It’s February. Goodbye January and good riddance? Boy, was it wet and yuck here. Tuesday morning is our first spring tide (neap tide) of the year. Is today Groundhog Day in the US?
We had a second storm come through late last week. I had an appointment in the next town over on Thursday but the road into it from here was flooded. Like hugely. I went to the farm shop one day to walk up their steep hill so I could actually see what things looked like. I should have taken a picture. Either side of the road in normal times are marsh fields where cows graze. That day, there was no delineation between the fields and the road. Just a huge amount of water. A couple of stupid cars tried to drive through (I’m not talking 50 or 100 feet of water half way up your car – I’m talking a quarter to half a mile). The pic below isn’t from here but it is a good representation of what things looked like from local drone pics.
Anyway, getting to appointment meant driving south to a train station and taking train. Of course trains were cancelled and delayed. I did manage my appointment – and then train back to car and car home. I spent an hour after the whole faff sitting quietly and doing breathing exercises.
But, perfume.
I got very excited after March’s post that included the Parle Moi de Parfum called Guimauve de Noel, which she said was marshmallow scented with orange blossom, though she got more orange zest. Which just made me ludicrously excited. So, off I went to get a sample. Plus something else by the same house just for kicks and giggles.
Guimauve de Noel. What a great name: Christmas marshmallow. As noted, orange blossom and vanilla scented sugar. Eventually it sort of gets to that for me. But, to get there, I had to go through rubber. Yes, really. Like your car tyre when you skid. Nothing, absolutely nothing, likeable about that. To say I was sad is an understatement. After a while it does become sweet orange blossom but not in an exciting way. Just your bog standard meh gourmand. So, big fail for me. Sad face.
Number 2 was Papyrus Oud. Now, I have a papyrus plant in the house, so I am partial to the idea of papyrus in perfume. This was … better. Notes include papyrus, ginger, bergamot, lavender, basil, lemon, artemisia, petit grain, cedar, sandalwood, pink pepper, patchouli, orris root, geranium, jasmine, carnation, olibanum, vetiver, vanilla, labdanum, leather, amber, oak moss, musk, tonka and sage … and a Patridge in a pear tree. It’s fine. Really. A gentle woody thing. A bit of citrus. Maybe a whisper of Band-Aid. It’s really nice, has good longevity, dries down well. There you go. Thank you very much.
If I were to find myself at a shop with the line, I would sample others.
On a different note, the tulips are starting to come up, one clematis has buds, the roses are all starting to show activity. I am concerned the peony won’t revive itself this year. But, it’s getting lighter earlier in the AM and staying so later in the PM. So, little steps…
Pics: pexels
Well it reads like you took one for the team.
Yes, it’s groundhog day and Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow, which means 6 more weeks of winter. Which never made sense to me. Wouldn’t make more sense if that old rodent came out to overcast and freezing rain and predicted more winter? But he’s seeing bright sunshine and saying more winter? Does not compute.
And that flooding is just crazy. I’m glad you are all right.
And flooding… We had a reasonably sane autumn but Mother Nature is making up for it now. This morning it’s raining and we have the first spring (really high) tide for the year.
I agree! But I’m fond of the old rodent. You could see them all over CT gnawing away at something or other and rarely fazed that you were watching them, though sometimes they would do a waddling scurry back to their burrow.
We don’t really mark Groundhog Day here. But, I do watch for him/her each year in the hope no shadow and a change in the weather. Sigh.
It was actually sort of shocking how bad it was on me after reading March’s comments. I expect it would be lovely on others — as it is on her. Yet another iteration of maybe don’t buy unstuffed…
My little cold has turned into bronchitis, and I’m at the coughing and runny nose stage, so I can’t smell a thing. I miss wearing scent. Neither of those scents sound too great right now — what a letdown. How about that flooding?!? Wow! That is intense! So sorry you are having to deal with that. Our snow and sleet storm of a week ago, plus the bitter cold, has hardened the remnants into snowcrete. It’s as hard as concrete and takes a metal-bladed shovel or pickaxe to break up. Time to stay home and hibernate.
Oh my, I hope you are better soon. You aren’t really missing anything with these two though I’d still smell others if I found myself some place they were stocked. Snowcrete … ok.
That rubber note! Yick!!!
Glad you stayed dry, even though it sounds like a logistical nightmare.
It’s..February…so Crazy is up for grabs in my garden. Hoping everything stays asleep for now
Indeed, a big yuck.
Yes, not great logistically — and we’ll see what the spring tide does tomorrow.
Oh nooooooo about the guimauve! That sounds like a total bummer. That flooding, yikes. I am a bit jealous of your early signs of spring, though — we’ve got months before we get there.
I was verrrry sad. The whole idea of Guimauve sounded great. The early signs of spring make all the wet almost bearable. I saw that the groundhog saw his shadow though in PA. So, six more weeks of winter …
Hey Cinnamon,
Are we talking a gourmand all the way Bulgari Black? With Marshmallow instead of simple vanilla?
Portia xx
Actually, this is one of the weirdest trajectories I’ve ever experienced. That middle rubber period is just rubber — nothing else. And then after a while it disappears and I got vague vanilla orange blossom. No real development except that opening, rubber, and vague dry down.
Yay! Louve is back in a bell jar! If I bite will it disappoint
Uh, I would try to get a sample of the most recent iterations somewhere.
How have the houses done in the flood?
Parlez Moi isn’t a house I’ve explored. Think it will stay that way.
I wore SL Louve yesterday. Such a beautiful almond gourmand scent. Why oh why was it murdered
There are really only three houses in the village that are on the road that floods that regularly are affected. The middle one, which has been up for sale for a couple of years now, is the most affected. The real issue right now is access. The village has another road in, higher up, which doesn’t flood, so you can get in — except to that one house. But during the last two storms roads that haven’t been that bad in the past were not passable. And I imagine that will get worse over time.