*GREAT GAME*

What are the rules? I said

She said, Do exactly what I want whenever I want, make no demands of me whatsoever

And love me forever, no questions asked

I said, how do you win?

She said, you don't understand. I'm the only one who wins

Then she laughed & clapped her hands.

Isn't it a great game? she said.

(from Story People)

*SPRING/SUMMER FRAGRANCE* from my Perfume Board

Of course, we were discussing our favorite 'smells' on my Perfume Board again! What else would be discuss? Well, we actually do discuss art, music, life, all kinds of things..........but these are some of our favorite smells for Spring/Summer:

From a Friend in New Orleans:

The night-blooming jasmine. The magnolias and gardenias have already passed their seasons, but there is a signature green, dry smell of the magnolia foliage on humid nights.

From a Friend in Georgia:

Sage brush after the rain, mountain laurel and all sorts of green smells coming down in the breeze from the mountains. Wood smoke from camp fires. The olive trees just finished blooming here, talk about a heavenly, heady smell. Pine trees that smell piney and musky. Roses and lavender and mint growing in my garden. In Georgia in mid-June there is a steamy quality, a promise of a hot day, in the early morning. This steamy damp supports the fragrances of magnolia, gardenia and mimosa uncoiling from their blossoms.

The magnolia blossoms, huge and white, are like giant bows festooning a green and gold taffeta ball gown.

From a Friend in Coastal Virginia:

Honeysuckle blooming along the interstate. The salty, metallic smell of the ocean, the smell of road tar on really hot days, the heavy smell of afternoon thunderclouds. On the weekends, freshly cut grass, the pungency of English boxwood, saucer magnolias on the tree in my front yard. The smell of peaches and tomatoes at the farmer's markets. Jasmine blooming aling the fence in the garden, hamburgers and steaks on the grill. The ozone in the air during a thunderstorm, the green, dirty smell of tomato leaves and the sulphuric smell of strawberries, peach skins and dirt in the garden.

From a Friend in Canada:

Tar and wet cement! In the summer, our town is construction city...roadwork and building construction galore and the smell of tar permeates the air where roadwork is being done. Walking by the construction sites, the fabulous smell of cool, wet cement.

*A Memorable Tundra Night*

Last night, after my shower, I sat on my chaise and prepared to watch the premiere of True Blood, a series much anticipated. I felt comfortable and refreshed after my shower and felt very content.

The weather is still somewhat cool here in the Tundra compared to the rest of the country. Nightfall was approaching and there were thunderstorm warnings. I had my patio door and living room windows open for the night breeze. Earlier in the day, I had planted two containers of Clematis on my patio with fresh earth and applied wood mulch to the base of the plants to protect the roots.

We didn't have thunderstorms, but suddenly I could hear one of my favorite sounds - the night breeze rustling through the forest of trees behind my condo. This breeze brought in the scent of freshly planted earth and mulch as well as the scent of approaching cool rain, rain that began to fall softly.

Is there anything better than this lovely fragrance? This combination of sensory awareness was zen-like and memorable. The lovely fragrance, the perfect night, the feel of fresh air on my skin and the sound of the rustling leaves..................next to Heaven.

*PEONIES IN THE MORNING*

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready

to break my heart

as the sun rises, as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
and they open —pools of lace, white and pink

and all day the black ants climb over them,
boring their deep and mysterious holes

into the curls, craving the sweet sap, taking it away
to their dark, underground cities and all day

under the shifty wind, as in a dance to the great wedding,
the flowers bend their bright bodies, and tip their fragrance to the air,

all that dampness and recklessness gladly and lightly,

and there it is again — beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.

Do you love this world? Do you cherish your humble and silky life?

Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?
Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,

and softly, and exclaiming of their dearness, fill your arms

with the white and pink flowers,
with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,

their eagernessto be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are

nothing, forever?

*PIECES OF HERSELF*

"She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It's easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said.

(Brian Andreas "Story People")

"THESE DREAMS" by Heart

Spare a little candle

Save some light for me.

Figures up ahead

Moving in the trees.

White skin in linen

Perfume on my wrist,

And the full moon that hangs over

These dreams in the mist............

("These Dreams" by Heart)