OPIUM - Mysterious Fragrance of the Orient

Opium Perfume and EDT, by Yves Saint Laurent, product launched in 1977.

This is not an advertisement nor is it an endorsement of this product - though it is delightful and I have worn it on many occasions when I have been beautifully dressed and going somewhere special; but then again I have worn it whilst wearing my oriental red silk gown and nothing else...

It is purely here to enlighten two very sweet friends of mine who are having serious doubts about my lifestyle. Lol... ;-)

A soft feminine fragrance...a fruity aromatic opening...a floral voluptuous and spicy character...a rich oriental and spicy structure...profound and intense, which sublimates the sensuality of the fragrance...exotic, seductive and full of promise... ;-)

Enchanting oriental floral notes, Bergamot, Mandarin, Muguet, Vanilla, Coriander, Pepper, Plum, Cloves, Myrhh, Rose and Jasmine.

Gosh with all of that going for it you would think I would get lucky!?!... :-)

TRAINS AND WINTER RAINS - ENYA

'Trains and Winter Rains' from the new album "And Winter Came"
Vocals and Instruments : Enya
Lyrics : Roma Ryan
Producer: Nicki Ryan

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE !

MEMORY OF YOUTH

I once sought the shade of trees
beneath their leafy bowers
Some respite from the summer sun
to pass away the hours

For that was when I was young
a memory from the past
But seasons come and seasons go
and soon the years do pass

And now my soul seeks the warmth
of forsaken summer suns
Times of promise and life renewed
when I thought that youth would last

Some respite from the bitter cold
as my body now grows old
Standing here 'neath branches bare
where once were leaves of gold

No promise of the warmth I seek
as I look for skies of sun
I realise those days have gone
as I stand 'neath branches bare
And now I know that I am old
and at a sunless sky I stare...

Poem by Dianne
Inspired by some words from Boneman

WAITING FOR YOU

I wait and wait
but you're not here
With someone else?
that's what I fear

For to my messages
you don't reply
Never answer my questions
I don't know why

Have I come on too strong
by what I say
Have my words of love
scared you away?

Are those words you say
just for me
Or just a part
of your vocabulary?

Is there any sentiment
in what you say
or just words you use
to pass the day?

Do you whisper those words
to other ears
For deep in my heart
that's what I fear?

Don't play with my feelings
for that's not fair
When I offer my love
for you to share

My heart is breaking
cant take much more
Been down that lonely road
before

But I'll not trouble you
with my tears and woes
You don't belong to me
that's how it goes

For I know I'm not wanted
and where I don't belong
Though for your words
I will always long

Pushed my luck
once before
I'll not go back
and open that same door

One day you're hot
next day you're cold
The silence is deafening
don't shut me out in the cold

Maybe one day
I'll hear from you
but until then
I wont bother you...

Poem by Dianne

TIDE OF GREEN

Oh great tide of green
Your beauty drifts before me
like an ocean of grass

Rolling down the meadow
and up the other side
Off into the distance
to where you meet the sky

How I wish I were the wind
that rides your soft green crest
Moving you in waves of light and shade
until it lets you rest

Moistened by the chill of dawn
sparkling dewdrops crown your mantle
slowly melting in the sun
to release your meadow scent

I walk barefoot within your midst
the cool of the earth beneath me
Surrounded by your swirling green
your beauty repletes me

If I could dwell within your realm
and stay with you forever
Listening to your meadow song
as it whispers on the wind...

Prose by Dianne

This prose was inspired whilst driving down the south coast of Sydney. The road meanders through the tall trees and the lush green of rain forest in a national park, through small townships, sometimes right out onto the coast where there is a beautiful view of rocky outcrops and the deep blue ocean.First of all there is a steep descent then the road starts to climb once more, this is where it brings you to a landscape of vast meadows and rolling hills; here you are confronted and moved by the sheer beauty and majesty of a green landscape of many hues. It is wonderful to watch the grasses in the meadows and on the hillsides, their movement fluid as the wind transforms them into waves and swirls of light and shade.

