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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 7,413 views
This Old Snark
 

Anosmia, AKA sympathy for Hutchense

The Snarks have been unbelievably sick these past few days. Snarky began showing signs of not-quite-rightedness during the Asheville leg of their North Carolina circuit of Ought Six and has since gone through losing her voice, running a mild fever, eye-watering sinus pressure, and persistent, hacking, non-productive coughs (the worst kind!).   The Mister's symptoms appear to be on almost exactly a 48 hour delay from Snarky's.   The biggest problem, besides having slept for almost three days straight (what New Year's celebrations?), has been the phelgm induced anosmia. Even if the Snarks were to get hungry (which is a rarity given their complete lack of activity as well as their sneaking suspicion that snot has been draining directly into their stomachs this whole time, which, yeah, ) they can't smell anything well enough to taste it.   This is a great and terrible curse for foodies, which is just a less sexually suggestive name for what the Snarks really are, which are hardcore, dyed in the wool sensualists. (Snarky doesn't really know what "dyed in the wool" sensualists are like, but she is enjoying the mental image of drifts of alpaca fleece being soaked in a vat of deeply crimson dye)   What did the Snarks eat this weekend? Two frozen pizzas. With nothing added to them. It just seemed like a waste to add the usual tangy/zesty/cheesy additional toppings they usually do with their "cheat, heat, and eat" meals. Why bother? It was all just so much texture in their mouths, and nothing more.   So sad!   Which reminded Snarky about the last years of Michael Hutchense's life. He was never a role model for Snarky, but she felt a certain affinity with his public image. He was probably the prettiest man at the time to give her funny feelings in her tummy. When she found out about his head-trauma induced anosmia, she couldn't imagine the anguish he must have felt.   Side note: the step-sister-in-law's new boyfriend earned points with Snarky by going into a rather detailed discussion of how he possesses a very particular kind of synasthesia - he smells in colors. She left him an imp of Tombstone to see if it came up as a rusty cream with evergreen edging.   Anyways. The DarkityFam is still scheduled to begin showing up starting tomorrow night. Snarky thinks she'll be almost human enough to host, though the house is an utter and complete shambles (which will give DarkityMa something to keep herself occupied, if nothing else). The Mister will probably be pretty wrecked, but they will manage. Interesting start to the new year, indeed.
darkitysnark

darkitysnark

4
Do you have a flag?
 

What an update!

