Olivia's Comfort and Joy

[Black Cat]

 

Time to review my first PE! As some folks know, my beloved little dog of twelve years died very suddenly this August, shortly after I had joined the LP forum as an active member. As I was floundering around, I decided to do a private edition scent to memorialize her--when I emailed Mara last month, I told her that, as weird it sounded, I was looking for something warm and brown and sweet and spicy--basically ginger cookies with a hint of fur. Even as I wrote it, I knew it sounded very odd, but I also had been around long enough to know that Mara is a genius, and to trust she would do something amazing.

 

Well, she succeeded beyond anything I could have imagined! This is, as she herself said, "a warm and comforting gingery bakery scent." I had told her that while I am a huge fan of Lizzy's Ebil Sugared Cookies, and Santa's Little Helper, I was thinking of something softer here. The ginger is warm and energizing, sweet but not cloying (I think I pick up vanilla, and a creamy/buttery note), and a very soft enveloping energy. In the vial, it's more purely foodie, and exactly the foodie smell I was hoping for. But when I put it on, the "hint of animalic musk to suggest the aura of Olivia's fur" deepens and anchors the scent in the most amazing way. I do not know how she did this, but it truly is ginger cookies with a hint of fur AND an amazing perfume!

 

I was visiting beloved friends this weekend who live about 90 minutes away on the other side of the mountains. For years, this is a trip I would make with Olivia. I'd finish up work on Friday, run home, order takeout, throw an overnight bag in the car and set her on the passenger seat and we'd do a little roadtrip together. When we got there, the kids would demand serious snuggles with Olivia, then we would send them off to their rooms and go hang out in the bedroom watching movies and talking, with Olivia tucked in the middle of it, always so happy and joyful to be at the center of things. This was only my second time making the trip without her, so to be able to walk in and hand over the bottle with Olivia's picture on it was so lovely. My friend slathered herself in it (I had slathered before driving!) and then her little six year old daughter also put some on. Her husband and son both pronounced it perfect, and we all just took so much pleasure in how perfectly the sense of her had been captured. The six year old said, "I wish Olivia was here right now!" but then sniffed her wrist and we all agreed that maybe she was anyway!

 

Then last night, I went over to have dinner at my folks' house--Olivia was as much their dog as mine. I gave my mom her bottle and she put some on immediately. My mom is a trained massage therapist, and a serious meditation practitioner, and someone who does a lot of energy work too, and she immediately said, "This feels really powerful! It's got strong energetic properties!" Then, after a few minutes, she said, "It's just like Olivia! At first sniff, it's just beautifully simple and sweet and delightful, but then you realize there is a LOT more going on there!"

 

I have to say, I hadn't thought about this being something I was asking to have crafted with intent, but I've been wearing it all weekend, and I've just felt enormously buoyed up and hopeful and happy. And I remembered that I did tell Mara... well, at the risk of making this too long for anyone to bear to read, here is what I wrote:

 

"She was a little brown dog who was part of an animal hoarding case; when I got her, she was really just kind of shell shocked. You could set her down, leave her, come back two hours later and she wouldn't have moved. It took six months for her to bark and a year to wag her tail. A year to learn to play with toys (if you threw something away from her, she thought she wasn't supposed to have it; if you threw something towards her, she thought you were trying to hit her with it.)

"But after that.... oh, my. I had the privilege of watching her blossom for almost twelve years, and every time I would think, "It can't get better than this" she would shed another layer of timidity and fearfulness and find more joy. By the last few years she just had two speeds. She was either blissfully, radiantly content, or so overcome with ecstasy that she couldn't physically contain it, and had to dance and twirl. So I was thinking of a happy yummy scent (I've ordered enough bottles to give some away to other people who adored her!) to lift everyone's spirits while we're missing her so much."

 

This is everything I hoped it could be, and more. It feels as powerful as any of the spell oils. My mother said she thought this was the best tribute/remembrance I could have come up, and I agree. Thank you, Mara, for such a wonderful creation. I may give away another bottle, but I am keeping enough so that I can slather this to my heart's content for quite some time. It's truly magical.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Blackcat

[hearts]

This made me tear up a bit. Our pets become our family. Glad your PE turned out perfect and the way that you wanted. XOXO

Edited November 10, 2013 by hearts

[missdarlyncherie]

Oh Blackcat I loved reading that!!! That was a beautiful tribute for Olivia. This was one of my favorite posts and did make me cry.

