A few weeks a go I bought some flowers. Cut flowers in Cyprus are a bit of a luxury; they don’t last long in the heat. However, I felt the need for some fresh flowers in our newly rearranged living area, with new furniture and lighting. A splash of colour, before I get round to sewing those cushions that have been waiting and waiting to be made! A little changeable colour to boost the mood. I bought a few deep red roses, delicately scented, and arranged them in a Morrocan teapot. They lasted almost two weeks. I was amazed.
Last weekend I bought some tulips to replace the dried up red blooms, tulips were my favourite flower of my art school years. Red tulips set in a black antique fireplace in my bedroom is a favourite memory. I also bought a scented candle. I hadn’t visited the candle shop since Christmas and the owner is always so welcoming and relaxed, it’s a pleasure choosing between all the aromas. I returned with a melon and cucumber candle – the scent so fresh and natural, family members commented on it positively across the board. Scent is so personal isn’t it?
photo credit: Emma Mackay
This week our car needed urgent repair and there was few unexpected upsets to deal with too. I looked at the now wilted tulips and thought: ‘I need a trip to flower shop again’. My daughter and I went together; but first we had a visit to the candle shop to settle a little debt. I had realised I didn’t have enough cash on the last visit, it was spur of the moment. The owner insisted on me taking the candles away without full payment. On this visit left with more candles to give as gifts.
We stopped off at the organic shop on the way back, for some ingredients for dinner and saw a brilliant bunch of basil. The scent was amazing; it immediately inspired a need to make homemade pesto.
photo credit: Emma Mackay
The flower shop was next on the road home, beautifully coloured roses were selected by my daughter. Returning to the car the intense scent of basil filled the air, amazing…
photo credit: Emma Mackay
If you have ever followed the Shed with the Chandelier on facebook or twitter, you will know mint tea is a constant. The little ritual that has seen me through good times and not so great. Our much used plant lives with succulents in our garden but has suffered the extreme heat of the summer and lack of soil now washed away in the rare downpours of the past winter – the mint now pretty dead will take time to revive. So we stopped at the garden centre and bought a new small plant and a terracotta pot to plant it in, instant fresh mint tea … crushed in your hand, before the water hits it, always brings a bit of instant calm for me.
I realised yesterday while discussing a difficult past year, in some ways, that it’s the little practiced things that keep us going. Everyone has bad or hard times, life goes that way for sure. I know no one who has not had to confront difficult moments – terrible times even…but all I know is sometimes it’s the simple things like a scent that can bring you to a very different place even for an instant. Well, that’s what I found when I stopped for a minute and thought about it… And being reminded of such things and returning to them often, a little routine or ritual perhaps, aids the return for me to a moment of instant joy, peace or even a moment to relax and just breathe…
So here’s my personal list of scents to create a little ‘moment’:
1. A cup of mint tea (ok not everyone can buy a plant or grow one, although if you can, mint is pretty easy. A teabag will do just as good)
2. A fresh scented flower (…and don’t just wait for someone to buy you roses – buy them for yourself, you’re worth it!)
3. A soya scented candle. (I bought mine from www.CANDLELITDAY.COM )
4. A bunch of fresh herbs transformed into a kilner jar of homemade pesto. Fresh, fresh, freshness in a jar. (I used a variation of this recipe: http://lowsodiumblog.com/2011/05/basil-pesto-recipe/ – thank you lowsodiumblog.com. We used basil, mint, olive oil, garlic, pinenuts, parmesan, balsamic vinegar all blasted in our beloved Nutribullet blender )
Tell me your story. What are your favourite scents? please feel free to leave your comments below:
