20091204

Aromatic

One of the most enjoyable parts of the holiday season is how aromatic everything is. Thanksgiving starts off with cold birds and raw vegetables and progresses into a perfect combination of sweet and savory scents that waft through the air and tickle your taste buds. Outside there is a different type of aromatic experience. The faint scent of burning wood mixes with dry autumn leaves and the hint of caramel from passersby holiday coffees. As Christmas comes into focus the perfectly pungent aroma of balsam mixes with the ever present undertones of cinnamon and sugary tastes of cookies and frosting.

Not that I am under the delusion that every moment will be a splendid aromatic experience. Some days work smells like sweet baby skin and clean onsies and some days it smells like dirty diapers and bibs with spit-up. Saturday I washed the dogs and Chris made dinner. When he brought in the dishes from the grill I burned my arm on the hot grill plate. So that evening the aromatic essence was of wet dog and charred flesh.

Luckily these negative scents never linger quite as long! Sunday we filled our home with friends to celebrate the holiday season. Along with the laughter and friendship came the wonderful aromas. The house exploded with cookies and breads, meatballs and chex-mix, mulled wine and honey ham. The boys lit a fire in our big copper fire bowl and the smoke drifted through the air as the cold air lulled us to relaxation.

As I tucked into bed last night the sweet scents of smoke and meat lingered in my curls and rocked me into a peaceful sleep.
What favorite memories of your are tied to wonderful aromatic experiences?