Scents of the season

Good:

• Fresh pine and balsam, in small amounts
• Cinnamon 
• The beach

We love 'em, but they don't love us:

• Bayberry
• Scented candles
• Wood smoke, especially hickory, oak, apple, and cherry
• New car smell

Bad:

• Artificial fragrance
• Too much fragrance - you know who you are
• Engine exhaust
• Tobacco smoke

Out and about

The last few weeks have been nuts. We go for months with calendars empty except for doctor appointments, but it feels like we've been constantly on the go for more than a month. 

That means lots of coughing, mask wearing, and shoving through people to get to someplace that isn't scented. It's really hard to find one, with the faux holiday odors everywhere, and all the people who feel compelled to empty their fragrance bottles over themselves before heading to holiday celebrations. In the restaurant last night, we smelled a party from 20 feet, and had to move further away.

Between that and the woodsmoke, we're just dosing ourselves on schedule and trying to fit in the occasional down day. The problem with that is that it puts us behind on other things. The laundry, both clean and dirty, is completely out of control, for example, but it will be there when we can get to it. 

So here's my list of good and bad places we've been:

Good - Honda dealer, Wawa, Happy Harry pharmacy (I LOVE their name), Newport Diner, Olive Garden, Social Security Administration hearing office (carpet cleaner).

Bad - Walmart, assorted grocery stores, my brother's house (everybody smokes, although they go outside when they know we're coming and while we're there), any public restroom.