The Gratitude Project

"Gratitude Project (Join me! For the next 30 days, I am posting 3 things for which I am grateful, no matter how seemingly small or silly)."

This began as one of those Facebook status things - my friend Val invited others to join her for 30 days - I chose to participate in my framer’s forum (“the G”), and I have edited my posts a tad because they tended to get longer and longer as the days themselves began lengthening.

So here is my first entry, begun on December 10, 2009 -

Day 1:
1. Grateful to the G for allowing me to reach out from my hermitage to other like-minded souls.
2. Grateful to my step-family members for being so nice and so normal.
3. Grateful for my cats for keeping me warm at night and sane at all times.
Day 2:
1. Sunshine on clean new-fallen snow.
2. Blue skies after several gray days.
3. Naps - I love naps!
Day 3:
1. I am grateful to my friends on the G and on FB who have helped me throughout this awful day.
2. I am grateful for my wise veterinarian who knew enough to send Sidi home with me for the weekend instead of sending him to be alone and unloved under the harsh lights at the emergency clinic.
3. I am grateful to the 15 plus years that Sidi has been my companion and I am grateful for every extra minute we can share.
(Boy I sure know how to pick a time to start a gratitude project, don't I?)
Day 4
1. I am grateful for the balm of sleep.
2. I am grateful for my friends.
3. I am grateful that the red tailed hawk that I saw soloing yesterday is today flying over my trees with a mate.
Day 5
1. I am grateful to my wonderful friends from the G for "holding my hand" over the last 3 days....
2. I am grateful for three hungry kitties stamping around the house and demanding my attention (and their breakfast).
3. I am grateful for my blessed ability to sleep when I need to.
Day 6
1. I am grateful that my nice neighbor in the building put up a sign for my door when I knew I would be unable to leave Sidi's side on Saturday. I sent a PM to each of the two neighboring businesses thru FB and said, "whichever one of you sees this first please stick a sign on my door" and the recording studio guy did just that!
2. I am VERY grateful that we framers are helping our dear Á in her time of need. That makes me VERY happy!
3. Found a small bottle of eggnog grocery store tonight. Would not drink it every day of the year but once or twice a year it is positively YUMMY.
Day 7
1. I am grateful for the gift of music in this world - it is a balm for the soul.
2. I am grateful for even the small amount of work I have to do for the shop this year - it keeps my mind from casting off.
3. I am grateful for the jokes in the annual joke contest - keep 'em coming folks!
Day 8:
1. I am grateful to have met my friend's mom this evening and her mom thinks I am an inspiration. How cool is that?
2. I am grateful to have gotten the idea to surprise my step mom in her church this Sunday by not just giving the BOOK of my dad's sermons to the church library but to make the presentation a part of the service! Plotted with the pastor today. Tee hee.
3. I am grateful that I ran into Eric from the Delaware Camera who sent Magilla to me and thanked him for introducing me to such an amazing soul. And we lamented Magilla's passing and further spread the legend of the Great Lakes Surfers.
Day 9:
1. I am grateful to have a non leaking roof.
2. I am grateful to have heat and power.
3. I am grateful to have hot and cold running water.
Day 10:
1. I am grateful to have seen one of the amazing artworks done by Á.
2. I am grateful to have a great shoe repair guy - yay Jimmie!
3. I am grateful to have found a nice little black leather purse at Amvets for only $3.95.
Day 11:
1. I am grateful to have pulled off that great surprise for my step mom yesterday.
2. I am grateful that the Solstice is finally here so the daylight will begin to start lengthening.
3. I am grateful to have a last-minute order for some Christmas framing from my terrific local supplier (even though I left all of the paperwork at the shop and have to go to Buffalo on my day off to place the danged order!).
Day 12:
1. I am grateful the fact that I managed to get that last order in on time yesterday even though as it turns out the paperwork had been at home all along - I was pleased that I managed to re-create the order perfectly and did not miss one item!
2. I am grateful that one of my newer customers is now my friend on FB which will make it easier for him to tell his friends about my shop!
3. I am grateful that I have a huge collection of 2 liter pop bottles, old milk jugs and 5 gallon paint pails to stock up on water so the danged town can PLEASE turn off my water so my leaky line does not waste any more before I find someone to dig the thing up and repair it.
Day 13:
1. I am grateful that yesterday I had two customers leave nice jobs for next year.
