be silly

We are in bed this morning, planning out our day — café, market, lunch, pharmacy, grocery — and the MSG inserts “getting you flowers” at the pharmacy point. I say something like “don’t be silly” and move on, promptly forgetting about this. He brings it up in the car, again, when I go over the game-plan. I reiterate the “don’t be silly” and forget again.

The pharmacy is inside my HMO, which is a big place appropriately filled with sick and cranky people. I am also sick and cranky, because the illness of a few weeks ago has decided to hang on, despite my best efforts to vanquish it. So I run in while the MSG drives around the block, find out that my prescription will take another 15 minutes, and run back out again. The car has been parked at the end of the block, but there is no MSG in sight. I call his mobile, leave voicemail about the wait, go back inside.

After picking up my prescription, I walk out the front doors just as the MSG pulls up. There is a bouquet of red sunflowers on the passenger seat, and he is smiling.

._.-.

I am making whole wheat bread with currants tonight, a recipe from Jacques Pepin, to go with our braised beef and veggies. Kneading bread is a great way to get out one’s aggressions, I had forgotten. Perhaps we will have some of the roasted hazelnut butter we found at Rainbow on the homemade bread. I am having a difficult time thinking up a lovelier thought right now.

._.-.

Today smells like chilled wet leaves here. I want to know what it smells like where you are. Recently I have become obsessed with scent-memory, and the more I focus on it, the more I can pinpoint times in my life by scents. I understand now that 1988 was clearly Lady Speed Stick Light Musk; 1986 was the Designer Impostor version of Poison; 1992, Colors by Benetton. It goes on and on and it might never stop. Write it down for me what it smells like where you are.

About Halsted M. Bernard

Halsted, a/k/a cygnoir, does stuff with words. Her favourite things to do with words are keeping this diary, writing stories, and organising information. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, two cats, a few gadgets, several fountain pens, and many books.

Posted on 11 Nov 2006 in Diary
  • http://www.lunesse.com lunesse

    Silly girl! 1988 was Anne Klein 1 perfume! ;)

    What does it smell like here:

    Inside: shampoo, freshly washed skin. Outside: leaves, rain, smoke.

  • http://storyline.typepad.com brian

    In New England it smells like wet leaves and falling ozone. It will probably smell like that for the rest of the week.

    Is Benneton still around? Do they still make Colors? I dated a girl who wore it and after she borrowed my Swatch for 2 weeks, it smelled like Colors…for a long time. I miss that watch.

  • matt

    you guys were in bed??? AWESOME!

  • j david

    YAY for the MSG! You too I guess…

    Smells:

    at home- yeasty, from the long rising bread I made on Sunday ( http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html ) This was matched with my variation on Jacques Pepin’s fast beef stew. Isn’t he great?

    outside- cold, ice crystals, like a snow cone before all that yucky syrup gets added

  • http://www.leckiest.com Ighnot

    Inside, it smells like fresh paint. Outside, it’s finally starting to smell brisk and icy (in the morning on the way to work, anyway).

    –John