Oh, my goodness does this story resonate! My sniffer may not be quite as good as yours but it is definitely superior to my husband's nose. He acknowledges it and will even say "come smell this". But he still laughs at me because I'm always smelling things before I eat them. I can't help it. If something smells good it enhances the taste, and if something smells off, I don't want it in my mouth. Gonna explore the links now. Great post.
pre-covid, I'd say that I had an average smell skill level, now after covid - my sense of smell is extremely strong, to the level of even having phantom bad smells. the ent doc says that I have 'an altered sense of smell' now, which happened to a lot of people and may go away on it's own eventually -
I read about phantom smells when I was surfing the web fir info on this. After hearing how COVID wrecked the sense of smell for so many, it's interesting to learn your nose actually became more sensitive!
I definitely never had a strong sense of smell. But as I move into midlife I notice my sight and hearing sliding downhill too. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be left feeling my way through the world with just my bare hands! I'm slightly reassured by the words of a colleague who says that as we age we start to turn more towards our inner wisdom and withdraw our senses from the outer world - yogis call this pratyahara. I'm clinging to this idea 😆
I loved this story. And it truly resonates. To be married and to each have your version of the truth, to know sometimes your version is more true and to know sometimes it is not. Sometimes the truth literally stinks. Cheers to third parties. I love how your husband still hung the rug even though he didn’t believe you.
Thanks for modeling going dark. Enjoy the quiet and the different kind of loud.
Re young adult books, I'm especially interested in this topic. My novel, Nice Girl, has a 1960s era teenaged protagonist facing adult moral issues (illegal abortion, adultery, suicidal thoughts). Some reviewers said it's a young adult book but it seemed to me that older adults could better relate to the story. Thus my marketing plan, such as it was, was murky. I grew up reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which could be considered "young adult" today. Also To Kill a Mockingbird? I Never Promised You a Rose Garden? The Bell Jar?
When I worked as a housekeeper, I could the perfume and cologne from guests about knocked me off my feet every time. Who knew that many people sprayed bug spray on them before going out to dinner?! Also, wearing masks during Covid made every smell worse and I could smell bad things twice as bad as normal. It didn’t make sense.
This was so cool (both my nose and brain agree!) In case you want a bookish newsletter to follow, I have a book review/book club newsletter called bookcrumbs. Along with novels, I recommend a film and song pairing that works with the flavour profile of the book! It would mean so much to me if you all would check it out and give it some love <3
This so reminds me of my mother's quality for smelling she was known for. When my brother and I were little and in the back seat of the car on a trip, my brother passed a silent one, and mom turns around and said, "Who got into the potato chips?" True story.
I can’t stand the smell of kimchi, I try to ban it from the house, but Harald loves it and periodically sneaks in a jar. When the jar is opened in the kitchen, I can smell it all the way in the living room! I can smell it on his breath if he walks within four feet of me! 😂😂
My son was telling me the other day how much he likes kimchi. But he lives two states away, so I'm safe. Although honestly I can't say that I would not like it because I e never had it.
There is no sneaking a smells past a fined-tuned nose.
On a long ago road trip, my friend Camille and I discovered that her sniffer sniffed out smells about seven seconds before mine. Your delightful and interesting Spark this morning sent me to my bookshelf for my well-worn copy of Diane Ackerman's "A Natural History of the Senses," one of my all-time favorite books. This morning I'll reread what she writes about Smell. After all these years, the book is beginning to emit that "old book" aroma, paperback genus.
Thank you for all the links this morning! As for sensitive noses, both my sister and I had them. Mine sense of smell burned (mostly) away in menopause. For those several years, I was plagued with olfactory hallucinations. Mostly I thought something was burning. It even awakened me at night. Scary! But afterwards I no longer suffered so much due to bad odors that no one else (except my sister) seemed to smell. A super sensitive smeller is no blessing! Thank goodness you've had the experience now of an impartial judge to validate you!
I am definitely the one who can smell nothing. My husband has asked whether I have directional smell as he does and it is a baffling question for someone who cannot perceive natural gas until it’s at alarming levels.
Loved this story. It’s that little battle between you two and victory called by Ref Duncan that makes it. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Oh, my goodness does this story resonate! My sniffer may not be quite as good as yours but it is definitely superior to my husband's nose. He acknowledges it and will even say "come smell this". But he still laughs at me because I'm always smelling things before I eat them. I can't help it. If something smells good it enhances the taste, and if something smells off, I don't want it in my mouth. Gonna explore the links now. Great post.
