“Life’s a bleach and then you die.” George Takei Tweet 24 April.
Saturday 18 April – Friday 24 April.
Life is moving along. The rest of the shops will open on May 2, including hairdressers. I am seriously counting the days! Schools go back between the 4th of May and the beginning of June. Staggered. Restaurants and hotels as planned on the 15th of May. That should have me back with some sort of Cookie Run. I am not yet sure of the new rules that will be put into place but they will include masks somewhere. I honestly don’t mind any more. If wearing them is what it takes then so be it.
A friend lost her father to C19 last week.
I baked up and delivered some cookies to one of the MyIndigo (the company I supply) stores in Salzburg. They have a new guy doing their marketing and running their social media accounts. He wanted a picture of me. Not a hope in hell with this hair. So I substituted my head, as one does. I also saw how difficult it was to have a proper conversation with people whilst wearing a mask. And it turns out that the marketing dude used to work with Zenology, Jeroen Oude Sogtoen’s brand. (Also of Mona di Orio). Seriously.
Fragrant Tidbits
It was two years ago this week that I was in London with Portia. We also met up with Neela Vermeire and her husband at the same time, at the Art and Olfaction Awards. As mentioned in my last four CV19 posts, I have been wearing NVC Mohur EdP a lot. This week has been no exception, and my daughter (@ b.londeswunder) came home for a few days and stole my Mohur travel. AND the highlight of the week? I got a travel of Mohur Extrait in the post. Richer, more condensed, deeper, warmer smoother. Sandalwood and kid leather. Good things come to those who wait. I was and still am as excited as a child. That perfume can to do that to me is a rare joy, and one I live for.
Portia filming our thoughts on Roger Dove in Harrod`s.
My girlfriend drove down to the Italian border yesterday, just to see if it really was shut.
As we move onto the next stage of opening the country back up, and there will be many, I know that a lot of you are still in stricter lockdowns. My posts may get shorter, but I will continue them until the last reader is free. So please don’t stop with all of your updates.
(Still easing up) Lockdown Perfumes of the Week.
Hiram Green – Lustre. Ormond Jayne – Woman. Mona di Orio – Musc. NVC – Mohur EdP and Mohur Extrait. Vero Profumo – Rubj Extrait. Chanel N°5 Dry Oil.
“Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town? We danced and sang and the music played in a de boomtown.” JERRY DAMMERS. GHOST TOWN. 1981.
CQ.
A Bottled Rose 
And, was the boarder to Italy closed ?
I have the appointment with my hairdresser too, on May 9th – blisss !
I‘m getting the lock-down blues, this week was difficult. So I had to bake some banana bread, with choc chips and pecans.
I love your cookie monster photo, and I like your current hair too .
Parfum-wise this week was about Bois des Iles…
Sending love & hugs !
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Getting back into Austria would be the problem. And the beaches in Italy are shut, even for the Italians. I would chop my head off if I had to wait any longer than 2 May! I’m sorry you had a crap week. With the shop open it feels kind of “normal but with masks.” Bois de Iles is gorgeous. Even more hugs and love back. ❤️
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I’ve been very down this week too. It’s strict lockdown day 30 here in Dublin, and I can’t really complain, I’m still going to work, albeit with a limited schedule, which is actually good in itself, but I’m missing my friends and I miss things the way they were. I badly need a haircut, and waxing but most of all its killing me that I can’t attend my studio yoga classes. It’s all online now and it’s simply not the same. I live in a very small flat, boyfriend is a dedicated yogi, and there’s really not enough room for the two of us to do it. A lot of the parks are closed too, but at least St. Stephen’s Green, one of the city’s main parks, is open again now. With Covid-19 signs everywhere and designated “way-in” entrances, “way-out” exits and so on. We’re supposed to start easing some restrictions on the 5th of May, but government keeps wielding the extension axe at us. People are starting to get fed up big time, and maybe they’re circulating a bit more but wtf life needs to go on, otherwise there won’t be enough lunatics asylums for us all. I’m wearing Mohur too in times of stress, I find it incredibly beautiful and soothing, “mother’s bosom” in a bottle as far as I’m concerned. The prospect of a year or two filled with all these eerie rules upsets me so much! I probably need to buy more Mohur, just în case
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Hey Ana Maria ❤ I think down weeks are only to be expected. Our lives changed overnight. And the regular things like haircuts, gyms, yoga, whatever? Those are the things we miss the most. The "little" things. Except actually they are quite big. They are opening up parks here too, really I thing the parks should be open everywhere. To take away that right, to walk and sit in them seems tragic. They will have to ease restrictions, this just cannot go on forever, not anywhere. Certainly the mandatory wearing of masks played a role in easing the lockdown over here. And of course you can complain, nothing is more therapeutic than a good grumbling session. That is why we are all here! May 5th is still two weeks away, I sure hope that things ease. Yeah, Mohur has been a constant over the last few weeks. Hang on in there, we have no choice but to press onwards. Lots of love, Val xxxxxxx
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OMG Val, I recently found that video. We are HILARIOUS! Roohaaa Duvet. So stupid. HA HA HA HA! Wouldn’t use it for toilet freshener. HA HA HA! We are idiots.
