Thursday, February 27, 2020

Let's Stop To Smell The Hogwarts Castle

I just had one of those "Wait, it's Thursday?" moments - but in a bad way. Anyone else?

This week feels like it's slipping away double-speed, and if you're feeling the same then I have a little reminder for all of us: 

Sometimes when you're feeling really behind the answer isn't to speed up, it's to slow down.

So c'mon, let's stop and smell these pretty Hogwarts pictures.

Mmmmm. Smells like a sense of wonder and Iocane powder.


Definitely getting some whiffs of cotton candy here.

Or, if you prefer your angles - and your intellects - more dizzying:

This one's Angry Cotton Candy

Lemon drops. With a touch of cedar.




I was joking at first about these smells, but I kid you not: I scrolled down to this next picture and could almost taste the sweet musty air of a library:

Ahhhh. So good. I want to breathe library air all day.



I'm actually really curious on this next one: what does your brain "smell"?

 

These windows are in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, btw, a place I'd dearly love to see with the lights turned up.

 

I don't know about you, but I'm finding this a fun thought exercise, linking smells to photos. (Or tastes, if you're like my friend Traci with anosmia.) In fact I'm getting less of a smell here and more of a taste: something bitter and sharp, like the gin and tonic I vaguely remember trying years ago.


This one's the banner on my personal Facebook account right now:


Even though it's a picture of the same thing, to me this one smells like the tiniest hint of warm vanilla and dusty stonework.


Ok, last one:



I'll leave this one up to you guys, too, so I don't affect your answers. What do you smell or taste?

I took all of these on my iPhone 8, then edited them to death (to life?) using Snapseed.

*****

P.S.

I'll be honest, I lost a day or two this past week because I was mentally stuck. Sometimes I fall into this awful inertia that leaves me wanting to do so, so much... but unable to do much of anything at all. I know a lot of you understand. I know a lot of you get stuck the same way - and then run yourselves ragged trying to make up for lost time. I see you out there trying to conquer the world, trying to never let anyone down, trying to be everything to everyone. But hey, listen, you - YOU, who you are - you are enough.

You're enough.

You're enough.

What you give is enough.

What you do is enough.

And anyone who says differently is selling something.

So please, go spend time with someone who doesn't ask anything more from you today. Snuggle your pet. Hug your SO. Tell that friend who makes you glow inside that they make you glow inside. Give them the gift of you, just you, being you.

Because that is enough.


Also I love you very much and I'm not sure HOW I managed to use 3 Princess Bride references in this post, but if you caught them all then I love you that much more. HIGH FIVE.


22 comments:

  1. The window with the tusks tastes like chocolate raspberry torte, obviously ;)

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  2. Lovely! and every Princess Bride reference filled me with much-needed joy this afternoon!!

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  3. I got two of them in the first read, but had to go back for the third. I'm still counting it! ;)

    As for smells, the last one, even though it's fake snow, looked like it aught to smell like cold to me. That, it's frosty and in the air, smell.

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  4. Thank you this is just what I needed!
    On the last one I'm getting a bit of stale beer mixed with pipe smoke and woodsmoke, with some notes of horse manure. All subtle amd damped-down by the heavy blanket of cold, none of it unpleasant :-D

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  5. The last picture tastes like a glazed lemon cookie dusted with powered sugar.

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  6. J.D.: Anosmia? You know, I always thought it was very funny that losing your sense of smell was called "anosmia." "A-_nos_-mia", you know, like "_schnoz_mia." Don't you find that very funny?
    Mr. Blair stares at him.
    J.D.: He doesn't.

    (Not poking fun at your friend Traci whatsoever, just referencing once again that there's a Scrubs quote for everything!)

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  7. I think it smells cold and crisp like snow, and peppermint. Invigorating. 😊 And I think I need to associate more pictures with scents. That was fun.

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  8. So fun!
    That last one... cold crisp, piney with smokey whiffs and maybe a little yeasty - bread or beer in the making.

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  9. The Dark Arts window smells musty with a faint hint of mouldering peat. The last smells clean, crisp and breezy.

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  10. The last one smells like snow tastes.

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  11. You can never have too many Princess Bride references. ;)

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  12. Last week I quoted (to a YOUNG co-worker) that if anyone tells you different they're selling something. His response? "What are they selling?" I died. Thank heaven for you! :D

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  13. The only issue with seeing the DADA room with the lights up is you quickly realize that the dragon skeleton on the ceiling doesn't gave a nearly large enough rib cage to house the lungs necessary for an animal of that size (or am I the only one who noticed?!) That's why the sculpt and install team called the dragon wheezy.

    The last picture definitively smells like Cold crisp air, a wood burning fire, and cinnamon whiskey.

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  14. FYI: That feeling of being "stuck" that you describe in your "P.S." message has a name: Executive Dysfunction. It's a really common symptom of ADHD. It can also be symptom of anxiety disorders. I hate to get all serious here - I'm just some internet rando after all - but reading a lot of your past anxiety posts it sounds like you might have ADHD. ADHD is often misdiagnosed as anxiety in women. Once again - I'm just some stranger on the internet and I only know what you decide to show on your blog. But I would strongly suggest researching ADHD and seeing if it fits your symptoms.

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    1. As a geek-themed follow-up: I highly recommend the comic "ADHD Alien" which is available for free on twitter (@ADHD_Alien). It's a cute yet very heartfelt comic written by a women with ADHD about her daily struggles. They art is extremely beautiful too. If you think you might have ADHD, go read through it. If you feel a strong sense of "that me" you probably do. That comic has helped me understand my ADHD friends so, so much better.

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    2. Interesting. I think that's the first time anyone has suggested ADHD to me, but I'll definitely give it a Google. Thanks for looking out!

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  15. Do you still use your comments@cakewrecks email?

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    1. Not really, no, though John checks it occasionally. I don't use e-mail at all anymore - at least not reliably - so I recommend DMing me on Instagram if you want a quick response, or posting on the Epbot FB page if you're OK waiting up to a week.

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    2. I don't have Instagram or Facebook, so I emailed you on the cake wrecks email.

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  16. I get that stuck feeling a lot recently. I’ve been really hard on myself saying that I was lazy, unmotivated, and many other unkind things. Thank you for reminding me that there are a lot of reasons I’m struggling that aren’t negative character traits! The last photo smells like apple strudel to me.

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  17. Jen,

    Feeling completely stupid about the Princess Bride referenced. Iocane - got it, "anyone else is selling something" - got it. What is the third?
    One problem with Iocane smell - there isn't any. So it would be a mix of wonder and air?
    Seriously, love the blog and your idea of smells and pictures.

    Maureen

    P.S. It was great to see you in Pittsburgh!

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    1. Hi Maureen! The third one is pretty subtle - it's my reference to a "dizzying intellect." And yes re: the iocane powder, that was my way of joking that it didn't smell like anything. ;) :p

      P.S. It was great to see you, too! :D

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