Tuesday, 28 January 2025

Tuesday Ten

Ten perfumes of my life

I have quite a lot of perfume, though it has only really been in the last decade that I have put it on regularly. I do seem to have a very strong scent memory though. One whiff of something and I will be back in a previous era, with all the feels and thoughts that went with it. I've got more perfume than I'm every likely to use on my dressing table and really should pass some of it on, but ... maybe I will just wear more of it. 

1. Tuscany Per Donna, Estee Lauder

My first boyfriend bought me a bottle of this for Christmas when I was all of 16. It was the first perfume I can remember really loving - this and Eau Dynamisante, which Mother Hand claimed smelled like a badger set. I used to go into Debenhams after school for a liberal spritz. Now, I'm astonished - it's such a grown up fragrance that I even feel a bit young for it now - the sort of thing that goes extremely well with leopard print. It came in a brown-toned tapestry-printed box - very of its time. I still have most of the bottle and wear it sometimes in the winter, like today. 

2. Amor Amor, Cacharel

The perfume of becoming a teacher. I only bought a little bottle as a treat from Boots after my first term of teaching, but that scent memory is so strong. It's those cheap polyester trousers and zip-up cardigans I mentioned in my last post, mixed with seemingly endless driving my new car in the dark, eating toast in the staffroom when I should have been in assembly, spending hours on my displays and hanging out drinking with Sian and the other NQTs. 

I never wear this anymore. 

3. Something Wicked, Lush

I have quite a lot of Lush perfume hanging around and most of it never gets a look in, I don't especially want to smell like a bath product, but this is the exception. It's jasmine and ginger - I am not a big jasmine fan but there's something about this that is just delightful, it's sort of fizzy. I ration it strictly, because it was a limited edition, so it is the scent of Christmas parties at my old school, with all the dancing, boozing, taking a million pictures, waking up on the first day of the holidays in a slightly damp-smelling, overheated hotel bedroom, still a bit drunk...all the good memories of my 30s. 

Other scents in this '30s memories' boat are Maybe Baby by Benefit - I am trying to use up my bottle of this as I think it might be on the turn - and Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs Spooky, which is like a soft, minty coconut. I still have far too much BPAL from back in the day but the bottles are so small, I kid myself that there's no need to declutter them, I don't need the space. 

4. Chance Eau Vive, Chanel

Probably my most-worn perfume, I've been through bottles of this. I referred to it as my 'work perfume' as it was all I wore to work for a long time. We were in Sephora in Vegas and I was sniggering at Mr Z, who had been trapped by a sales assistant trying to sell him some aftershave, but I got too close and said sales assistant pounced on me instead. When I said I liked grapefruit, he steered me towards this scent. I don't really get grapefruit from it, though it has a sort of bitter fruity note, but I do like it a lot. Regrettably, though, the scent doesn't hang about on me past about breaktime. A small bottle lives on my desk at work for use before parents evenings. 

5. Dot, Marc Jacobs 

A perfume bought purely on the strength of how the bottle looked. Mr Z bought it for me a few years ago for Christmas - I couldn't let a bottle that looked like a ladybird get away. It smells OK, kind of like melons to me. I think it's for the summer. It looks very pretty on my dressing table.

6. Jo by Jo Loves

First among all grapefruit scents I own. Better than Jo Malone grapefruit. Better than Guerlain Pampelune - though that is a really sunny, warm, sweet grapefruit that is perfect for summer holidays. The Jo Loves version is crisp and cool and putting it on makes me feel like I am also crisp and cool. This is my ride or die, but I never wear it to school, so I can't accidentally associate a teaching memory with it.

It concerns me, now that I'm writing this down, how much thought I seem to have put into this.

7.  Red Truffle 44, Jo Loves 

A well-placed sample on the part of Jo Loves, when I was ordering something from their Pomelo range (love this scent too, but I only have it as a lotion). I was prepared to hate it but actually, it's the fig scent it seems I have been waiting for all my life. I bought a bottle in the summer and have been keeping it exclusively for wearing when I'm in Oxford, so that I get a proper scent memory from it in future years. 

