Scented Nectar

The walk to Grandpa's house

We lived in a small house with a large basement & a huge backyard at the edge of town. There were only open fields behind our house. We walked out the front door to walk the three blocks to get to Grandma & Grandpa's house, which was on the other side of town, with only open fields behind their back yard. Small town, huh!?

The walk to Grandpa's house led me past three memorable things: the ancient school house and playground on the right with a massive Gothic style Catholic church behind it, my friend's house on the left (they had 16 kids and their clothesline was quite impressive), and a long row of huge, bushy Gardenia's at the beginning of my walk.

These Gardenia's put off the strongest odor of flowers I have ever encountered in my life. Some days, the odor was so powerful, it was quite nauseating! The bushes and flowers were completely unkept, belonging to no one except maybe the community. They had probably been planted by someone in the past, but had long since been abandoned, as well as the dilapidated old house they were next to. The flowers were a mix of white and pink, very large and, to my untrained eye, were formed perfectly.

To this day, when I smell that sweet fragrance, I have a vision of me in shorts and a tank top, with the sun on my shoulders, the wind in my hair, walking down that dirt road, singing to myself, and feeling the beauty of the moment. I walked that path countless times, enjoying the short walk, not knowing how that happy, carefree memory would be imbedded in my brain for decades to come.

Surprisingly, I don't grow Gardenias. I feel it would take away from the delight I have when smelling the flowers unexpectedly. I feel like growing them would force the memory. So, I am content to have it happen naturally.

Mom's homemade bread

My Mom was a great cook! Between apple pies, savory deer meat, biscuits and gravy, fresh blueberry "kuchen", banana bread, canned dishes (pickles, watermelon, beets, peaches, etc), fried potatoes with onions, and many German dishes I don't know how to spell, she kept us happily well fed. My brothers and I can talk about these foods, and it feels like I can literally smell them in that moment.

One of my favorites were the breads. Fresh out of the oven, warm, fresh banana bread, zucchini bread, homemade rolls and loaf bread. Ahhhhh, such a relaxing memory. I remember sneaking extra pieces of bread after dinner, or before bed with a slab of butter spread on it. The perfect bedtime snack. The fragrances of food can be so comforting. For many, the memories that the odors of food bring up, can be some of the best things in our past.

I don't make breads. I actually don't even eat them much, as I'm on a keto diet. But admittedly, I still long for them when that incredible aroma of fresh baked bread wafts its way to my nostrils. I now understand how making homemade goods for those your family is truly an act of love. It isn't so easy to make breads the old-fashioned way, compared to a quick run to the store, or a box preparation.

The vast majority of people will admit homemade is better than packaged food. I have come to believe that much of that improved taste is from the aromas homemade foods give off. The olfactory receptors in the nose dramatically increase the taste of our foods. Sadly, packaged food is devoid of many pleasing smells. Whether that's because of over processing, or the dehydration/freezing process, I don't know. But my nose knows lol.