Motley Monday - January 19, 2026

 The week hasn't started off well.  I just had my vehicle (I want to write "car," but it's an Explorer.  I don't like to write "truck," and "SUV" sounds ridiculous!) towed to the mechanic down the street.  Not what used to be called, maybe still are, a "shade tree" mechanic, it's a real business, just close enough to walk to and from.  Today I let the tow truck take it without me.  It's something with the brakes, there was a puddle of brake fluid under the vehicle when they moved it. This is why I have AAA.  I get my money's worth!   

The Dollar Tree has spring gardening supplies and seeds in.  Hidden away in the back, not along the seasonal wall, where it's all Easter.  

The seeds are more expensive since last year.  For years they were 4/$1.00, then last year were 3/$1.00.  I checked online and while the company is U.S. based most of the seeds are outsourced.  So, the big increase is most likely due to tariffs.  They come pre-priced, so it's not Dollar Tree deciding the pricing.   The "premium" ones, 2/$1.50 are nicer than they've offered before.  Surprising, I didn't buy any!   I might not.  I can get packs with many more seeds from sellers on eBay, and I have in past years.  I only want annual flower seeds.

There's been no fog, but it's still very cold and frosty.

  I learned something new a few days ago.  There can be what I describe as scent memories, or "memory-linked scent impressions." I "smelled" (in just one inhale) a scent that I instantly recognized.  One I haven't smelled in years, but knew what it was.  It was quite unsettling until I found out the scientific reason.  I researched if that was a "thing," a memory through scent, and it is!  The olfactory bulb (which processes smell) is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus (the centers for memory and emotion).  No other sense has such a direct root. The brain can "replay" sensory impressions, like how you hear a song in your head and picture where you were when you heard it.  With smell it's less common, but scents tied to strong emotions or autobiographical memories can generate it.  

It is often described exactly as what happened to me.  One breath, vivid, unmistakable, then gone.  Now I have to look up just how the brain can bring back a smell!  Or, is the brain telling me that I smell it, when it's not really there?  Whichever, whatever, it's amazing!  I can understand now how some people will believe a dead loved one is visiting!  Like, "I smell my grandmother's talc she always put on, she's checking on me!"    My son has heard of people who "smelled" certain cigars related to only specific people. Weird, and wonderful! 

(I know the formatting with the side-by-side photos is wonky...)