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dawndie

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Blog Entries posted by dawndie

  1. dawndie
    Ugh, these allergies are driving me crazy. I never had them growing up in Southern California, but when we moved to Ohio after college, to a place that actually had "seasons," I started getting them. Most of the time it's nothing more than sneezing and nose issues, but this spring has been irritating, literally.
     
    I have "dry head," where it feels my sinuses are dry and crackly. I wake up in the middle of the night with my sinuses hurting, they're so dry. My eyes are red and dry and itchy, and I have that weird empty-head feeling like after you've cried and you're done and feel better -- "airy head," maybe?
     
    But the worst is I haven't been able to wear any nice BPAL smellies for 2 weeks. I'm breaking out in red itchy rashes wherever I apply, and it doesn't matter what I wear. I love the fruity winey scents the most, and just received bottles of Masque and Montresor, and while both smell great when I apply I end up with rashes that last for days.
     
    I'm debating buying a locket, but will probably try a cheaper one first before shelling out the $70 for a BPTP one. Plus my very favorite Triple Dagger is sold out. They have some cute ones at www.necropolis.biz -- I like the celtic cross and knot, and they're cheap enough for me to try and not feel guilty about more jewelry.
  2. dawndie

    Not more updates!?!?

    By dawndie,

    Oh crap. Just when I'm contented with my BPAL purchase, and we've gotten the gutters replaced ($2000 total), other favorite sites are updating too! Son of an Ass! (tm Samir in Office Space)
     
    --Villainess has a huge update with a bunch more soaps. Crushed is back! It came and went so quickly I didn't have a chance to order the first time -- I'm a sucker for raspberries and chocolate. Plus I want the new Villainess signature scent (florals and leather), and Byzantium (resins and Egyptian musks), and Canaan (honey, berries and florals), and Krakatoa (tropical fruits! I coconut) and Vintage ("antique oak and yesterday's vanilla," what a great description!) and and and *falls over*
     
    --feMaledictions is in the process of updating too, with a Sugar Butter Scrub! Oh jeez that sounds nice. I love her incense and she's added 4 new scents including The Golden Proportion (black vanilla beans! Where's my perfume to match? ) and New Rose (I love rose incense and can't find it very often, other than the bulk Indian incense packs at Cost Plus). Plus hemp soaps? And soy tarts? And a hint at 50+ new blends? *gets up off the floor, then falls over again*
     
    BPAL is the priority, and every month I make orders there. But I like supporting these other small Internet businesses. If someone's making a good product and putting thought and heart into it, and bucking the bullcrap old-and-busted "retail" model, that's cool too.
  3. dawndie

    Obsolete Technology

    By dawndie,

    We recently spent some money fixing a couple of broken components -- we debated about whether it was worth it, and decided the repairs were cheap enough compared to buying something new. We have to laugh, though, at how we ended up with the latest in 1990s technology, among other decades:
     
    --one repair was the minidisc recorder. Minidiscs were a Sony-only product when CD recorders were still prohibitively expensive. Sony did release albums on minidisc (Simon & Garfunkel, etc.) but these weren't in the US very long, they were more popular in Japan, and it was only Sony/Columbia artists. The best part was recording whatever onto blank minidiscs, like concerts off TV
    --the other repair was our combo CD/DVD/Laserdisc player. Laserdiscs started in the early 1980s, the precursor to DVDs except record-size instead of CD-size. We have about 100 laserdiscs and it's nice to have one player hooked up to our big TV that plays laserdiscs and DVDs
    --of course we have a couple of record players, with a couple of boxes of records. We have a Victrola from probably the 1940s, it's a record player in a nice wooden case with an AM radio with tubes. It needs a needle though, and I have no idea where to get one
    --we have a couple big boxes of cassettes, boxes of videotapes, a wall of CDs (600? I haven't counted recently), the DVDs are overtaking another set of shelves, and don't get me started on the books
     
    What are we supposed to do with all this stuff? It seems passe now to have "hard copies" of things -- you're supposed to buy your iPod and download everything. So are we just dinosaurs for keeping all this?
  4. dawndie

    Old skool, part 2

    By dawndie,

    After reading darkity's previous posts about going to see Thomas Dolby, I just had to post about old skool concerts. Granted, it's been awhile since I've gone to a show -- I'm at the point now where seeing someone "live" means paying $50 to go to a crowded, smelly place and hear someone perform the CD that I could be listening to in the comfort of my home. Bleh. So here's my index:
     
    First concert: Rick Nelson at the Palomino in LA, about 8th grade, 1984? This was the ex-50's-teen-idol-turned-country-singer and my friend had an obsession with him. He was pretty good! And looked damn fine!
     