2. I am grateful that I have a garage that never gets below freezing to put my little car into when it is 20 degrees like today.
3. I am grateful that I am pretty dang good at being a "water miser" and will continue some of these techniques even after the leak is fixed and the water is back on.
Day 14:
1. I am grateful that the backhoe guy has dug up my waterline and found the break right away (huge rock shifted on top of the line, ground heaved and rock split line).
(9:30 - GOT WATER!!!!) (YIPPEE!!)
2. I am grateful that the backhoe guy, since he is right here, is going to smooth out the biggest pothole in my driveway (worsened by the leak no doubt). (He even brought a bucket full of gravel!) (Yay!)
3. I am grateful that after doing the Christmas boojie tomorrow I have at least 2 days off in a row to sleep in!
Day 15:
1. I am grateful that the backhoe guy only cost $525 - I was afraid it was gonna be twice that!
2. I am grateful that there was a new customer with after-Christmas work awaiting me when I got to the shop yesterday. Yay!
3. I am grateful for the great night's sleep I had last night - conked out at 8pm!
Day 16:
1. I am grateful for those nice Johnny Depp pictures I find on the Gratitude Project thread - how delightfully appropriate!!!
2. I am grateful that I had a wonderful Christmas day with my step mom yesterday - great food which neither of us had to prepare and no dishes to wash! Plus lots of chocolate!
3. I am grateful that all three handlers of the visiting service dogs came for a Christmas wag-fest and I got to meet first Sandy the yellow lab with Christmas jingle bells around her collar and on sort of elastic garters above her elbows; then Lucy, another yellow lab who waited patiently with a dog treat on her paw until given the go ahead to snarf it up; and lastly the famous Wally, a jet black golden doodle who just looks like a big Muppet and who charms everyone in sight - my step mom had taken more pictures of him than any of her human family!
Day 17:
1. I am grateful to have taken so many hundreds of pictures of Sidi.  Blessed digital cameras!
2. I am grateful that my friends can cook and give me leftovers so I can eat something other than veggie burgers every once in a while.
3. This is silly but I am grateful for Vin Diesel movies - I really like him - he is the big bad guy with the heart of gold and a great grin. Watched a really awful SF movie (“Pitch Black”) last night - silly but he was the bad-guy turned hero.
Day 18:
1. I am grateful to be in a nice warm house with my car tucked into the garage to thaw out while a Lake Effect snowstorm is dying down outside leaving over a half a foot of heavy snow.
2. I am grateful to have squirreled away an "emergency" supply of Milky Way Dark bars and Promax Double Fudge Brownie energy bars.
3. I am grateful that, if need be, I am within walking distance of the big cheap supermarket and I have a gift card from my oldest BFF.
Day 19:
1. I am grateful for that much-needed 12 hours of sleep!
2. I am grateful that both my driveway got plowed and also the sidewalk in front of my shop!
3. I am grateful for NPR and PBS and CBC.
Day 20:
1. I am grateful that I found my little spiral notebook which contained all of my lists! It was lost for a month and I was lost when it was lost! I was listless!
2. I am grateful that my mailman told me my headlights were on yesterday morning - he has been on a different schedule for the last six months and my mail is already delivered when I arrive at the shop but yesterday I got there five minutes before he did and he saved me from a dead battery!
3. I am grateful that 2009 is almost finished with - it has been an awful year on so many levels but I hold great hope for the bright promise of a fresh year - welcome 2010!
Day 21:
1. I am grateful for the fact that 2009 is HISTORY! Although a few wonderful things happened (like the trials, tribulations and eventual triumph of the Sermon Book, meeting Magilla and learning how to write Á’s name properly!) - the year pretty much sucked big time.
2. I am grateful for the customer who came in to pick up her next installment of frames and paid me the balance.
3. I am grateful that most people thought I was closed this week so I got a LOT of fussy little messy time-consuming projects done, including nailing a wicked-awesome dry brush technique for a refinishing job on a frame from the fifties!
Day 22:
1. I am grateful for my friends. And the fact that other people spring for long-distance phone calls (I am too cheap for such frivolity) - had a long chat with a dear friend in Florida and a long chat with Sidi's First Mother Marcia (he was born in her bedroom in the 150 year old farmhouse in Ithaca NY).
2. I am grateful that I remember to clean out my cupboards and fridge once in a while - talk about science projects! Found an opened box of what were too-mushy lady finger cookies (used to love them until I discovered the trans fat content!) that had turned to clumpy brown powder. And a nearby ant trap had mysteriously filled up with the same brown powder. Ugh.
