The Garden changes day by day - imperceptibly- as roses fade and retire to rest before their next summer flush, and the bulbs lie buried with no limp stems to reveal their hideaway. Even the Shastas, which a week ago were fresh and vigorous are now badly in need of deadheading.

The zinnias that I was late in planting are about to take over in the slim borders, and every day the tomatoes and the cucumbers grow a little larger.

The bright yellow season of July and August begins to brighten up the perimeter of the garden as the first sunflowers break forth their beauteous smile and the barn flower reaches skyward with its cheery yellow blossoms.

But the faithful flax, sweet and strong and sturdy, early every morning opens those lovely blue eyes to whisper good day - all summer long.


They remind me of the summer congregation at church who rise for early morning service...



And all along the front border the volunteer lambs ears graze and provide a busy little factory for a million and five honey bees....


Latest news on Crepe de Chine -thoughtful grandson who is more adept than I at surfing the net, has provided me with a site to order the Long Lost Perfume....what a guy!

Crepe de Chine

Last night, as I sleepily reached to turn off the overhead bedlamp, my eye caught the tender, wrinkly folds of skin that sag (a little) from my underarm. Yikes.....

Immediately there sprang into my mind the words, 'Crepe de Chine'. It's not that I haven't noticed this disgusting phenomenon before, but it's the first time I had looked upon it with some favour and had the wit to associate it with a dearly loved fabric, and a precious perfume.



In the ancient days, when Husband wired his arrival from Overseas in New York Harbour, and we set a wedding day for twelve days hence, I was full of romantic yearnings for lovely, extravagant lingerie to grace my trousseau. My Mother's commonsense prevailed (you will be living on a farm) and my lingerie was plain jane and durable.

However, shortly after our marriage I guiltily bought myself an elegant black dress (for $25.00 - extravagant on our budget in those days) to please Husband and myself.

And I wore Crepe de Chine Eau de Toilette by Millot - always. Until some years later it was discontinued, to my great chagrin.

This quick bedtime glimpse of the vulnerable underarm, with its soft wrinkles, awakened nostalgic memories of the days when the underarm was firm and shapely. (I am not given to often examining this mostly hidden part of my anatomy.....)

And I thought how nice it would be if I could find some Crepe de Chine Eau de Toilette to waft through the last years on its lovely fragrance.

An online search took me to the website of Irma Shorell, who has the North American license for producing this Long Lost perfume, but alas, when I placed it reverently in the cart and tried to go through the check-out I could find no place to put my Canadian address.

To find the information about its qualities and the products that blend together so classically was only tantalizing. The base of the perfume is made up of Benzoin, Labdanum, Musk, Oakmoss, Patchouli and vetiver. The middle scents are Carnation, Jasmin, Lilac, Rose, and Ylang,Ylang. The top is a light Fruit Notes, Lemon, Neroli and Orange.

There are other perfumes that are forty percent similar, but none with the delightful middle that combines the fragrance of Carnation, Jasmin, Lilac, Rose and Ylang Ylang - makes me just want to swoon at the thought of being able to wear this lilting scent again - and feel young and surrounded by memories of those early years..

I have not given up the search. And perhaps I should include in my searching exercises to banish my own personal crepe de chine.......

Going to town

Tuesday the library opens at 10:00 a.m., while the air is still cool and before the noontime sun drives me indoors.

So Tuesday was the day to combine a visit to the library with a bit of grocery shopping, - half an hour, I told husband, when I took him his mid-morning coffee. I should be back in half an hour......

Since #1 Son opened to us the mysteries of the CD player in the new machine we have been enjoying Scott Joplin, and off I went with the music escaping through the open windows, - with my Josephine Tey to return to the library and a smallish grocery list.

The library was a cinch - a new person behind the desk with whom I did the pleasantries in a brisk and timely fashion. I left with The Daughters of Time, another Josephine Tey Mystery/Novel.

When I came out of the library a good friend was coming up the lane, and we stopped to talk. A little gossip about a motorcycle accident, a few comments about the situation at the church, - the weather and recent visitors. Eventually I put my book into the car, and before driving off to the grocery store it occurred to me that this would be a good opportunity to pop in and see daughter-in-law at her store, and to get up to date on her role as New Grandma and the state of things with Granddaughter and the new Great Grandson.

Just for a minute.....or two....

DIL has some beautiful clothes in her store, and it has been in the back of my mind for some days that I really need a short dress, - something that slips on easily, is cool and casual. How could I not stop and look????

What an elegant variety, - but this one is too young for me, and this one too frilly. And the polka dot with the shirred back is, alas, not the right size. These are really beautiful clothes that people come from other towns to shop for, and midst such a variety it took me more than a minute (or two) to make up my mind.

Eventually I found an enchanting sea green drip dry, - the kind that you crinkle up when it is wet and it slides on and swirls around your slim body, if you are lucky, - or else covers up a multitude of bumps and humps and hollows if you are past the stage of being young and lucky...

Time was passing, and I had still not had the news from Grandma, who is so thrilled with her new role. Latest news, - the dear little boy slept until six a.m. and Maw and Paw were gratefully ecstatic.

In due course I found my way to the grocery store where I vowed I would hurry, when I glanced at my watch and noontime loomed.

Well, I did hurry, but there is this one to talk to, and how can you pass that one with just a short nod or hello. And there were questions to ask the clerk at the till about how her daughter was doing, and a friend I ran into on the way to the car. Ah well. I had stopped at the Deli and bought lunch, so I was not coming home late and empty handed.

Another stop for the mail, and I arrived home just as the hands of my watch passed twelve.

Full of news and gossip to entertain Husband at lunch, and glad to be home!

What small things it takes to make a day pleasant as life thins out, duties lessen and pleasures increase, and all is right with the world. And how absolutely delightful it is to live in a small town, where a trip to town can be so friendly.