55 thoughts on “Scent Diary: 12.3 – 18.3.2018”

1. What a full week you had! I think it’s beautiful that you spent time at your Mum’s gravesite and sang and talked to her.
   Family visits are special; however, I understand the little time to yourself, and then the quiet and emptiness when they leave. I’m so happy to see your pups! Gorgeous! (I’m the biggest dog lover ever) Smooches to those sweet faces from me.
   I purchased the most exquisite bottle of vintage No 5 EDT, sealed and in perfect condition. Heaven! And the lady I purchased from also sent me a vial of vintage Coty L’Aimant and 1930s Coty Emeraude. My grateful heart! What a pleasure to experience these classic fragrances as they were. My heart aches what they have become after Coty was sold and they were reformulated to the junk they are now.
   I didn’t recognize your Tauer and now see all the fragrances he has produced that I didn’t know about. Now I need to research where to find. I can always count on you Portia to send me off on another fragrance seek! xoxo

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   • Hey Kathleen,
     We love visiting Mum. Her grave is pretty and in a lovely part of the cemetery. It’s nice to sit there even on my own and chatter away. I know she’s gone but her voice is the voice of my conscience, it’s nice to be with on site.
     Woo Hoo! Congratulations on your score, some good sniffing there.
     Auburn was a Limited Edition, it doesn’t come out often but I enjoy it whenever it does.
     Portia xx

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     • Your deep connection to your Mum is beautiful and special, and that you feel her with you always. xoxo

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   • Hi Kathleen
     Tauer do the cutest ever discovery set. You pick 4 and it is packed in a tin with note cards.

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     • Thank you Cassieflower! I looked on Tauer website and found the discovery set. I’m excited to sample more of his creation. I have Aid du desert Marocain and Le Maroc Pour Elle, looking forward to learning more with the discovery set. xoxo

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2. Your mother’s grave site is beautiful and I am glad that you visited on her birthday.

   I was wondering when I typed APJ in the google from my work it showed up in Japanese…I was having a challenging time getting in on my work computer…now it all makes sense…..also, even on the home computer it was taking a really long time to get in….maybe now things have been resolved…hopefully! I would have been freaking out as well, P!

   I finished Jessica Jones and have slowly been working through Altered Carbon with the hubs…we are also watching Tabula Rasa and the Ministry of Time (the Spanish name escapes me)…I happen to really enjoy the Netflix foreign series with subtitles….listening to other languages soothes me to sleep 🙂

   Perfume wise I have just been working my way through the sample sea….work wise, yuck…it’s that time of year when things get crazy but it will pass and should be over the end of next month just in time for my bday 🙂

   Hope everyone had a decent week!

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   • HeyCM,
     We are still having some speed issues bit hopefully there will be some resolution on that this week. Fingers crossed.
     How good is Altered Carbon? Loved it.

     Hopefully that your work gets done ASAP so you can get on with birthday celebrations.
     Portia xx

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     • He is an extraordinarily talented actor! He was in another show where he played a cop and I was amazed at his versatility, especially with regard to taking on an American accent. IF my beyond middle aged brain can remember the name of the show I will post it here as I think you might enjoy it.

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     • The other show he was in is called The Killing….the hubs reminded me 🙂

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3. Yay!!! So glad to be able to access the site again, what a distressing week this must have been for you and your tech support! Thanks so much for your efforts.

   I’m so envious of your Tauer Auburn, I missed the boat on those, but I have Alahine and La Haie Fleurie, both great fumes! Only two weeks until we return to Canada for 6 months so I am madly packing, sorting and cleaning.

   I totally understand about chatty guests, after two days I want to run screaming for the hills. Your mum’s grave is so pretty and well-tended, happy birthday to her in heaven! I am fortunate to still have my mum and today is her 78th birthday, will wait a bit longer until it’s a decent hour where she is to phone and wish her a happy day.

   I love this blog!

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   • Tara I am “butting” in to say happy birthday to your mom…my mom will also be celebrating her 78th this year and my dad his 81st! I hope yours has a fantastic day.

     I also want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU…(and you know what that is for 🙂 !!)

     and I will second your sentiment about loving this blog….it is my favorite out of all the ones I frequent because of Portia and all the other writers and folks that come here…so nice and intimate and welcoming.