3. I am grateful that one by one, a little at a time, my remaining kitties are regaining their autonomy - they seem to be looking over their collective little furry shoulders less and less in fear of Boss Sidi's return.
Day 23:
1. I am grateful that within the next few months, some of the weight of worry will be lifted off of Á’s shoulders.
2. I am grateful that my dad fell in love with a wonderful woman after my mom died and that I have a lovely step family. If not for them I would have never met Sidi! Plus they give good presents - kitty treats for the catkins and money and chocolate for me! Yay!
3. I am grateful to arrive home safe and sound this evening since it was slippery and snowy and I had to drive on the interstate. Huge sigh of relief!
Day 24:
1. I am grateful for the delicious chocolate bestowed upon me in vast quantities this holiday.
2. I am grateful that I found another old friend on FB - probably haven't seen him in 30 years and now he has a son who looks just like he did way back when! Stirring up a lot of old memories of good times and much silliness.
3. I am grateful that I did not have to travel at all today - just northeast of me (where I was yesterday) they got over a foot of snow! I got home just in time. Fat fluffy flakes are pretty but they add up fast!
Day 25:
1. I am grateful that my driveway fairy got me all plowed out this morning.
2. I am grateful that when I was forced into Canadian Tire to buy a few necessities of life I had a GIFT CARD to use and now I have 3 or 4 years worth of garbage bags, 3 lovely spongey scrubbies, -35C washer fluid, a brand new roll of Duct Tape and a jug of CLR for septic systems and I still have money left on the card! Yay! Happy Christmas to me!
3. I am grateful for the Benjamin Moore paint store which had one last 8 oz. jar of the best metallic gold latex paint in the world! Whew!
Day 26:
1. I am grateful for the aroma of old hide glue and shellac that instantly transported me back 40 years to the upstairs workshop (644 William Street) of Kramer the Framer. Where my uncle Bob used to restore oil paintings and Bruno (his real name!) used to leaf and finish lengths of mouldings.....
2. I am grateful for the cool old retired decorator guy who came in the shop today trying to sell me 4 vintage watercolors of koi who ended up picking out frames and at least  getting an estimate from me. I must be on some “cool old guy” radar.
3. I am grateful that I finally found where I stashed Sidi's whisker that fell out at the vet's office after he had his stroke - I was disconsolate that I has lost it and now it is found! (And I know it is the correct whisker because I apparently taped it into his notebook and then forgot that I had done that!).
Day 27:
1. I am grateful that I took advantage of the opportunity many years ago to attend one of Vivian Kistler’s seminars. Gonna miss that lady for sure!  Rest in peace, Vivian.
2. I am grateful that new business is coming in the door - but why does everything have to be so danged HUGE?
3. I am grateful for the two lovely ripe bananas brought to me by a friend today. Not too green, not too brown. Just perfectly delicious.
Day 28:
1. I am grateful that those two 40x60 frames are out of my shop finally - now I can make some room for the next oversize job!
2. I am grateful for my garage despite the fact that the second lock will now only open from the inside so I have to go in the back door and troop all through the house with wet boots to open the thing from the inside and bring the car inside so she can keep warm.
3..I am grateful for my crock-pot - it makes the cooking of the cat's grain (Bulgur Wheat or Polenta) ever so much easier! Even though I have not quite got the hang of cooking the Polenta - LOL!
Day 29:
1. I am grateful that I have such fun refinishing frames - I was jumping around and hooting today - WOOT!  I love being able to match colors! Damn I'm good!
2. I am grateful for my weekly Friday night nap when I get home from work and after supper. Zzzzzz.
3. I am grateful that at least if the temperature has not been above freezing for a week or more at least the snow is light and fluffy and easy to clear from the front of the shop. If the sun would peek through for a bit things would be very photogenic.
Day 30:
1. I am grateful for finally finishing the eagle mirror today in time for dealer to load it with the best of his wares for the upcoming Cathedral Antique Show in Atlanta. (Wish I had charged him a bit more but what the heck....)
2. I am grateful that by shutting down and restarting my computer just now I was able to stave off an "attack of the tabs" where everything went crazy and even the System Restore would not work. Whew.
3. I am grateful (heck, beyond grateful!) to hear a faint positive note in dear Á's "voice" again.  Whew!

