Scent of a woman

I don't know about you, but I enjoy good perfume. For years, I have only owned two scents, but I have several samples of other perfumes that I have fun with. I find these samples on LuckyScent.com. Has anyone visited their site?

Now, mind you, the samples aren't free (unless you're ordering a perfume), but for two or three dollars a vial, you can get several to try on for size. They last quite a while, and it's fun.

My favorite scent of the perfumes that I've tried is Keiko Mecheri's Ume. I love the description:

Unexpectedly decadent, this intoxicating meditation on umé, the Japanese plum, marries sweet and salt, fruit and spice, ethereal lightness and velvety richness. Japanese plum, persimmon and the delicate apricot-like osmanthus blossom provide a succulent sweetness that dances a breathless tango with deeply alluring Oriental moss, woods and spices. An unforgettable fragrance that would have suited Josephine Baker herself – marvelous and unique.

It almost sounds good enough to eat, doesn't it? And honestly, who doesn't want to dance a breathless tango? Now, that's just exciting!

At LuckyScent, you'll be invited to peruse reader reviews of the scents offered, and for convenience, fragrance samples are sorted into type: fresh, incense, and soft are some examples. I usually just go for the "Top Pics" under the cult following. It's where I found Catherine Memmi's Attitude: Like the honeyed sheen of polished wood or the easy grace of an impeccably tailored silk suit, this fragrance speaks of comfortable elegance. For the confident woman who knows she doesn’t need to raise her voice to get things done.

You know what? Sometimes the descriptions are just as delicious as the scents themselves.

Oh, and the two scents I own are Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. What are your favorites?

Around the bend

Follow the long driveway down a tree-covered lane in Maryland, and you'll soon come to a house. A house that has stood since 1740.

It is said that on or around August 25, 1777, General George Washington stood on the widow's walk of this home to view British troops under the command of General Howe that were landing on the Elk River.

This home is situated on one of the highest spots in the area and must have afforded an excellent view of the over 250 ships that had sailed up the Chesapeake Bay which were carrying 15,000 to 18,000 Brisith troops.

Soldiers in the Continental Army set up an encampment on the property.

General Washington went on to stay at a local hotel before taking leave for Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Two days later, General Howe stayed at the same hotel, in the same room and was waited on by the same servant. He, too, was headed to Chadds Ford where our troops fought his, greatly outnumbered, in the historic Battle of the Brandywine. He and his troops then moved on to Philadelphia to capture that city.

I'm just in a historic sort of mood today. Don't mind me.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

A little tune I hum

I was strolling through the fields one day.

In a not-so-very-merry way.

I was taken by surprise

by a pair of bright green eyes.

While strolling through the fields one day.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

What lies around the bend

Just around the bend, nobody knows

Still that's where everybody wants to go

Might be a mile ride up ahead

All I really know is that I'm not there yet

I don't know what waits but I am not afraid

I'll just make my own sweet way around the bend.

~ Randy Travis

Until we meet again

Our mother awaits you in heaven, dad.

You will always be in my heart.

Samuel Clarke John Long

August 23, 1918 ~ October 3, 2008

We little knew that morning

That God would call your name.

In life we loved you dearly;

In death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you,

But you did not go alone,

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories,

Your love is still our guide,

And though we cannot see you,

You are always by our side.

Our family chain is broken

And nothing seems the same,

But as God calls us one by one,

The chain will link again.

Author Unknown

My favorite colors

I took a walk this afternoon in the autumn chill. George loved it, but got hit on the tail end by a falling walnut at one point. He probably thought I did it!

I love the colors of autumn and found these leaves to share with you.

I'm still wearing the big boo boo bandage on my finger, and even though I type a lot for a living, it's amazing how my middle finger has taken over and is now in charge. If I could write poetry, I'd write an Ode to My Middle Finger. In this poem, I would lament the things for which I've used this digit in my past. Like the time the trucker in the 18-wheeler tried to run me over. He backed off after I opened the sunroof of my Volvo and used my middle finger on him. I don't do that sort of thing anymore, however.

But I would like to publicly thank this hardworking finger. It's taken over and has earned my respect.

