So after the Seattle Swans, where did 2018 go?
I worked.
Most of this year has been very, very busy at work. I’m ready to rest.
Paris Encore
Oh, right, I returned to Paris one more time, in late March, with the hopes of seeing cherry blossoms and other springtime beauty. But I had to work. Yes, I telecommuted from Paris for several days. And missed most of the cherry blossoms. And failed to make it up La Tour Eiffel, which I fully intended to do this time (stupid online ticketing system). And didn’t ride Le Batobus because the Seine was so high, many of the stations were flooded and the water too high under some of the bridges. And felt too self-conscious/time-crunched to dine out this time. And failed to realize being there over Passover meant L’As du Falafel would be closed. And was not feeling self confident enough to enter a Diptyque boutique, which was on my list. But the apartment was wonderful, I did get to enjoy early spring buds in several lovely parks, and I had the thrill of a local lady at a bus stop asking me about the bus times, I think.
A New Addiction Blooms
Hey! I became a fragrance junkie in 2018! Or at least went full-on into my fragrance journey, seeking my one true love. Turns out I found many true loves, depending in the season, the time of day, my mood, etc.
I blame this on the room spray that was in my second Paris apartment back in December 2016 (that trip when I saw Swan Lake several times), the one with the macerating toilet that really needed a room spray, and it was labeled Muji fig balsam or something like that. I would have loved it even without the macerating toilet. When I returned to the States, I unsuccessfully searched for that spray fragrance.
Fast forward to July 2017, in the lovely small inn in Milan. The bottle of body lotion in that bathroom smelled so much like that room spray! When I returned to the States, after the remains of that bottle of lotion were released from the six-week bedbug quarantine, I enjoyed it for a few more weeks, then unsuccessfully searched for that lotion fragrance.
Until I discovered Diptyque Figuier room spray. This was it! That fragrance! Yay!
So then I got a sample of the corresponding Diptyque Philosykos perfume. Which isn’t something that smelled good on me.
But then I bought a bunch of other Diptyque fragrance samples from smallflower.com. And fell in love with Eau Duelle.
And discovered fragrantica.com. And started reading about and collecting samples of all kinds of fragrances to test. And couldn’t stop. Or wouldn’t. And discovered you can buy a sample of just about anything from eBay.
And now I have more perfume than I will ever use up in my remaining years. Plus a bunch of samples that aren’t fragrances for me that I hope to re-home.
Driving and Driving around Washington State
For work. In June and July and August.
The Cat Health Issues
Lucy’s chronic UTIs, Ella’s eye meltdown, Lucy’s basal cell tumors (to be removed in a couple of weeks), other things I’ve already forgotten.
The Chicago Swans
That’s not the name of a sports team, is it? I saw Swan Lake again in late October in the Windy City. The ballet team this time was the Joffrey, performing Christopher Wheeldon’s story-within-story retelling, with imagery straight out of a Degas painting. Lovely.
The Stories within Stories of Carlos Ruiz Zafón
I read The Shadow of the Wind early in the year, then The Angel’s Game and The Prisoner of Heaven in the autumn. Today, I finished The Labyrinth of Spirits. I read other stuff this year but can’t remember what in the wake of these epic works.
And also …
Probably other significant things I am forgetting.
Achilles tendinopathy that came on this fall, fortunately repaired with physical therapy.
Too much attention to national news, consumed too often on the hand-held device, resulting by being sickened by each new low from the evil brat in chief and his greedy obsequious enablers. Resolution number one for 2019 is to break the steady news habit. (Although SNL and Last Week Tonight are encouraged because they make me laugh.)
Not enough drawing or painting. Resolution number two is to try once again to make that a habit.
I have begun pining for the northern part of the east coast, dreaming of returning to my childhood homeland. Oh, New England…
So goodbye to 2018. Here’s hoping for good things in 2019.
the view from a room 