Let's Talk About ODORS And SMELLS!

(Chloe Perfume Note Card with Chloe Case Envelop from 23madisonstudio)

       Are you asking yourself "WHY?!!"...Why I would want to spend a perfectly fine Tuesday talking about odors and smells?!...Well, I'll tell you why. Because I don't have anything else to talk about right now, and.....you're here! ^_^

    Well, that's not entirely true!...The "you're here" part is true!...because if not, you wouldn't be able to read what I'm writing right now! ^_^ But the part about not having anything else to talk about is not true...I could talk about a LOT of things on this fine Tuesday!! Trust me on that! ^_^

    The complete truth is that I had my girlfriends over to the house yesterday...And let me just stop right here and give a big "WOOHOO!" for supportive, giggly and loving girlfriends!! ^_^...and one of them brought me a gift!...

     It's a container of pretty smelling potpourri!! :-) She said the butterfly made her think of me. Awwwwwwww! :-] ♥♥♥ THANK YOU!!! :-)

      I have to admit, I got a little nervous when I first learned what it was...because I have become so sensitive to odors and smells in the last few years! O_O Hubby has had to change his cologne, the fabric softener we use, the kitchen soap, the regular washing soap, the detergent...Aargh!!!...and I can't even put the little deodorizers in the house anymore. You know, the ones that make your house smell all fruity and garden like when you walk in the door. :-)

     But guess what?!...I've had this little potpourri basket in my room all night and.....NOTHING!! Nothing bad, I mean. :-] It smells nice! And it's not bothering me at all!!...*deep breath*....Ahhhhhh!
       In fact, that's really what led to this post! I took my C-Pap mask off this morning...(I have Sleep Apnea, for those of you who don't know)...and got such a pretty smell in my nose that my mind starting going down memory road about all of the different memorable smells in my life ^_^...while I was laying there with my fool self, twelve minutes before the 5 a.m clock alarm was suppose to go off! ^_^ {I feel like somebody stole my full snooze!!! LOL But that's a story for another time...or not! LOL}

     Anyway!...My first thought was about how my father used to have the whole house smelling like 'Right Guard' deodarant spray after he took a shower in the mornings! ^_^

 (Gillette Right Guard Can from JUMBLEBLUE)

          In fact, I think that smell used to be my alarm clock as a teenager! Ha! Ha!..."Hmmmm...what's that smell?!....Ohhhhh....it's dad's Right Guard. It must be time to get up!" LOL

         And then there was the first time I smelled "Sex Appeal"...and don't get all crazy on me!...That was the name of the cologne my husband, then potential boyfriend, used to wear! :-)) 

      Oh! That cologne smelled soooooooo good!!...It smelled so good, in fact, that it led to a conversation between hubby and I as to whether people are really attracted to the look and personality of certain potential mates, or whether the different colognes and perfumes are clouding things up and making certain people be attracted to each other!!...Mentally chew on that for a while!... ^_^ ...We did! LOL

       Who knows, without 'Sex Appeal', hubby and I could've been married to Paul Newman and Diana Ross!! ^_^...Hmmmm...something about that whole sentence sounded wrong!! LOL...Anyway! Too bad that 'Smell-O-Puter' thing is still in it's infant stages. Then you'd know what I mean! LOL

      As for me, I've only liked a few perfumes in my life. My first love was 'LeSport'. It no longer exists. In fact, I couldn't even find a photo of it to show you!! But Oh! How I used to love that 'drug store' cheap perfume, or cologne...yeah, I think it was a cologne...Every time I wore it men used to follow me on the street, and dogs would drift along behind me in a daze, with their paws not even touching the ground! ^_^ Or it seemed like that...WHATEVER!! LOL 

      And while my friends and relatives were going through cologne after cologne...

 (Square Original Perfume Illustration from Smogartist)

            ...perfume after perfume...

 (Perfume Bottle Illustration from MilkFoam)

        ...and stink after stink! Ha! Ha!...

(Skunk Fragrance Oil from SaharasSupplies)

        ...(even if some of those stinks were packaged very nicely)...

(Striped Skunk Crochet Pattern from OohLookItsARabbit)

       ...I stuck with my 'Le Sport'! :-) ...And when I got wind of the fact that it was gonna be discontinued...and I only wish I was kidding about what I'm about to tell you! ^_^...I went to every drug store within a five mile radius of me and bought up every bottle they had left on the shelves!!...*hanging my head in shame*...which wasn't 'that' many...O_O...whatever!!...Let's just say I smelled good for a LONG time before it was gone!! ^_^

       Then I hooked my 'perfume star' to my beloved "White Linen" :-) ...