     Good luck with your move back!!!!

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     • Thank you! Had a nice birthday chat, she is having a great day and loved the gift package I sent her (clothes, chocolates and loads of cosmetic samples). Dad just turned 80 a few weeks ago, so I am guessing we must be close to the same age. :-). You are very welcome and thanks for the good wishes on the move!

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   • Please wish your Mum a fantastic birthday, Tara. What area of Canada are you moving to?

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     • Thanks Saffy! We are snowbirds, we spend 6.5 months of the year in Montréal (to keep our health insurance) and the winters in San Diego, California.

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   • YAY! TaraC,
     Yeah, very distressing. The good thing is we now have a moment to grow the blog a bit for the next 5 years. I like being made to create positive change.
     You do 6 months in different countries? Jin and I have talked about doing that. Is it very difficult?
     Happy Birthday to your Mum. Spritz her from us.
     We love having you in the APJ Family too.
     Portia xx

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     • Not difficult, we have completely equipped homes on each end so we really only have to get ourselves from one place to the other, but there always seem to be umpteen little things I want to take from one place to the other (mostly perfumes and favourite foods). So that requires some prep work and packing.

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4. Thank goodness Portia. I really thought it was me. Every time I tried to put a comment in to the site last week I got sent over to an Asian sale site, and I thought my phone was hacked. I know it’s been awful for you but this is such a relief to me! I’m going to go back now and see if I can’t make some comments. I just simply wasn’t able to see what others had written or to add my two cents.

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   • PHEW Shiva-woman,
     From all of us to you. Thank goodness that drama is put to bed.
     Thanks for coming back and trying. We’d be lost without you.
     Portia xx

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5. Sorry you’ve had such headaches with your site and domain–that’s maddening when it’s out of your control. Also, chatty guests. Man. Three days is my limit, however much I love someone.

   I enjoyed your story and pictures of your visit to your mum. Every now and then when I’m on the east coast train heading south, I go past the church where my Dad was interred last year. I give him a wave.

   A quiet week here: work, trying to write my thesis, grumbling about the return of the cold, watching my way through Jessica Jones, re-reading Iain M. Banks’s Culture novels when I should be studying, trying not to eat my own bodyweight in Cadbury’s mini eggs… A bright spot: a glorious and generous parcel arriving yesterday. And pottering about, starting to sort out clothes and pack ahead of time–previously unheard of levels of organisation–for our trip to Florence and Paris so I am not rushing about madly late on Wednesday night when we have a ridonkulously early start on Thursday.

   p.s. your doglets are so lovely.

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   • “trying not to eat my weight in Cadbury mini eggs”….hysterical! (and story of my life with my sweet tooth 🙂 ) I also enjoyed seeing your photos of weightlifting from the link on your name…my wimpy 93 lb person is extraordinarily impressed! I need to get back into mini weights and aerobics…yoga alone isn’t cutting it…and a bit of sweating is good to elevate the mood which has been very down due to the prolongation of winter and lack of springlike weather.

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     • Thank you! It was such a joy to discover–who knew, that I could get this strong?! I am still just pottering about in the early stages of rehab after injury, and missing lifting like anything. Just a big gap where that hard physical work and reward normally lives.

       (I compete in the <50kg class…pauses to do the maths…damn, that means I have ten kilos on you, pretty much. You are a wisp! I'm just short.)

       Mini eggs are crack, basically.

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     • All sugar is crack for me…but you’ve inspired me to get back to an exercise routine..hopefully once the weather warms up I can get a bit more motivated 🙂

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   • Are those mini eggs not the most delicious? I’m a sucker for the big ‘cream’ eggs too. So rich ,but so yummy.

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     • They really, really are. I can’t do the full-sized creme eggs any more–so sweet they make my teeth curl up.

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   • Thanks Crikey, Aunty Tracey is a notorious talker. we mock her for it with love every time (when we can get a word in)
     They stay with us in ways I never would have imagined. Do you find that? I can still get answers in her voice when I ask questions.
     How are you enjoying Jessica Jones?
     LOVE getting care packages. Isn’t it exciting.
     Yeah, I’m a night before packer, except the frags are usually packed the week before.
     Portia xx

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     • I do. And I like that a lot. I also find I randomly start using some of his phrases, which I never did before. I’m glad that we get to keep a version of the people we love. (I’m particularly glad that the version of my dad that pops up in my dreams is slowly reverting to the original one, not his last years folded into dementia.)

