My Journal #2

The scent of life

Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached through the sense of smell than through any other channel. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

I don't know if I am alone in this perception, but the scents that waft the breezes swirl around me and I'm transported into the past, an experience or event.

The scent of fresh baking bread will send me to my childhood where at the age of seven or eight we visited my grandmother in Portland, Oregon. She lived close to downtown and about two blocks from the Franz Bakery. My younger sister and I would run to the big window on the street and watch the loaves of baked bread make their way down a conveyor belt to be packaged. Once in a while one of the men that worked there would come to the door and give us a loaf of warm, fresh bread. My sister and I thought we were in heaven.  Mom was quite surprised by our gift, but would cut it and give us slices of bread with butter and jam. It's that scent that brings me to a happy place.  I'm sure there are others who love the smell of bread baking, but for me it represents a happy place.

I love the smell of ylang ylang. I don't know why, but the scent is earthy. Mixed with other scents like cinnamon it touches me somewhere and brings me peace. I know when I walk by the Aveda store I smell it and smile.  It's somewhere in the aisle at the Fred Meyer store in Redmond, Oregon. I can't find it, but when I walk down the Natural section I can smell that base scent.

It is scents that bring people to a place of peace, happiness and contentment.  My husband was a custom home builder. When we held open houses for our models, there would be candles or some kind of potpourri with cinnamon, vanilla and pine. The smell of Christmas. I could tell as people walked in, their demeanor changed. There would be a smile on their face and they would comment that it smelled like Christmas. Their perception of house changed as they thought about their family in that home during the holidays.

One year we were nominated for the Hudson, Wisconsin Christmas Home Tour.  Since our home was new but in the Arts & Crafts style, the committee for the Christmas Home Tour wanted to see what our house looked like decorated for Christmas.(The year before we would be considered.)

They were to come in January, then February, it was the first of March before the woman committed to come.  Our house was STILL decorated from Christmas.

The day they arranged to come I baked a loaf of gingerbread.  We had Harry & David truffles setting out on a tiered tray and spice candles burning in some of the rooms. Our electronic baby grand was playing Christmas piano music softly in the background.  As the ladies came in the house they smiled and one said, "It's like Christmas at Easter."
They were impressed with our 'over-the-top' decorations.

"You do this every year?" One asked.

I got out my album of our annual Christmas Parties and showed them the decorations from the previous house. They were very impressed and wanted to be invited to our party the following Christmas. (We had themed, costumed, Christmas parties)
As they left one of the ladies told me, "Your house is the best decorated house we've seen in years."
Needless to say we were asked to join the Tour the following year.

The night before the Tour started, the homeowners that had been chosen, were given an evening tour of all the decorated houses and a party afterwards. As our limo arrived at our house there were two limos still there. Our guide told us to wait and she hurried in to see why the other cars were still there.  She came back and got in, "We have to wait a bit, the other guides can't get their groups out of this house."

I was tickled pink. It was my house.  If there were prizes we would have won. 
Upon entering our house the smells of Christmas were very evident, gingerbread, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint. The sounds of Christmas were played on the piano. Lights, trees and decorations in abundance in every room.
At the end of the two-day tour (1800 people) a tour bus pulled up to our driveway. A woman hurried up the drive and knocked at the door.
"Are we too late?"

"It closes at five o'clock."

"I told my group I was saving the best for last." She looked at my husband with hope.

He smiled, "You're not late. Bring them in." 

The group of about twenty-five women and men piled out of the bus and toured our home and didn't leave for another hour.
Their comments: "Best representation of the Christmas Spirit."
"It smelled just like I remember Christmas when I was a child."
"I loved to sing the carols at the piano."
(We had a friend come and play for a few hours each day. People stood around the piano and sang.
"We don't sing carols any more. We loved the piano player." They said when they left.

Can you tell I love Christmas?  I lost the desire to do the work. My husband travels now and he is the driving force for the Christmas decorating. I like it but since I can't show it off to anyone, we don't have the room or money for parties. I just didn't have the desire to decorate this last year. Maybe this year.