Lavendar Keeps the Scorpians Away

Sunday, July 6th 8:20pm


Funny how the mind works. For the last two days I have had a frantic, empty feeling about everything. Ramin is away at his fathers funeral in Tehran and most of my friends and neighbors are away for the holidays. And I finally signed my contract on Friday for this Afghanistan assignment. So I need to get ready.

What to pack?? My mind is a blur.

All I can think about is how to dress professionally, whilst looking like a sack of potatos - and worrying about scorpians. I remember loads of scorpians from my last trip there. They were everywhere. So this afternoon I went to the garden and picked about a pound of lavendar and then sewed thrity one sachets. (I heard scorpians hate lavendar) Last night after the fireworks I made lavendar room spray and this morning I ironed all my clothes with lavendar water. Then I started thinking " ...wait a minute, I'm not supposed to lure anyone with my feminine odor ... maybe I should just smell like a pig for forty two days... " I need clothes ... but I'm dressing for whom? The Taliban?!

Finally at 1:30 I met my dear friend brunch. Gina immediately suggested we order a bottle of champagne and think through the clothing scenario. Thank God for Gina and the champagne. I now have my sack-of-potatos-don't-look-at-me Kabul clothing that I can leave in Afghanistan. When I depart Kabul in late August I am flying to Dubai for a much-needed two-day spa retreat en route home. Since Gina knew I didn't want to arrive in a 7-star Dubai spa resort looking and smelling like a road warrior - she made the sensible fashion suggestion that I visit the nearby Eileen Fisher boutique. So after three hours of laughter and a lovely brunch I took my champagne-filled head to Eileen Fisher and bought a lovely white linen top coat that will carry me from the Kabul compound to the gates of the Park-Hyatt in Dubai ... and everything will be smelling of lavendar.