*****

I am really glad that I participated in this Gratitude Project.  I found it a fascinating exercise all around - although some days it proved quite difficult to find anything for which I was grateful.  

I would, however, be afraid to do it again - two days after I posted gratitude towards my cats, Sidi had a stroke and died the next day.  The day after I posted gratitude for hot and cold running water - the water line busted.  I posted gratitude towards the annual joke contest and the next day there was a “dust-up” and the thread was locked down.  I guess there will always be things that make you go “Hmmm….”

The Hell Frame

Once upon a time there was a massive, hand-carved mirror frame.  The overall shape is an upside down guitar body with huge leaves, big blossoms, bulging buds and assorted flourishes.  Perhaps it had been a beauty in the newness of its youth, but it was middle-aged now and hideous.  The once glorious gold leaf had been covered with ugly gold spray paint.  Some of this finish was peeling off in sheets – some of it was stuck fast.

This frame was brought to me by a decorator so I could “tone” it to match her client’s newly redecorated living room.  Upon close examination I said I could do no more until the surface was smoother and stabilized.  I did not want to charge for a paint job that would fall off in the van on the way to the installation.

So I dug out my sand paper, nail files, tungsten-carbide sanding sticks, and wire brushes and I started in on the thing.  A fair amount of the old finish (first layer of plaster, gold leaf, second layer of plaster, gold spray paint) came off easily.  And the rest did not.  Ugly ridges resulted and no amount of sanding helped.  I dragged the thing into the back alley, draped it with wet towels, and found that moisture helped make the scraping easier but not by that much and it required a lot of backing and forthing (in at night, out in the morning, etc.) with this heavy monstrosity of a frame.

So I made a trip to the hardware store and bought a couple of new wire brushes for my drill.  I dug out my Dremel tool, and the array of cylindrical grinding and sanding implements.  I donned goggles and a respirator.  The goggles steamed up.  I could not see a thing.  I removed the goggles.  My glasses steamed up – I still could not see a thing.  I abandoned the respirator and went with a face mask – and then I abandoned the face mask.  Then I abandoned the power tools.  They were useless and way too messy  (dust everywhere!) – and by this date the time had come and gone to work outdoors.  Too darned cold!

I unearthed my sets of clay and plaster tools, files, rasps and many kinds of scrapers - from sharp pieces of glass to a batch of razor blades and mat cutter blades.  I tried my large variety of both full size and hobby size chisels.  I added dental tools and nutpicks to my arsenal.  I scraped as much as I could in any given day until my fingers were cramped into claws.

Somewhere along the line I managed to break the mirror.  Like I need seven years of bad luck!  I called the mirror guy and he came and picked up the plywood backing board to use as a template and we carefully marked which side was the shiny side because the frame was far from symmetrical.

