Scent Diary, March 14-20, 2011

I am well aware that I have not posted last week’s Scent Diary, or the continuation of the Malta/Rome travelogue. Yeahyeahyeah I’m getting to it. Promise. I might have to do it in something like two-day increments – especially since I kept very bad notes on fragrances I actually wore during the trip. I was more taken by being Somewhere Else, to be honest.  Here’s another pic of Malta, of the Blue Grotto, courtesy of The CEO.

Monday, Mar. 14: Chilly, breezy, in the mid-40s F. We’ve been walking around in 60F weather, and I’m cold. SOTD: Mariella Burani. Had to go and practically buy out the grocery store: we were out of nearly everything – eggs, milk, bread, Life cereal, grapes, applesauce cups… Lord knows, The CEO might actually become lifeless if he didn’t get his evening fix of Life cereal, and we can’t let that happen.

Also, there is an unbelievable pile of laundry to be done. Arrgh. Even the few things in the suitcase that we didn’t wear smell funny.

Tuesday, Mar. 15: Cloudy, rainy, and cold. For a little cheer, I chose Le Temps d’une Fete as the SOTD. It lasted all day, too. I really don’t know why I love it so much – I just do.

Gaze started track practice today. He said it went well, and that he was the only sixth-grader who ran the entire practice, instead of walking when he got tired. For me, it’ll be a bit of deft juggling, picking him up at the middle school and Bookworm at the high school when they’re supposed to be done with their practices at about the same time, and the two schools are about ten minutes apart.

Wednesday, Mar. 16: It’s still wet and chilly, but less so today. SOTD: Mary Greenwell Plum. Which I still love. Funny how this week I’m just wearing fragrances I already love, instead of trying anything new… or maybe it’s a reaction to stress.

Went to Bookworm’s band concert; the high school band and the other county middle school’s band are going to a festival on Thursday, at which their performance will be judged. I don’t know why Gaze’s middle school band isn’t going, although, come to think of it, we haven’t seen much of his band director (who’s very buddy-buddy with the HS director since they were college roommates) lately, either. I wonder if something personal is going on, or if the current 7-8 grade band is just not up to snuff. In any case, the high school group sounds wonderful.

Thursday, Mar. 17: It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, which unless you live under a rock or somewhere outside North America and Western Europe, you already knew. My sister has finished putting up her week-long series of Irish-heritage-celebrating The Pogues songs on Facebook. SOTD: Chanel No. 19 vtg edt, all green and chilly iris. And a bit of leather, let’s not forget the leather. It’s important.

Turns out the high school got their “1” scores (Superior ratings), and Bookworm’s very pleased.

Friday, Mar. 18: Thank goodness, it’s finally warmer, in the mid-60s. My daffodils are blooming, too. SOTD: Black Orchid Voile de Fleur – pretty white flowers, with something that says “do not mess with me” down there in the base…

Saturday, Mar. 19: As usual, cleaned house. We’re gradually getting the misplaced items back into the family room, post-carpet upgrade and painting. I took a couple of boxes of Stuff We Don’t Need to Goodwill (I’d already taken three before we left on the trip, and there are at least two more to go, once I’ve ascertained that everything in them is destined to leave the house).

SOTAfternoon: Cuir de Lancome. The CEO never remembers this one, but he always comments on it: You smell nice. What is that? There are scents he never says a thing about, so I think he must really like Cuir.

After supper (homemade hamburgers, fries and broccoli), we gathered up the gifts and travel books and the computer with all the trip photos on it and went to visit The CEO’s parents, who graciously agreed to take care of the kids while we were gone. I think the gifts – a small bottle of Guerlain Bouquet No 1 * and a silver Malta cross necklace for my mother-in-law, and a travel book of Malta for my father-in-law – were well-received.

*Bouquet No 1 is very pretty, by the way – nice citrusy top, and very floral, although not groundbreaking in any way. Bookworm got some on her fingers while she was putting the cap back on for her grandmother, and she smelled quite lovely when I kissed her goodnight.

Sunday, Mar. 20: Cloudy and in the 50s. SOTD: Ferré 20, my Rome trip souvenir. The CEO commented that it smells like flowers in the spring. I laughed: okay, sure, flowers, but there’s no green stuff in this, and there are aldehydes and fruit (which you might think wouldn’t go together, but I rather like it, especially since the fruit isn’t candy-sweet). Also, the base is very woody-iris-benzoin, and wouldn’t be terribly out of place on a guy. Very nice.

After church, The CEO took the kids to see Virginia Tech play in their second NIT game, while I returned some curtains to JC Penney and bought a chair mat for the family room desk before coming back to his office to work on this week’s Scent Diary. The CEO’s office is full of His Stuff: his Red Sox calendar and the framed photo of Jason Varitek shoving his catcher’s mitt into Alex Rodriguez’ face*, his “extra” Virginia Tech hats, the photo of himself shaking hands with Colin Powell upon the completion of his Eisenhower Fellowship, and various plaques of service to farm organizations (VA Farm Bureau, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, and the like). I’m glad he’s got a place for those things, particularly because the Varitek-ARod photo still gives me a jolt and I didn’t want to have to look at it at home.

*See here for a news report on this 2004 game brawl.  Image is from redsoxvsyankees website.