8. Chloe

Not for me - but this is Mother Hand's fragrance. I've been buying it for her for years because I know that, when she eventually shuffles off, I will be able to spritz it around and think of her. That sounds horribly ghoulish. I should add that it is her choice of perfume.

9. Lost Cherry, Tom Ford

Massive splurge. I got a decant of it, hoping it wouldn't wear well or would be too overpowering, but it's not. It's full-on cherries and almonds. One tiny squirt lasts for seemingly days. I bought a bottle in the duty free when I flew out to Vegas to see Father Hand for the last time and got an extra discount when they scanned my upper-class ticket so that was pleasing. Also now it's attached to the memory of that trip - driving around a cold and slightly sad Vegas on my own. Not to downer it sounds like. 

10. Eleventh Hour, Byredo

This smells like every-so-slightly gone-over apples to me, but in a pleasant, boozy, party way. I got the scent in a hand cream from an advent calendar, then bought a mini, and finally this winter I finished the decant and went to buy a full bottle. Alas, the smaller size is out of stock - but happily Byredo do a discovery set of all their scents that includes a voucher for a 50ml perfume, so I have ordered that (arriving this week hopefully), can spend the voucher on the Eleventh Hour when it restocks and I get to try all the other fragrances for not very much more than I would have spent on the bottle.

The girl maths is girl mathsing with this one. If I can sell the discovery set on afterwards, I might even make money. Because, as I said, I don't really need more perfume. 

Sunday, 26 January 2025

2025 Week 4

This week, I have definitely felt a little more like I'm winning - possibly because there has been plenty of knitting under a blanket. I have divided the cardigan for the sleeves now so I am about 11 inches through a purported 19 inch body. I am considering options - for body length, sleeve length and button band. It's meant to have a garter stitch button band with two buttons at the top, but I am (a) not sure about only 2 buttons and (b) devoid of suitable buttons. I just tried it on and the edges meet comfortably, so I'm now considering an icord edging and a zip. I have been fondly remembering the early days of my teaching career, when I lived in bobbly zip-up cardigans and cheap polyester trousers. I don't miss the trousers but there might be a place for those cardigans again.

Anyway. So then I need to decide the best order to knit it in so that I can use up all the yarn and continue to knit alternate skeins to avoid pooling. I might have to do it one sleeve at a time, ugh. 

Goodness, the problems I face now are just crazy, aren't they? Sometimes I remember the glory days of when I started this blog in the 90s and had really good gossip and actual problems. 

I have also managed to be a little more productive at work and have ticked off a few non-school work things from the list as well. Summer exam contracts finally came through and they are more inviting than I was expecting...given the wild changes they are making to the process, all bets were off. I am still not sure I can continue with it in the long-term but for now - OK. 

I finished watching Joan, which I enjoyed a lot - anything with a bolshy female lead and a kicking 80s soundtrack gets my vote. I gave up on Lockerbie because I just got so sad that this guy had given up the last 30+ years of his life chasing a conspiracy. Obvs I hope that I never have anything so horrible befall my loved ones, that I lose all sense of perspective and fail to concentrate on the ones left behind; and I can sort of understand the absolute desperate need to know what really happened. But it's still pretty grim and I didn't fancy watching two hours of conspiracies about Palestine, especially given the current state of affairs, so I gave up.

Instead, I finally managed to get hold of series 2 of The Great, which is a superb retelling of bits of the story of Catherine the Great with lots of artistic licence. I loved the first series (see 'bolshy female lead') and the second is proving to be very engaging. This evening, Mr Z and I watched Conclave, which was entertaining and brooding. I like Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, which helped. It sort of had a hint of Death of Stalin about it but in a totally uncomedy way. 