    Most memorable concert: Jane's Addiction, Pixies and Primus at the Hollywood Palladium, December 1990. I remember Primus started, and while I had never heard of them they were amazing live, great musicians. Pixies were next, and they were about to break up and probably couldn't stand each other -- Frank Black screamed a lot, that was the gist of it. Jane's Addiction was great, I love them.
     
    Other concerts: (this is me looking through my ticket stubs)
     
    --Monkees reunion tour in 1986 *hangs head*, but I was a sophomore in high school! What do you expect?
    --Duran Duran at the Forum in July 1987 (with Erasure opening) -- I love both of them
    --David Bowie at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, August 1987 -- this was the first instance where I got up at 5:00 a.m. to wait in line for tickets, and we had the worst nosebleed seats ever! Never again, I swore. He was OK live, but Siouxsie and the Banshees opened and they were fab
    --Sting at the Forum, March 1988 -- he was great
    --Hothouse Flowers at the Coach House (teeny restaurant/club in San Juan Capistrano), February 1989 -- they were great, a crazy Irish jam band
    --Midge Ure at the Coach House, April 1989 -- lead singer of Ultravox, yum. He didn't have to play a note and I would have sat there dreamy-eyed
    --Replacements at the Hollywood Palladium, May 1989 -- just before they broke up and they probably all hated each other at that point. All I remember is LOUD
    --Love and Rockets at Irvine Meadows, July 1989 (Godfathers opened) -- they were pretty good. Dang, I went to a lot of concerts in 1989!
    --B-52's at Universal Amphitheater, January 1990 -- they were great
    --Pearl Jam at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, November 1993 -- they were great live, but it was butt-ass cold standing outside in a field. My cousin and his wife live there and we all went to the concert and stayed overnight at their house so we had a great time, I just remember COLD COLD COLD
    --Dave Matthews Band at Riverbend in Cincinnati, June 1997 -- I thought they were incredibly boring live. I'm not a huge fan, but every song I recognized sounded exactly like the songs on CD or the radio. *yawn* We wanted to see Los Lobos open for them, then we left afterwards. Los Lobos is great, always -- we saw them at Jazz Fest in Columbus (2000?) and the place was mobbed.
    --Beck at Veterans in Columbus, Ohio, February 2000 -- he's crazy and the show was a heap o'fun. Hank Williams III opened and he brought the house down, everyone went nuts.
    --Moby at Newport Music Hall, Columbus, October 2000 -- since DH worked at Virgin Music we were able to meet him before the show. He was very nice and signed our ticket stubs and CD, and drew little pictures. His show was GREAT -- seriously, I thought it would be him noodling on a keyboard but he had a full band and was jumping all over the stage
     
    That's really been it -- since we've moved to Dallas we haven't gone to a concert. I'm old.
  5. dawndie

    Plant pics!

    By dawndie,

    Antimony and darkitysnark have motivated me to post pictures of my favorite plants around the homestead. I take no credit for these, this is all DH's hard work.
     
    Here's the front of the house with a couple of Silverado Sage bushes. This big picture is from last summer; unfortunately we've had a very hot and dry one this year and our grass in front is brown. These bushes are popular here because they're very drought-tolerant:
     

     
    They seem to love the heat, in fact! This week has been over 100 every day and they're blooming these cute purple flowers like crazy:
     

     
    My other favorite plant is in the back next to the driveway: a pomegranate tree! It must like the heat too because it has a bunch of small pomegranates:
     

     
    Here's another good one, it's huge:
     

  6. dawndie

    Power down

    By dawndie,

    No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but almost: we lost our DSL modem in one of the thunderstorms last week. Dial-up is working but obviously slow. Boo.
     
    I'm trying to lurk when I can!
  7. dawndie

    Quick hits!

    By dawndie,

    --I know I’m evil, but I laughed out loud at the title of a thread in Get Personal, “Anyone ADD?” by “capricious.” I don’t know this forum member (who hasn’t logged on since March) and it’s nothing personal, but how funny is that? A word that means “impulsive or unpredictable” is starting a thread about Attention Deficit. Hee! I haven’t read it, but I want to hop into the thread and say, “oh yes, me too, I will be doing something and – ooh! Shiny! That reminds me, I need tinfoil from the store. What were we talking about again?” I’m going to hell.
     
    --I’m not an Oprah fan, but now that my work schedule includes working from home, and afternoons are quieter than the mornings, I’ll have it on in the background sometimes. She had a great series last week called the Debt Diet which revealed what I have long suspected: many people are living way beyond their means and using credit to inflate their earnings. They followed 3 families, one of which seemed nice enough (2 schoolteachers), but the other 2 families were flat-out clueless. Seriously, one family ate out for every meal, they never cooked, they didn’t own a toaster or coffeemaker or dishes and ate everything off plastic plates and cups. They had 5 cars for 2 people!
     
