The Taste of Home

[Taylirious]

Pine. The smell of a lake? Cats & Dogs.

 

[trekkiedane]

^Oh yeah! - That's another smell that hammers me right back to childhood: wet dog.

 

[auntiehill]

Vanilla and cinnamon. It always makes me think of Christmas with my Mom --how she was always baking cakes and pies, and making our family tradition of candied walnuts.

I can't use vanilla-scented air fresheners at home, because it makes me terribly hungry!

 

[Timewalker]

Taste and smell are two senses strongly tied to memory.

What smell and/or taste reminds you of where you grew up or your childhood?

If I smell orange blossoms or that strong smell that comes right before a rainstorm I am reminded of growing up near orange groves and sitting through the regular afternoon thunderstorm.

Anytime I eat some sugary cereal I am reminded of weekend mornings downing some sweet cereal before running off to play outside.

My earliest cereal-related memory is Corn Pops. I still have the bowl I used then.

Another strong memory is the smell of wet sand. We lived on an acreage when I was a child, and the soil was very sandy - the only black soil we had there was what had been specifically brought in for the gardens. There was a large sand hill topped by forest in back of the house, and I was allowed to play there as long as I didn't go beyond the trees. So I had this humungous natural sandbox to play on.

Pine. The smell of a lake? Cats & Dogs.

Definitely the smell of lake water. Specifically, Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. That's one of the most distinctive smells I can remember, since we had a cabin there and spent the summers at the cabin and in Vernon, at my great-aunt/uncle's place.

That place is also associated with the smell of wet sand - a different kind, though. This was black sand, very smooth and soft to the touch. It was great to walk on when it was wet.

Vanilla and cinnamon. It always makes me think of Christmas with my --how she was always baking cakes and pies, and making our family tradition of candied walnuts.

I can't use vanilla-scented air fresheners at home, because it makes me terribly hungry!

Okay, now I want a bowl of my grandmother's rice pudding and a bowl of her cornstarch pudding. Her rice pudding always contained raisins and cinnamon, and her cornstarch pudding was comfort food - especially with milk, and her reading me a story while I ate.

 

[TorontoTrekker]

We had a lilac tree in our back yard when I was a kid, so for me, the small of lilacs instantly transports me back to my childhood.

 

[KimMH]

Beer... my stepfather beat me after drinking, before drinking, during drinking. To this day, I cannot stomach the smell of beer.

I'm sorry; not all childhood memories are good. Makes me realize what a sheltered life I lived growing up. *Big Squishy Hug.*

 

[Mudd]

Hose water, yeah - basically, chlorinated water.

More than a smell or taste, though, there's a sound that takes me vividly back to early childhood... a push lawnmower with a gasoline engine.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Another taste of my childhood: The roast chicken often cooked by my grandmother, in quantities that could easily feed an entire Marine division.

And the RICED POTATOES

 

[Sector 7]

Beer... my stepfather beat me after drinking, before drinking, during drinking. To this day, I cannot stomach the smell of beer.

I'm sorry; not all childhood memories are good. Makes me realize what a sheltered life I lived growing up. *Big Squishy Hug.*

*Big Squishy Hug* +1

I survived it with the lesson to always treat others better than I had been.

 

[KimMH]

*Big Squishy Hug* +1

I survived it with the lesson to always treat others better than I had been.