NoJoMo 4 in Those Public Entries

Is mah birfday. Yay. I got a duck breast to celebrate.

Not only do I feel like Yzma, I’m pretty sure I’m starting to look like her.

Are there any perfectly “normal” smells you can’t abide?

Yes. Rose. I hate rose-scented things with a passion. I mean, I like the smell of fresh roses, but rose-scented perfumes, lotions, cleaners, candles, no. They smell like rotten, dead roses to me.

This might be a “well, duh,” but I also hate being in the room with my cats when they’re eating. (Quick note, if you saw my last public update about Nyx and the kittens: I realized I’d made a mistake in letting Nyx go, so I went to the shelter on November 1st and got her back. The kittens have all been adopted, as of November 2nd.) Not just their wet food, but their kibble, too. Maybe I’m just really sensitive to the smell, but I can literally smell it from across the room, and it makes me gag. Which is a problem, because cats like to have their humans in the room when they eat. Sometimes I can just make myself sit there and ignore the smell. Other times, I have to pull my shirt up over my nose and just wait for them to finish.

Of course, there are other “normal” smells, depending on your lifestyle. Like, the kittens peed on a pile of clean clothes in my room (yes, I’m 36 and I still live out of clothes piles; I am terrible at being an adult), and on my curtains; kitten pee where it doesn’t belong isn’t a pleasant smell, but it’s “normal” in my house. Or was; I’ve found every place they had accidents and cleaned/disinfected them, so no more cat pee smell.¹ Ditto seven litter boxes, for the past few weeks, because no matter how often you scoop them (once a day) or empty and wash them and put in fresh litter (every 7 to 10 days), they’re still litter boxes, and they still smell bad. (Fortunately, Nyx seems to be past the “committing chemical warfare with my butt” stage, and Smudge’s poop never smells bad unless he eats something he shouldn’t; and I’m now down to two litter boxes, from seven, so that’s helping a lot.)

Other “normal” smells I’m not a huge fan of: Raw onion, incense, gasoline, and dish soap.

¹My method: First, clean the spot with a mix of Dawn blue, distilled vinegar, and hot water. Follow up by spraying diluted rubbing alcohol (1 part alcohol to 1 part water) on it and letting it sit until it dries naturally (go for the 50% strength alcohol, so it doesn’t dry as fast and has a chance to actually kill the germs that are causing the smells). Finally, go over with the cleaner of your choice. I like Good Vibes All-Purpose Cleaner, and if you have cats, I strongly recommend So Phresh scent; I used it on my clothes and curtains, added 1/4 cup during the rinse cycle, and absolutely zero lingering cat pee smell.