Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Smelly.

Working at a pet store I encounter many different smells on a daily basis. Some are pleasant (clean puppy fur, dried fruits and nuts) and some are potently terrible (skunk poop, dead fish).

In the last few days I have had several transportations into my childhood thanks to smells in the store.

  • Cedar bedding: reminds me of the summer I spent in Mt. Shasta riding horses with Meriah and Jason. At the beginning of the summer I couldn't stay on a horse even with a saddle, and by the end I could ride bareback on a horse that was trying to escape fireworks.
  • Scratch (chicken feed): takes me back to spending time on my cousins' farm in eastern Washington. The house was in the middle of wheat fields and was a true old farmhouse. We passed the days wrapped in our imaginations, putting on plays and circuses in the hayloft, and avoiding fire ants while exploring the drainage ditch.
What smells transport you to another time and place?

11 comments:

moosh in indy. said...

Anal glands, reminds me of the summer I interned at that vet hospital, not a warm fuzzy memory but the smell came out of things that were warm and fuzzy.

Sona said...

Fresh glazed donuts. When I was a kid my grandmothers house always smelled like fresh glazed donuts.

Jim Thomsen said...

The smell of freshly mowed grass takes me back to lazy spring Sunday afternoons at Auburn Academy, playing touch football, or reading a book, or flirting with girls.

Jill said...

For me it's not smells so much as it is music. Sure, certain smells make me feel warm and comforted. Mostly they are food smells.
I love garlic, baking cookie smell, vanilla, how the grill smells when I barbecue.
But certain songs are triggers for me.
I remember hearing "Seven Spanish Angels" on the way to my grandfather's funeral. That is such a beautiful song.
And when my-ex was driving me out to my parents' house after my dad died we were listening to the Tigerlily CD by Natalie Merchant. I was already an emotional wreck, but I lost it when "Beloved Wife" came on. To this day I cannot hear that song without welling up with tears.
Happier songs? There is a song by Groove Armada that goes "I see you baby, shaking that ass, shaking that ass..."
It takes me back a few years to one of the best trips I had to Vegas. It was just all out fun and cutting loose with a really great friend. Now all we have to do is sing that one line and we crack up.

Roxy said...

Smells that will do it for me every time....

Fresh baked bread...
Freshly mown grass
Honeysuckles in bloom
puppies
A man with a great cologne
hot chocolate
wood fire..

Marisa said...

do WHAT to you though? Where do each one take you?

Roxy said...

Oh....:)

Fresh baked bread...makes my mouth water and want to eat it while it's hot.

Freshly mown grass...makes me love summer days and the feeling of being a kid again. I want to pull out my lawn chair and some lemonade and enjoy.

Honeysuckles in bloom....deep breathing...almost like you can eat them...just to bury my face in them..take a bath in the scent.

puppies....memories of growing up in eastern Oregon..loving all the animals we had..memories of my old Lab and wishing for another puppy.

A man with a great cologne...being engulfed in an embrace..a feeling of closeness...and intimacy.

hot chocolate...I have a hot chocolate several times a week..it's MY coffee...I love the warm scent...it brings back memories of mountains and snow.

wood fire.. Many fall seasons..sitting outside wrapped in a blanket...crackling fire and roasting marshmallows.

Marisa said...

now THAT'S what I'm talking about! :)

Anonymous said...

Umm, we didn't have, and still don't have (thank goodness!) fire ants in eastern washington! We did have ants that bite though! Those are fun memories for me too! (Did you know the tree house is still there?)

E.P.

Marisa said...

Thanks for the correction... I guess I associate biting ants with fire ants... ?

I love that farm.

Anonymous said...

This one was so good! I loved it! You should write books girl you would be FAMOUS...:)