I can barely believe how much gorgeousness the Lab has created in the past few months. I have been thinking that after the hugeness of Carnaval Diabolique, Halloweenies, Order of the Dragon, Yule, a whole new Salon set, and the ToT inquisition, they'd probably be taking a break for a while. I thought that the next CD act would be kinda small, the size of one of the first two acts, and I thought that Lupercalia would be on the small side as well. Maybe 6 or 7 bottles.     Here are my thoughts and what I got:   HUNGER MOON. Ozone, white sandalwood, crystallized white amber, verbena, oakmoss, clary sage, and a hint of white citrus rind. I bought a bottle because I always buy Lunacy bottles. However, I don't expect to like this. Citrus and herbs are usually bad for me.   BAKENEKO. Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon. Again, I bought a bottle because it's a Lunacy blend, but I'm not sure it'll work on me. My skin amps cardamom and cinnamon to overwhelming proportions. Both in the same blend is very probably a deal-breaker.   ABHISARIKA. Damascus rose, African orchid, cream accord, and Kashmir musk. I love the idea behind these. I would have bought the whole set if I had enough money. I heavily debated whether to buy a bottle of this one, and I probably should have. But I just wound up joining a decant circle to buy a decant of it. At least it'll be up for a while so I'll still have a chance to get a bottle later. I don't usually like blends that are too rosy, but the orchid, cream, and Kashmir musk sound wonderful.   KALAHANTARIKA. hyssop, lavender, balsam of Peru, jonquil, and elemi. Potentially too strong for me. I'll be interested to find out what it smells like, but I'm not going to go out of my way for it for a while.   KHANDITA. fiery saffron, neroli, severe black musk, rose otto, and a harsh splinter of rosemary. It's funny, I was all prepared to order this one until I saw the rosemary, and then I balked. Maybe I shouldn't have. I usually like the other notes.   PROSHITAPATHIKA. blue iris, fennel, dark musk, verbena, and a drop of star anise. This is the other one that probably won't work for me. I tend to dislike sharp scents, and the fennel and star anise might be too much for me. Also I usually don't like verbena at all.   SVADHINAOPATIKA. golden amber, oude, red sandalwood, massoia bark, honey, and currant. Um... yeah, I got a bottle of this one. Holy crap. That sounds marvelous.   VASAKASAJJA. skin musk, wild orchid, champaca flower, amaranth, tonka bean, and French vanilla. Had to get a bottle of this one too. It sounds feminine but not overly so, and rich and slightly decadent. I love the description, too.   VIRAHOTKANTITA. blue lilac, snowdrop, bergamot, night-blooming cereus, frankincense, Himalayan cedar, and stargazer lily. This definitely sounds like it will smell like sadness. I bet it'll be very pretty, too. I'd like to find a decant of it.   VIPRALABDA. benzoin, Greek sage, hay, melaleuca ericifolia, oakmoss, and blue chamomile. I have no idea what that will smell like. I'd like to try a decant of it.   DOLCE STIL NUOVO. rose otto, carnation, vanilla flower, lavender and jasmine with the clarity of crystalline white musk and the warmth of golden amber. Eek. Those flowers are usually much too strong on me. I'd try a decant of this, but I doubt it'll work for me.   CHINTAMANI-DHUPA. Pound well together sandal-wood, Kunku, costus, Krishnaguru, Suvasika-puspha, white vala and the bark of the Deodaru pine; and, after reducing them to fine powder, mix it with honey and thoroughly dry. Got a bottle of this because I'm dying to know what it smells like. The description is very intriguing.   KANISHTA. black opium, Haitian patchouli, jasmine sambac, French magnolia and kush. I didn't realize until after I submitted my order that I did NOT have this one in my order. Stupid oversight. I really meant to buy a bottle of this. It will be in my next order. This sounds like exactly the sort of scent that I love.   KHAJURAHO 2007. honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower. I had a bottle of this from last year, and although I thought it smelled fine, I never wore it. Sometimes I'd pick it up thinking I might wear it that day, but I always put it back down and picked something else. I like the scent, it's just not me, I guess.   LUPERCI 2007. raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. I had a bottle from last year, and I thought it was going to smell good on me. I was really excited to try it. But both times I tried it, all I got out of it was juniper. One of my least favorite notes. My husband didn't like it on me either. So I swapped the bottle, and I've never regretted it.   NIGHT'S PAVILION 2007. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. I may have tried this last year, but I don't remember it very well. I do know that every time I've seen it up for swap/sale I've passed it over rapidly. I believe that I did try it and I thought it was too sweet and feminine for me.   THE OBLATION. A stirring blend of dianthus, French lavender, blackberry, and white honey. I think that poem is wonderful and moving. In the old days when I had a job I would have bought a bottle of this just from the poem alone. However, now that I'm unemployed and my husband decides how much money I can spend, this would have been a risk for me because of the lavender. I couldn't resist signing up for a decant, though. I bet I'll like this despite the lavender.   THE PERFUMED GARDEN 2007. Myrrh and Moroccan jasmine with apple peel, Indian sandalwood, myrtle, quince, citron, and thyme poured over soft musk. I had a bottle of last year's version, and I thought it was too feminine so I sold it. Then I got together with another BPALer and she had a bottle of it she wanted to swap. I sniffed it and tried on a little bit, and I realized that I do like it. It is feminine, but I'm not as anti-feminine as I used to be. So now I have that bottle.   RED LANTERN 2007. Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice. I had a bottle of last year's version for many months, and I finally realized that I never wear it and I might as well sell it. I just sold it a couple of weeks ago. It's a great scent, and I liked it, but I see no reason why a whole bottle of it should be sitting in my BPAL box getting no love when they are lots of people around who would wear it and enjoy it.   SMUT 2007. Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. I still have at least three bottles of last year's version. Maybe four. This is one of my husband's very favorite scents on me. I'm not allowed to wear it out of the house.   ELIXIR X: GRR. Headache relief. ELIXIR XI: OOF. Sinus pain relief. ELIXIR XII: UGH. Muscle ache relief. I didn't try any of these, but that imp three-pack is very tempting. I think I'll order the imp pack with my next order.   And now for the OMG Carnaval Diabolique scents:   THE PARLIAMENT OF MONSTERS. Dust, incense, wet tobacco, and a curl of opium smoke. I signed up for a decant of this. I expect to like it, but I'm not sure I'll like it enough for a whole bottle. I already have other bottles that have a similar scent.   ARACHNINA, THE SPIDER GIRL. A swirling, hypnotic perfume of black currant, poppy, red and black musk, lilies, nicotiana, and patchouli. I signed up for a decant of this too, but that was sort of dumb. I should have bought a bottle. There is no note in there that I don't like. In fact, I like them all a lot. I'm a huge sucker for red musk.   ESHE, A VISION OF LIFE-IN-DEATH. The perfume of life-in-death: embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine. The description for this one creeped me out. In a good way, of course. I didn't sign up for a decant of this because I was put off by the embalming herbs. Those usually overpower a blend on my skin. I will eventually swap for a decant of it to try, though.   FAIZA, THE BLACK MAMBA. black amber, caraway, oakmoss, green sandalwood, bergamot, jasmine sambac, gardenia, orange pulp, vanilla, blackberry, black musk, white honey, ti leaf, and ginger. I got a decant of this because there are quite a few notes in there that are usually not good on me. (oakmoss, jasmine, gardenia, ginger). However... those are all notes that have on occasion surprised me by not ruining a blend. So, we'll see.   ASP VIPER: Snake Oil with red mandarin, myrrh, and almond. Want to try a decant. Might be great.   AUSTRALIAN COPPERHEAD: Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla. Not sure about the cardamom, but the other ones sound good. Will like to swap for a decant eventually.   BANDED SEA SNAKE: Snake Oil with oakmoss, sea moss, and olive leaf. Hmmm. I'll try it eventually, but I'm in no hurry on this one. Oakmoss and sea moss are usually not so great for me.   BOOMSLANG: Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk. Bought a decant of this. I bet those notes smell lovely with snake oil.   CORAL SNAKE: Snake Oil with blood orange, red apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and gardenia. Hmmm. Probably not. Apple, lemon, and gardenia are usually no-nos for me.   COTTONMOUTH: Snake Oil with linden blossom, calla lily, passion flower, and narcissus. Snake Oil with a bunch of floral notes? I'm not sure what that will smell like. I'd like to try a decant of it, though.   DEATH ADDER: Snake Oil with vetiver, black coconut, vanilla, and opoponax. I allowed myself to buy ONE Snake Pit bottle unsniffed, and this is the one I chose. I bet I'll love this. Opoponax, vanilla, and vetiver are three of my favorite notes.   GREEN TREE VIPER: Snake Oil with four mints, bergamot, and green tea. Mint is usually not my thing.   HABU: Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo. I carefully considered this one. I didn't buy a decant of it but probably should have. This will be one of the first ones I'll be looking for when people start swapping/selling their decants.   KING COBRA: Snake Oil with orris, frankincense, and copal. I like copal but frankincense tends to make blends too high-pitched and sweet on me.   SAW-SCALED VIPER: Snake Oil with cinnamon, cassia, and red ginger. Much too hot for me. I had a vial of Beth's experimental cinnamon Snake Oil, and it was too cinnamony for me. I like plain Snake Oil better.   TEMPLE VIPER: Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop. This one might be one I like despite the frankincense. I truly love champaca and opoponax, so I bought a decant of it.   WESTERN DIAMONDBACK: Oil with leather, tonka bean, red sandalwood, and sage. I didn't get a decant of this, mostly due to my dumbness. I should have. I will look for this one first when people start selling/swapping decants.   HOPE & FAITH, THE SIAMESE TWINS. Hope is sugared violet, Faith is sugared rose. Love the description for this one, but those florals usually don't work for me.   ISAAC, THE LIVING SKELETON. Bourbon, tobacco, dry bone, bay rum aftershave, and sleazy cologne. I bought a decant of this because I think my husband will like it.   KATANIYA, THE CLOCKWORK WOMAN. Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity. I don't know what this will smell like. I'd like to try a decant eventually. I often like the metallic blends, but I already have several of them.   MESKHENET, THE VULTURE MAIDEN. Frankincense, hyssop, hibiscus, river reeds, orris root, palm frond, and olibanum. I don't think those notes will work for me. I'll try a decant eventually, but it's not high up on my list.   THALASSA, THE GALAPAGOS MERMAID. Seaweed, kelp, salty ocean spray, bitter almond, night-blooming jasmine, frankincense, and benzoin. VERY unlikely to work for me. I don't like the scent of seaweed and kelp at all.   TIRESIAS, THE ANDROGYNE. Dark, moody, and bittersweet: black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood. Great description, and I love the song Gloomy Sunday. I think I might like this one a lot -- I bought a decant of it, and I'm betting it will be my first CD Act III bottle purchase (after Death Adder, of course).   THE WILD MEN OF JEZIRAT AL TENNYN. Fiery, primal, and precociously diabolical: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower. I wonder if my husband would like this. He liked Fire Eater. It's just too hot-sounding for me.   WULRIC, THE WOLFMAN. Friendly, charming, and cuddly, but possessing one hell of a mean streak: cocoa absolute, French vanilla, birch tar, lavender, bourbon vetiver, wild musk, clary sage, and cistus. This might smell very good on my husband. I bought a decant of it so he can try it.   ZARITA, THE DOLL GIRL. white carnation, iris, orange blossom, and sugared cream. This will probably be too feminine for me, but I wouldn't mind trying it.   PRIALA, THE HUMAN PHOENIX. Three deep, dark myrrhs, smoke, and cinnamon bark. I bought a decant of this, and I'm really impatient to try it. I love myrrh and smoke. I wonder if I will end up wanting to buy a whole bottle.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