       I enjoyed JJ: I know that some people moaned about it not being all about taking on a big-bad, but the complicated demons she was fighting worked for me–with everyone tangled in family and painful multi-directional calls on their loyalty. (I did keep getting distracted by wanting her “are those macqueen?” boots, though)

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6. 7.40 AM Monday….I should still be sleeping, but I woke at 4AM and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I was just laying in my bed, getting frustrated.
   I have applied some Caron Infini from the sample vial you sent me Portia. It is beautiful.
   I’m sorry you were hacked, and can understand the ‘heart in your mouth’ fear you experienced.
   I’ve been checking in on a Twitter acquaintance {via Twitter} who lives in the south west of Victoria where these most recent fires are occurring. Although, the town she lives in isn’t affected {as yet} she knows many ppl in other places whose lives have been devastated.
   I now fear for the dairy industry in Victoria, as according to news reports ,the loss of livestock is ‘numerous’. Scary.

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   • Good morning Saffyishere,
     Caron Infini will fix just about every problem, it’s transportive don’t you find?
     Yeah, the hacking has been spectacularly stressful, especially because i’m a complete tech fool and have to rely on others for it. My mind gores directly to worst case scenario.
     Fire. Terrifying. I hope you and your friends stay safe.
     Portia xx

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   • We have many friends near Bega and Tathra, luckily they have been spared so far, but there is devastation there.
     My shitty week was a non event by comparison…wasp stung me twice and then my windscreen shattered. All OK now, a bit of Noir de Noir helps!

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     • O M G! Twice! Same wasp?
       Portia x

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     • The images I saw of Bega and Tathra remind me of what happened to Marysville in 2009.
       I’m sorry for your friends , and send hugs.

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   • Isn’t Mother Nature very cruel? My heart goes out to those poor folk who lose everything but the clothes on their backs. I can’t even begin to think of it happening.

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7. You are not the only blogger who had their site hijacked. I really hope you have gotten rid of the scumbags for good!
   Aww, poor aunty Tracey, but I know how you feel. My neighbour’s girlfriend talks like a megaphone, non stop and very LOUD. We suspect that she also talks in her sleep.
   I don’t know how we got ourselves conned into watching more MAFS, it’s the last week and we just wait for the wheels to fall off. After that – never again!
   Well, whatever problems I’m having at the moment, they all pale to insignificance compared to what the people affected by the fires are going through. I can’t imagine what this must be like and hope and pray for them.
   It’s hot again today so I’ll be wearing O de Lancome, light and fresh.
   Have a good week everyone!

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   • Heya Ingrid,
     Yes, apparently it happens regularly when you get to a certain size.
     The fires are dreadful. Yeah, this is a hard country, beautiful one moment and burning the next. Eucalyptus is supposed to burn every 7-10 years.
     You smell lovely.
     Portia xx

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   • My hubby and I swore to each other that we would not watch this year’s MAFS. Who were we kidding? LOL. In fact hubby is even more invested than I. Last night he insisted that we eat dinner before or after the show, because eating is ‘too distracting’ {yes you may eye roll}
     Well on Wednesday it all ends…..

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     • *lol* we were the same, dinner over, kitchen closed, glasses on and seat belts fastened. But it was our first and last reality TV show. Too much bitching and bonking 😀

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8. Having a fairly quiet Sunday, which is so pleasant after a hectic week. I’m sitting in a fuzzy cloud of home made scent, smelling very much like kulfi, a favorite Indian dessert. Cardamom, saffron, sandalwood and coconut cream. Gourmand haters would likely retch, but I really like it.

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   • YAY for quiet Sundays LisaD,
     Kulfi! Sometimes I love it and others …… Depends on my mood.
     I reckon it would make a fabulous fragrance though.
     Portia xx

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   • You had me until coconut cream…..

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9. Portia, I finished Jessica Jones last night! Loved it. Daredevil is still my favourite though.

   Hahaha, I’ll get to experience the wonder that is Aunty Tracey soon.

   Glad you got the hacking issue sorted. How worrying.

