Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation Perfume

Blue Carnation perfume is a spicy-floral (think carnations, vanilla, cloves, and bay rum) number that is outstandingly great smelling and much sought-after by antique perfume aficionados and is considered by experts to be by far the greatest soliflore carnation perfume ever made. Antique because it was created in 1937 and hasn't been made since the mid-sixties (??); a fact that is incomprehensible to those who know what it smells like.

Much chat about BC can be found on http://www.100perfumes.com/forums/Perfume/m13742.htm Someone says Lorenzo Villerosi "Garafano" is similar, or at least carnation based, and good. Others say Bellogia and Floris' Malmaison are in the ballpark. BUT NOBODY CLAIM ANYTHING TO BE AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN BC.

I, myself, looked for it for 3 decades without success until I discovered some on ebay a few years ago. Since then I have bought about 6 bottles, most recently on Sept 25, 2006 (today). I outbid the likes of exec_extreme, barbedwyer, chmfm, and a very determined and tough pkwhammy. None of them had a chance because the luvcat got his dander up and I got 8oz of BC for only a few hundred dollars-far less than my high bid.

Why do I do it? Because my first 2 girlfriends Jackie and Nancy wore it (because I gave it to them)and I wanted it to remind me of them. But mainly because I love the scent now as much as I did when I first smelled it decades ago.

MYSTERY WOMAN

Who is this woman???

Vivy

Is your 6 week-old granddaughter this cute?

I DON'T THINK SO.

AYLI

I bought some camouflage pants and now I can't find them.

Anyway, some favorite lines from AYLI:

Pardon me, I pray you; I thought that all things had been savage here and therefore put I on the countenance of stern commandment.

'Tis not your inky brows, your black silk hair, your bugle eyeballs, nor your cheek of cream that can entame my spirits to your worship. You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her, like foggy south, puffing with wind and rain? You are a thousand times a properer man than she a woman.

Tom (or Thom) Ka Gai

Forget about those other recipes for TKG. This is the one you want.

Tom Ka Gai:

~10 chicken thighs, water to barely cover or a bit less
Boil until tender (30-40min.), remove most of fat

add

3 cans coconut milk
~4 stalks lemon grass cut into 4 inch pieces and partly smashed
~3-4 tbs Rooster garlic hot sauce
juice of 1 lime (large)
~4-6 tbs brown sugar or palm sugar
1 bunch green onions chopped
salt to taste
2-4 tbs grated fresh ginger
1/4-1/6 cup good fish sauce (optional, but better with) - add slowly to rapidly boiling sauce - smells bad!
1 chopped tomato
several chopped mushrooms
Simmer while cleaning up chicken.

Remove bones, fat, skin from chicken (you can do this while sauce cooks) and add to sauce
boil about 1/2 hr.

remove lemon grass stalks, adjust seasoning (Rooster, sugar, salt) and serve

Variation: For more substance, crumble tortilla chips into bowl. This may be sacrilege to purists but it is good and more filling.

Rachel with new shoes and new dress.

New citizen!!