[halo0073]

Gah you made me cry. I'm so glad you had this made.

[BlueBear]

How wonderful!!!!!! I loved reading this so much. I'm glad Mara could make such a memorial for you!!

[cinnamonmel]

I'm on the bus trying not to cry.

[Fleur]

Same here. Trying not to cry.

[Eggers]

Blackcat, that was amazing and beautiful. I'm glad you're so happy!

[goddesslynne]

Oh, I'm tearing up, too! What a beautiful tribute to your dear Olivia! Many blessings to you and your family and friends as you relive the wonderful memories!!

[Black Cat]

Oh, thank you guys so much for the kind words! It has been really special to get to share this with the LP community, and I appreciate all the helpful input I got in the PE topic thread. And isn't Mara amazing!

[Invidiana]

Blackcat, I teared up at this too. People who have never had a connection to an animal simply can't understand it. It is amazing how Mara was able to capture this little ball of fur in a bottle, and I am so happy for you that you will always have a piece of Olivia with you.

[StacyK]

Time to review my first PE! As some folks know, my beloved little dog of twelve years died very suddenly this August, shortly after I had joined the LP forum as an active member. As I was floundering around, I decided to do a private edition scent to memorialize her--when I emailed Mara last month, I told her that, as weird it sounded, I was looking for something warm and brown and sweet and spicy--basically ginger cookies with a hint of fur. Even as I wrote it, I knew it sounded very odd, but I also had been around long enough to know that Mara is a genius, and to trust she would do something amazing.

 

Well, she succeeded beyond anything I could have imagined! This is, as she herself said, "a warm and comforting gingery bakery scent." I had told her that while I am a huge fan of Lizzy's Ebil Sugared Cookies, and Santa's Little Helper, I was thinking of something softer here. The ginger is warm and energizing, sweet but not cloying (I think I pick up vanilla, and a creamy/buttery note), and a very soft enveloping energy. In the vial, it's more purely foodie, and exactly the foodie smell I was hoping for. But when I put it on, the "hint of animalic musk to suggest the aura of Olivia's fur" deepens and anchors the scent in the most amazing way. I do not know how she did this, but it truly is ginger cookies with a hint of fur AND an amazing perfume!

 

I was visiting beloved friends this weekend who live about 90 minutes away on the other side of the mountains. For years, this is a trip I would make with Olivia. I'd finish up work on Friday, run home, order takeout, throw an overnight bag in the car and set her on the passenger seat and we'd do a little roadtrip together. When we got there, the kids would demand serious snuggles with Olivia, then we would send them off to their rooms and go hang out in the bedroom watching movies and talking, with Olivia tucked in the middle of it, always so happy and joyful to be at the center of things. This was only my second time making the trip without her, so to be able to walk in and hand over the bottle with Olivia's picture on it was so lovely. My friend slathered herself in it (I had slathered before driving!) and then her little six year old daughter also put some on. Her husband and son both pronounced it perfect, and we all just took so much pleasure in how perfectly the sense of her had been captured. The six year old said, "I wish Olivia was here right now!" but then sniffed her wrist and we all agreed that maybe she was anyway!

 

Then last night, I went over to have dinner at my folks' house--Olivia was as much their dog as mine. I gave my mom her bottle and she put some on immediately. My mom is a trained massage therapist, and a serious meditation practitioner, and someone who does a lot of energy work too, and she immediately said, "This feels really powerful! It's got strong energetic properties!" Then, after a few minutes, she said, "It's just like Olivia! At first sniff, it's just beautifully simple and sweet and delightful, but then you realize there is a LOT more going on there!"

 

I have to say, I hadn't thought about this being something I was asking to have crafted with intent, but I've been wearing it all weekend, and I've just felt enormously buoyed up and hopeful and happy. And I remembered that I did tell Mara... well, at the risk of making this too long for anyone to bear to read, here is what I wrote:

 

"She was a little brown dog who was part of an animal hoarding case; when I got her, she was really just kind of shell shocked. You could set her down, leave her, come back two hours later and she wouldn't have moved. It took six months for her to bark and a year to wag her tail. A year to learn to play with toys (if you threw something away from her, she thought she wasn't supposed to have it; if you threw something towards her, she thought you were trying to hit her with it.)

 

"But after that.... oh, my. I had the privilege of watching her blossom for almost twelve years, and every time I would think, "It can't get better than this" she would shed another layer of timidity and fearfulness and find more joy. By the last few years she just had two speeds. She was either blissfully, radiantly content, or so overcome with ecstasy that she couldn't physically contain it, and had to dance and twirl. So I was thinking of a happy yummy scent (I've ordered enough bottles to give some away to other people who adored her!) to lift everyone's spirits while we're missing her so much."