New year, new scents!

Happy New Year to all of you! I really hope 2007 is a kick-ass year, in more ways than one-in my studies, my social life, my creativity and my hobbies. I want to make resolutions but it seems just calling them 'New Year resolutions' means that they will be broken ten minutes later. Call it a jinx, if you will. But anyway, my goals for '07 include: -Studying harder and much more than last year, especially in maths. -Looking for jobs early so that I can save up money to help when debt-time really hits me, and also for nice things like holidays, gifts, and indulgences like BPAL. -Putting more money into savings, though that's hard, especially considering today's Wallet Armageddon... -Selling off the stuff I really don't need on Ebay, like that pair of jeans that I got one Xmas and never fitted me, they're as good as new... -Trying to get my writing and arty muses back so I can write and sketch loads more than I did last year. -Socialise a little more, especially with guys. I'm pitifully shy in real life, and I need to get my arse off that computer chair and get mingling a little. And go to more student union clubbing nights or go to the union bar more. -Keeping that temper under control, and those uber-emotional/panicky moments need to be restrained too. -Do more active stuff, like swimming, dancing, or even gym...   Now, let's get to business. BPAL style...   BEST START TO THE YEAR EVER! Wow, what an update! The mother of all updates. The update to end all updates and the road to sweet-smelling debt...I thought the first CD instalment was amazing. I thought the Order of the Dragon and Halloween update was breathtaking. But this just blew my socks off and blew my mind and my Paypal all at once. It was just so good...and there's so much that I WANT RIGHT NOW, no decants, give me bottles! But alas, with Xmas and all that, my bank account is crushed...but these scents are up for ages! I just had to get Bakeneko since I love all things kitty-shaped and I want one of the Japanese scents to become a top ten scent. It has cherry blossom which can ruin a scent on me but hopefully that will be cancelled out by the wonderfulness of cinnamon, cardamom and tangerine tea with amber and musk! I love the concept of Faces of the Heroine, even if I can't pronounce or spell the names! But I love the combinations of exotic notes present in that series. In fact, I really like the whole Indian theme that many Lupercalia scents have this year, the incense blend Chintamani-Dhupa sounds particularly interesting with so many notes I've never encountered before!   But the best bit of the update of course was the Freak Show itself. I knew it would be good but I wasn't expecting it to be so magnificently, gargantually, fantastically wonderful! I adored the previous lot of CD, most scents there were hits on me. But these new scents look even better, more complex, more unusual, with loads of unique notes and combinations. And then there are those Snakes. I'm so intrigued as to what Snake Oil with mint tea will be like. Or SO with acai berry and cardamom, or SO with teak and bamboo, or SO with aquatic moss, or SO with tropical flowers and tangy fruits...and I can't wait for cinnamon SO and mandarin SO and chocolate SO. And I wonder what that Anaconda will smell like? Hope and Faith were destined to be mine from the moment I discovered that they were Londoners like me and that they contain sugary flowers, and I can't wait to get my hands on them. And Priala the Human Phoenix looks like it will be divine, like Chimera's cinnamon-myrrh, but better. And what would a Black Phoenix carnival be without a phoenix?   And of course, the cherry on the cake was the fact that two freaks are from You-Know-Where, and one of them is a MUMMY! (Must hoard loads of bottles of them!) That was probably what made this update not just wonderful, but utterly perfect, well for me anyway. But it goes to show that this Carnaval series is truly incredible and epic, and it's for everyone. Be you a foody fan, or mad for musk, or even a flower fanatic. It's for vanilla whores and spice girls. It's for incense addicts and aquatic adorers. It's artistic and beautifully told. It appeals to everyone, no matter where your interests lie. It even hits our fears-of clowns, or snakes, or spiders, or death itself, what lies in the shadows, the unusual and disturbing and mysterious...and it makes us confront those demons through means of scent-and perhaps, through this, to discover what could be their inner beauty. It is truly all encompassing, the whole world-and then some-within a travelling fair, all within little bottles of beautiful fragrance...   I can't wait for Carnaval Diabolique-The Movie! (I can dream...but you never know!)
PurringPulsar

PurringPulsar

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

2006 went by so fast!

Seriously, where the hell did 2006 go?   It was a big year for me. I went to England, I passed an actuarial exam, my mom had her hip replaced, I bought a house - I feel like there were even more big things that happened, but I don't even remember anymore. But needless to say - It was quite a full year.   This year, I'm hoping for a little more simplicity. I still want to pass exams, but I'd be happy to let the rest of my life chill out a little bit, and spend a year on personal growth and stuff.   I set some pretty ambitious dance-related goals, but I've resisted making "resolutions" for my regular life.   I do have some plans, though: I mentioned it in my dance goals, but I'm working the Couch-to-5k plan already. I'm a week in, and it's so gratifying, though it's hard to believe that I will ever be able to run 3 miles at a time. Once I can, I'm hoping to enter a couple of local 5k races this spring.
I've been putting together my study plan for my next exam. I'm starting 4 months in advance, so I can take it easy with just studying a couple of days a week, and still make it to 400 hours of study time by the time I sit for the test. If I can put in 400 really, honestly committed hours, I should have no trouble passing.
I'm putting a moratorium on buying stuff. No BPAL, not bath/body stuff, no tea, no books, no yarn, etc. I have more than enough of all of the above, and I'm just not going to buy more until I use what I've got. It's all just sitting around waiting to go bad or go stale, and taking up space. This way, I save money, I don't let the things I already have go to waste, and most importantly, I get back the space I was using to store all of that stuff. And I am 100% sure I need less clutter in my life.
There we are, no resolutions, just a few straightforward goals. (and I think there's a huge difference between goals and resolutions.)
antimony

antimony

1
Sourball Ho!
 

Back from holiday!

