lady sporky rat: commander of the ms holding

The house has been either entirely too cold or very pleasant, and no middle ground. There's been a fire all day, and it has helped a lot. One of the big issues we have is concrete floors, and it's slick and keeps the cold really well. Perfect for summer. Awful, terrible, no good, and bad for winter.

But I do have house shoes that supposedly are arriving tomorrow? I'm fine if they show up Monday though. I don't really like how the USPS has to deliver packages on Sundays.

The upcoming months are already filling up. I'm going to be busy so many weekends!

Why on earth would my three card draw be the Five of Coins, the Empress reversed, and the Emperor? Where's my Tower???

(I am constantly amused by my deck's intense sarcasm.)

I spent four days hyperfocused on learning how to art on Procreste, the art program that's available on the iPad.

I can see a very obvious progression of ability and skill in the nine pieces of art I did, and this explains my family. They'd hyperfocus on something and five days later they're really good at it and ready to move on.

It explains a few of my things as well.

Still. Nine pieces of art. Eight of them were gifts to people, one was my DR character.

Definitely going to ease up on it now.

Muscles are annoying. I understand the biological method by which we develop our muscles after using them; they're still annoying when the delayed onset muscle soreness hits. Which it has, and now my hips and quads and hams are in misery.

I am working on pullups as well, and my deltoids hate me. That's fine, I can hate them back just as equally.

On the more cheerful side of working a body and being reasonably good at it, I have had several people ask me to teach them stretching so they don't do anything awkward to themselves during high impact activity.

Vacuuming for the flea issue does lead to some glee when you see all the dead fleas in the water tank of the vacuum.

Imaginary Author's Slow Explosions

Notes: Saffron, Rose Absolute, Leather, Apple, Benzoin, Cashmeran, Arpora Night Market

WELP NOPE

This is a NOPE right out of the bottle onto the skin, wow. I have never been so grossed out by leather and the smell of cheap gin EVER in my life.

Edit: it has been described by Brent as "elder horse girl". Leather and gin and some sort of weird animal smell.

Penhaligon's Terrible Teddy, scent notes of "incense, leather, and vetiver".

First whiff: that is some leather and incense. I can't identify the incense, but it's definitely there. Sort of reminds me of the leather gloves we had with the thurible at church, they had a sort of similar leather and incense smell.

I had to go look up what exactly vetiver was supposed to smell like and I got this: "deep, sweet, woody, smoky, earthy, amber and balsam" and that is exactly all the things I'm smelling under the leather.

I think I like this one. Shame it's so expensive. (I find it very funny that all the perfumes that are tentatively classified as "men's perfume" are the ones I like the best and smell best on me. Except the musks, those are tough.)

edit: oh now there's some weird musk smell, where did that come from???? this one might not stay. alas!

Someone remind me at some point (this is probably a reminder to myself) that I want a "perfume" icon. I think I know the photo, even.

Okay, the Summer Plum was just too much soapy/lotiony plum. Now we've got California Love and the scent notes are: "California lemons, cashmere, white musk, a trace of guava, marine notes, salted pistachios, coconut suntan lotion, a drop of cannabis. (fantasy note, there is no cannabis in this fragrance.)"

And w o w is that musk coming through. I amplify musk like nobody's business apparently (it happens with Old Spice deodorant). This vaguely like walking past the Hollister or American ...Eagle? store in the mall in the early aughts.

We'll see how this goes. I can sort of smell some marine notes and lemon but the musk! It's STRONG.

I'm trying Sucrebeille's Mother of Dragons perfume and the notes are "Sweet vanilla, smoke from the village you just burnt to the ground, decadent leather".

First skin smell: W O W it's like walking into Tandy Leather with my friend who wore nothing but vanilla perfume for years. Not bad. Very sweet, very leather. We'll give it time.

[edit] Several hours later it went plasticky vanilla on me. Very strong plastic, very strong. Def one to trade off to someone else.