m very late to the “March party”, but still happy to see you! WOO HOO!! And very glad that you and yours are safe. I loved your “layering” suggestions both for the teas and for Jicky. I have all four iterations of Jicky: parfum, edp, edt and pdt, and just vary them according to mood. But now I’ll try your layering suggestion.
Probably in the same category as using tea bags, but I like Jackson of Piccadilly Russian Caravan – it’s not too smokey and has a very smooth flavor.
March, how fantastic to see a post from you! Really glad Irene didn’t live up to expectations. The weather has been insane this year. I live in Joplin, MO. We had 26 inches of snow Feb.1, an F5 tornado May 22, and have had the worst drought in ages this summer. Weird. Oh, and Jicky? I love it. Very happy you sustained no damage. :-)
I watched a bunch of footage of the Joplin tornado and it was astonishing. That has got to be one of the biggest tornadoes I have ever seen. I felt terrible for the folks there. I spent three years in central MO in college but never saw a tornado, although I did get used to sudden, wild changes in weather.
We had a terrible drought too, followed by waaay too much rain. Hoping no trees topple in the next few days.
March resurrection. AWESOME DUDE. I love me some Jicky. Our condo fared OK, but one across the way has a big old tree uprooted leaning over it, held up by 2 tiny little trees. Crazyness.
Are you back? I would love to see you. And talk to you. And hear how the return to “real life” is going.
Welcome back, Miz March! Is this a one-time resurrection, or are you kindamaybesorta gonna write regular-like again?
Hope you all are well, dry, and safe!
Let’s take it day by day. :d This weekend’s post was spontaneous, to the degree that I told Anita and P after I’d already put it up. I am only now doing a bit of new sniffing.
We got hit pretty hard in Spotswood, NJ – power out and LOTS of fallen trees, flooding, etc. If we didn’t secure a generator on Friday, we would have been royally SCREWED. All’s good now and life is slowly getting back to normal. I think that loud “hum” of the generator will be with me for weeks though, lol. Glad you’re ok!
Uh oh, power out for weeks?! That’s terrible. Yes, so glad we got a generator last year. There’s no place for us to go, and too many of us to easily relocate anyway. There are definitely pockets and areas closer to the coast that got slammed.
Oh, hey, March! So nice to find you here on a Sunday night.
I think you just reminded me to pull out my Chaos dupe for tomorrow…
So happy that all of us are safe :d
Mmmm, did you wear it to work today?
A March post AND good news! My thoughts are with all my ERast Coast friends and family. Stay safe y’all!
The reports overall have been not too terrible. Although the twins’ elementary school is still closed this morning. No power. :-w Really hoping they fix that soon.
You’re back! You’re fine! And who says you don’t understand karma??? HA.
Someone else mentioned the Russian caravan teas for a smokey black. I LOVE Russian Country Black Tea by John Henry. Perfect for an autumn morning…just letting the rich smoke waft in and warm and wake me up. (Website below – and they say it has a “touch” of Lapsang in it, for a softer version of their Smoky Lapsang Souchong. May just fit your bill!) Harney and Sons makes them in a black metal tin, which is a great dual purpose for holding my tea-based perfume samples.
Have not had my tea yet and am having a slow Colorado morning. John Henry is on the tin, but Harney and Sons is the manufacturer.
Thank you! I’m now snooping Russian Caravan teas online.
So happy to read a March post, hon! Glad we all prepared and appear to be safe. Fingers crossed for NY and northward. Lets hope the earth holds onto more trees over the duration. It was months after Isabel that a wind gently lifted a huge oak out of my yard and aimed toward the neighbor’s home!
Isabel, what a ghastly storm that was. We had an oak tree across our street for a week, and it’s not like we live in the sticks. School was closed, I think, for almost two weeks, and no power.
March! Been thinking of you from time to time, and hoping that all is going well. Glad to hear that Irene has thus far spared you. Take care!
I only know a couple of people who sustained some damage to property, personally. Overall, I think the east coast lucked out.
Greetings, March! We got very lucky here on the Florida Space Coast, just a few outer bands, which were quite scary enough, thank you. Quite a few palm trees are leaning at ridiculous angles, roof tiles missing here and there, but we are so HAPPY Irene ricocheted off of our coast. Very concerned for NC and NY.
I wore no perfume at all except Parfum Sacre, too busy figuring out if we were evacuating or not (pack! unpack!) to try something else. I find amber/incense perfumes the most comforting when I’m stressed out.
Hi, lady. Glad to hear you guys in Fla. are OK and didn’t have to evacuate. You all have had more than your share of hurricanes over the years. One reason I’m glad to be safely inland now. Parfum Sacre is a great comfort scent.