    So a big part of the series was not just saying “stop spending money” but asking why. At one point one of the women was saying how she didn’t even think about spending money, she just shopped. She didn’t know how much they owed for the second mortgage or credit cards, she just kept it out of her mind. When she was asked, “Why are you absent from your own life?” it was a lightbulb moment. “Oh, so this is my life? It’s not at the mall? It’s not in InStyle or Lucky? It’s not getting the jeans that Jessica’s wearing, or getting my glowing orange MysticTan?”
     
    Celebrity culture is nothing new – I have a Photoplay from 1926, and in between movie reviews are “the latest fashions from Paris” so you could presumably throw out all your old clothes and run out to buy the new ones. But it’s so pervasive now. How do we know where Britney is shopping for baby clothes? Because the store manager is calling every news outlet to report it. Why should we buy the new $500 Louis Vuitton bag? Because they sent a free one to Lindsay Lohan to be photographed as she’s buying coffee.
     
    So be like Chuck D and don’t believe the hype! Yeah boyeeee!
  8. dawndie
    I've had a spate of aggressive sales-type people call for all manner of things: pitching a payroll service, hiring them as a salesperson or a Director, etc. I try to be pleasant but firm, and it's in one ear and out the other. I especially like when they try to get people's phone numbers and I guess I'm supposed to be all, "Oh, here's everyone's personal numbers, just because you asked for it."
     
    I'm especially impressed with the lady today who seemed to be eating during the entire call. I don't know how she managed to interrogate me, write everything I say down and eat what sounded like a burrito. Really endearing.
     
    My biggest fear is that I'll lose my temper and they'll end up being hired, and forevermore see me as that rude girl in HR who's nasty on the phone. Heh.
  9. dawndie

    Quickies

    By dawndie,

    --Ack, I was bumped to the 2nd page of blogs! This means that 1) I'm not updating enough, and 2) there are lots of other people updating! I'm glad to see people joining us on Blog Island (TM Antimony)
     
    --As to my previous post, this collection agency has obviously been carpet-bombing people across the country with demand notices for phantom amounts. Lots of complaints posted on ripoffreport.com and complaintsboard.com. I filed a complaint with the FTC online, and since I demanded proof of the debt I'll hopefully never hear from this company again
     
    --We went to World Market on Sunday to spend some gift cards. I love being able to walk through that store and grab anything that looks interesting without having to spend cash. We got a couple bottles of wine, some beer made by Trappist monks, shortbread cookies, Irish oatmeal, mushroom & wine pate, pasta sauce, a bunch of incense, a big candle, and some replacement forks. Rats, I listed all this and now I'm hongry! (TM darkitysnark)
     
    --I definitely read everyone's blogs, even though I don't comment most of the time. We have a great bunch here
  10. dawndie
    --I placed an order today; I got bottles of Litha and Obatala. I ordered only 2 because of the extra April Fool's bottle I ordered -- it's complicated. Basically I limit myself to 3 bottles or about $50/month, and if I go over in one month I try to make it up the next month. Oh, never mind, it's stupid
     
    --Happy Mother's Day to pet moms too! The blog of valentina, she posted her puppy pics and I know DH has our cat pics posted somewhere but I'm an intarweb doofus and don't know how to access them. We have 2 cats, Cookie and Shadow, who are very sweet and very shy. We've had them over 11 years, since they were 8 weeks old.
     
    --One funny Mother's Day story: we were living in Cincinnati and were in some shopping area north of the city on one Mother's Day, maybe 1997. Of course every restaurant was packed and we espied a Kenny Rogers Roasters. We had never eaten there, but had always made jokes, like "Is the piped-in music all Kenny?" and "Do all the workers have to wear fake white beards?" Yes, we crack ourselves up. Anyway, we ended up eating our words as everything was seriously good -- the chicken, the sides, it was like the Seinfeld episode where everyone was addicted like crack. We were moaning at the table, it was some good eatin'.
  11. dawndie

    Retail Denial

    By dawndie,

    I know I probably spend too much on what others might consider incidental or frivolous: perfumes, incense, candles and soap especially. This money could very well go towards more responsible things, like paying off the mortgage or saving for the eventual new car. I realize this, and still shop for little things anyway. Am I in denial?
     
    Side story: there were some eBay auctions ending on Saturday that another forumite was holding -- I've actually met her in real life at a couple of Meet-n-Sniffs and she was very generous with her substantial collection, so I wanted to pay her back for her generosity. I gave myself a certain amount max to bid, and first thing Saturday morning I was sniped on a GC bottle I was bidding on. It really irked me, especially for a catalog blend, but I know in order not to be sniped I have to bid the very very maximum I am willing to spend. If someone snipes that, I have to be comfortable with the fact that they wanted it more than I did. So I bid extremely high on a rare bottle and won!
     