We went out of town for the last week and a half to see family and friends. It's hard to lounge on the forums with dial-up Here were the pros and cons:   Pros: --going to Vegas with my parents -- we stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget and didn't set foot on the Strip --seeing friends --giving and getting gifts! Lots of gift cards for this trip   Cons: --my sister is getting divorced. I just tried to be there if she wanted to talk, but otherwise be a distraction (my normal dorky self) --another favorite aunt and uncle are getting divorced after 40 years of marriage --I sprained a ligament in my foot while walking through a construction-filled parking lot. Hooray for the emergency room on Christmas Eve and a bonus prescription of Vicodin! --Getting a cold just before coming home --Our return flight was delayed 3.5 hours, and we didn't get home until after midnight on New Year's Day --I remembered to pack the digital camera and battery charger, but not the memory stick so I couldn't take any pictures   This lists a lot more cons than pros, but we did have a lot of fun. I return to my job tomorrow, so less worrying about money. I'm glad to be back!
dawndie

dawndie

3
Is Anybody Out There?
 

A brand new, clean year!

I spent tonight with my husband, cleaning up our kitchen and playing Baldur's Gate and watching the ball drop, and it was fantastic. It's our second New Year together, but our first as husband and wife, obviously, so it was special. I know how lucky I am. It's going to be a great year, even if the going isn't always smooth, because all I see when I think about 2006 are the shining moments, even if I was a basket-case for so much of it. Thus, the good outweighed the bad. By a lot.   Happy New Year everyone!   Oh, and my new watch? Is beautiful. In case I forgot to mention that among the Christmas postings.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
...and him, Really Interesting Guy...
 

Strange reactions to oils post surgery

I am having a very strong reaction to any oil's scent. I tried out R.M. Renfield today and found that it doesn't work with me at all. This in itself is nothing surprising at least 2/3 of scents (if not more) don't work for me. However my reaction to this oil and it's very faint lingering smell are almost staggering. I feel physically ill! I've never had such a reaction before and I can only atest it to either the drugs I'm taking or my major surgery earlier in the month.   Either way, I want this bizarre overreaction on my part of my body to stop immediately. BPAL is one of the few things I can still enjoy with my current disability and I refuse to give up more things that I love.   There are times when I feel like my life is gone, never to be returned. The idea of finishing up my work for last semester or actually taking classes in the spring just seems so... unreal. I can't help but feel that my helplessness is permanent. Sometimes, I feel like I'm losing my mind, trapped within these walls and with this fragile body...
Tess

Tess

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

TMI alert

This has to do with teh sex. There's your warning.   First of all, I'm in the midst of an anxiety attack so bad that I'm about to cry. This doesn't have to do with sex, but it does sort of explain my mindset. I've even tried applying Whitechapel, and I'm still this bad.   Okay, so, intimate time with the husband was minimal while we had the roommate to look after, and I've kind of gotten used to it being that way. I love sex, and I love him, but I have so much trouble getting my head into the right frame of mind. It almost makes me panic, and I dread even cuddling with him because I'm always tense, because I know he's going to ask for it, and you guys don't know how much I wish I could make this entry friends only. I've got more to say, but when it feels like 6000 eyes are prying, I just freeze up. How fitting.   Now I'm pissed, for no reason at all. Gah. PMS already? I need to get it together, because I'll be in school on tuesday. I'm really glad we're only having a 3 day week.   I'm so nervous about having to read LoTR. And I'm nervous about math. I really want to do very well in it.
smallvoice

smallvoice

3
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Florals?!

Hee. If you look at the list of scents I want to buy right now, check out how many of them are predominantly florals. MLST isn't, and Alice isn't quite, and there's also Bengal, which certainly isn't one... But by and large, those are floral scents! How did that happen? Also, look at how many of those feature rose! I came in to BPAL with a strong dislike of rose, but I have, as they say, seen the light. Hah. I also didn't like vanilla very much. Hopefully that was just my own scent discovery, and it won't change so drastically over this year.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Diplomatka
 

My Favorite Blog

I love these guys. I love their angry, cynical, left-wing diatribes.   Happy New Year and Eid Mubarak everyone--I am off to make fudge, royal icing and a cheese ball.
Confection

