Blog Carnival: August 2012

Topic: "The Five Senses"
Describe your 5 senses.

Which are your favorites and least favorites?

this was taken on a riverbanks edge, it reminded me of sensory hairs....

This months topic is a hard one for me. It's very hard for me to pick any favorites as they all are so vital to me in very different ways!

Sight~ I cherish my sight, I have noticed my eyesight getting a bit fuzzy over the last few years, I asked the doctor about it and he had said something to this effect, " its an interesting thing, before your eyes get worse they actually get a little better when this change begins..." hunh? well my eyesight prescription had changed a schmidge I guess. So I guess it is happening, things be a changin'!

Diablo Dam in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I love the feeling when I see something beautiful whether it be a surreal scene in nature to something as simple as a beautiful pattern of a twisted piece of rusty metal, when you can look at an object and it just sucks you into it, you can see the beauty in all its ugly imperfections but they are seemingly perfect when sought out and individualized. 

Here is an example of a object I picked up on a walk last week...
I do know now what it is, can you guess!?

Alot of what I see and experience in nature or see in old mechanical tinkerings heavily influences my creative muse. What I see may never directly take a physical shape but it is there in feeling or spirit. For example when I see something old I more than often like the item overall but there will be something as simple as worn away bits of paint from an old toy that has oxidized at the seams, these little nuances are very inspiring to me. I feel eyes' are the old saying "windows to the soul" we are what we see & experience, its what makes each of us so unique! I could go on and on about what I love to look at so I think I better stop for now!

I really dislike seeing anything in pain or suffering, the last horror movies I saw were Saw & Hostel, yup I'm feeling I do not need to have those images in my head anymore no thank you very much.... I dislike seeing road rage, and I am not a big fan of seeing massive bunches of maggots either, something about the slithering wall of undulating texture just make me shiver...

Sound~ I love the sounds of my pups chewing specifically on fat juicy fresh snap peas, it makes this delicious wet crunch-crunch sound when they eat them, It makes me kinda giddy.

 I love the sound of the flute and violin, I love minor scales with dramatic soul pulling notes that can carry you along in an invisible story. I love the sound of the oceans waves rolling in for high tide, it is so powerful, and the sound when the small tinkly pebbles roll in & out with the waves, it's natures music, so rhythmic & relaxing for me.

I cannot take the sound of a hurt animal in distress, it actually can take my breath away. I dislike the sound of a blood thirsty mosquito trying to attack me while I'm lying in bed in the dark. I really dislike hearing racist, sexist or homophobic remarks.

Taste~ This one I need to try keep simple because if I do not, I will be writing for a long time! For starts I really just love to eat. Yes I do! Here are some of my favorite flavors and textures.
Caviar, the "pop" of rich oily savory goodness you get with salmon eggs, the flavor might seem fishy to some but I think it is more about the umami it has. The little ones from other species of fish are all slightly different in textures, if not mainly because preparations are done so differently on each, but I haven't met a caviar I have disliked yet! I love sushi & sashimi, the fresh fish when served cold is like eating the ocean, unprocessed from sea to mouth.

my birthday Uni 2010.

One more seafood, fresh Uni, this is one that people either love or hate. I think the best description I have come up with is that it tastes like the sea, creamy and plastic, now I know this sounds just horrible ha ha! It doesn't really taste like that but you just can't describe something that has no standard words for it! It does not taste like chemicals or anything I have ever tasted before, just an unusual flavor that I have grown to love. But I must confess to you, I 've only had it "fresh live" once, and It was the MOST amazing flavors I have ever tasted, but sadly I probably will not ever order it again for personal reasons.  I also love Thai young coconuts, the "water" and the opaque tender moist meat (also known as jelly) is ever so slightly sweet and dare I say buttery? it has a slight nutty finish, it has a slight resistance in texture while still being delicate and is best scooped right out of the shell into your mouth! The coconut water is light, rich, fresh, clean and lightly sweet flavor, the water is most delicious served cold.  I also love avocados and they are definitely creamy buttery and savory at the same time, just the extra added bonus of summertime! I love raw frozen cashews too, oh man they are the BEST snack!