    I was telling DH about it at dinner that night, and when I got to the end he rolled his eyes and asked, "how much was this tiny bottle of perfume?" I started to explain that this bottle was rare and that was the only one I purchased from her, but of course felt ridiculous doing so.
     
    But I've justified to myself that it's more than a tiny bottle of perfume: this is a hobby. I have a nice-smelling hobby. I like smelling nice things and smelling like a nice thing.
  12. dawndie

    Return of Estate Sales!

    By dawndie,

    Estate sales dropped off over the holidays and they’ve started back up again, so we’ve gone to a few. It seems we aren’t the only ones jonesing for them to return, as the past few weeks most houses we go to have been packed with people. This weekend I bought a souvenir shot glass from San Francisco ($2) and an unused Las Vegas postcard of the original Aladdin hotel for 10¢. The coolest purchase was at another house: two big bags of matchbooks for $4! Going through them last night was a lot of fun -- they were from the ‘60s and ‘70s mostly, lots of restaurants and some old Vegas ones, and some from Paris, London, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Cairo, and most were unused. The funniest was from a Chinese restaurant in Berlin named Hung Wang. Hee hee! Yes, I’m ten years old.
     
    We like going to see the houses, but there’s a constant struggle with buying things. I’m trying to be good and not fill the house with crap (especially with my weakness for old souvenirs). I don’t like shot glasses in general, they’re kind of a give-up souvenir that seem to be for sale everywhere, but I have a soft spot for San Francisco and since it was so cheap I bent the rule a bit. I don’t want to start collecting shot glasses though -- I like the older weirder wackier souvenirs like plates or tablecloths or matchbooks.
     
    Another dilemma is furniture -- we like some of the pieces we see, and by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around they’re usually 50% off the tagged price, but 1) where are we supposed to put all this? and 2) how are we supposed to get it home? The house with the matchbooks had (along with the very cool Wurlitzer organ) a huge beautiful bar, like a pirate bar! Two pieces, front and back with 3 barstools, the guy said they paid around $6000 for it and we could have taken it all home for $600. We have a Camry and an Altima, and we don’t know anyone with a beater truck or van. Maybe this is a good thing, as we’d be filling the house with furniture instead of smaller things. Oh, but I want a bar! In my house! I’d never leave
  13. dawndie

    Scatterings

    By dawndie,

    --We've continued to go to estate sales every weekend, but I haven't bought much. Last weekend I bought a couple of vintage bandanas for $1, and when we got in the car and I rolled one up and put it on my head, DH made a face and said he was never a fan of the bandana. Yes, they're pretty frumpy-looking, especially because I'm no expert putting them on, but I like the retro-cowgirl-housewife look so I wore one to work last week anyway. Yeehaw!
     
    --We went to a few sales yesterday and DH got a boss pair of binoculars for $15 -- they were in the original '60s or '70s case and he can use them the next time he gets nosebleed Mavericks tickets. The houses were cool though; another was an updated bungalow which was rehabbed and for sale (not a technical Estate Sale, she was a flipper) but she wanted way too much for it, considering it was next to a couple of skeevy-looking duplexes and apartment buildings.
     
    --I went to a BPAL Meet-n-Sniff on Saturday, which was a blast. I posted already in another thread, but it's so great to be able to talk about notes and scents and just how crazy this hobby/obsession can be. I know DH just rolls his eyes at times when I'm babbling about LEs and evil carnivals and monthly orders, but everyone at a Meet-n-Sniff gets all that.
     
    It was 4 of us: one gal brought a whole box of Villainess soaps so she could slice off samples, I brought a bag of frimps I was saving for everyone to paw through and take new things to try, and everyone had new GCs and LEs to sniff and test. This was the 3rd one I've attended and I hope everyone had a good time.
  14. dawndie

    Scoreboard!

    By dawndie,

    This weekend we went to DH's old workplace one last time. We moved to Dallas 5 years ago because the music retail company he worked for in Ohio was begging him to take over a store -- he was offered places in Vegas, Denver and Southern California before he accepted here. He was excited because he would be involved from the ground up, as the outdoor, urban retail complex wasn't even finished yet, and he would be involved in construction and inventory and fixtures and hiring and everything.
     
    Unfortunately for him, 2 weeks after he opened was 9/11. Retail across the country tanked, and his brand-spanking new store was no exception. Add in management changes, and suddenly the golden boy was a problem child. Without going into detail, things ended on a bad note, but it was a company-wide problem. They've since closed a bunch of prominent retail stores, and they're closing the one DH worked so hard to open.
     