Not much else happened in the early part of the week. I went to dinner with Charlotte on Thursday (Japanese food and Swoon, swoon) and then to see Sathnam Sanghera speak - this was the 4th time, including the time I did the interview; he's not my favourite, because he doesn't really listen to the questions and just says what he wants to say, but he is entertaining and I am pleased he has finally stopped saying that he's not a historian. 

I spoke at the university on Friday and so (went to Swoon twice in two days and) made it home early and had a really good nap, giving me enough energy to get little things like sorting the washing and some cleaning and the grocery shop done before bed. This has made all the difference to my weekend, actually. Mr Z and I went out to brunch at a new cafe up the 'wood, I found some useful articles for my next assignment, I made it into the gym before 9am this morning, I marked a whole set of y11 exams (the universe forced me into this by raining harder every time I thought about leaving Starbucks) and I put together some outfits for the week. 

See - winning.

I have just been thinking about where I want to go on holiday all week, though. 

Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Tuesday Ten

Ten things making me feel successful at adulting

1. Paid my taxes. Is there anything more adult than that?

2. Paid them out of my savings. Extra smug points.

3. I got invited to speak at a conference in Australia! A virtual presentation, of course, but still. 

4. I've managed to stick to the same skincare routine for over a week.

5. I bought a new piece of furniture in a sale - a chairbed for the spare room.

6. I marked two sets of Y13 essays at the weekend and, with any luck, my marking pile might be completely gone by next week. 

7. My fitbit is pleased with me. Always a good sign.

8. Today at work, somebody annoyed me (it wasn't her fault, I had a lot going on) and I had an honest conversation with her about it, rather than just silently seething. 

9. I bought some worthy hot chocolate with lion's mane and other mushrooms in it from Holland and Barrett, and I'm actually drinking it. The texture is amazing. We won't discuss the taste. 

10. This is my first Tuesday Ten post in more than FIVE YEARS! We're bringing it back, baby. Well. I mean it's coming back this week but I'm not making any guarantees. 

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Wonderwool 2024

So long ago now! But Wonderwool 2024 was a sunny affair, full of laughter and cake and yarn and sharing and general joy. And it seems that I didn't buy a huge amount of yarn - shockingly.




This is pretty much all of it, with the exception of a Joe's Toes set I bought and have made but not quite finished. For some reason I didn't take a picture of the kit, I suppose because it doesn't look like much in its gauze bag. 

Top - some linen from Namolio. I have already cast this on, it is going to be a stripey summer Tolsta tank top. In fact I should not forget about it, because I would like to wear it this summer. 

The rest is two jumpers' worth of black yarn with some accent pale green. This is for a zecret project. In true Wonderwool style, I trawled the whole show looking for the perfect yarn, then bought something from a sale bin that would do, then found the perfect yarn. Typical. Come to think of it, I think the middle is DK and the lower 4-ply - the DK is what I needed. It's not like I won't have a use for the 4-ply, though. 

Then, some non-knitting things -




A blocking board from Wombat's Woodshop, which I bought to block my hexagons. I have blocked precisely no hexagons so far. In fact, the hexagon I used to check the board was big enough is still pinned out as it is in the picture above. I'm glad I checked before I left the showground, because I bought a smaller one, so I was able to return it for a larger one before I left. The pins are old knitting needles, trimmed down. Very eco. 

A kit to make a felted robin wreath. I found this again on approximately December 23rd. Oh well. This year. 

Basically one of everything from the sinister cat stall. I bought the unicorn pattern to make a jumper for my niece but haven't found yarn I like yet, so perhaps this will be a Wonderwool mission for 2025. 

It's good looking back over this. If I can get the zecret project on the needles before April, I can rightfully claim to have knitted up everything from 2024 before 2025. Even if I haven't finished it. Compelling!