        ...And it's been me and "White Linen" ever since! :-) ... Yes, I've tried a few perfume samples here and there, but once I put it on my skin the initial whiff of pretty odor would turn on me like a scrap yard dog after a few hours!! LOL...Hormones!! Ugh!

       Even now I have to change deodorants at that 'time of the month'...whenever that time comes now! LOL...because 'my' chemicals and the deodorant's chemicals have a 'falling out' with each other!...and they are NOT friends until that time has passed either! ^_^

     By the way, hubby no longer uses cologne. In his words he uses ''A la natural musk"! Ha! Ha! Crazy man!! ^_^ But I have to say...I miss his 'Sex Appeal'! LOL

      Now I'm heading off to see what kind of food smells I can wrap this nose around! ^_^ You do the same, Okay! ^_^ Have a good day, Everybody! 

 It Smells!

Oh the memories you unfold...
the fruity highs, and woodsy lows...
when you think of all the smells
that, through the years, have passed your nose.

How granny always smelled of food,
with a tinge of moth ball smell there too.
The outside porch sometimes smelled musty
because of brother's old gym shoe.

The cloud of 'Right Guard' in the mist,
whenever dad would take a shower.
The bakery with it's smells so sweet,
changing hour after hour.

Colognes and perfumes of your friends...
You'd smell them coming for a mile.
Yes, they'd produce some pretty odors,
but they'd also produce a smile.

We could talk about what we've smelled,
or what we've tried real hard NOT to!
And please let's talk about all the memories
that our smellers led us through...

We could talk about these for hours,
days and months, an odor-fest.
But to end this poem now,
before it stinks, I think is best! 

I've Seen All Kinds Of Things.........!

          When you have a backyard the size of ours, you're bound to see things in it that make you smile, like butterflies...

 (Butterfly Mini Collection by runpoppyrun)

     ...and all kinds of birds...like woodpeckers...

 (Woodpecker from MassAudubon)

       ...like sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, finches, crows, blackbirds, an occasional hawk, and, of course, robins!...

        In fact, we have robins in the backyard 'ALL' the time! One time we even had robin eggs! :-) ...

     You should have seen the maneuvering, and quiet stalking, hubby had to go through to get the picture (above) of those beautiful blue robin eggs! ^_^ But now that the storm took the tree that the robins were using for nesting, all we see are the robins hopping all over the yard with earthworms...another regular backyard visitor...and twigs and grass in their beaks. I think our yard is the community robin supply and grocery store! ^_^ 

       Some other regular backyard visitors are...squirrels...

 ("Nut Hunt" Squirrel Photograph by JulieKatePhotography)

     ...frogs...

 (Frog Photograph by cmqstudio)

        ...and cats.

(NaturalPetProducts)

          In fact, we have a 'stalking' black cat going back and forth, and through, our yard every day lately. He's always crouching and pouncing and sneaking around. I haven't seen what the prey is that he's stalking yet...and I'm not sure I want to! O_O That's because, a while back, we found this guy (below)....dead....in the backyard....*gulp!*...

        I don't know if it was the cat's doing or not, but I have my suspicions! LOL 

     We also get a lot of dogs roaming through the backyard...usually followed by their owners, yelling for them to "STOP!" ^_^ ...Maybe they should buy the doggies some peanut butter!...

 (Framed Cooks Blog)

      That just might slow them down long enough to get a handle on them! ^_^

      But none of these visitors are the reason I decided to do this post today! I decided to do this post today because over the last few days we've been seeing some 'regular' visitors that are kinda strange to our backyard...in the daytime at least!  O_O

       We've been seeing a fox!...

 (Red Fox Print by TreeHollowDesigns)

      He's just been trotting through the yard, as pretty as you please! O_O ...Imagine!...Foxes trotting through the yard in the daytime...without a bunch of dogs or men on horses, in ugly riding pants, carrying guns, chasing them!

       I tried to make hubby run out there to see if he could get a picture of him, but he was too quick...Maybe he knew that the hunt was almost upon him or something....the imaginary hunt, because I didn't see any of my backyard grass flying up from the pounding of horse hooves! LOL 

       I'm starting to think that maybe we should be a little more worried about this than we are, because this was, after all, a fox...in the daytime! And the other day I was reading one of the blogs from someone kinda local to us, and she had just had a bear who climbed her birch tree and left claw marks!...Of course he might've been after her honey. They have a hive...But still!!