Masha, I had no idea you are a fellow Space Coaster! I thought I was the only perfumista in Brevard; it’s really nice to know there’s another.
Hi, A, I’m a former sort-of Space Coaster — grew up just above Vero Beach but spent a lot of time in Brevard too. Haven’t been back in nearly 20-something years so probably wouldn’t recognize a thing, ha!
I don’t know Ann; it’s still a pretty sleepy place. ;-) Which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
Woot, woot, Space Coast Perfumistas!
What a treat in these weird times to have you back, March. You have brightened up my Sunday morning, although my heart is in my mouth for you and all the others being menaced by that Irene.
My husband asked what we would take if we had to evacuate – my answer was our two feline children, although that should go without saying, and I honestly don’t think I’d bother about anything else (well, the cats are enormous and weigh a lot – not that they are fat, just big breeds). I don’t even think under those circumstancers I would take all my precious ‘fumes as I wouldn’t be able to choose which and I would need a truck to load them in.
Other uses for tea: those berry/floral types make lovely bowls of pot-pourri.
Take care, March, and everyone else too.
X
I’m going to hop over to google and see how the weather is up north — it must be in Philly by now, well on its way to NYC? Raining hard again here, have not put the generator away. 🙂 But we got through really well, considering. Knock wood.
Yeah, take the cats. Everything else is replaceable.
March, I just encountered the following explanation of karma in Buddha by Karen Armstrong (purchased at the Sackler just minutes before the earthquake):
“…the doctrine of reincarnation….a man or woman would be reborn after death into a new state that would be determined by the quality of their actions (karma) in their present life. Bad karma would mean that you would be reborn as a slave, an animal or a plant; good karma would ensure a better existence next time: you could be reborn as a king or even a god. But rebirth in one of the heavens was not a happy ending, because divinity was no more permanent than any other state. Eventually even a god would exhaust the good karma that had divinized him; he would then die and be reborn in a less advantageous position on earth. All beings were, therefore, caught up in an endless cycle of samsara (“keeping going”), which propelled them from one life to another.”
Actually, she spells it “kamma,” which is more historically accurate. What’s clear is that Samsara is a really absurd perfume name! :-)
Okay, that was FASCINATING. So even good karma eventually wears out and you start all over … when they mean impermanent they really mean it. And yes, Samsara seems silly, but it SOUNDS great.
Yay! I agree with Winifreida – about the post from you, March, and about the fierceness of the weather. Good to read your voice again. When I look at the feeds, it seems as though the DC area will be getting into the worst of it now. Hope you are ok. Here in London – in Notting Hill to be more specific – we’re also boarded up and locked down, but for us this is normal preparation for Carnival which runs tomorrow and Monday, bringing somewhere between 700 thousand and a million people into what is mainly a residential area. Given recent events, there will also be 16,000 police this year.
This evening, I’ve been having a wonderfully delicate lapsang just now – traditionally smoked and very mild, along with some orange & lavender cake, and, for now, a book. But can’t quite figure out what to wear tomorrow for a Caribbean Carnival in weather so cold we’re all wearing long sleeves and fleeces.
eeeeeeeeee, hope Carnival is okay. I was watching the London drama pretty closely. I’d be worried too. And I didn’t know there was such a thing as a “delicate lapsang!” Must investigate.
Me too — the kind I have (Twinings) is getting old and smells like barbecue.
Yay! One good thing about ‘Irene’…a post from you March!!I am a weather nut and have been sitting here in Australia logging on to your sat images and radars and reading the New York Times. Hang onto your hats American mates! Cannot take too lightly Nature’s wild turns, goodness knows she’s hammered us Downunder lately.
Putting on Jicky to celebrate your return and hope to ‘see’ you again soon!
Thanks for your thoughts, Winifreda! Weather is fascinating! I’ve got a several amazing photos from that big Aussie dust storm saved in my iPhotos.
Australia. I will have to visit someday. Ashamed to say all my impressions of Australia are based on watching endless Steve Irwin reruns. Man, I miss that guy.
MARCH!!!
Do you know that you were one of the first people I thought of when I saw Irene’s track up the coast? OK, my sister-in-law who lives on Long Island and is going to get pounded was first, but then you. Stay inside, read your book, eat your chocolate, and drink your tea (all of which sounds much classier than our typical Florida Hurricane parties).
A little hint: if your power is out for more than 24 hours, throw the food in your fridge/freezer out ASAP – or you’ll never get the smell of spoiled milk & rotting meat out of the fridge. You can easily guess how I know this. :-( That’s the smell of post-hurricane, btw. Most unpleasant.