 

This is everything I hoped it could be, and more. It feels as powerful as any of the spell oils. My mother said she thought this was the best tribute/remembrance I could have come up, and I agree. Thank you, Mara, for such a wonderful creation. I may give away another bottle, but I am keeping enough so that I can slather this to my heart's content for quite some time. It's truly magical.

That's a great story... anyone who really appreciates animals and what they bring to our lives when you have that connection, can appreciate what you've done here.

So glad you were able to capture your tribute in a LP.

[Potion Master]

I am so pleased that this makes you happy!

 

When Blackcat wrote me originally, her story made me sob!!! I tried my best to make something worthy of their love. My trick to simulate a fur note was to add a tiny touch of very faithful animalic musk. The furriest smelling one that I have...I hoped it would convey that sense of warm furry doggy.

[Black Cat]

Oh, once again, thank you everyone for the kind words! I love the fact that people who never met Olivia are getting a sense of what a powerful little being she was. It's really comforting.

 

And oh, Potion Master extraordinaire--I'm getting more enamored of this purely for the scent every time I wear it! I love the sweet foodie smells, but it doesn't take much for the sweetness to be overpowering for me. That touch of fur is just genius. Everyone I've shared this with loves it. Also, I've tested enough times to know that the mood elevating effect is a consistent thing, and seems to extend to other people. Magic! Thank you so much!

[LoveStruck]

I have a vast array of emotions right now after reading this! What an incredible story. What a remarkable animal spirit. What a perfect and magnificent mom you were to Olivia. I feel cheated and blessed all at once when I read about relationships such as yours and Olivia's. Been there. I know. I hope I meet her when I at last cross "the rainbow bridge" and finally see "mine" again and - if I'm lucky -all the "legends" I will certainly recognize thanks to my earthly friends- I would feel honored. Thank you for sharing this BC - I know it was a bittersweet anniversary.

[Rose Blackthorn]

Blackcat and Mara... what a profoundly moving story and what a truly original and lovingly heartfelt concept this is. I am so sorry for your loss of Olivia. I am teary eyed reading this. It's so beautiful. I really wished I had thought of this when our beloved Nina passed back in late April early May. I was and still am trying to rise above that sadness, and have spent much of my time trying to help her spirit sister, Lila, who is still inconsolable by the loss. I am so touched by this. It shows what beautiful spirits both you, Blackcat, and you, Mara have. Blackcat and Mara, you have honored Olivia in such a remarkable way. Those of us who connect with and share love with a kindred animal spirit are so blessed. This gift makes the loss more bearable. Blessings!

[Black Cat]

Oh, Lovestruck and Rose, thank you both for ALL the lovely and loving comments, here and elsewhere. Rose, I remember when you lost Nina. I'll try to beam a little extra black cat mojo Lila's way -- I'm so sorry to hear she is still struggling. And of course you are too. I'm so sorry.

 

I will confirm that I am so glad I followed through on this idea! Honestly, every time I pull out the bottle and look at my happy smiling little girl and then get a whiff of this, it lifts my heart in the most amazing way. It hasn't been an easy year, but my lovely friend told me that at various points when she has really been struggling, she has slathered on some of Olivia's Comfort and Joy and found that it really helped. Mara's magic is potent indeed.

 

And, on the fragrance front -- I can report that the scent is aging beautifully! It's a little richer, a little creamier.

 

As I said elsewhere, while no one can replace Olivia, I might be ready to start thinking about her successor next year. Definitely plan to use this for magical workings when the time comes to draw our next little household familiar homewards!

[Rose Blackthorn]

Thanks so much Blackcat. We are even using Jackson Galaxy's spirit essence remedy for Loss. These essences usually work great, but are merely taking the edge off this time. Lila remains..for lack of a better description, and at the risk of sounding like a drama queen, in a state that seems to express a deep sort of soul wound. She can not seem to bond with either of the other two nor does she express any desire to and has taken on a sad sort of loner personality. It feels heartbreaking. I think there are times that she is still waiting for Nina to come home to her at any given moment. We put our own grieving process on hold because Lila needs the help so much more. I have never witnessed anything like this before and I would not wish to ever again. Thanks so much again for your kind thoughts Blackcat. It means a lot. xo