    So we go there on Sunday, a couple of weeks before their closing, and it's like a mausoleum. Empty, cavernous and depressing. But DH wasn't depressed, because he actually got a better job afterwards with lots more security. And he can Scoreboard!
     
    The sports radio station we like here has a term: "Scoreboard!" Like if someone is bitching about how much greater a coach is over Phil Jackson, you just say "Scoreboard" and realize Phil Jackson has won 9 NBA championships. Not that I like Phil Jackson, he's a pompous ass , but he has scoreboard over Larry Brown or Pat Riley or whoever.
     
    I'm babbling, but my point is to appreciate when you can Scoreboard over something -- not in a mean, malicious way, but more self-affirming.
  15. dawndie

    Should I be worried?

    By dawndie,

    In our mail on Wednesday was a collection notice addressed to me, for what looked to be a landline phone number in Southern California as I recognized the area code. This collection agency wants almost $900!
     
    I am not worried because:
    --although we lived in SoCal previously, we moved to Ohio in July 1995 (and paid all our utilities, AFAIK. We certainly didn't leave no $900 phone bill )
    --Regardless, statute of limitations on an old utility bill is 7 years max
    --I don't recognize the phone number as one of our old ones
    --we were never contacted by the actual phone company, just this collection agency purporting to represent the phone company
    --I check our credit reports every few months and there have never been any weird charges or accounts popping up
     
    However, I am worried because:
    --my name is fairly unique and have never heard of anyone else with the same name. Is someone using my name?
    --the collection agency might start reporting this on my credit (which has no other blemishes) and wreak havoc until I pay
    --there's little recourse for a lowly individual against an aggressive collection agency, or without hiring an aggressive attorney
     
    I sent a certified letter denying responsibility for the bill and demanding proof that I owe the money. I found a good form letter online; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has all these requirements they have to follow, like they can't contact me by phone, only in writing when I request it.
     
    Now it's time to wait and keep my fingers crossed
  16. dawndie

    Sixth Sense? part 1

    By dawndie,

    Instead of posting a particularly cranky entry, I'll post what I was working on over the weekend in honor of Halloween coming
     
    DH is a mellow, even-keeled guy. He has had a bunch of weird experiences, though, and he doesn’t like to talk about them much. Most happened before he met me and I must be psychically “blocking” him in some way, because I’ve never had anything otherworldly happen to me (even though I love reading about it) and I would probably panic if something actually happened to me personally.
     
    A few things happened after a family member has died. After we started dating, but before we moved into our own place, he and his parents were living at his grandmother’s house (his dad’s mom). Her brother lived in Wyoming and was dying of cancer. One night, not too late, DH was up watching TV after everyone else had gone to bed. There was a loud bang-bang-bang at the front door, and when DH ran to the door there was no one there. DH’s dad, a notoriously heavy sleeper (slept through tornados, earthquakes, etc.), even woke up and asked, “What the hell was that?” They found out the next morning that the uncle had died that night.
     
    Soon after we got our own place, his parents moved back to Ohio (DH has a brother and sister who still live there). His mom had gone through treatment for breast cancer while in California, and though it went into remission it came back after they returned to Ohio. She got sick very quickly and passed away within a couple of months of it recurring. Obviously everyone was devastated, and DH flew back to Ohio for the funeral. He was staying at his sister’s condo and since she had the biggest home it seemed to be the central gathering place for the family. At one point several people were standing in the kitchen talking when suddenly everyone smelled the strong scent of roses, like someone walked into the room with a huge bouquet. There were no flowers in the house, and it was February in the midst of a snowstorm! DH’s sister’s ex-husband was a strange guy, very cerebral and a prickly personality, but the type of guy no one could fool – the guy you’d want with you when you’re buying a car. Even he, a total skeptic, smelled the roses, and was convinced there had to be flowers somewhere; he went through the whole house, opening cabinets and getting frustrated that he couldn’t find the source of the scent. Eventually the scent disappeared suddenly, just as it had appeared.
     
    The closest thing that happened to DH when I was around was when we were apartment-hunting for our own place. We went to a small apartment building that looked like a 1920s Spanish bungalow. The open apartment was in the back, on the second floor with an outside balcony/walkway. We walked through the place for a few minutes, then as we were getting in the car I asked him what he thought. DH said, very seriously, “I wouldn’t spend one night in that place!” I asked him what was wrong and he said there wasn’t anything specific, other than he felt like we were being watched and it wasn’t a nice presence. I didn’t feel anything strange, but again I don’t think I’m as tuned-in as he is. The next day we talked on the phone and he said he slept awful the night before; he kept having nightmares of that apartment. He dreamt, over and over, that a guy had pushed his girlfriend off the balcony/walkway. I asked how DH knew that was the guy’s girlfriend, and he said he just knew from the dreams.
     