And thinking positively, you survived Snowmageddon; you don’t have shovel snow for this one!
Why does rotting food smell so awful? But it does, doesn’t it? The big surprise for me was spoiled orange juice. You wouldn’t think it could be that bad, but honestly I think it’s worse than milk. Fortunately we are still a-OK as of Sunday morning! Still gusty, scattered rain.
Girls and I already joked about NOT having to shovel.
I’m just guessing that rotten food smells so awful because the brain is telling us DON’T EAT THAT!!!! :-)
Not to discourage your experiments in indirect tea scenting, but you might look into Russian Caravan teas. They are generally a blend with some Lapsang Souchong cut with various proportions of black and or oolong. And Lapsangs do vary quite a bit. Some are fairly delicate, while others smell and taste like charcoal grill scrapings.
“Some are fairly delicate, while others smell and taste like charcoal grill scrapings.”
Kinda sums up perfume, too, huh??
LOL – Amouage Tribute Attar’s ears are burning!
Oooh! Seee, this is why I post my ignorant ramblings on here, then I get educated. I thought all lapsang was of the dirty-sock variety (based on my sampling of … what, twinings, probably.) I’ll find some Russian Caravan tea. Actually, I’ll nag Ann. :d
There’s a chain of tea shops in Canada called David’s Tea (n/a) that sells fabulous blends – you can order online as well – and their lapsang is the first I’ve ever tried. I was blown away; it smells like all the best parts of that campfire smell, smoky and woody and thick, but the taste is so smooth without any bitterness, and an almost velvety finish. It’s like Patchouli 24 without the vanilla, and drinkable. No dirty sock from this stuff.
Thanks for the heads up, I’m now looking online.
Thinking about Jicky, I realize it affects me the way Shalimar did when I first encountered it: namely, it both attracts and repells me. I have a tiny bottle of extrait and a small, vintage “clock-shaped” bottle of EdC – the one with the pointy stopper. I sniff them every now and then for reference and expect that one day attraction may win out as it has with Shalimar, now one of my loves. Or maybe not :-) Lavender is a tricky note!
Jicky…. I wonder if anyone ever changes their mind about Jicky? Shalimar is super tricky. I love your description. Shalimar-love still eludes me. :”>
So happy to see you back, March!
Hopefully this won’t turn out to be as bad as they’re predicting. I still can’t wrap my head around all the closures/evacuations in NY. Freaky…
Be safe. 😡
Sunday morning, we’re all good, wonder how it’s going further north.
Remember what the vaunted Ron White says:
“It’s not THAT the wind is blowin’…
…it’s WHAT the wind is blowin'”
xo >-)
Ha, ha – I’m thinking this could apply to earthquakes, as well: it’s not THAT the earthquake is shakin’…it’s WHAT the earthquake is shakin’!
We are okay as of Sunday morning!
Glad to read you on here again; hope that damned storm just goes back out to sea..
:x
Should I spray on something that repels? Heck, half my collection would qualify. Maybe I’ll go for some Poison. Or that terrifying Dune extrait.
Maybe I’ll LAYER them. Maybe my nose will fall off. >:)
WAIT! Dune extrait?!? How did I MISS this?!
I think it’s extrait. I mean, it could choke a horse. In a good way, of course.
Yippee, March!! So great to “hear” your voice back on the Posse!! Hang tight during Irene, stay inside and hunker down with good teas and fragrances. And don’t worry a bit about using teabags, it’s all good!
I have my tea, my reading lamp, my books, my obscenely dark chocolate … I.Am.Ready.
Glad to hear not everyone is rolling their eyes at the teabags. I didn’t know how much shame I should feel.
Nope, no shame allowed. In my book, tea is wonderful in all its variations — tea snobs be darned!
It’s just like in perfume: No right or wrong, you like what you like and that’s cool …
March,
So glad we get to hear from you! My advice to you (and my daughters in NC) is to stay inside during the storm. Falling limbs and flying debris are dangerous. And I was watching some reporter battling the wind and driving rain in VA, (he was in the middle of some downtown street), and all kinds of nuts were out driving in the storm. What???
Love Jicky, will put some on in honor of your return.
Yeah, staying inside, the dog just got his last walk… especially where we live, having a tree or large branch fall is one of the biggest dangers. Enjoy the Jicky!
Since we are only now having something approaching summer on the West Coast, I am drinking French Iced Tea. Ooh la la– yes, it’s Marriage Freres, called Mandalay, “a voyage to the fountainhead of imagination”. Shades of Prix Eaux Faux! but quite good.
