"a seagull in the desert"

Poem
P.S. - Franz Wright

I close my eyes and see
a seagull in the desert,
high, against unbearably blue sky.

There is hope in the past.

I’m writing to you
all the time, I am writing

with both hands,
day and night.

Beverage
Reanimator from Broken Board Coffee near East Town Mall in Madison

This morning, two of my three perfect nieces woke up at 5:30, one of them encouraged by a single bark from my parents' year-old poodle, with whom the littler of these two nieces is obsessed. I was responsible for all these three, and waking up at 5:30 by sort-of surprise is different than waking up at 5:30 to go to yoga, like I was last week. But anyway, after a few hours, we all needed a little reset, so we went to get coffee.

This little beverage combined many things I like, per the menu: "Espresso + pineapple + orange + lime + orgeat + nutmeg + ice"

I ordered two coffees, the other a banana latte, which I was extremely doubtful of but came highly recommended by my brother and sister-in-law. Both absolutely delicious, unexpectedly so, but the Reanimator was a totally unpredicted delight because I ordered a second coffee on a complete whim. I now think I would order any coffee this place concocted, even if it sounds like a tiki drink subbing espresso for rum.

I well-established enjoy a citrus coffee drink (see: my feelings about espresso tonic), but this was much fruitier and sweeter than I would usually choose. And I liked it a lot!

Scent
Tocca Florence

Tocca and I had a real moment somewhere between 2010 and 2012, and I still have a full-size of Bianca ("Rose. Lemon. Green Tea. A Mediterranean dreamer with a taste for teatime and intriguing conversation. Bianca brings high luxury to a classic citrusy floral. La dolce vita comes alive in an intoxicatingly-fresh blend of lemon orpur and mandarin with green tea and rose petals, leaving a dash of musk and sugar on the skin. Uplifting. Clean. Luminous." — catnip for me, especially then.)

I flirted with many of these scents around that time, as did my senior year roommate, and now that I am on the website, I want to revisit more of them. Gia, Belle, and Maya are new to me of their scents, but I am really intrigued by the whole line. Historically, I have found Tocca super accessible and fun and feminine, which is not the fragrance world I've been playing in lately so I may dive back in.

This week, I popped on an old sample of Florence — named not for the city but as "A classic Parisian beauty to fall in love with, instantly and forever."

The site copy: "Florence is an undeniably charming floral with secret tangents into citrus and earth. Joyful bergamot grazes crushed violet petal with a fresh blush of gardenia and pear. Sophisticated. Romantic. Timeless."

It's definitely floral — way beyond where I would land if thinking about what I am putting on, but I found it well-balanced and spring-appropriate. It didn't pull my interest throughout the day, even though the scent stuck around. Part of the issue is that I applied with a rollerball sample, and so nothing was clinging to my clothes. That does make a difference for how I relate to the fragrance, and I would really like to grab a spray sample to give a try again... Expand my floral exposure for the warm weather, maybe?

Now playing via Spotify "daylist"

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Other things

Vitamins and supplements

I know that greens powders are scams for sure, but my sister (a literal doctor so everything she says is official Medical Advice (according to me only)) has a big new thing of this magnesium like, syrup? that is also kind of a creamer? in her fridge, and I think we are Into Magnesium now. We had it in a good Rishi tea earlier tonight. I often am Into Iron and B12, but I am noodling over whether I want to get back into researching vitamins and supplements. Please convince me what I should be taking in addition to my mostly-vegetarian, mostly-balanced diet. We are listening!!!!

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Carts online (and in person!)

So much Le Bon Shoppe. Not ordering because I have nowhere to put anything new.

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