Back to the colors of fall, however. Black and white is also one of my favorites.

Do you see that tail wagging? Oh yes, this is a happy dog.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

How did they know?

Today at school, I was given a lovely surprise from the children who had Library class today. It came at the end of the day and was a paper bucket filled with kind thoughts.

They are reading Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?, which is a Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids, written by Carol McCloud and illustrated by David Messing. It's based on Merrill Lundgren's thirty years of teaching. He has traveled the world teaching the importance of using words to lift people up and how detrimental words can be when used improperly and set out to write a book helping young children understand the importance of words.

The story is simple, yet profound and the images truly capture the heart of the story: every human being has a bucket that gets filled or depleted based on what others say. It's up to us to choose how to treat people. It's an excellent little read, and after our students read this book, they worked on a project.

Imagine my complete surprise to pull out their little slips of paper, written in their own hand. Here are a few of them:

"Thanks for helping me."

"I like you curly hair! and your self-estem!!"

"Your nice."

"Hi!"

"You make me giggle."

"You are very nice."

"I love your hair."

"You are funny."

"I like your sence of hummer."

There are a lot of reasons why I work where I do. I love the children, from kindergarten through high school, I love the people I work with. But most of all, I feel appreciated for what I do. It's a family. It is home.

And besides, I have an excellent sence of hummer.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Today's quickie

Sometimes you feel like a nut.


Sometimes you don't.

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.

~ Cary Grant

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Conundrum

I took this photo while visiting my son in New York last month. Things don't look good, and it's not just everything that's going on in the country today.

I am just worried. And it's just been one of those days.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Into our hearts

I was just thinking that it's been a year ago since our beloved border collie, George, came to live in our home. My husband had been missing our former border, Ralph, and was thinking of getting another dog.

When Ralph passed away, my husband swore he'd never own another dog. And for a year, nothing was said about acquiring one. But then, slowly, talk about a puppy would occasionally enter the conversation.

For over a year, I threw every excuse at him. I reminded him how much trouble a puppy was going to be. And the fact that we'd need a fence. And how we wouldn't just be able to fly to Paris on a whim. And we'd have to plan our vacations and trips around the fact that we had a dog. And you know I was kidding about the Paris thing, right?

We fell in love with George right away. And even though he gave my husband a difficult time in the beginning, especially when it came to training him, they are the best of pals now.

I will add here that he never gave ME a difficult time while training.

I am so glad he is in our lives.

Halloween Give-Away winner announced

And the winner is . . . MAYBELLINE.

Her memory was rather gross, but Halloween can be that way sometimes, right? Congratulations, Maybelline! Please e-mail me at katydid56@gmail.com. And don't forget to go over to A Picture A Day and choose the photo you'd like to have sent as an 8x10 print.

I did not choose a winner based on their memory, in case you didn't know. I assigned a number to every comment and pulled the number from a bowl. (Hey, that rhymes.) It's the old-fashioned way, just like I like my Halloweens.

I want to thank everyone who participated in this contest. I know it's a bit early for Halloween, but I wanted to get your decoration to you early and besides, with the difficulty I'm having typing, the contest was a fun and easy post to leave up for a couple of days. I am even thinking of doing it again soon.

I loved reading your comments about your Halloween memories. Most had me smiling wide, some made me sad, and several made me laugh out loud!

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Time's Up in the Halloween Give-Away

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will assign each comment a number and have a drawing, remembering that those who posted about the contest on their blogs will receive 2 votes.

The winner will be announced later this evening!

Until then, my friends.

Enter the Halloween Contest and win a Primitive Jack-O-Lantern candy box by leaving a comment telling me what your favorite Halloween memory is.

Hurry! Contest ends at Noon (EST) this Saturday, September 27.

When I was a child, I loved Halloween. In the old days, my parents would take our family to neighbors' homes along our surburban street, where we would perform a song and receive candy and treats as a reward. But as I grew older, the fascination with the holiday began to wane. Yes, I took my children to neighbors' homes, and had some Halloween parties, and I always carved beautiful jack-o-lanterns but other than that, it's just a good night to sit tight, watch Casper and have a few glasses of wine.