    Coming soon: part 2, where DH lives in a haunted house!
  17. dawndie

    Sixth Sense? part 2

    By dawndie,

    As promised, here's part 2 of DH's experiences, where he lived in what he suspected to be a haunted house.
     
    After he and his brother got out of high school, they rented a house with their girlfriends. This was a narrow, tall house near the University of Cincinnati, 3 stories with a basement and a great view of downtown. Weird stuff started to happen, but DH thought it was his imagination at first and didn’t discuss it with anyone until much later.
     
    The “second” floor (third floor if you counted the basement) was a large den area with an open staircase going up to the bedrooms. If you were sitting watching TV, the windows facing downtown would be on your left, and the stairs would be on your right. DH would see over and over, out of the corner of his eye, two figures running up the stairs. It looked like a woman with long dark hair being chased by a large man that looked Samoan. It would happen day or night, whether you were by yourself or with a bunch of people there. In fact, DH knew it wasn’t his imagination when others brand-new to the house would “see” it and snap their heads towards the staircase.
     
    The den had carpeting on the walls (yes, it needed redecorating, but they were college kids!) and DH had some “flats” which he stapled to the wall way up near the ceiling. Flats are 12x12” prints of record albums that stores would use in their displays. Every so often one of the flats would be lying on the sofa or the floor, but it didn’t fall off – it wouldn’t be torn, the staple holes were intact and the staples would still be attached to the wall. It was like someone took out the staples, took the flat down and put the staples back in the wall. DH said this happened to the Talking Heads the most often.
     
    Other physical things would happen too – this was the late-1980s and DH and his brother had a huge collection of cassette tapes on shelves in the living room. DH said on many occasions he would go to the living room to get a specific tape and it would be gone. After a search of the house he’d give up, only to have it appear later (sometimes hours or days later) in really strange places like the empty dryer or his sock drawer. One missing tape later appeared at the top step to the basement, where DH would have certainly stepped on it while searching.
     
    DH had a boombox in the bedroom with a big dial tuner to change radio stations. Sometimes if he had it on and would leave the room, when he got back it would be changed to some weird talk or religious station. This only happened when he was alone in the house.
     
    I asked him after all these experiences, “Weren’t you freaked out?” He said no, it was more annoying rather than scary, except for the last night (below).
     
    The worst night he experienced was after he and his girlfriend broke up, and everyone else had moved out of the house. He was there by himself for one night, and the next morning he was flying to California to visit his parents (he ended up staying, got a job and met me). He was lying upstairs trying to get some sleep, but the moment he lied down and shut his eyes there was a *sigh* next to him. Then all hell broke loose downstairs – stomping in the kitchen, drawers and cupboards opening and being rifled through and slamming shut. He bolted down the stairs, thinking someone was in the house, but the instant he got to the first floor the noise stopped. After making sure no one was in the house he went back upstairs, but the same thing happened again – breathing next to him, then all sorts of commotion downstairs. Finally he gave up and went out to his car to try to sleep.
  18. dawndie

    Slow-motion week

    By dawndie,

    Ugh, it’s only Thursday? I’m dragging this week. We went out with my cousin and his friend last night to watch the Mavs game, and I think I drank too much Guinness. No, I know I drank too much Guinness But it’s so good! It came to the table with a little shamrock on top, like the more talented baristas can put a creamy heart on top of your coffee. Cousin’s Friend had a picture in his cell phone of a coffee he ordered in Santa Barbara with a big smiling cat face on top, which was really impressive.
     
    I’m distracted by online shopping the past couple of days. I placed a Possets order on Tuesday for a few of the new LEs: Kitty Cupidon, Haute Love and Silver Roses. Wednesday was incense and a few perfume samples from feMaledictions, and I finally placed an order to try some Fred Soll incense. I’m also eyeballing the 4 Fat Cats Wax Works update, as I’ve ordered from Holly previously and really liked her tarts -- strongly scented and no dye. Last week I received an order from My Lady’s Chamber for more incense, and I can barely close my incense drawer as it is, so why am I ordering more? Is my house subliminally stinky?
     
    I just love coming home after work and lighting candles and incense, and on Saturdays as I’m doing chores having simmering oil or a tart burning. It must be a nesting thing. I guess I’m making up for lost time too, as the end of 2006 was money-stressy since I didn’t know where/when I would be working. It’s not like any one purchase is terribly expensive, but these buying flurries are obviously something I need to get out of my system. Once I get a few new things in the mail to play with, I should be fine. Yeah
  19. dawndie
    The past couple of weekends have been great. Last Sunday was a little cottage with a bunch of cowboy art and memorabilia. I got a signed Roy Rogers and Dale Evans postcard -- I talked to the woman running it (her dad's place? not sure) and she got it in a lot from an autograph dealer friend, so as far as she's concerned it's legit. I love it and want a cool cowboy frame for it.
     
