I've been gone...

...and Nature has been busy.




...which led to...

What is this?  Why, it's the "thumb" of Michigan, with the "mainland" of the Michigan mitten to the left/west.  Saginaw Bay.  

Ask again:  What is this?

Somebody's knocking at their door.

The winds blew hard across Lake Huron, blowing ice off the lake and onto the beach, pushing right into lakefront homes in the Saginaw Bay area.

Was I affected?  No.  Would have been a great excuse for why I haven't been blogging of late.  But it *is* a wonderful metaphor for what I've been dealing with, so I'll leave it at that.

Winter threatens to depart, and so does Spring.  It's been an interesting battle to close the short days of the year around here...have been sorely wanting spring, but have not yet dared to fully break out the spring time scents.

I have found a few things to tide me over until the ceremonial Diorissimo and Apres L'Ondee come out.

Parfums de Nicolai  Le Temps d'Une Fete

Nathan called it "oh so pretty," and it was nearly damning praise.  But I love that it smells of quality ingredients, that there is not too much white flower and a smidge of green, which means that while it is no jolly romper for me (more green, a hint of dirt would do that), it is a reliable no brainer makes me happy at the end of winter I can wear it for a full day of teaching scent.

Frank Los Angeles  Frank (aka Frank #1)

Oh, I'm happy I pulled this one back out.  I had remembered vaguely "fresh green," but not the hint of flowers.  Again...flowers?  Wouldn't seem to be my cup of tea...except that there's closer to the ground lily of the valley somewhere in there (maybe? I think?) and when I spritz it on the back of my hand to revive ye olde memories from last week, I get a whiff of carnation, which AGAIN would not be my cup of tea except it seems just right in here, and for this time of year.  I am going to have to try this out again when it is truly warming up, and not just bright and sunny but cold outside.  Wonder what it will bring then.

(This scent earned FB purchasing early last summer, and earned that spot on the list due to green freshness.  I've become more chypre happy since then; perhaps nose has evolved?  Then again, maybe this is one of those climate related things??)

Donna Karan  Gold (edt)

I have Gold in both concentrations.  It interested me enough to get FB of it from the controversial online auction which shall not be named...and, truth be told, that purchase was as much motivated by the deal I got and my admiration for the bottle as for the juice itself.  I had found the juice, especially in edt, sharp and metallic, and wasn't sure what it was about.  Into the recesses of the closet it went.  Out it came last week, on a whim, and voila!; just right.  It had become a...well...a creamy floral, just like those "crazy" posters I had read a year ago said.  And, once again, not generally my cup of tea...but it hit the spot when it came to this awful nether time between the end of winter and the start of spring.

What is this?

A reminder that revisiting can yield interesting renewals and/or revisions...re-visioning being key.  And perhaps that climate can affect "vision," too; I know my *inclinations* change based on season, but perhaps what my nose picks up changes, too.  

I may have also learned that while I am a fan of earth/dirt in scent, perhaps it is just too, too cruel to enter that into the olfactory picture just yet.  Just as any gardner knows only heartache will come of setting plants out too early for your climate, perhaps I need to know that I cannot enjoy an earthy perfume *too* far ahead of me actually being able to smell it outside.

We're still a little frozen around here.  

But not forever.