      To top off my story, guess what else came meandering through the backyard a couple of days ago...in the daytime?!...

("The Little Stinker" Archival Print by LadiesWhoKill)

      Yep! A skunk!...in the daytime!! O_O I thought skunks were nocturnal, and that if you saw them in the daytime that meant that they could be rabid!!!! O_O ... Great! Stalking foxes, black cats, dead snakes, maybe tree-climbing black bears!...and now...daytime...and maybe rabid...skunks! :-/

        But ours wasn't a cute little baby skunk. How do I know?!.....Hubby actually got a picture of him! :-] ... It wasn't a great picture, but it was enough to be able to see that it was a skunk!...and that it was daytime!!

       O_0 ...Uh boy...hubby's gonna have to be a lot more careful when he's taking the garbage out...If he gets clawed or ends up smelling like a skunk....I am NOT gonna be happy!!...I might giggle at him...if he's just an UNclawed and stinky man I mean....but I won't be happy!! ^_^

        STOP LAUGHING!!!...What kind of things are roaming around your yard....huh?....HUH?!! LOL...Have a good weekend, Everybody! 

Double Take

Yes, I looked at it again,
because I couldn't believe what I saw!
Was it meant to catch attention?
Or to make you drop your jaw?

Was it what I thought it was?
Was it real, or was it fake?
Just like life and all it's wonder,
some things need a double take.    

Ohhh...Just A Little Skunk Story!

(maryjill)

        I ask you...Is there anything 'cute' about a skunk?!...I know you're probably thinking "No!" But I have a 'cute' skunk story to tell you. And it just happened the other night.

        Before I tell you about it though....Come on! You knew I wasn't gonna just tell you about it, didn't you?!!! LOL...let me answer my own question about whether there's anything 'cute' about a skunk....Well, 'I'm' not gonna answer it. Some Etsians are gonna answer it!! :-]

       FreckledHound, you clearly know that sometimes skunks can be 'cute'! :-)

        This vinyl skunk wall decal is so 'cute'!!...It reminded me of a certain skunk cartoon character from my youth....Pepé Le Pew!!...Oh! Amore!! :-) {Funny how the brain just holds on to stuff! LOL}

      BabbidgePatch knows that skunks can be 'cute' too!

     Couldn't you see your little guy in this Little Stinker Skunk Hat?! :-)

     

         And Oh!! I don't think a skunk can get 'much' cuter than the the one LadiesWhoKill took a photo of!!

        Just think, you can have this 'cute' skunk print up on the wall in your nursery, or your little ones 'big girl' or 'big boy' bedroom!...I'd put it in my bathroom....Just saying! LOL It would be perfect there, right?! ^_^

      Okay, I'll tell you the story now. :-) .....You know how usually when you see a skunk you're all like "YIKES!!" and "EEK!!",...no doubt with the idea that he's gonna spray you with his 'stink gas' and you'll have an almost impossible time getting it off before you have to go to Grandma's house or to work the next day?!!...

     (dimdi)

       It's a legitimate fear too, and the details of their defense mechanism prove it! Did you know that skunks have two glands, one on either side of their...Ummm...'hiney parts'...that produces a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals such as methyl and butyl thiols?
         I 'know' you know that it has a highly offensive smell! In other words....'Peeeee....You'!! ^_^ The smell has been described as a combination of the odors of rotten eggs, garlic and burnt rubber! Wikipedia says the odor of the fluid is strong enough to ward off bears! No kidding?!.....Maybe I need to get some more skunks in the backyard!! ^_^ Then again...I don't want hubby getting sprayed by accident while he's out there taking down and putting up the hummingbird feeder at night, while he's trying to avoid the wasps in the daytime!! O_0
       Two facts about skunks could make hubby's getting sprayed a high probability too...One, they can't see very good. Anything more than 10 feet away (3 meters) they can't see that clearly. {That's why they're so vulnerable to getting killed in traffic!}
      And two, they have a really good sense of smell and hearing. So, they are really accurate with that spraying thing! In fact, they're able to accurately spray up to 10 feet (3 meters)! Yep! What they lose in sight, they make up for in spraying ability!!...And that spray can cause more than just irritation, stinky skin, and stinky clothes that you can't wait to get off!!....{and a smell that can be detected by a human nose up to a mile downwind!} It can cause temporary blindness!!!...the little 'cuties'!! ^_^

(artwallproject)

       And herein lies the rest of the story! My girlfriend and her husband and kids were all sleeping about midnight when they started hearing some banging...over and over again...outside their apartment. When they went to investigate this is what they saw!...Yep! She gave me the video to share with you all!! :-)

      Do you believe that?!!....Poor little cutie!!...