COOKIE VAL MONSTER! Heaven.
That Mohur Extrait. I’m so glad you’re loving it. How lucky are we to have Neela? Her frags speak to me like no other.
Portia xx
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Hey Honey! That was brilliant. Top loaded rubbish, the lot of it. The Mohure Extrait is really beautiful, but I like them both equally. Tomorrow I will wear the edp on my arms and the extrait on my neck, because I can. 🙂
Neela is one of a kind, and a joy, and always makes me laugh. A treasure indeed. Roll on 2021. Mwah. xxxxx ❤
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LOL about the photo request from the marketing guy when you are sporting mask and suboptimal hair. 😉 Must dig out my Mohur samples to compare..I think I have a tiny smidge of the parfum in a couple of them. How nice to see Hannah too. Love how you plan to keep going with this series till the last reader is free! That could be a while….
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Oh no, he asked me before I drove to Salzburg if he could do a photo in the store. I took my Cookie Monster bag (It is a bag, and the mouth zips up with the cookie in it. The cookie is in fact a small coin purse.) with me so I could cover my face with it. I hate photos at the best of times, Hahahahahaha. Yeah – I will keep writing it until we are free, or nobody reads it, which ever comes along first. ❤
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It’s reassuring to read that other people have also struggled this week. Staying indoors for over a month resulted in a migraine and a meltdown. A careful walk through the fields was the answer thanks to encouragement from certain friends 🙂
Rahele really gave me a boost when I thought I wasn’t up to wearing perfume. Will join in wearing Mohur today.
Austria is showing us the way.
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A migraine and a meltdown. Nice combo. Yeah, you have to get out. I don’t care what anyone says, that a decision that a responsible person can take alone. Staying locked up is good for no one. As my Nanna used to say, rules are made to be bent, not broken. Ah Rahele, I had not read this when we chatted earlier. I need to try that again. Yes, so far Austria is doing ok, but it is still walking on a tightrope. ❤ ❤
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Go Austria!! We need you to lead the way out of lockdown. So cute to see your cookie monster photo. :-). I was having a hard day yesterday, had a good walk outside with the dog and an hour each of yoga and meditation. Still tired of it all and feeling discouraged about what the future may bring, but some day spring will come. It is still quite cold in eastern Canada. Can’t wait for the lilacs in particular. I’ve been wearing mostly roses & incenses, sadly my bottle of Mohur is in California, never smelled the extrait. Some day!!
A neighbour asked me why my cookies were so much better than the commercial ones in the store. LOL. It’s the ingredients! Real butter, vanilla, chocolate, nuts, and no chemicals. There is such a baking fest going on here the shelves are empty of flour. One of our flour manufacturers actually ran out of their printed bags and had to put their product in plain black & white sacks!
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Hi there Tara! Did the dog walk help? I think we cannot fail but to feel just a little better with some kind of movement, even if it is only temporary. Spring will come. Nature stops for no one. The lilacs are starting to bloom and I rode past some the other day, their perfume so intense. A lot of tings seem magnified at the moment, our senses on high alert? As I look back on the last few weeks. rose perfumes have been at the fore. I had not consciously noticed that. The extrait is really beautiful, but not better than the edp. IMHO. 😉 Obviously home made cookies are better! I understand that flour is hard to get in the UK too, Not here. The only thing that disappeared in the first three weeks here was yeast. Both fresh and dried. I always have at least 50kg of flour in the shop anyway, so was not too worried. Nearly May, even in Canada that must mean spring. Sending you good vibes and lots of love. xxxxxx
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Dog walks always help. We went on an extra long one today. It actually got up to 14C here, woot! I am desperate to go on a bike ride. Temps are only forecasted for 11C tomorrow but we’ll bundle up and go anyway, nothing but cold rain for the next week.
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Dod you go? Even if it was cold …..As long as it was not wet. I hate riding in the rain. xxx
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The weather shifted, we decided to postpone to another day. So another day of riding the trainer in the flat. 🙂
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As David Goggins says. #stayhard.
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Dear Val, I liked the haircut on that marketing photo, but your face looks kind of blue-ish… Are you getting enough fresh air? ;-P
I’m glad you started a slow return. Hopefully, we’ll all follow you sooner or later.
Yesterday was our “every ten days” shopping trip. Now face masks are required to enter any store. What I noticed, after everyone started wearing masks, people completely forgot about keeping the distance. I wonder, which of the two measures is actually more effective.
This weekend I’m trying to get as much rest as I can: while I understand how this lockdown gets to people, for me it was work that “got” me this week: I feel extremely exhausted. But, hopefully, nothing an extra hour of sleep and a session of ironing can’t cure.
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Hey Undina, you are right, I had not really noticed. Its either not enough fresh air, or not getting enough air through the mask, or a combination of both! I will double up on my vitamins,
Yeah, I guess the whole “returning” thing will be spread over at least three months. It is being hammered into us here that you have to still socially distance as well as wearing the masks. Says it in every shop that you walk into (including ours) and after the news each night. Every ten days? The would need a serious shopping list. I get to the store more often than that.