Confection

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Scent issues

I wish I could find a scent my husband really loves. He used to love Jailbait, but I wore it the other day and he didn't even recognize it. He told me it smelled nothing like Jailbait used to, to him.   There are very few that he absolutely dislikes, but I wish I had a scent in my arsenal that he would request and sniff my neck when I wear it. I feel like he tolerates my obsession, but it'd be nice if he could somehow benefit from it, too. Y'know?   I'm wearing Glitter right now, and I am SO not in the mood to be smelling like it. I thought it might cheer me up somehow, but it's not. I can't find MLST; it must be buried with Christmas stuff. Same with Alice and a few others. Nuts.   I wish I had something somber and still light. I don't need to find anymore scents to love, though.   I was talking to him yesterday about limited editions, and remarked that I don't think there's a single LE I love as much as my catalog favourites. Beaver Moon comes the closest. I REALLY like Cerberus, Lotus Moon, Et Lux Fuit, Storyville, Hungry Ghost Moon, and Halôa to name a few, but I think I would cry if Katharina, Whitechapel, Alice or Jailbait were ever discontinued and I really had to hunt for bottles of those. They are just breathtaking. They're perfect for me.   If I could make a huge order right now of GC bottles, I'd order Persephone (because I'm obsessed, even though I've yet to try it), Alice, Dorian, Euphrosyne, Regan, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale x2, Bewitched, The Lion, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Arkham, Shub, Misk U, Black Opal, Port-au-Prince, Lyonesse, and La Petit Mort.   Heh. If only. But it's more fun to dream about it here than to put it all in my shopping cart and then close it off.
smallvoice

smallvoice

1
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Cornhole! Warning: Contains graphic imagery

You read all about it, here it is in graphic detail... just the usual goings-on around my house. Ella Bean gets busy on Mugzy: CORNHOLE!!!!     I know the photo development folks see it all, but methinks they had to wonder, just a bit. However, it may have been a welcome, if slightly odd, break from all the Christmas photo shoots.
valentina

valentina

1
Diplomatka
 

North and South

Caliente!   The husband and I were reluctantly stuck in Dubai for Christmas Eve and Christmas on our way back to Afghanistan because the Kabul airport was closed due to snow. My husband was recuperating from a nasty bout of food poisoning brought on by some questionable pork fried rice consumed in Thailand, but we decided to venture out to the Diera City Center mall anyway. (Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I fucking HATE Dubai. There is nothing to do but troll the malls while trying to suppress the DTs brought on by the lack of alcohol, save for the $8 cans of Heineken at the overpriced hotels).   Bored, with nothing but a spirit-free hotel room or more mall, we decided to go see a movie. I chose Babel, not because the hottest man in the world is in it, but because I supposed it would be a thought-provoking drama about bridging cultural differences between the “developed” North and “underdeveloped” South. Boy, was I wrong.   Now, I saw the toned-down “Arab version” which left out a lot of nudity, but kept in the scene where the 12-year-old Moroccan boy beats off to his 10-year-old sister and where the estranged couple reunites over a bed pan, and what was the relevance of the deaf Japanese girl trying to have her dentist molest her? It just seemed way too long, too sexualized and too—vapid. The movie just reinforced streotypes. There was no real look at issues, no examination of why the North African police beat suspects or why Americans automatically assume that any act of violence in a Muslim country is assumed to be terrorism, it was just three hours of filler with no point.   (However, I do have a point.)   As we left the theater, I asked my husband, “what did we learn from this?” He replied, “never to let you pick a movie again?” No. The lesson is: brown people get fucked, while white people with the right passports will get their stupid asses saved in any situation.   And being in the Dubai airport brought this all home. While my husband and I could hop in a cab and head to the Sheraton for the night, the Afghans waiting on the same flight had to sleep on the concrete floor of the airport. They had no visas, no money, no food, no family in UAE to help them. The airline (Kam Air, you fucking bitches!) only gave these 150-plus Afghans food coupons on the THIRD DAY after the flight was cancelled. Most of them were being deported for being in the Emirates illegally.   When will the media really look at how the rest of the world lives? When will films examine all the things that we white, privileged folk take for granted? Probably not soon, and Hollywood has just shown us that. While critics rave about the “serious drama” about “real issues” in movies like Babel, I just roll my eyes.
Confection

Confection

0
Do you have a flag?
 

On Christmas and Bad Manners

Although I like my in-laws, sometimes I feel very uncomfortable in their house. I get tired of being interrupted mid-sentence to be told, "Let's talk about something else," or "New topic!" It appears that new additions to the list of things not to be discussed in front of them are: human anatomy, common cold symptoms (I'm not talking snot here, I mean saying that your throat feels dry and scratchy), and dogs accidentally becoming pregnant.   If anything could be construed as even slightly gross or possibly related to sex in some way, apparently it's entirely off-limits.   My husband's mom asked me how my classes were going, and when I started talking about the anatomy paper I wrote about macular degeneration, she asked what causes it. I began to tell her that it's often caused by blood vessels bursting or leaking, and oh no, that sounds AWFUL, I can't talk about that. While we were having this conversation and she was telling me that she didn't want to hear anything that "sounds awful," she was tearing apart a cooked turkey with her bare hands and splitting it up into storage containers. I shit you not.   Look, I've got no problem with being proper and avoiding certain topics. I don't waltz in there and start describing the way my dog's poo has looked strange lately or give graphic descriptions of gunshot wounds. But it's gotten to the point where I feel like every time I open my mouth they tense up and wait for something even remotely unsuitable to come out so they can shout "New topic!" at me.   They really pride themselves on having what they think are good manners. Thus the restricted conversation topics. At some point I will probably tell them that their methods of telling people that a topic is inappropriate are exceedingly BAD MANNERS. A cultured person would gracefully redirect the conversation or excuse himself or herself and go to another room.   But, these are the same people who hang up the phone without saying "Good bye," blow their noses at the table, and drop quotes from Rush Limbaugh into the conversation. They think it's perfectly fine to attempt to correct an adult's behavior the same way you'd correct a child. His mom knows that I like crossword puzzles and has seen me working on them about 80 times, and yet a couple of days ago she felt the need to go on for five minutes about how crossword puzzles are a complete waste of time and she prefers words in sentences arranged in a book.   So probably I expect too much.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