      After I stopped laughing, I started wondering about whether or not his "problem" was ever fixed!! ^_^ Then I looked at some other videos on Youtube and realized.....THIS IS A REGULAR SKUNK OCCURRENCE!!! LOL
       As you might have figured out by now, my girlfriend and her family DID NOT try to fix his "problem"!!! ^_^ Hopefully he 'banged' his way to a solution, or had some little 'cute' girl skunk come along and help him out!....Hey! Pepe' Le Pew would've helped his girl companion out!!! ^_^

Eyes

We take our eyes for granted
until some 'boo boo' mars our view.
Then we find ourselves short-sighted
with less things that we can do.

The thought of losing sight,
and seeing life just like before,
is scary, and can shake our confidence
right to the core.

To make our eyes feel better
we would do most anything.
Some eye salve or a hot pack,
even ointments that will sting.

To, every day, appreciate
the eyes that help us see
(and keeping those sharp objects
out of their proximity),

That's what we should be doing,
give those 'Peepers' some respect!
Especially since they get it
when we're sticking out our neck.

A River, A Skunk, and a Scarf!

    Thank you all for the encouraging comments and hugs you gave me yesterday. You'll be happy to know that I'm feeling much better. In fact, as soon as I wrote all of my frustrations down on the blog yesterday, and hit the "Publish Post" button, I felt better!! It's always been like that for me. Writing is like therapy. And YOU all are my "couch"!! ^_^
   So, on we go!!...I've got some more photos to show you that hubby took around the Connecticut River, and a new pistachio scarf. But first I want to show you the 2 treasuries my Wuglyees shop was featured in! One was called Kindness Spreads. MaritimeArts curated it.

     I'm thankful that she spread her kindness to me, putting my little White Czech Glass Button Flower Fly Brooch in there!

    And if that wasn't nice enough, then prairieprincess curated this fun treasury, entitled Stinky, and added my shop item in there too!!

    This treasury is all about the skunk! So it was fitting then that she would include my Black and White Skunk Beauty Scarf!

     But It doesn't smell like a skunk though. I promise!! ^_^
        Okay, what shall it be next? River area pictures or scarf?!....Pictures!

     I don't know if you can tell from these pictures but we live in a kind of mountainous area. In fact, we live kinda on the top of one. We come down it to get to the river. These last two shots are overlooking the area above where the river is. You can kinda see the leaves changing, although we're not at peak yet. Hubby was just saying yesterday that he hopes we actually get to see the gradual change of the season this year.  Last year the leaves started to change color just a little, and then we got a ton of wind!! We had a pop of color here and there one minute, and then bare naked trees the next!!...I'm sure all of the tourists going leaf-peeping around here hope the leaves stay on the trees for a while too!
   Okay, now for the scarf,...my last pistachio scarf.

      At this point you're probably thinking one pistachio scarf looks exactly like the other pistachio scarf! ^_^ But actually all of the scarves are slightly different. This one has a row of pistachio green, and then a row of celery/white stripe, all the way through it. (My pictures are not doing it justice, but you get the idea!! LOL) The celery/white is a cotton yarn, whereas the pistachio is 100% acrylic. Soft. This one won't be as warm as the other ones because of the cotton. But it'll be warm enough. Trust me! :-)
     Okay, one last picture. This is a train track that runs kind of parallel with the river. I think it's pretty cool that if you take a train to the Massachusetts area or more Northward, via Connecticut or New York, you'll probably be looking at water along the whole ride...except for some breaks of trees. The trees kinda like the river too. :-)

    I wonder if love, described in a poem, would have as a stanza: 'Love is a train ride with the river as your view'?! I suppose I could add it to this one that I wrote a while ago. I'll think about it! ^_^

What Is Love?

Love is doing the 'Loser Dance',
when your spouse beats you playing cards.
Love is flowers for no reason,
and a date, on the fridge-that's starred!

Love is saying that you're sorry,
when every fiber says 'You're 'Right'!
Love is wearing your wedding band,
though you've gained some weight and its tight.

Love is wearing cologne and perfume,
though you won't  be leaving the house.
Love is buying a top at the store,
'cause he'd  like the feel of the blouse.

Love is thinking of each other,
and then picking the phone up to dial.
Love is remembering it all,
and writing a poem, while you smile.