Hope Irene loses steam soon…
Nah, that’s not anywhere ludicrous enough for the Faux! I bet it’s delicious, though.
Irene is def. coming on now at 3pm
I don’t wanna drink nuthin’ comin’ out nobody’s head! [-(
xo >-)
Whoa, what a lovely blast of serendipity to check the Posse on a random Saturday and find your post. Hope you and yours all stay safe and sound.
I’ve been following the news in NYC, wow! They are really taking it seriously up there. Did you stay in the city for the weekend? And you stay safe and sound too.
How absolutely lovely to have you back!
Funny you mention how the approaching hurricane smells….my scent association with hurricanes tends to be the aftermath. My folks picked a bad year to visit relatives in Mississippi in 1969, and we were there for Camille. I was only 6 at the time, but I will never, ever forget the stench of the shrimp boats out in the hot sun for days, and all the dead animal carcasses rotted and bloating.
I’ve been known to use bags of Earl Grey as sachets in my lingerie drawers; when it comes to actually drinking tea, though, I prefer Darjeelings and good ol’ English Breakfast. ( And Constant Comment come winter)
Ugh, that smell, what a description! I can barely remember Camille. Agnes is the first one that registers in my brain. We had three feet of water in the basement, literally the only time I think our basement ever flooded.
And I love the idea of the Earl Grey as sachets! I have an entire box I’ll never drink, but tucking them in with the clothes sounds marvelous.
Love hearing from you, March, despite the hurricane.
I’ll certainly try this lapsang trick–although I’m not sure I should mix that with the Mariage Freres black teas I have around right now. That seems sinful, doesn’t it. Marco Polo is one of my favorite black teas, and I can’t wait to try it in red.
Jicky edt is my favorite. I must love the lemony blast.
I’ve been thinking of you lots. I hope you are well, and that the hurricane passes without much event. xo
Yeah, messing with the Mariage is probably like layering your Apres L’Ondee with another scent. But really, with a plain old Twinings or Stash it’s mighty fine. BTW I didn’t say so, but this was with the teas still IN their little packaging — I mean, the smell of the lapsang penetrated through the wrapper.
Jicky edt is like fireworks. And I’ve been thinking of you, too — and other friends I miss as well. @};-
I’ve never smelled a hurricane. I lived in northern VA for a couple years but was lucky enough to miss that experience entirely. Does it smell anything like the air does right before a tornado?
I’m going to experiment with your tea idea, thank you for that tip. As far as tea goes I’ve been playing with making rosehip tea all summer. Also as we live near corn and bean fields and fall is coming it’s time for me to tuck peppermint tea bags in corners of cabinets and drawers and behind furniture, etc… The scent keeps mice away.
I have been fortunate enough (thus far) to have missed experiencing a tornado, even though I lived in central MO for three years. Now everything just smells damp and too tropical.
Ooooh! People have now said peppermint and Earl Grey for the sachets, it would NEVER have occurred to me. I’m doing it.
Joanna:
I spent a lot of time a couple of winters ago playing with rose hip tea blends. What I came up with was:
2 c. rose hips
1/2 c. hibiscus flowers
2 – 4 Tbs. peppermint leaves (to taste)
I was really pleased with the results.
Thank you so much for the recipe I’m looking forward to trying it out this week. I’ve been crazy for anything I can use hibiscus in too so this is perfect!
Thrilled to bits to read a post by your hand!
Glad you are well prepared for the hurricane, or whatever it is. We get quite a few storms here in the Low Countries but no proper hurricanes.
Tea is so worth exploring, I have to admit I like it more than I don perfume. It’s somehow more satisfying and not as abused commercially.
I am not shocked by the bags by the way. I only use them myself when on holiday. Lapsang is so strong that I use a separate teapot for it.
I think it’s a category 1 (the lowest) but still some decent wind-speed. If the ground gets wet enough, the trees start toppling. I hate that. I’ve parked the cars where I hope they won’t get flattened.
I love that you have a lapsang pot! Makes sense to me. I’d probably have a dedicated cup as well. 🙂
Hooray MARCH! Of course I’ve been thinking of you and especially this week, remembering your Snowmageddon posts – the perfect balance of good sense, wisdom, wit, whimsy, perfume and the occasional entirely called for WTF. SO glad you are back to shepherd us through Irene!
I was two stories underground in the Sackler Gallery admiring Qing court paintings when the VA quake struck. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to immediately snag a taxi and got home in 10 minutes, avoiding clogged metro stations, etc.
If we consider the entire month of August, we also have the S&P downgrade. Those cracks in the Washington monument are seeming all too apt!
