Every year since 2010 I’ve done a series of December diaries focusing on a variety of seasonal topics ranging from music to food to ugly sweaters. (Full disclosure: I did ONE Seasonal diary in 2008, and 2009 was the first December K2 was with us so I was a little distracted :-)). My Seasonal 2018 series began last week with Favorite Holiday Cookbooks, and we’ll wrap up next Tuesday with That Time You Did Something Completely Different.
Don’t worry if Christmas isn’t your thing- while my personal December perspective is primarily secular cultural Christian-based with a vibrant dose of earth-centered Winter Solstice mixed in because Unitarian Universalism is my chosen path, these diaries are NOT meant to be siege locations in the War On Christmas. In other words, if there’s a holiday in December that makes you happy, that you mark differently than all the other days, or that involves negotiating about who brings what food… or even if there isn’t... this is a place for you!
I am sipping on a lovely blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah (also known as Apothic Red), and encourage you to pour your own desired libation as we hop over the Story Break and our nightly request from your humble community diary writers, and into tonight’s topic: Seasonal Scents!
Here at Top Comments we welcome longtime as well as brand new Daily Kos readers to join us at 10pm Eastern. We strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find!
To me, the winter holidays are as much about the aromas as the food, decor or music. Scent is something deeply primal and elicits feelings far deeper-rooted than any other sense I know.
I cannot imagine December without the scent of Balsam Fir and pine filling the air in my living room; indeed, a whiff of fir in summer stirs Christmas in July feelings! I will neither confirm nor deny that I have in my possession several fir-scented air freshener plug in things so that our mudroom will smell more like fir and less like teenaged boy soccer cleat for the remainder of winter.
As I type these words, my essential oil diffuser (I became a fan of essential oils a year ago when a friend recommended a particular blend for my chronic insomnia; while I don’t believe on their own they’ll cure anything, they’ve become part of my adjunct practices to keep physically and emotionally well) is spreading through the air a homemade blend of Siberian Fir, Frankincense, Orange and Peppermint. I have two commercial blends as well, each a mix of Firs and spices and citruses, but I like creating my own and have something diffusing almost every moment of the day.
As much as I love my essential oil diffuser, there’s a whole different level of scent when it comes to candles. The wax plus the specific scent plus the flickering flame… magic. While I may never know… or WANT to know… what exactly ‘Hollyberry’ or ‘Bayberry’ scent is… I’m happy to smell it every year when I light the candles that keep the dark at bay.
Not all seasonal scents come from a bottle, wax-filled glass jar, or bit of nature hauled inside for a few weeks. Other scents that fill me with holiday spirit include that magical aroma of baking cookies when you open the oven door. Pumpkin bread (yes, I have a keto version!) with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. That divine mixture of orange and clove created by making pomanders. The smell of mulled wine simmering on a stove, and peppermint hot chocolate with vanilla whipped cream.
What scents bring the holidays to mind for you? Please share your favorites in the comments, after spending some time sniffing around our trio of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures brought to you tonight by my dear friend BeninSC!
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Note: Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From Elizabeth NYC:
In Dartagnan'sdiary about the tRump scam of illegally increasing rent priceson tenants, in this comment, KaganHhas an insider view on the negative rippling impact of tRump's business malpractice and how damaging his actions were/are. It's an important read.
https://www.dailykos.com/...
From BeninSC:
I am submitting this commentby first-time Daily Kos commenter, ChickaDD, about teaching materials gleaned from the movie “12 Angry Men,’ as diaried by Doctor RJ. Just as good is the reply commentby AKtoTX, about a teaching opportunity I know that I never heard about! Money-making AND educational opportunity?!
From Yellowthroat:
I’m nominating this commentby kbman, in Christian Dem in NC’sdiary about possible early vote leaking in NC-09. (Shades of Denny Hastert!)
From Denver11:
I am submitting this excellent commentby gf120581on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because it emphasizes how brilliantly she’s given Republicans headaches from the very beginning! (Ed. note: And she is only getting STARTED!)
From Puddytat:
I thoroughly enjoyed this commentaryby trumancraton Michigan Gov. Snyders' "rookie mistake". Swallow anything you have in your mouth before reading (you have been warned).
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, December 14th, 2018, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mikfor the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for December 15, 2018. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!