This morning it was gloomy and overcast, not a good day for going out to the pool for class. Instead of suiting up, I went instead to the closet for real clothes. I had to go to the Island to drop off items off at a real estate office. When I walked into the office with my donations, I was met by the smell of drywall dust and compound, as remodeling was going on. It brought back all kinds of memories for me including being in business for all those years up to the repairs made in my unit after The Great Flood.
When I got back, I met my neighbors, Kathy, and her mom, Betty, waiting for Gary to pick them up to go shopping. I got into the elevator, smelling their perfume on my face as we'd embraced in the lobby. Betty still wears Jean Nate and I only know this because Kathy told me. It is a distinctive scent, and it lingers. Unless I would wash my face, their combined fragrances would stay with me for hours, which is not a terrible thing.
Because it was a gloomy day, I guessed no one would show up for water exercise class. When I came back from my errand run, I saw a couple ladies standing in the parking lot. Pat A. had sent me a text message asking if I'd heard from Marlena as apparently the participants were there but no leader. I hope she did show up for these braver ladies and gentleman.
For his birthday, Justin had requested a batch of Chex party mix, with no nuts. A little after the fact, I got busy in the kitchen today and made a couple batches---one for him, no nuts, and one for me with mixed nuts. Our upstairs neighbor, Debbie, had given us a lovely gift box of nuts for Christmas and this was the end of them. I am surprised at how much I loved the macadamias in the mix. Less pleased with the almonds, because they put up a fight when eating them. In the process of making these batches, our cabinets are now freed of three cereal boxes and the fridge free of the nuts.
My batch is on the left and Justin's in on the right
When I got done with this project, not all that time consuming, my rooms smelled wonderfully from the aromas used in making the mix. The Worcestershire sauce and the seasonings blended together and filled my nose and memories as well. On Facebook I wrote that my house now smelled like Christmas. It did not smell of chestnuts roasting or of pine trees, but it did have the memory-bearing aroma of party mix. When Justin got home from work, he announced immediately that the house did indeed smell like Christmas. Being such a gloomy day, you'd have sworn it was winter! And now it smelled that way, too.