    I also got 10 Siesta Ware mugs for $15 -- glass mugs with wooden handles, 1960s and real Western-looking. I've always liked them and would see them pop up in TV shows and on eBay but never bought a set. Now I have 10 in all different colors, and one has a Longhorn steer on it! I also got some free mini-souvenir plates (maybe 3" across instead of 10") for a few places like DC and Chicago. The entire lot was $40. Score!
     
    Yesterday was crazy, we ended up spending at least an hour at one woman's place. She had TONS of stuff crammed into this teeny house, and we met her on the porch (she hired estate sellers to handle the process). Among the huge stacks of books and weird kitchen gadgets, she had hundreds of souvenir plates! They were stacked everywhere. We ended up with 10 for $38.50: California, Hollywood (Grauman's! Movie studios!), New Orleans, Ohio, New Mexico, NYC, Wyoming (where DH's dad is from), Winchester Mystery House, Victoria BC and the kicker: DISNEYLAND! I found one for Walt Disney World and DH ended up finding a Disneyland one in a stack on the floor. That one is my favorite!
     
    So I'm motivated to display them like the Snarks are doing, maybe in the dining area! They'd look fab.
  20. dawndie
    It's feast or famine sometimes -- the past couple weeks we've gone to several houses and they've been pretty blah. A couple of weeks ago we got a Lane side table (early '60s maybe) and a tall lamp with a great canvas/linen shade for $50, but that's been it. Yesterday was good though, we went to 4 houses and bought things at 3 of them:
     
    --one house had a bunch of collector plates (Norman Rockwell, Wedgwood, etc.). No souvenir plates unfortunately, but I bought a Presidents of the United States plate, through LBJ, for $4. I guess I'm SOL if I can't remember the presidents after LBJ
    --another house had a wrought iron Lone Star we can hang outside ($15) and a green California pottery bowl/large cup, very faux-Fiestaware ($2.50)
    --another house had a set of clay coasters from Disney World's Grand Californian hotel ($1.50)
     
    The first house had a giant glass barrel-shaped container, maybe 2' tall, full of matchbooks, but we were peeking through the glass and there weren't any cool ones catching our attention. They wanted $65! That's a crazy high price, considering we got 2 bags of great matchbooks from all over the world for $4 a few weeks ago. Maybe the big glass container was valuable?
  21. dawndie
    I think I'll do a BPAL-centric entry with current favorites. I first found the site in September 2004, and did my usual hem-and-haw browsing. I try not to be an impulse shopper as I could get in some serious financial trouble. I finally placed an order in October 2004 and received it in December: a 5ml of Perversion and a 6-pack of imps. Oh Perversion, you cheeky thing! What a great first scent to get, and I was immediately hooked.
     
    I started purchasing off the forums and eBay on top of placing orders, but cut that out soon after (see above re: trying not to go overboard). So I place monthly Lab orders for no more than 3 bottles, usually on Lunacy dates, and of course swap whenever something good pops up. No bankruptcy yet!
     
    Here are my current loves, in the order of the bottles hanging out in my box:
     
    Perversion
    Bordello
    Dead Man's Hand
    Corazon
    Port-au-Prince
    Wanda
    Shub-Niggurath
    Alice
    Tarot: The Star
    Snake Charmer
    Gypsy Queen
    Dia de los Muertos
    Sugar Skull
    Haunted Palace
    Pink Phoenix
    Rose Red
    O
    Parlement of Foules
    Smut
    Antique Lace
    Black Phoenix
    Midnight Mass
     
    Yeah. That's a lot, and that's less than half of the total bottles (most of which I like but aren't madly in love with, unlike the above-listed ones). I am utterly hopelessly smitten.
  22. dawndie
    I splurged and bought a Photoplay from November 1926 that I found in a soon-to-be-closed antique and collectibles store. I love reading the articles and ads, and there was a perfume ad for a company called "Cheramy New York: Perfumes of Youth." They must have spent a pretty penny on the ad, as almost the whole magazine is in black-and-white except for the occasional ad pages in color (the other side of the color page is Palmolive soap). The best part is the breathless prose:
     
    The Last Ecstatic Moment with Lovely April Showers
     
    When you have on a good-looking new frock. when you know that coiffure, make-up, and every detail is just right; when instinct tells you that admiring glances will follow as you pass; then approve the finishing touches before a long mirror and add assurance with springlike April Showers!
     
    For April Showers, the perfume of youth, will lift imagination to heights of ecstacy -- give you joyful thrill of life and youth and conscious power .... It is a breezy fragrance; friendly -- eager -- young! You will love the rare, capricious charm of April Showers in perfumes, powders, rouges, jewel-like little compacts, and other necessary toiletries.
     