Yes, good smells can be a wonderful experience for those with good noses. It's great that your mate actually invites you to use your expertise
pre-covid, I'd say that I had an average smell skill level, now after covid - my sense of smell is extremely strong, to the level of even having phantom bad smells. the ent doc says that I have 'an altered sense of smell' now, which happened to a lot of people and may go away on it's own eventually -
I read about phantom smells when I was surfing the web fir info on this. After hearing how COVID wrecked the sense of smell for so many, it's interesting to learn your nose actually became more sensitive!
Knowing you and Ed, this made me laugh out loud!
I definitely never had a strong sense of smell. But as I move into midlife I notice my sight and hearing sliding downhill too. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be left feeling my way through the world with just my bare hands! I'm slightly reassured by the words of a colleague who says that as we age we start to turn more towards our inner wisdom and withdraw our senses from the outer world - yogis call this pratyahara. I'm clinging to this idea 😆
Here's to pratyahara!
I loved this story. And it truly resonates. To be married and to each have your version of the truth, to know sometimes your version is more true and to know sometimes it is not. Sometimes the truth literally stinks. Cheers to third parties. I love how your husband still hung the rug even though he didn’t believe you.
Thanks for modeling going dark. Enjoy the quiet and the different kind of loud.
"sometimes the truth literally stinks" so true!
Re young adult books, I'm especially interested in this topic. My novel, Nice Girl, has a 1960s era teenaged protagonist facing adult moral issues (illegal abortion, adultery, suicidal thoughts). Some reviewers said it's a young adult book but it seemed to me that older adults could better relate to the story. Thus my marketing plan, such as it was, was murky. I grew up reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which could be considered "young adult" today. Also To Kill a Mockingbird? I Never Promised You a Rose Garden? The Bell Jar?
I will follow up with you on that, Carol.
When I worked as a housekeeper, I could the perfume and cologne from guests about knocked me off my feet every time. Who knew that many people sprayed bug spray on them before going out to dinner?! Also, wearing masks during Covid made every smell worse and I could smell bad things twice as bad as normal. It didn’t make sense.
No,it doesn't make ses . That must have been torture for you!
It was! The quicker I could take my mask off the happier I was!
That was supposed to say I could “smell” the...
This was so cool (both my nose and brain agree!) In case you want a bookish newsletter to follow, I have a book review/book club newsletter called bookcrumbs. Along with novels, I recommend a film and song pairing that works with the flavour profile of the book! It would mean so much to me if you all would check it out and give it some love <3
This so reminds me of my mother's quality for smelling she was known for. When my brother and I were little and in the back seat of the car on a trip, my brother passed a silent one, and mom turns around and said, "Who got into the potato chips?" True story.
Ha! You would never get anything past her!
Nuvia is exactly the same!
I can’t stand the smell of kimchi, I try to ban it from the house, but Harald loves it and periodically sneaks in a jar. When the jar is opened in the kitchen, I can smell it all the way in the living room! I can smell it on his breath if he walks within four feet of me! 😂😂
My son was telling me the other day how much he likes kimchi. But he lives two states away, so I'm safe. Although honestly I can't say that I would not like it because I e never had it.
There is no sneaking a smells past a fined-tuned nose.
On a long ago road trip, my friend Camille and I discovered that her sniffer sniffed out smells about seven seconds before mine. Your delightful and interesting Spark this morning sent me to my bookshelf for my well-worn copy of Diane Ackerman's "A Natural History of the Senses," one of my all-time favorite books. This morning I'll reread what she writes about Smell. After all these years, the book is beginning to emit that "old book" aroma, paperback genus.
I'm glad to know about Diane Ackerman's book just, thanks!
Thank you for all the links this morning! As for sensitive noses, both my sister and I had them. Mine sense of smell burned (mostly) away in menopause. For those several years, I was plagued with olfactory hallucinations. Mostly I thought something was burning. It even awakened me at night. Scary! But afterwards I no longer suffered so much due to bad odors that no one else (except my sister) seemed to smell. A super sensitive smeller is no blessing! Thank goodness you've had the experience now of an impartial judge to validate you!
I'm fascinated by the idea of olfactory hallucinations. I guess these are the same as phantom smells. I'm glad they passed fir you!
I am definitely the one who can smell nothing. My husband has asked whether I have directional smell as he does and it is a baffling question for someone who cannot perceive natural gas until it’s at alarming levels.
Loved this story. It’s that little battle between you two and victory called by Ref Duncan that makes it. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