2025 Week 3

This week has very definitely been better than last, in that I haven't had to drag myself around all week. More sleep was had and health was more closely attended to. The new aran weight cardigan is ticking along nicely, I'm already 6 inches down which is one third of the (quite short, might need extending) body. In fact it's a bit cropped and has elbow sleeves and I might adjust one or both of these, so that I use up all of the yarn. 

I also bought two mini hot water bottles to knit covers for after knitting group yesterday, plus trawled through my stash on Ravelry to plan new projects and consider what I might be able to get rid of. I ordered a new chair bed for the spare room, now I've cleared it all out, so I'm hoping to get some shelves up soon and get the hatboxes of yarn onto said shelves, to open up the space a bit; but there is limited wall space and quite a lot of yarn. Hence I'm looking at chunky projects. Clearly my crafty nerve wants quick and space saving. Said nerve is ignoring that fact that knitting a new garment just transfers the storage problem from the spare room to the wardrobe. 

I browsed my stash at such length yesterday that I had to go back through my blog to look at Wonderwool posts and then realised there was never a Wonderwool 2024 post. A terrible oversight on my part, that I will rectify soon - maybe even immediately after posting this, since I have a little stack of essays that still need marking for first thing tomorrow morning and I like to live on the edge. 

On that, I think I am going to have to reinstate the 20 minutes of marking per day in my life for a bit. It's built up quite a lot and I think my upper school classes could do with more feedback in their lives. Honestly, it would help if I could make myself more productive at work. Productivity has remained embarrassingly low this past week. 

I clearly need some sort of list. 

I haven't read very much this week, I'm in denial about the next uni assignment so have generally spent far too long on socials. I watched the whole series of 'Black Doves' which I liked but it was a bit too holey to be entirely comfortable: made me think of that 'two screen TV' somebody was talking about recently, where Netflix like to commission series that people can watch whilst also looking at their phones. Mr Z would be quick to point out that I do look at my phone a lot, but when I have a knitting project on the go, I like something more engaging. It was a bit too obvious in places and other scenes were just not believable. Plus Keira Knightley (love) toed this interesting line which I think was meant to be faintly humourous but didn't quite hit the mark. Still. It was good, glad there will be series 2. I also started watching 'Joanie' and 'Lockerbie'. It's a dark month and cosy knitting under a blanket with some telly sounds extremely inviting. 

Sunday, 12 January 2025

2025 Week 2

Happy New Year everyone! I missed updating last Sunday as I was in the throes of The Essay, which I happily managed to submit online and think it probably enough to pass. I of course wanted to write something that was ground-breaking and distinction level, but have had to give myself a good talking to, that a pass is absolutely fine, given that I am holding down a couple of jobs at the same time. 

Coming off the back of an exhausting overnight trip back from Kazakhstan, which marked the end of a week of fun and poor sleep, the extra workload of the essay was the nail in the coffin of the past week, which seemed to go no FOR. EVER. I had many early nights, tried to exist quietly and get lots done at work, which was a fail - this week will be interesting, when all those deadlines I ignored come home to roost. Meh. Fire me. I could do with the time off. I was naturally also ravenous and feeling very gym-resistant, so by Friday I was a mess. 

This weekend has consequently been extremely restorative. I have played lots of Super Mario with Mr Z (we were unable to squeeze in our usual completion of the game over the Christmas break), eaten up the Christmas cheese, the mince pies and the negroni ingredients, been to the gym and enjoyed it, batch cooked a million veggies to see me through the coming week, read in the bath for an hour, marked an easy set of Y7 assessments and generally lounged. I have been reading What You Are Looking For Is In The Library, a translation from a Japanese bestseller, which was a secret Santa gift (along with some stickers of medieval cat illustrations, perfect). I have cast on a new knitting project - a cardigan that has been in my queue for about a decade, in aran weight, because I have forgotten how I was able to knit that weight within a month and right now that sounds very tempting. I finished watching 'Until I Kill You' - Anna Maxwell Martin was just superb. 

So, yeah. Let's say the new year begins here, shall we? This week should hopefully be better.