    -----
     
    Holy crap, where has this been all my life? I want heights of ecstasy! I need a joyful thrill of life AND youth AND conscious power. I don't even know what exactly that means, but I need it! I too want to be friendly, eager and young -- not surly, tired and old like I am now.
     
    That does it -- I'm going to spray assurance on me and everyone else around, whether they want it sprayed on them or not. Oh, and I'm going to start saying "rouge" too.
  23. dawndie

    Unsophisticated

    By dawndie,

    I realize I'm unsophisticated. To some people I'm probably pretty tacky. I'd rather hang out in a bar eating something fried out of a basket and drinking a beer than somewhere fancy and expensive and all dressed up. Our home furnishings range from "comfy" to "odd." Some pictures on the wall are posters in cheap frames. I don't travel to exotic places, and really don't want to. We got married in Vegas, and my dress cost $100 online.
     
    But I work full time. Everything we have we've paid for -- we didn't get help with the house, or the cars, or have a bunch of money placed in our bank account. I have a college degree, but went to an inexpensive school and got a 4-year scholarship.
     
    I have extended family members who have a lot of money, and they live nearby. They probably feel obligated to invite us to family functions. They like talking about their vacations and how much their house is worth. Their kids go to the privatest of schools and are thought to be perfect in every way.
     
    I'm tired of pretending I like them. And I'm not going to do it anymore.
  24. dawndie

    Update and my stash!

    By dawndie,

    I got bogged down and couldn’t update my BPAL blog, but have continued to purchase. Since the last entry I’ve purchased bottles of:
     
    Minotaur
    Temple Viper (these two were purchased from a forum buddy, both smell amazing)
    Black Lace
    Prospero (these two were my “normal” purchase one month from Dark Delicacies instead of the Lab. Both are really nice)
    Hony Mone
    Blood Phoenix
    Chanukkiyah (I was underwhelmed by these 3, but hopefully aging will help)
    Numb
    Peacock Queen 2005 (these two recently purchased from another forumite)
    I Married a Vampire from Planet X
    Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal (Vampire is a bit too masculine, but Teenage Cannibal is nice)
    Anactoria
    Lunar Eclipse (recent update)
     
    Regarding Numb: it’s gotten a bad rap and I don’t know why. I bought Numb brand-new from the Lab when it was offered in July 2005. I liked it well enough, it was like frozen sugared violets, but unfortunately I broke out in a rash the few times I wore it. I gave it to my mom, and when we went to visit for Christmas I was looking at her stash (I’ve also given her Harvest Moon 2004 and Taurus 2007) and noticed that Numb was almost empty. She loves it! It’s her favorite and she asked if I could get her another bottle for her birthday.
     
    I finally took recent pictures of my collection. I enjoy reading about other collections and what people love. I’ve been buying directly from the Lab for over 3 years and have over 100 bottles of favorites. Here’s the main box, it’s a tin from a men’s cologne set that DH had received. I was so excited when the shipments started arriving with special BPAL orange shipping tape, *dork alert* I would carefully peel it off to stick on the tin.
     

    Here’s a picture of the inside, it’s totally full and I’ve started a second box. The bottles are in order based on when they were received, which makes less and less sense. If I’m looking for a bottle I can make a good guess where it will be, but it’s hard to browse if I’m trying to decide what to wear out of the blue.
     

     
    My special imp tin: these are imps or decants that I want to keep. There’s my one tarted imp (Alice); even though I have a bottle I’ll never get rid of the imp just because it’s the way imps aren’t done anymore. I also have some single note decants, Tomato Leaf is peeking out. The labels have the She-Devil forum skin logo, there are a few others floating around in there. These were won in the forum fundraising raffle in April 2006.
     

     
    My backup box contains Arcana and Possets bottles, new BPAL bottles arriving and tested imps that I don’t care to keep.
    I’d love to have a nice display rack of some kind, because the labels are kick-ass and I could see everything. But how is that possible? I’d need a wall at this point.
     

  25. dawndie

    Update!

    By dawndie,

    I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl with this update. This was the first one in almost 2 years where I was actually online and then noticed Beth's announcement. It was exciting! Like a rollercoaster, woo! *bounces in chair*
     
    The Salon scents that sound great are And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt and Death of Sarandapal. Both have honey, which due to my love of O are tempting. Plus Litha sounds nice, but it sounds like something with the specific goal of annoying my allergies with all those plants So I'm on the fence, but I have a couple weeks to decide. I knew Lotus Moon wouldn't work because lotus is bubblegummy on me, and paired with pine it became a no-no
     
    This was a great end to a craptastic week.
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