Fracas Noir || Susanne Waldau - te Brake I swear to tell the truth as I know it…

When you are a girlfriend, a wife, a lover, you may think you are the only one. But you’re not. Because there is always the ex. I say the ex in singular, because it’s in fact the X, as in X-factor. The love of your partner’s life. That’s the X, that has become a ghost [...]

I have the tendency of becoming obsessed with certain topics. Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, secret societies, esoterica, death penalty, the darker side of human nature….in fact that is what these subjects mostly have in common. The darker side. It started early on, as early as around 4, 5 years old. I recall seeing a [...]

It’s dark, quiet…only the gentle humming of my mac is making itself heard. A flickering candle is spreading its light, but not far. I am lonely, but yet not. More like a temporary state. I like my solitute. It brings safety, peace and tranquility.

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article of my signature scent – Fracas what else? It opens as follow “There are perfume legends, there are perfumer legends, and then there are perfumes that become obsessions. Fracas is all three…”. I couldn’t agree more. The opening line alone identifies my own olfactory [...]

The day started good but somehow ended in a horrible argument. We are still not on speaking terms, and have withdrawn to our respective territories of the house. I chose the upstairs quarters with my ironing and two films and Reinout opted for his computer.  It has made me feel completely down, and to increase [...]

Yesterday evening turned out to be excellent in the company of Reinout’s best friend MJ. He arrived pretty late, which was expected, and we sat down for dinner at 8.30 pm. Dinner consisted of leftovers from Christmas eve, but they tasted even better. Then it was time for another round of Christmas gift exchange. I [...]

Many people may not know of this but I have lived for 12 years in the Netherlands. And still I don’t speak the language. I am not going to enter into a diatribe on this subject. I can only profess to being completely oblivious to the Dutch language and shall probably remain so for at [...]

I’ve always had a fascination for secret lives. What goes on behind the doors of others… Even the people we think we know the most, friends, family and public figures that have their lives scrutinized under the social lens - even their lives are shrouded in mysteries. Sometimes you may catch a glimpse of what [...]

A good night’s sleep can only be summed up in one word…bliss! I don’t know if it was the ghostly presence of one of the spirits we have milling around us (we have apparently three according to my husband), or Lola’s gentle purr thought the night, but I slept like a log. No strange or [...]