I continued scraping away at the unrelenting finish until I finally came to my senses, stamped my little feet and demanded that the thing be taken away to a real furniture stripper to be professionally dipped and stripped.  This was eventually accomplished with a helpful go-between who had a vehicle large enough to transport what I had by then begun calling the Hell Frame.

The frame returned with most of the finish removed and mostly bare wood showing.  I went back to my array of tools and began picking off what the dipping had been unable to remove.  In some areas the bare wood needed filling and at this juncture my hapless neighbor dropped in for a visit and I inadvertently Tom Sawyered him into the project.  He is an auto body expert and he went back to his place and returned with some professional grade fiberglass filler, some spatulas and the best sandpaper I have ever used. The filler worked well but as it was very messy and sticky I eventually went back to my tried and true epoxy putty to fill gaps, gouges and scrapes.  So after a couple of weeks more, the Hell Frame was ready to paint.

I remembered a marvelous brand of metallic latex paint that I had found for another project at Benjamin Moore in Fort Erie.  I felt my luck had begun to turn as I was able to buy the very last jar of gold in stock!  Yippee!  I prepped the frame and painted the rabbet and the interior of all of the cut-outs in the design with black gesso.  I decided to christen a brand-new really good paint brush for the gold paint.

After a bit more epoxy, a bit of sanding and smoothing and a second coat of gold, I was feeling rather mellow towards the Hell Frame.  I mixed up the toning color, burnt sienna and burnt umber artist acrylic (adding water to arrive at a nice creamy consistency).  I used brushes, sea sponges and gauze to achieve the desired results.  Then I used a stiffer sea sponge to apply the gold over the highlights and even out the finish.  This turned out very well and I was ever so pleased with myself.  Damn I’m good!

I maneuvered the frame into position for the installation of the new mirror.  I said a brief but heartfelt prayer to the Framing Gods that the mirror would fit.  My prayer went unanswered as I discovered that the mirror was too tall for the frame by between an eight and a quarter of an inch.

So I carefully removed the mirror back into safe storage and began widening the rabbet to fit.  Of course by this time all of my big chisels were back home but I simply could not wait another day to finish this job so I set to this task (which involved drilling holes, cutting with a  utility knife, smoothing with a rasp, using the Dremel – the usual array of desperate measures), and after a half dozen attempts (Backing and forthing with the mirror – does it fit? – No! – Slice, slice, fit?  No – Cut, cut, - now does it fit? Arrrggghhh!).  Two hours later I finally managed to fit the mirror into the frame.

That is when I discovered that, ONE:  the rabbet varied in its depth by as much as an eighth of an inch, and TWO:  the mirror was a bit on the shy side at the “waist” of the frame.  The rabbet was also a bit on the uneven side so I dared not shoot framer’s points to secure the mirror (Come to think of it, which is how I broke the first mirror!) – I had to use upside down offset fasteners and the very hard wood kept killing my rechargeable drill when I installed the Robertson screws.  I kept charging it and recharging it. Then the drill slipped and drilled a small hole in my left index finger (OUCH!) – applied a bandage and carried on until the drill quit again.  And of course I did not have my regular Robertson screwdriver with me – that was at home.

So I uninstalled the mirror again (again) and painted the edges with black gesso to kill the reflections.  I then mounted felt pads along the outer back edge of the mirror to act as cushions so the plywood backer would fit more snugly.  I went home to retrieve my Robertson screwdriver and charge my drill.  Got a great night’s sleep and returned to the shop this morning to finish the Hell Frame.

And now, at long last, the job is finished.  I think it looks great.  I am pleased with the end result – it is once again beautiful and stable and reinforced and should last well into its dotage.

Of course workers in third world countries make more than I will on that beast but at least I can view the ordeal as a learning experience.  I learned two valuable lessons:  ONE - I will never EVER strip any frame or piece of furniture again in my life.  I will gladly and brilliantly (she adds modestly) refinish anything you bring me – as long as you bring it to me stripped down to bare wood.  Thank you.  TWO - I also swear I will use my good brushes from now on.  What am I saving them for anyway?   There will always be uses for the ratty ones – but I swear that when I need a good brush I will use a good brush.