I am sure iit is not just work, but a combination of everything. All this shit is exhausting, physically and mentally. Do rest up, and if that includes ironing? So be it. ❤ xxxx
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Hugs to you, Val. Here in U.S. I was told this week by my company that the earliest they would call us back would be July. So, I am still unemployed, looking and relaxing/resting. I am not sure if they will call us all back. But we shall see.
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Oh gosh. I am guessing that maybe that was not unexpected news? I hope you can go back, or maybe better still, that something comes up over the next couple of months? Although with the outrageously frightening unemployment figures in the US, that might be easier said than done. Thanks for dropping in, I was wondering what the latest was at your end. Lots of love, Val xxxx
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People here start to act, like nothing happened, don’t keep their distance etc, just because some more shops were allowed to open. I am hoping we don’t get a second wave of the disease. As an introvert I am not too unhappy with the lockdown, but others do not cope well. Wearing perfume in larger doses helps a bit.
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I think it will become like that here. There have been very few that for Covid and less than 550 deaths (at the moment) and it is hard to believe anything is really wrong. There will be a second wave and more I think. It is just about keeping it slow. I am also quite fine with being at home a lot more, I love it.
Ha! Larger doses. Yeah. Things smell different now!
Next weekend every shop will be open. So hang on for the ride. ❤️
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I agree, there will be more waves, and we need to move through them as best we can. Germs are a part of life, we will never eradicate sickness. The best defense is eating and sleeping well, exercising, keeping our natural immunity up.
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Perfume blogs are still so important to me, even if I haven’t commented much for a couple of weeks. So thanks to those of you who write! I tend to use uncomplicated florals now, like Grand Bal and Scherrer One Love, plus different Atelier Cologne scents and other citrus scents. I had a hard week due to migraines and work, but not particularly due to the self-isolation. We still work from home and my wild guess is we will do so until at least mid-June.
Here, like in many other countries, local authorities have not been able to keep the virus out of the nursing homes. It is sad to see how more than 60 percent of those who have died of Covid-19 have been residents in nursing homes. There is a debate now, if the elderly are being given optimum treatment. We are not in the same situation as Italy or Spain, so here is no need to give up on elderly patients too early.
Hairdressers are allowed to open on April 27, as are nail salons, physiotherapists and others giving one to one treatment. Still, the social distancing rules have to be observed, with modifications. Therefore, they will not be able to have the same number of clients, no drop-in for haircuts and so on. They are bound to be very busy the first few weeks, so I have not yet tried to book a haircut and stripes/highlights. I can see why those of you with shorter hair would struggle by now.
If only I could shift the cold I have had since February (!), I will be back to my physiotherapist at least once a week, plus with guidance from him in the gym room (they will not leave the cleaning of gym equipment to their patients, for obvious reasons). I doubt they will be allowed to keep the changing room with showers open, so we shall see how well this will work. The regular gyms have not yet been given permission to open, and no set date has been given yet.
On Saturday the minister of culture and equality announced that all gatherings with more than 500 people are prohibited until September 1st, so no festivals, no outdoor theatre enacting historical events, no football cup for the youngsters. It is indeed going to be a strange summer! And before that, no normal Constitution Day celebration, it’s going to be odd.
No mandatory wearing of face masks here, even the sewn ones are hard to come by. I am waiting for two “designer” face masks myself, planning to use them when I need to use a taxi or public transport. Primary schools open again tomorrow for grade 1 to 4 and kindergarten opened a week ago, but there is no guarantee the gradual ease of restrictions will continue. We have (mostly) open shops, open cafés and open parks, after all. The ban on using private holiday homes/cabins has been lifted, too.
So happy for you that your bike-shop is back in business, given it is the main season for bikes.
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Thanks Ingeborg! I am happy the shop is open and hope it stays that way. I am sure it will – I cannot see another lockdown. They can only get away with one. Nice that you commented and good to see you.
Migraines suck at the best of times. Oh you beat us to the hairdressers opening!! In Australia they stayed open as essential services. I totally approve. I am so glad I buzzed my hair. Was the smartest move.
That is a long cold. Wow.
Most things have been cancelled here too for the summer. 2020. What a year. We will get through it though. No choice huh?
Hugs. Val. Xxxx
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I appreciate your updates Val, and I love your cookie monster photo! I have embraced the wearing of extra perfume while at home. At first I was too anxious and stressed to smell perfume, but now love dousing myself in wonderful scents. Colorado will slowly begin opening businesses in the next week I think, and I am fine with social distancing and face masks, It seems reasonable under the current conditions to get everyone back to work. I hope a positive of all this is that everyone will take better care of themselves to build immunity through good health, and with improved infection control practices.
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Hi Kathleen! I am putting much more on than I used to. Sometimes three different ones as the same time. Hahahahahahah.
Yeah gotta do what it takes. Even if it feels like there is no reason too. Lots of things to learn from this.
But I am not in an abusive relationship, and am not unemployed, and we have not lost our business ….. it must be beyond awful for millions of people.
Douse away! Good luck with going back to some sort of normality. Big hugs. ❤️
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