I’ve got a new sample order from Luckyscent to sniff, a score of nail polish spoon samples from Zoya to peruse and Ineeka organic peppermint tea (in the storm-resistant aluminum box). As soon as I fill my bath tub with water for emergency toilet flushing, I am as ready as I’m gonna be. Might be a good day for some FM Le Parfum de Therese or vintage Diorella.
Hoping everyone stays safe!
hehe yep, we’ve got the tub filled too, plus the drinkable water. I think your perfume choices sound grand! Also, wow, this Karma is still going strong.
It’s been quite the oddball summer, hasn’t it? And lucky you to get the heck out while you could, the commute home was miserable. If I’d been down there I think I would have headed for a bar or back to the office!
Yay!! Great to hear a post from you, March. Batten down the hatches, and be safe. From a Texas Gulf Coast dweller, be advised not to go out as the eye passes over, if it heads your way. My thoughts and prayers will be for your family’s safety.
Haven’t tried any of the Lush products, but Karma sounds interesting. Most descriptions of their things sound too sweet to me. Maybe Karma will convert me.
Again, glad to hear from you. Be well.
Breath of God I really liked too, but that was even weirder. This solid stick is definitely lasting. But going into the LUSH store to sample or buy kills me.
It’s so nice to be back on here, commenting! <:-p
I can never get Party Guy to cooperate with me! I’m jealous! We are having the cooling effects of Irene (I’m making that up – I don’t know (or care) WHY it’s cooler -only that it remains so).
Sending a virtual case of TP your way, sweetie!
xo >-)
Rain and wind get heavier and then lighter — you know what I always forget and find so weird about a hurricane? Because it comes from the south, I always forget how intensely hot it gets in the middle of the drama, when usually a storm cools things off.
So glad to see a post by you but not under the circumstances. As I told one of my friends in Manhattan, between the fires, earthquakes and hurricanes, we can’t win on either coast. Please stay safe!
The Manhattan news is crazy. I hear they’re shutting the subway AND evacuating lower Manhattan.
Hurrah for the resurrection of March! My family on the East Coast are hunkering down as well. Spray some Chaos, immensely calming despite the name and perfect for being snug inside, and get comfy with your family. See you when Irene clears off!
Ya know…. I should have mentioned I saw Louise the other day and she was wearing Anarchy, which is (was!) a truly excellent dupe for Chaos, but they d/c’d it when Chaos came back. Anyway, she smelled wonderful. :)>-
Anarchy, how I miss thee! I’m hoarding my last bottle.
Yeah me too. Great stuff.
Oh, and I meant to say before that I’m sure I have no knowledge of the proper meaning of karma – but you deserve some misused good karma! It’s coming soon, I know it.
I bet one of our overly educated blogfriends will be on here to straighten me out. First of all, it’s not all “bad” the way we use it, like “karma’s a bitch” or whatever. But I think it’s more complicated than that.
Karma is simply the law of cause and effect. You reap what you sow and all that. It’s impartial and has nothing to do with ethics, though ethical behavior brings good karma in either this life or a subsequent life, and unethical behavior, suffering. Hope that helps!
Well … I can’t decide. I suppose it depends how you look at things. We could get drunk and talk about this. I am not feeling like people get what they deserve (not right now, for sure) and blaming it on something like a past life just p*sses me off. One of my issues with the oh-well attitude some beliefs foster. OTOH maybe my concept of control is entirely illusory, right?
OK, we’ve got a date for drinking some really good wine (Amarone?) and discussing Buddhist philosophy! And yeah, blaming bad stuff in your life on things your consciousness did in a completely different form at a completely different time, like, 1,000 years ago? Painful! And remember, Buddhists don’t believe in a fixed soul, so it’s not even the same soul that did all that naughty stuff! But among Western Buddhists, karma is not an “oh well” idea, I think because we come from a People of the Book background, we take it pretty seriously. An immensely complicated subject that Buddhists discuss ALL the TIME, like the ideas of sin, and grace, and redemption, and resurrection, and all those topics Christians ponder. And yeah, my kids love “Instant Karma” when a reciprocal good or bad thing happens quickly after the action, cuz’ who likes to wait 1,000 years???
A March post – hurrah!! Nestle safely in your house with the kidlets, my friend. I am thinking of you. :x
HERE IT COMES. 11:41 am, like somebody just turned on the spigot outside. Hope it doesn’t do this for 24 hours… part of the problem is after our terrible drought, we got a lot of rain the past few days so the ground is already pretty wet. [-(
Ooooh! An emoticon!
Yep, all snuggled in, drinking tea. ~o)