Thus endeth the saga of Mar’s trials with and eventual triumph over the Hell Frame. 

Mar's Famous Mouse Story

In a letter dated January 2, 1990, I wrote the following story to Bill Richardson when he was the “poet laureate” of the Vicki Gabereau show on CBC radio.  People were urged to send in stories from their lives and Bill would write a narrative doggerel poem to commemorate the event.  As I wrote my story, it was Bill's voice reading it that I could hear in my mind, and when it was subsequently broadcast  (Bill reading the story and Vicki's reactions) along with Bill’s poem, much mayhem and merriment ensued.  This was my 15 minutes of fame.  Bill told me later that folks asked him about this story for months.

*****

Two years ago, I built a large chicken-wire covered enclosure for my previously “indoor-outdoor” cats.  This structure is for the cats’ security, keeping them away from the big, bad highway, nasty raccoons, neighborhood dogs and other hazards.  Cat doors and ramps allow them around-the-clock access to this safe and airy haven.  An unexpected side benefit is that my house is no longer festooned with dead or merely captured creatures (we’re talking mice, moles, frogs, snakes, birds, etc.).  In one year alone I managed to rescue one groggy frog, two baby snakes and one bright-eyed desperate oriole (which I found wedged between my mattress and my bedroom wall – but that is another story!).  Unfortunately, not all of these pre-enclosure stories have happy endings.

Three years ago I bought just the best pair of black high-top sneakers.  You know, the kind I wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing in the fifties because they were guy’s shoes?  Anyhow, I wore them in the summer and fall, and when winter came they were reluctantly retired to the closet floor to await spring.  At long last the snow melted, the slush receded, and, well, I didn’t think it was that wet out, so, yahoo!  On with the high-tops!

After four months of wearing heavy clunky snow boots, these sneakers felt like wings.  I danced through my day.  By the time I got home, OK, let’s face it, my sneakers were soaked, my socks were dripping, my feet were wrinkled.  Not quite sneaker weather yet.  So I hung everything to dry over a register:  socks, sneakers, and my Dr. Scholl’s leather and foam arch supports (the only reason I can wear the darn sneakers, which are so cool looking and have no arch support whatsoever!).

Several days passed.  I wanted to make sure everything was thoroughly dry.  In a burst of efficiency, I decided to ascertain that there were no twigs or stones or anything in the sneakers before I reinserted the arch supports.  I cleaned a little lint out of the first sneaker, picked a thread out of the foam on the first arch support, and voila!  Like new!  I glanced at the interior of the remaining sneaker and thought the insides had begun to unravel.  Then I noticed a dark stain on the foam pad of the second arch support.  I looked into the sneaker again, and no, it was not unraveling, what I found was a mouse.  A dead mouse.  A flat dead mouse.

To anticipate your next question, no, I have no idea how long I walked on that poor thing, but it sure was flat and also very stiff, and I sincerely hope it had already expired when my feline friend placed it (or lost it) under the arch support.  I expect the culprit was Baby Doe, a kitten-faced mighty hunter, who since the advent of the cat enclosure has been reduced to capturing June bugs, crickets and (ugh) earth worms.

*****

This story is over 20 years old now and Baby Doe is of course long gone from this earth. A new mighty hunter, Siobhan (Shivvie) has taken her place.  Shivvie is the “mouse whisperer” - patiently luring rodents and even birds in through the chicken wire and thence to their doom.  I no longer take chances with shoe storage – none are stored anywhere near the floor!

The Lake Blessing (Part 2)

November 27, 2009

A waxing moon, on Friday November 17, 2009.  Fridays symbolize friendship, harmony, nature, pleasures, strangers and waters.  Sunset at Waverly Beach by the Old Dance Hall at Erie Beach.  The beach glass, some labeled with Magilla's name, returned to the waters of Lake Erie, small waves rolling in at my feet.  Blessed Be.