5
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Warning: Not uplifting

I was living in Utah when my paternal grandmother died. She was a sweet, beautiful lady. I am so grateful that I spent a lot of time with her when I was growing up. I spent most weekends at her house, and later her apartment. She was lucid and active when she passed away, but she had moved in with her daughter, who lived near Portland at the time. She never wanted to burden her children, so I think that may've been part of the reason she was ready to go. (Quick aside, since I don't want to mar this story with anger, but I really, really dislike my aunt. She took advantage of my grandmother, and there was even suspicion briefly that she may've "helped" her pass on, but again, that's for another time.)   I felt peaceful about it. It wasn't an ugly death, and she lived a long time- though I couldn't tell you her exact age, she was in her late 80s at least, probably early 90s. I was sad that I was so far away, and that I hadn't seen her for some time, but I did okay with it. Thanks to a dear friend who worked with Delta airlines, I was able to fly home for her memorial service and spend some time there to recharge.   The week after her memorial service, we got a phone call from my aunt. She had 2 children- her oldest was a boy, 13, and her youngest was a girl, 7. The girl was a surprise- majorly. My aunt had had her fallopian tubes tied off, and my uncle had a vasectomy, but she was something of a miracle. She looked so much like my uncle that there's no doubt she was his.   I spent summers with them, and at one time had been very close to them. They were like siblings, especially the boy. Then I grew up and didn't spend as much time with them- they lived several hours away, and I was busy, and then I moved.   The call was to let us know that her son had killed himself. You know what the first thing I felt was? Relief. Isn't that horrible? I was afraid that my mother was going to tell me that he had killed somebody else- his sister, classmates, anyone else. He could have been a school shooter, but he wasn't, and I was relieved. I can clearly remember going through all the stages of grief, especially denial, which seems like the most ridiculous one to me. Maybe it was an accident with the gun. Maybe somebody else had done it and made it look like he had done it. Was he at the hospital? Maybe he wasn't even really dead. Maybe they were working on him there.   There was a note. To this day, I absolutely ache to read it, to pore over it, to see what made him do it, and to get some answers. They're not there; they're never there. I didn't ever get to read it, but I morbidly grilled my aunt for details of what had happened leading up to it. I was obsessed with trying to understand. There's no way to understand. The only person who can really provide any answers is gone, and that is the HARDEST thing in the world I've ever had to accept.   It was morning, and his mom left for about 15 minutes, to drop his dad off at work, since they only had the one car that was working. He had eaten his breakfast and showered; gotten ready for school. His homework was done. He and my aunt briefly spoke about buying roses for his girlfriend, and he seemed excited about it.   When my aunt got home, she went downstairs to get him off to school, and he had done it. She said, "No mother should have to see what I saw." I agree. Her daughter was hiding under her bed upstairs. The story goes that she didn't go down to investigate the gunshot, but I'm almost positive that she went down and was actually the first one to find him, and then went and hid until her mom got home.   This may seem almost silly to add in, but the day of his memorial service, we got a call from home- the kid who had been looking after our cat found her dead when he went in to feed her that morning. We'd had her for 18 years; I couldn't remember being without her, and she was probably 20... so that just added one more ache. It was one more loss.   That was such a dark time. I still don't know how you deal with suicide. I never found a way.   My other cousin, his little sister, is the absolute light of my life. She was my maid of honor at my wedding, despite the fact that she was only 15. I love her so much, and I wish I could protect her from all the pain she's been through. She's the one who is possibly moving to Maine, eventually. A few years after her brother's death, she was skiing with her dad, on Thanksgiving, and he had a heart attack and died. This kid has been through the wringer. She is such an inspiration to me, and I don't think she even knows it.   Anyway... I don't know. I guess I needed a mental purge. Sorry if this upsets anybody, though.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Zenkei Journals

This website shows what sort of inspired my husband's gift to me. I can't find them anywhere else, but I know I've seen them before. He made it himself, though, and it is perfect.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Starfish & Coffee
 

Where I've been.