REFLECTING

What is it about a birthday that makes us think about and reflect on the past?
I have been wandering back down that path since my birthday last Tuesday week, I have had a feeling of sadness and found myself thinking back to the events which led up to and just after my birthday last year. I am thinking another year has passed, another year older and I am still on my own.

I do realise I don't need a partner in my life to be complete, but it surely would be nice to have someone around to love and share with and to talk to; I have a family and friends who love me but on a personal level what I have just isn't enough...I need more.

Last Saturday I found myself looking at some lovely text messages and the final messages that my Celtic knight had sent me on my cell phone, not wise to keep them I know, but I cannot bring myself to delete them they are my only link to him and any reminder that he was ever in my life, some are like love letters, I'm not ready to burn that final bridge yet. Silly really, as reading them made me sad and brought tears to my eyes, a whole lot of memories came flooding back.

I have actually moved on, for now when I think about the whole situation with him it was never going to work, I spent too much of my time waiting to hear from him and as much as I wanted him it was never meant to be. I don't feel the same about him any more but there will always be a special place in my heart for him.
I guess I was feeling sorry for myself, the birthday seemed a little anti-climatic, I had thought for some time and hoped that my life would be a lot different by now. I have certainly tried to make it so; I have had a lot of sadness and disappointment in the last three years, things over which I have had no control. I am afraid sometimes that my life is living me, I am not living it myself, I just exist as an observer.

I am a good person, I am honest, loving, affectionate, I have morals (though some of my postings might make you think differently), I just don't have the courage to put myself out there in some of the situations where I could meet someone, bars, singles clubs etc. that is just not me; but I am not going to meet anyone sitting at home dreaming of better things so I either give up completely which I have just about done or maybe there is a way. I'm still deciding on that, for as much as I would like a relationship I don't think I am ready yet.

So what does the future hold for me, that I don't know, I will just have to stay on the roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows and find out as it happens.
I will say that I am happier now than this time last year so please don't go worrying about me, I am more resilient than you may think and that happiness is due in some part to all of you for being so kind to me and welcoming me into your world. :-)

BREATHE ME - SIA

Sometimes we need...sometimes we want...sometimes we are lost...sometimes what we do have is just not enough...nor what we want...and most times there is no-one there to rescue us...and help us find our way...most of us just have to do that on our own...

FLOWERS of FRIENDSHIP

Well Tuesday, the 4th of November was a special day, the Presidential election in America, Melbourne Cup Race day here in Australia and on a lesser scale of importance, as some of you know already, it was MY BIRTHDAY. Thank you all for your kind wishes, it is always lovely to be remembered especially when it is unexpected. It is almost 1.15 am on Thursday morning here as I write this but I wanted to thank some sweet and thoughtful girls for these beautiful flowers I received yesterday, it was a lovely surprise. So thank you for your kindness my friends Nina (my adopted daughter from Viet Nam), Marina (my adopted daughter from Russia) , Dinah, Liz and Wendy. :)

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA

BARACK OBAMA - YES WE CAN!

Congratulations on your new President elect, God bless him and keep him safe.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

THE MUMMERS' DANCE - LOREENA McKENNITT

The Mummers' Dance - Loreena McKennitt

To celebrate Halloween, All Souls Day and Samhain.

When in the Springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair

When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light

We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the Springtime of the year

The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days

We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone

"A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
Here's a sprout well budded out
The work of Our Lord's Hand"

We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay

Words and lyrics - Loreena McKennitt

Mummers' plays also known as (mumming) are seasonal folk plays of medieval origins performed by troupes of actors known as 'mummers' or guisers ( or by local names such as rhymers, pace-eggers, soulers, tipteeters, galoshins, guysers and so on ), originally from the British Isles. They are sometimes performed in the street but more usually as house to house visits and in public houses.

Samhain: The term derives itself from the name of the month in the ancient Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of November, with the festival marking the end of the Summer season and the end of the harvest. The Gaelic festival became associated with the Catholic 'All Souls Day', and appears to have influenced the secular customs now connected with 'Halloween'. Samhain is also the name of a festival in various currents of neopaganism inspired by Gaelic tradition.
Samhain and an t-Samhain are also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic names of November, respectively.

Reference material : Wikipedia.