Scentimental Journey

A long time ago I read an article that tried to explain why it is so difficult for us to describe scents.  Turns out that the part of the brain containing our descriptive powers is about as far as it can be from the olfactory recording department.  On the other hand, as the article went on to say, the part of the brain that is closest to the olfactory recording department is the area where long- term memories are stored.

This explains why scent may act as a sort of time machine - simply smelling a long-forgotten scent can instantly take a person tumbling back down through the corridors of time. 

When I was a little kid my parents were the proverbial poor church mice, but my mom had developed a passion for Evening in Paris cologne. This elegant fragrance was far too rich for her purse, but since she loved it so much, my dad made sure there was a brand new bottle every year, wrapped and waiting for her under the Christmas tree.  I do not remember this personally but the story was oft recounted of the occasion when I was three years old and I grabbed her precious bottle of cologne and dumped it into my sandbox because “I wanted it to smell nice like my mommy.”

I have a small cobalt glass vial of her Evening in Paris cologne, with the faded silver label and the tattered blue tassel on the cap, and I open it every couple of years – just to be able to smell my mommy.

My dad smelled like Old Spice after shave – if I am in a crowd and catch a mote of Old Spice and I am instantly flooded with memories of him – his twinkling eyes and his loving warmth and his gentle kindness.

The scent of chocolate chips takes me two places:  my grandma’s pantry where she tried desperately to maintain a supply of chocolate chips for her baking needs (chocolate chip cookies for me!) and where I constantly snuck in to steal them one by one out of the bag until it was nearly empty.

Grandma solved this problem by resorting to Baker’s Chocolate. I ate a chunk of that which stopped me in my thieving tracks once and for all.  How could something smell so wonderful and taste so awful?

The second place chocolate chips take me is my friend Keithy’s grandmother’s place.  We were best friends when I was five and he was four and she lived on the second floor of his house.  She was a seamstress who did alterations so her place was crowded with garments hanging everywhere.  On her coffee table she kept an open bowl of chocolate chips for us kids.  Her place smelled like damp wool, starch, scorch and dark chocolate. Smelling any of those things takes me right back up those stairs again.

Chanel’s Russia Leather reminds me of my best friend Patricia back at Buff State in 1965.  She wore this cologne and since it was so different than the Evening in Paris worn by my mother and the lowbrow Lily of the Valley scent that I had worn in high school – I was immediately captivated by Chanel’s exotic scent!  It was very expensive but as a reward for good grades and making it through the removal of two wisdom teeth, my dad took me to the perfume counter at Hengerer’s and bought me a bottle of Russia Leather cologne.  I still have that bottle as well as the teensiest bottle of Russia Leather perfume that I purchased years later – I open them once in a great while and I am back in Cassity Hall again!

Patchouli was the ubiquitous scent of the late sixties but it reminds me of two dear friends:  Gordon, who accidentally spilled a bottle in his closet and carried that scent for who knows how long; and Kim, who applied it every day on purpose.    Kim has been gone for almost four years now and I can still bring back a deluge of memories by opening the coffee can which holds a collection of bits and pieces of her old jewelry she gathered and brought to the shop to reuse for crafting.

One other odd scent takes me back to my childhood and the house on Bowen Road in Elma where my grandparents lived.  The house was ringed with Grandma’s crowded gardens and huge ferns and bushes and trees and only a little bit of grass for Grandpa to mow.  The back yard was so filled with garden there was barely a space to set out a chair or to hang laundry. 

There was a dark area on the North side of the house, however, where no matter how hard they tried, there was always a patch of mud in the middle of the path through the ferns and the lily of the valleys.  Some times of the year this rich slippery black mud had a mossy tinge to it and although I have never been able to come up with an adequate description of this earthy aroma, once in a while I will step into a patch of mud around my own house and I am instantly transported to that long-vanished pathway in Elma.

The nose knows.