Now, some people have oodles of decorations for Halloween, but I really don't. In fact, this is probably all I have left of the few decorations I haven't either taken to school or given away. And I've always liked this little treat box and have kept it in pristine condition.

It stands approximately 9 inches high and is made of a type of papier-mache. I can't take it to school because it's just slightly on the disturbing side, and since our school is a K-12, I really don't need the littles having nightmares of pumpkins with teeth.

If you would like to acquire this decorative Halloween item, all you have to do is tell me a favorite Halloween memory. I'll leave this contest open until Saturday at Noon, EST. Then I'll draw numbers and choose the winner. Plus, if you pimp this contest on your blog, I'll give you two entries to double your chances of winning! Remember, contest ends Sat., 9/27 at Noon.

This is the tag that was attached when I purchased it.

And what the hey, I'll even throw in an 8 X 10 of your choice of any photo you desire on my Picture A Day blog.

Until tomorrow, my friends!

Oh, good grief

And ding dang diddly combined with it. Okay. It's difficult to type. Yet again!

You've heard about my unfortunate incident involving a glass that broke in my hand earlier this month, right? As you can see, it's healing just fine. But what is that big boo boo thing on my finger? Wel, when I visited the hand surgeon after the initial ER visit, he was more concerned with something other than the stitches. I never mentioned this because I didn't think it was such a big deal at the time.

I had a small cyst removed from the joint of my finger; the same finger that I just cut. I won't go any further into it, other than to tell you that I have to keep this big splint and bandage on it for the next two weeks. I can't get it wet or dirty.

I was pretty depressed about the whole thing, mainly because something has been wrong with this finger since the 6th of this month, and I type for a living. I mean, typing is a big part of what I do. Think, for a moment, about all the things you do with your hands and fingers. I can't wash my face with two hands for the next two weeks. Writing is going to be a trip, too. Filling up my car with gas? How cumbersome. And the dishes? Well, I won't miss them.

I got over it pretty quickly, though. I mean, this is nothing really, compared to the troubles of others. And just to show what a good sport I am about the whole ordeal, I'm giving something away on this blog tomorrow. Something for Halloween, too. So stop back to see what I have for you.

Ok. I need a drink now. I think I'll go get a glass of milk. And a cookie.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

George gets a new toy and I get an award

I took a different route home in order to stop at the Hallmark store and I happened to drive by a pet store. I realized that I hadn't bought George a new toy for quite some time now and so many of them are getting pretty ratty, so I turned my Honda Element into the parking lot and went in. I came out a short time later with a couple of fun new toys and a new ID tag for my favorite dog. When I came home, my husband was doing the dishes. You have no idea how much I love seeing a tall, strapping man doing the dishes. And then he started getting out pots and pans to begin cooking dinner and I had to get outa there before I just got way too excited! I took George outside and let him choose one of the toys. I tossed it and he caught most of them and kept bringing them back for more. These pictures are not blog-worthy as far as I'm concerned, but they're all I got tonight! It is pretty difficult to toss and snap at the same time and there was no way I was going to disturb the dinner process by asking my husband to come out and toss while I snapped photos. Then it was walk time and George decided to bring his new toy with us, dropping it just ahead of me so that I could keep picking it up and throwing it to him. By the end of the little 20-minute walk, he was tuckered out. And as I'm writing this, it's an hour and a half later and this dog is STILL playing with this toy. He loves it!


And now on to the award. Ever since I started fooling around with the little black box, I've been getting visitors from all over the globe on both this site and my Picture A Day photography blog. And some of them are becoming regular visitors. Hello to all of you. Yes, you out there. You know who you are. One such visitor is Suzy at Soo's Stuff. She hails from Cornwall in the UK and has a couple of brand new puppies. I also must mention her vacuum. It truly has a personality of its own. Suzy has bestowed the "I Love your Blog" award to me. And I am thankful. I received another one of these last month and will add this to my collection of wonderful awards. And because I've already sent this award on to three deserving other bloggers, I have decided to be lazy and not pass on, but I will say that I love all the blogs that are on my sidebar here. To me, they all deserve this award.

Until tomorrow, my friends.