Thursday, August 14, 2008
it is raining
I am sitting next to the open windows, hoping for a breeze. It is raining. I am sewing down a facing on a small piece and trying to figure out how to sew and type at the same time. I haven't perfected it yet. There is something so comforting about the sound of rain - especially in the summer, when you know it won't turn to ice. The earlier thunder has vanished, only to be replaced by the sound of an airplane -- another comforting sound for me. I don't know why. Odd, isn't it -- how certain sounds evoke comfort? Proust's madeleine comes in many forms: taste, smell, sound. I'm not sure which is the strongest - or maybe it varies with the individual. Beethoven's violin concerto in D always brings back memories of my first love -- in high school. The smell of damp cloth makes me think of my mother ironing on a rainy day when I came home from school. The sound of crickets - another comfort - evokes a vision of the front porch at night in the summer; my father reading the newspaper.
I can't think of a taste offhand that brings back a world of memories to me, which is funny because my sense of taste is not only strong, it is very nuanced. I can taste something and almost always identify the ingredients and the complexity of flavors. When we go to a restaurant we have frequented for a long time, I know immediately if there is someone new in the kitchen. It is never a good sign.
Today, there was a whole discussion on the QuiltArt list about blogging and why people blog/don't blog; the benefits and caveats, the whys and wherefores. Thinking out loud - that's why I blog. It helps me think. And I can pretend I am not by myself if I write something that might just be read/responded to by another human being. What we do is such a solitary activity that all this blah blah blah on the blog gives us the illusion that we are not alone. Well, I should not generalize. It gives ME the illusion that I am surrounded by kindred spirits.
I think a lot of these blogthing quizzes are really stupid, but I took this one today and it was right on. Take it and see if you think it's accurate. And tell us what sounds/smells/tastes evoke strongest memories for you>
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14 comments:
I am iced tea and it describes me quite well. I wish we had the cool pitter patter of rain. It is 100° in the shade today and I have the crud virus.
black tea here.
sounds?
river noises: water lapping up against the shores, boat/ship motors, the calliope. ditto the accompanying air traffic: choppers,seaplanes. the way the sounds change b4 and after storms/hurricanes...
boy you've unleashed a flood of memories and thoughts with this one, rayna!
Black tea as well!
Beautifully written piece Rayna.
Send that rain south Sistah...boy do we need it here in my little town.
xo
White tea here... sigh! Rayna, I couldn't have said it better about blogging. I tend to isolate, but love that there are so many of us out there who share our love of creating! I feel connected when I read a post by someone who feels as I do.
Sounds: crickets, rain, thunder, birds, the drone of a small plane overhead; the shrill sound of a man whistling to get someone's attention... not the wolf-whistle, but the dad (come here now!) whistle
smells: the yard after it rains, violets, roses, lilacs... cookies in the oven
taste: chicken and noodles. It's a grandma thing! But I also feel the same about several homemade soups... they tie me to my childhood. Maybe that's why I love to make them!
green tea woman here...so much of my creative work is rooted in memories...defined by music, lights and shadows, furniture, food, dialect and voices, and foods.
my taste buds suck...now that i'm thinking about it so does my hearing and sense of smell.
i'm off to my workshop...you have a great weekend!
I haven't taken the test yet...but wanted to share what comforts me...I have my grandmother's pressure cooker. The sound of the chuck rocking backing and forth comforts me and reminds me of my grandmother and home.
Ok, I'm black tea...bold personality..not afraid of being myself...courage to speak the truth...I did think ice tea sounded good, and green tea too!
I forgot train whistles! Dad was a train engineer, so everytime I hear a whistle I think of him!
Chai tea (which I don't like, by the way)- but the description was pretty accurate, especially the part about having international tastes.
What brings memories? The Beatles music, especially the earlier; the sounds of a mountain brook takes me back to summers camping in the Sierras. As for tastes, the ones that immediately come to mind are the foods I hated as a child- my grandmother's hominy grits, black eyed peas, and lima beans. Yuck- and my taste for those hasn't changed!
I'm black tea, too - and the smell of potato kugel brings back my grandmother. Yes, the fragrance of the earth after rain -- and when it is warm, it smells like Florida to me. Let's not forget the smell of freshly-cut grass, although that apparently varies from place to place NJ grass smells sweeter to me. Oops- the smell of the ocean - at least the Atlantic, which smells different - more briny than the Pacific.
How nice to have this conversation with friends...
white tea.
today a dear friend was here for a bit. In the course of conversation asked about the location of a particular Health Food Store in town.
He needed a particular soap: sandlewood scented. The first time he encountered this as an adult it brought back strong memories of his Gramma who made her soap: lye, etc and sandlewood.
Scent is one of the primal triggers for all of us.
I have different triggers: sound, scent, texture.
another time.
does it have to do with pheremones?
I'm black tea too, but I might be different if I took the quiz on a different day. I was torn between answers several times.
The popular music of my youth is an instant memory when I hear it. The smell of sagebrush and juniper, dusty and sharp, brings back the little house in the foothills where I grew up and especially summer mornings sitting on the front stoop eating my cheerios before it got really hot out. Crickets, frogs, flashlights in the dark. The smell of ozone after a summer thunderstorm. The earthy taste of carrots pulled out of the ground and rinsed with a garden hose.
Wonderful post, Rayna.
I am white tea. Have arrived in Michigan and am luxuriating in all the sights, sounds, and smells I'm lucky to experience once a year in the Northwoods.
Sounds that evoke comfort for me are the sound and site of my sleeping children, or the sound of a light rain falling outside.
My sisters are brought back to mind immediately when I hear the song "We Are Family", we used to sing that sometimes when we did chores on Sat morn, hairbrush microphones and all. I'm smiling just remembering.
BTW, I am black tea, very apropos.
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