Perfume Shelf, from Wikimedia Commons
Monday, Aug. 1: First day of band camp. Hot. The CEO left for his trip to Orlando for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the second meeting of the year. (Florida in summer, Denver in winter… what are these guys thinking? Besides, “Hey, off-season rates!”?) SOTD: Uh, nothing. In a hurry to leave and late and busy, I forgot. Ever forget? Happened to me. SOBedtime: Shalimar Light.
Tuesday, Aug. 2: Temps in the high 80s, and humid. Gah. One case of skin rash on a student, soothed with hydrocortisone cream. Looks like she might have sat down in a place with itchy plant life, just after the grass was mowed. It took a few days to disappear, but she’s fine now. SOTD: Comptoir Sud Pacifique L’Eau du Gouverneur, nice nutmeggy thing borrowed from the absent CEO’s dresser. It cut through the sweat, sunscreen, and mildewed tent smells, and lasted many hours.
Spent the evening at a nearby high school football stadium, watching a Drum Corps International competition with my parents and the boys. Taz kept complaining that he was “going to be bored,” and then, despite his obvious enjoyment, telling me that he didn’t like it. I suspect he didn’t want to be proved wrong. The rest of us thought it was a great show, lots of fun to watch.
Wednesday, Aug. 3: Hotter today and humid. Bleargh. Busy band camp day. SOTD: Guerlain Idylle EdT. Pleasant in the heat, that nice high-pitched rose-lily of the valley-patchouli sharp and bright over unpleasant odors. CEO home tomorrow.
Thursday, Aug 4: Gosh, I’m tired… this getting up at 6:15 am is wearing on me. I’ll have to get used to it again, though, because Bookworm will be starting classes in A WEEK (yes, one week from now!!) at Governor’s School, the magnet school for science and technology. Regular county classes begin the 25th. SOTD: Balenciaga Paris – nice but barely perceptible.
Had one of the trumpet players come out at Gatorade time with incipient heat exhaustion. Turned out she hadn’t been eating or drinking properly at home, and the morning’s two water breaks weren’t enough to keep her hydrated. She’s fine now.
CEO home, and sick. Seems like every time he gets on a plane that happens.
Friday, Aug. 5: Hot again for the last day of band camp. The senior prank this year was to blow up balloons and stuff the top of the director’s platform, then wrap it all up with shrink wrap. It was wildly amusing to them, particularly when Mr. Butler (who forewarned him?) pulled a pair of scissors out of his shorts pocket with a flourish and shimmied up the ladder just as usual.
Had one of the bass drum players come out early in the morning practice with stomach pain; had to take him to the ER to rule out appendicitis. I knew this kid had a digestive-system issue because of his dietary restrictions, but I didn’t know how serious it was. Turned out he had a minor blockage and was fine after a few hours, in a situation strikingly reminiscent of when we thought Gaze had appendicitis a few years ago. This kid is a die-hard band geek, and when he broke his toe last year, it took him three days to tell somebody because he didn’t want to miss a competition, so you know if he was sitting out a drilldown, he was really in pain. He’s fine now.
SOTD: Tom Ford Black Orchid Voile de Fleur. I love it, but now I might love it more for having received two compliments today. The cafeteria lady helping us serve lunch exclaimed, “I like your perfume! What is it?” and we had a nice conversation about fragrance; she likes Avon and Bath & Body Works scents. Wish I’d had a sample in my purse to give her, but I didn’t think of it. And then one of the students passing by me said, “Wow, somebody smells really good!” Scent of Bedtime: Shalimar Light. Man, am I tired…
Saturday, Aug. 6: Another warm but really humid sort of day. Took Bookworm down to the high school early (this is getting to be a habit!) to pick up her cross-country uniform and have team pictures made. Then we took advantage of Virginia’s tax-free weekend to buy school supplies and a few items of school clothing for her. I’m still trying to pry her away from the Jeans Every Day mindset, but I don’t know that that’s going to happen. SOTMorning: SSS Jour Ensoleille, which is gorgeous and floral and sweet and just a wee bit drrty. I want a little 5ml purse spray, whenever they show up on the website again.
National anthem at local minor league baseball game
Mowed the grass, cleaned the house, took the fam down to our local Rookie League baseball game. The PCHS band was playing the Star Spangled Banner – which Bookworm tells me is always referred to among band members as “SSB,” which surprised me, because we always called it “Banner” – for the game, and that was fun to watch. SOTEvening: more Jour Ensoleille. Trivia: Eddie Van was selected as the “Dirtiest Vehicle in the Parking Lot,” and I won a free car wash at a local establishment… thing is, you know the car wash will only last until I get to the driveway, which is half a mile long and gravel.
Sunday, Aug. 7: Helping with preschool age kids at church today. Eleven kids, one adult… I’m so tired! I need a nap! SOTD: Mary Greenwell Plum.
Muse in Wooden Shoes 
Lie down woman!
xoxo~T
Had a great nap yesterday, thanks!
My mother was SO glad when I started driving, so I could cart myself to band practice and football games and choir practice, etc. etc. — oh, and run to the store, too! Glad you and the other boosters are there to keep all the band members hydrated in this heatwave.
Have you ever compared the original TF Black Orchid to the Voile de Fleur version? [I had Black Orchid when it first came out, but was too much of a perfume noob to appreciate its weirdness, and gave away my bottle. Got a sample in a recent swap pkg, and am thinking of getting a new bottle for fall.] Have never seen the Voile de Fleur version, and wondered how they compare.
That’s what the boosters are there for, right? Bookworm can’t get her license for at least another six weeks… but I’ll be glad when it arrives.
I have only worn a sample of the original Blk Orch once: HATED it. There’s a weird dirt thing in there, as well as some watery cucumber thing, and my most-hated balsamic thing. Bleargh. Could not get it off fast enough. The Voile de Fleur (edt) is already discontinued, probably because most Blk Orch fans didn’t like it. It’s far more floral and soft, and missing the weird angle of the original. It’s still available at discount sites, I think – at least the last time I looked, prices had gone up a bit but you could still find it pretty easily. I did a full-fledged review of VdF a while back – click the Tom Ford category over to the right to get to it.
You need rest. But your diary is still very interesting to read. Thank you.
I like the original Black Orchid and recently I got the VdF version. On the first try I do not smell any commonality but I’ll need to test more.
I did get a good nap on Sunday, and that helped.
Original Blk Orch and VdF are not, to my nose, very similar! I did not like the original at all (as I just explained to Sharon C up there), and I don’t get much in common between them. Blk O is much more balsamy – and downright weird – and VdF is mostly white floral.