Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, November 25, and it is “Black Friday” here in the USA, so named because traditionally it was the start of the holiday season when retailers would make most of their profits for the year, taking their ledgers from “in the red” to “in the black.” I’m sure your inboxes, like mine, have been swamped with various discount codes and offers. I’ve reposted some of them on the Facebook page for this blog, mostly from independent perfumers and perfumeries, so you may find some there that you can use.

I got the results last Friday of the clinical COVID test I took on Thursday and yes, it was positive. I also did a home COVID test on Friday, before I got the lab results — also positive. So then I was in isolation and had to order most of the Thanksgiving supplies and ingredients online. I felt lucky to be able to do that! My daughters both had it at the same time, about 2 days ahead of me, and one of them tested negative soon enough after her 5 days of isolation that she was able to go to the store and get some essentials for us, like the actual turkey. I’ve continued to produce positive test results on home tests, but was able to do some of the cooking while fully masked and join the family for dinner with me sitting at one end of the long table and everyone else at the other end! Today is the end of the ten-day period since my symptoms started, and I’ve been feeling fine since Monday, so I hope that will be the end of that, at least for now.

One daughter and I went out earlier today so she could do some Black Friday shopping in person, and it was fun to get out of the house and spend some time with her. We’re covered up with leftovers, so I probably won’t be cooking again until Sunday, when her boyfriend plans to come over for dinner. It’s so nice to have all the kids home! We got our Christmas tree and will put it up while they’re here. I’m looking forward to that fresh evergreen smell wafting through the house. Speaking of holiday smells, we went into the local Bath & Bodyworks store, and it was overwhelming! A veritable cacophony of fragrances, all vying with each other for world domination, and most of them much too sweet for my taste. I felt the urge to rush home and plunge my nose into a bottle of Chanel No. 19!

I hope all who celebrate it had a lovely Thanksgiving and continue to enjoy the long weekend! Share in the comments whether you’ve taken advantage of any Black Friday sales, if you wish!