Decide which scent is good for you...or not

Let’s talk about scents. 

Exhibit A:

Have you ever walked in an enclosed area and a woman walks in absolutely reeking of a strong perfume? And when she has passed her aroma lingers basically using up any usable oxygen in the vicinity?  It’s not that the scent is bad per se.  It’s just that it is simply overpowering.  Could be worse.  It could be B.O.

Exhibit B:

One time my husband and I entered a restaurant and there was a man sitting in the booth behind us, pretty much smelling of a body odor reminiscent of a rotting animal.  And odor so cloying it was definitely not conducive to enjoying dinner.  So as to not hurt anyone’s feelings we sipped our beverages and then asked for the check. 

Exhibit C:

An old boyfriend decided to give me some perfume for Christmas one year.  Ok, I must admit I was basically a starry eyed young woman and I wouldn’t dare tell him that his choice was not my style.  In fact the scent to my senses, was a bit nauseating.  So what did I do?  I wore it.  I wore till I stopped retching.  Needless to say that relationship ended because, seriously, can you really end up with someone who buys perfume you absolutely can’t stand?  At least give me credit for trying, and throwing away whatever clothing still had remnants of the foul smelling fumes.

Exhibit D:

I have a huge section of gifted perfumes, colognes, and sprays that sit unused and unwanted.  It’s my island of lost scents.  Most of them are food type aromas, like strawberry, cookie dough, and chocolate.  Don’t get me wrong. I love strawberries.  I adore chocolate, but I just can’t get beyond smelling like something from the kitchen.  Those scents are fine as an air freshener in the kitchen or dining room but not on me.  Besides, if I were to walk around smelling like fresh baked cookies, I probably would tend to want fresh baked cookies and my diet would go to hell.

Last winter my husband put one of those scent bulbs in the dining room. I believe it was a beach themed scent, perhaps they were going for stray cats on the beach?  Anyway, I spent an hour trying to figure out where the pee smell was coming from. Surely my little dog couldn't have had an accident somewhere in the room!  And then I finally figured out it wasn’t my innocent little fur ball. It was the air freshener.  I tossed the offending bulb and changed it to gingerbread cookie.  And all of a sudden everything was right with the world.  It smelled like cookies in the dinning room. See where I am going with this. Beach aromas don't belong in a dining room. (In my opinion they don't belong in any room) And, food smells don’t belong on a body, well not on mine anyway.  They belong in the dining room!

Exhibit E:

I admit I’m a little quirky.  For years, whenever I’d get a whiff of the faint aroma of a skunk, I would think, well that doesn’t smell that bad.  What is the issue? Not that I would ever wear Eau de Pepe le Pew. So fast-forward to last Sunday when we took a drive several hours away to visit our son in Delaware.  On the way home the lightless back road was dark, horror movie dark.  And husband dear must have run over a recently dead skunk.  The smell that permeated our car almost had me contemplating escaping the stench by grabbing the door handle to eject myself.  Never have I experienced something so potent.  That skunk must have had a stink gland that was over loaded.  Anyway after about 30 miles, driving with the window down in 28-degree weather, the odor inside the car dissipated. 

Tonight when I went into the garage to get in the car, guess what greeted me?  The disgustingly familiar aroma of skunk!  My husband said, “it must be on the undercarriage, but never fear, it will wear off!”  As I gag myself into the refuge of the house, I wonder how I ever thought skunk, wasn’t so bad. So I quickly googled "how to get rid of skunk odor on a car," and quite a bit of intensive steps are suggested.  He still says it will go away...

My point is this…to each his own.  One man’s scented flower is another man’s skunk, and vice versa!

Do you have scent preferences?  I'd love to get your input!

Can age make a sweet dog cantankerous and mean?

When talking about dogs do you think that age can make a formerly sweet dog cantankerous and mean?

Everyone has a story about the mean old man or lady at the end of the street that turns the water hose on kids who inadvertently step on their grass.  We’ve all run from them at one time or another. Many of us have been the recipients of a tongue lashing from an aging neighbor who used to smile whenever we would retrieve our baseballs from their flower gardens.  And then, it changed. Our baseballs slowly rot in their yards. 

We just chuck it up to age making them a little bit meaner and we steer clear of their paths. But do sweet dogs who used to lick everyone within their reach suddenly become just like that crabby neighbor?

My dog, Maddy is a perky little Jack Russell terrier.  She was never the lovey dovey type, per se.  Maddy is 13 going on 14. In human years the early teens are an age when children get a bit harder to handle.  Although it seems plausible, in dog year’s she is more akin to my grandmother.

As Maddy ages, however, her crankiness reaches new heights.  Don’t misunderstand me; her energy level hasn’t decreased one iota.  It’s just that sometimes her energy will propel her to chase after a Great Dane on a walk.  Is it a death wish?  Nope, it’s just that she’s a grumpy old lady.  And don’t you dare disturb her naptime, grrrrr! 

Honestly she is mostly all bark and if she were human she would be wearing dentures.  I just wonder if there is something to the grumpy old man or woman thing even in the canine world.

Do you have an older dog that is getting grouchier than usual?