Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Ahhhh, the Sweet Aroma...

People with chemical sensitivities are always sniffing for threatening fragrances. There are so many smells that signal Trouble (yes, with a capital T). But all of our sniffing doesn't have to be negative. Last week I started a list of things I love to smell. Here it is for your perusal.

onions cooking in butter (the smell of Thanksgiving morning)
grapes steaming into grape juice
fresh hay or alfalfa (I like the smell of it, but will break out into a rash if I get near it)
the mint fields of western Oregon
the air after rain
dirt (full of organic compost, of course)
tomatoes fresh from the garden
applesauce cooking on the stove
sweaty little kid bodies after playing outside
the ocean
the mock orange blossoms outside my bedroom window
Daphne blossoms (outside my bedroom window in the last house)
wet wool
fresh olive oil
vanilla
peppermint tea
the onions stored in my garage
my husband's homemade bread (I can't eat it, but I love to smell it)

Now, Friends, what would you add to this list (that isn't produced by a chemical substance, of course)?

6 comments:

SharonB said...

Cinnamon, rosemary, curry, snow, leaves (like the pile in my front yard). Freshly cut grass, although it generally makes me break out in hives. Hmm, my mother's house:)

Anonymous said...

Hello Cathy! I found your blog from Segullah (this is Kimberli, Craigs wife)

My favorite smells -
Rosemary or basil picked fresh from the garden and crushed between my fingers
Lemon buttermilk pound cake baking
Gingerbread
Pine trees and cedar - will forever be the smell of home. It reminds me of the forests of N. Idaho where I grew up.
Chives
The smell of my kids - behind their ears or necks. They smell like new potatoes.
Lilacs after the rain
The hedge of lavender bushes in my neighbor's parking strip
Chicken soup
Berries fresh from the garden and still warm from the sunshine
Linden trees in bloom
vanilla

CatherineWO said...

Thank you for your sentiment, Sharon.
Welcome, Kimberli! Pine trees and cedar should definitely be added to my personal list--they were very much part of the smell of Camano Island. Combined with the smell of the ocean and the air right after rain--a very heady fragrance indeed.

Anonymous said...

Fresh, clean air. Tuber rose, pikake and puakenikeni flowers. Bread, as it's baking. Limes and oranges. Tea leaves. Rain. Cut grass. The wind at the ocean.

Mokihana Calizar said...

Hi Cathy,
Just found you on The Canary Report. I love how fun and hopeful this post is. YES TO HOPE!
Ditto on the cinnamon, and gingerbread plus baked acorn squash just coming out of the oven.

Anonymous said...

the smell of when I cook apples for applesauce, apple butter and apple pie filling--

cooking smells are where I get MY "perfume"--

:)

celia