Someone recently contacted me on the Lush forum and asked if I didn't love all the folks in the BPAL forum anymore. I sent them this: my job sucks big, sour oranges. I don't remember the last time I placed a BPAL order, and I've been supplementing my own income off of my nearly non-existent savings. I've been job hunting
 
My commute to work is much shorter than it was back when I was writing BPAL reviews ... which means that I have less undisturbed time as a captive writer on the bus to jot down my impressions of what I do own.
 
Since about Spring, the already threadbare regional department I work in has dwindled from three employees to just one: me. Therefore, what little time I put into various boards is limited.
 
After nearly a year and half, my boyfriend and I still can't keep our hands off each other ... which also means that our weekends and thus a fair chunk of what would have been downtime online is taken up.
 
While I'd scaled back my visits with my mother -- who'd had a stroke in July of 2005 -- she was diagnosed with lung cancer after being admitted to the hospital for pneumonia on the 15th. I'm the main Power of Attorney, and am thus a little distracted.
So, while it feels that I don't know that many people on the BPAL threads anymore, it doesn't mean that I don't miss writing reviews. It's just ... I have a hard enough time figuring out when I'm going to do laundry and dishes.   I find it amusing, though, that of the very few blogs here that I subscribed to read, nobody has actually posted anything in them!   At least, these are the explanations. Only one is really good stuff. Maybe someday soon I'll get to the good stuff.
byrdie

byrdie

0
Gaidig's Blog
 

Purchased Imps from fruitycake

I finally realized that there was something in the swaps forum for me, even before I got my first order -- the sales area.   From fruitycake's sales:   Bewitching Brews Eclipse Ouija Séance   Diabolus Black Phoenix Phantom   Love Potions Libertine Salomé   Somnium Temple of Dreams   Wanderlust Florence   [Edit]Received 1/12/07.
Gaidig

Gaidig

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Christmas!

It was a great day! I am so, so, SO tired. Hee, my fetching gloves garnered lots of compliments, including one from my sister-in-law with whom I was mightily pissed recently.   We got a gift card to Pier 1, which is odd. I like the store, but we don't do a lot of shopping there. Ah, well. I guess we'll have to browse.   Highlights include:   My watch, of course! It is really lovely, and has no clasp- it's kind of like a bracelet style... wow, I don't know jewelry, obviously. I don't know how to describe it, but the band sort of expands and my wrist slips through a gap. Anyway, it's silver and has a large, round face and is gorgeous. So I shall retire my first watch to the watch box, which is really quite exciting.   The project from my husband- A gorgeous, framed note, written around "ENDURE" which was the central focus of the piece... anyway, it was about how that word sums up our relationship, and that while life's uncertainties make it impossible for him to promise a lot, but he does promise that we will endure. So incredibly romantic and sweet and yes, I cried, and we kissed, and it was awwwww. I wish I could describe it better.   Firefly on DVD! Awesome.   It was the best Christmas ever. Until next time.
smallvoice

smallvoice

1
Whiskers and Whispers
 

Merry Crimbo!

Currently smelling of: Snow Flakes for that whiff of idealised festive weather (we never get snow these days-not until January anyway), plus a dab of Sol Invictus, because he's the real reason for the season...   This year I had the smallest amount of presents so far. Mainly because my main present was an iPod. Yay! Finally I get my very own antisocialising machine (that's what my dad calls it)! I'm very pleased with my iPod and can't wait to put all my music onto it.   Apart from that, I also got chocolate, a lovely knitted hat (usually knitted stuff at from relatives at Xmas is a bad thing but not this!), a little bit of money, and the compulsory gift of underwear.   This year, it's been a very relaxed Dec. 25, no rows, no stress, just a delicious non-traditional Xmas dinner (turkey and sprouts? No way.), generous amounts of wine, and the Best Mince Pies In The World made by my mum-no other mince pies will do. Now I'm looking forward to the Doctor Who Christmas special, which will make this day end very nicely, I think.   Merry Christmas/Yule/Hanukkah/(insert winter holiday here), Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate (or have celebrated) at this time of year, make it a good one and enjoy yourselves! *hands out more of the Best Mince Pies Ever to all*
PurringPulsar

PurringPulsar

1
Gaidig's Blog
 

Purchased Imps from littleone101701

Order from littleone101701's for sale.   Bewitching Brews Aeval Penny Dreadful   Diabolus Djinn   Excolo Pannychis Queen Mab   Funereal Oils Dance of Death   Limited Editions Beltane   Love Potions Whip   The Muses Melpomene   Sin & Salvation Tzadikim Nistarim   Wanderlust Athens Delphi   [Edit:] Received today 1/20/07.
Gaidig

Gaidig

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

The holidays!

Merry Christmas, lovelies! Even if you don't celebrate the actual holiday, I hope the spirit of the season itself brings warmth and love into your lives. You all deserve it.     Take the best care, and I shall write an entry with the scoop on my holiday swag as soon as possible.     Love to you, darlings!
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
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