Snow Days

Is it because they're as jewel-like as snowflakes? Is it because the two Chanels that are my favorites—Coromandel and No. 22—both swirl around the loveliest of incense notes? Incense notes always wear so beautifully in winter—they seem to get a certain amount of lift from the cold dry air—and they provide a contemplative ballast that is in keeping with the steady quiet of a winter day, like the one we had yesterday, when snow flitted down from morning to evening.

__________

“It snowed and snowed,
the whole world over;

Snow swept the world

from end to end./ A candle

burned on the table;

A candle burned.”

--From Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak
__________

Really I should be working on a perfume review, and sometime this week I hope to get around to it. But for the next couple days, I think I'm just going to swan around in these two beautiful fragrances while I drink hot chocolate and take pictures of the snow in my yard and compile lists (like below) of all the things I love about winter, and maybe even read Dr. Zhivago for the first time (instead of just watching the movie).

So, check back later in the week for a review, but for now all I can leave you with is a lazy winter list, a snow poem, and photos (my own, for a change!).

Today's Mood: Serene
Today's Scent: Chanel No. 22
Three-Word Description: Classic-white elegance

Like Snow
She, then, like snow in a dark night,
Fell secretly. And the world waked
With dazzling of the drowsy eye,
So that some muttered 'Too much light',
And drew the curtains close.
Like snow, warmer than fingers feared,
And to soil friendly;
Holding the histories of the night
In yet unmelted tracks.

--Robert Graves (English poet, 1895-1985)

Things I Love About Winter:

Wrought iron fences dusted with snow

The slow hum of traffic (rather than the steady roar)

Cabled sweaters, cashmere scarves, and leather gloves

Hot toddies, hot chocolate, and tea

Gardening catalogs (and mail-order catalogs in general)

Candles (why are all of mine either jar candles or tea candles? Reminder to buy myself tapers and elegant candle holders)

A respite from lawn work and more time for reading

The narcotic-like sleep that comes over me a couple hours after I've come in from the cold

Images: my own.

Posted by Suzanne Keller, 1/19/2009.

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