Sometimes it takes so little to make me happy.

Last week when I went grocery shopping I bought a cheapie raspberry scented air freshener for the van.


I get the same kind every summer. The smell reminds me of a snowcone stand.


We don't hang out at snowcone stands during the summer by any means, but we do visit it 1 or 2 times over the course of the summer. Something about that smell takes me back to childhood. I vividly remember going to the lake with my mom & sisters in the summer, then stopping at the snowcone stand on the way home. Those high fructose corn syrup concoctions of summery goodness were such a treat for us. Today I got in the van after work & that smell overwhelmed me. I had to run some errands & the pollen covering my van had finally shoved me over the edge. I had to get it off the car, so I drove through a car wash. As I sat there in the peaceful quiet van, listening to the spray of the jets & smelling the wax and the raspberry snowcone scented air freshener, I was just about pushed over the blissdom threshold. Such a peaceful moment. I thought about reclining my chair & taking a nap right there in the car wash, but I figured I might get kicked out.

I am definitely a sensory girl and the smells, tastes & sounds of things from my childhood are the things that bring me the most vivid memories.

"Deep Woods" scented Off at church camp....


Love's Baby Soft at the same church camp....

that pina-colada scent of our Suntan Oil (you know, back before we were all concerned about skin cancer & oiled ourselves up to get a tan while we layed on a big piece of foil)....

the taste of my mom's red velvet cake...


plums straight off the tree from our orchard...


and here's a weird one. My dad worked in a mechanic's shop now & then when I was a kid. He was a fireman by trade, but on his days off, he wore a number of hats, mechanic being one of them. To this day, when I smell a greasy garage, I think of my dad. Sure, it's kind of a gross smell, but it reminds me of my Daddy!


I realize these are mostly scents & tastes. Sounds are a little harder for me to pinpoint, but I think the biggest ones are the theme songs to the shows my parents & I watched. Do any of these take you back?

Miami Vice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZQe3fQcS6U&feature=related
Hawaii 5-0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w
Magnum PI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CquMO3vJvo
(I must add Tom Selleck...purrr)
Knight Rider: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbnCQnDnfjs&feature=related
TJ Hooker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7S6JW5EfD8&feature=related
CHIPS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSzEmPEnYxo&feature=related
Love Boat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wFEB4Oxlo&feature=related
Fantasy Island: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x_QbVDlLbI&feature=related
Mork & Mindy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbEBErvW-Uc&feature=related
Brady Bunch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou-FeOoKDq4&feature=related
One Day at a Time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M82CUd6isyY
Alice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoDlkYPVNic&feature=related
Bosom Buddies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORKyyHBy6JQ&feature=related
Laverne & Shirley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmKzxhMzwo&feature=related
Happy Days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLt7clQbBzo&feature=related
Ok, I'm just going to stop........I could go on & on!!!!

There are sooo many sound/scent/smell memories I could name. I know that most of these are only special to me. What are some of your favorite sensory-related memories?