   Your mum would be so proud of how you are always there for your friends and family, both near and far.

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   • Hey Tara,
     Oh yes. I loved Daredevil too. Have you watched The Punisher? Also fabulous.
     Yes Aunty tracey and you will get on Maison en flambé.
     We still have a real problem with load speeds and we will hopefully get on top of that this week.
     Thanks, that’s a really nice thing to say Tara.
     Portia xx

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10. Hey guys! My week was all work but there was something totally unexpected: I saw Portia in a dream after I read Val’s piece on how they met!

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    • I am laughing my a$$ off at your comment😂😂😂 This place is mad, it is good for your health.

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      • No kidding, Cassie, it damn right is! I rarely see dreams let alone ones that actually make sense.

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    • Amazing Diana! I hope I was wearing my Christmas Jumper!
      Portia x

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      • Portia, I was too amazed to remember what exactly you were wearing but you sure looked good :)!

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11. Your busy life makes me feel like a sloth, Portia. You cram so much in. Had a busy few days myself this week because of St. Patrick. Travel to friends, out socialising, dancing, walking, more dancing, more walking, I feel as if I have worn an inch off my height. But a good time was had by all. (Note to self: leave the high heels at home, vain idiot) Glad that the site glitches have been fixed, I thought I was doing something wrong on my end. And I would miss all of you if I couldn’t have my daily fix. Oh how I wish I had a Jin here, I salivate at the mention of his crackling pork. I would clean the house all day long rather than cook. I do the bare minimum in the kitchen😉. When I win The lotto I will hire someone to cook, no question about it. And the shopping as well!

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    • Sounds like you got a wriggle on last week Cassieflower,
      Jin is a gem. When the going gets tough with us and I think I’ve had enough I remember he cooks and is a handyman. Amazing how much you’ll let slide for those two magical powers.
      When you win the LOTTO I’ll send Jin.
      Portia xx

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    • I’d do your shopping for you , Cassie. I LOVE grocery shopping.

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12. I should like to try this crackling pork that Jin makes, it sounds so delicious, I will have to look up a recipe. And American pulled pork chips? I’ve not seen them in America. 🙂 I love that you are able to decorate your mother’s grave. Here we generally cannot, as the keepers like to be able to ride over the spots with their mowers. It’s plastic flowers and the like that are removed weekly. Also, concerning overnight stays, I myself adhere to the old rule–3 days for fish and houseguests to keep things fresh. It is snowing where I live again today, I envy the warmth and lovely outdoors you have there. Best wishes for a great week!

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    • Hey Verbenaluvvr,
      Those chips were freaky but yum. Tonight I had Peking Duck chips, they tasted pretty good too.
      There are different areas in the century here. Mum particularly wanted to be in the monumental area. That meant we got to choose a surround and headstone. They kicked up a huge stink when we said we wanted to plant a garden in the middle of it but as with everything money buys concessions. Now there are other graves in her area that have done similar, it looks pretty and loved.
      HA! I said that exact thing this week. Seriously though Aunty Tracey could come live with us for ever, she is a bright shining spark of alive. We love her dearly.
      Portia x

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13. We were chatting about our wishes for burial or cremation with friends and when I said I wanted cremation and to to be scattered in my favourite places my friend piped up with “but where will I go to visit you?” She’s not holding out much hope for me, obviously 😏. We did come up with a half-baked plan for retirement, we’re considering winter rental in south of Spain . Very doable for three couples, and we know we get on well enough as we always holiday together, so there’s little chance of us killing each other. I never thought I would get old but it’s a frightening reality now.

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    • Cassie, your friend is fun!

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    • Great idea to hit Spain Cassieflower,
      Will you rent your home while you’re gone?
      Did you ever watch the Alan Alda film Four Seasons? That totally shaped how I expected aging to be. Obviously it’s only glimmers of reminder.
      Portia xx

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      • I think I’d be scared to rent out my home, and I would feel the need to redecorate and all that malarkey. And it would involve removing all my old tat from it, and I live with a hoarder too, so a major headache. No, it will be lockup and go, I think. And I wouldn’t worry about break-ins or anything because my family live close by and would keep an eye on it.
        I haven’t seen that film but now I’ll have to check it out.

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