I dislike *Natto the Japanese super food, tried it twice just to be sure, but maybe Natto needs to be in the bad smell category, because I cannot honestly tell you how it tasted because it smelled so horrible like feet that were stuck in a pair of wet rotting wool socks for a year...

Smell~ I love the smell of air at the oceans shore, but you probably knew this already, I love the smell of kitten & puppies, yes I'm one of those people. I love the smell of a tomato vine when you rub your fingers on it its such a green bright oddly savory scent. I love the smell of my down pillows, maybe this is a kitten puppy kind of thing... Okee-dokee, here's some weirder ones for ya, I like the smell of an old cars exhaust, I remember when I was a kid (maybe that's what is the matter with me) and we had a kick ass full sized Ford LTD station wagon, it was pea green with wood panelling, (I've had a thing for station wagons ever since.) And another odd one, Johnson Paste wax, yup, no explanation for this one...  Oh and one more, I love the smell of tanned leather, oh yes I do buckaroo!

I must confess I am a big sniffer as I hate certain smells and have to steer clear of them. I detest mildewy items, this can be a problem when I run across something I really would love to possess but have found that its nearly impossible to get that old musty mildew out. Its not impossible depending on the item, but just alot of work. I dislike the stinky rag smell meh! meh! meh! Some people just cannot detect this one, its a weird phenomena to me, but my entire family feels the same with this particular one, so I know I am not that crazy, heh heh... I can't stand the smell of the water in our fish tank. I do not like to smell like a greasy stale french fry after being in a restaurant, its in your hair and on your clothes for the rest of the evening, bleh. Ok one more, when a person wears what I consider too much perfume or cologne, achooOO-ey!  I do love when I hug someone and I then can smell their scent, I personally feel less is more, ok and more considerate!   Ok that's enough sharing of those secrets for now.

One day I hope to try a hot stone massage, it sounds so dreamy....

Touch~ Oh... one of my favorite favorite things is a deep tissue back rub first thing in the morning, ahhhh this is my bliss, its such a good pain and It works out my stiff muscles and begins my day with a smile! I have a contraption called a "backnobber" and it is kinda awesome if you like the direct point style of pressure, I press slowly and then harder as I breathe into the muscle where it is touching, I swear it helps to release those gnarly knots!  I love to touch animals, too much maybe so, I have gotten ringworm from touching stray animals but I just can't help myself to give them a little bit of pleasure when they want to have human contact, so I've definitely paid for it. I have been more selective nowadays because of this. I love the feeling when I press on the top of my fingernails and give a little pressure, is this odd? I dunno, my partner dislikes it when I do it to him he thinks it feels oogie. I love to touch the spot between my dogs eyes, my thumb fits perfect in this crook, i pet up from the nose and up between their eyes where the fur is kinda cowlicked, they seem to like it, snicker... I love to hold my arm (or foot) out the car window especially when its hot and feel the warm wind between my toes and I like to pretend my arms are airplane wings and play with the airs resistance. Everyone does this too right? I love fresh cotton sheets, the feeling when you first make a fresh bed! sigh...

I love the feeling of a particular antler piece I kept, it has a double curve, I love to (not kinky shush!) stroke it, petting it really. I think this is why I love them so much because they just feel so good, they're so tactile and strong and nothing needed to be put to death for it which is pretty cool, and to think every year they make new beautiful crowns!

I dislike to touch polyester fabrics, my hands are generally dry so they tend to snag feeling on these types and its really yucky feeling to me. I am also not too fond of the feeling of pavement on my bare feet, I do not know what it is, we have a person in my family that is allergic to cement, maybe I have a bit of this allergy perhaps too.

***

Well thank goodness I am almost done, I could go on and on forever! But I need to go and make dinner! Thank you, its been a lovely day reflecting on these things. These monthly posts have been great exercises for me, as it forces me to reflect inward which is a great thing for me nowadays, I get to remember old family memories, dig through my archives of photos and stretch my brain!

Thank you again for visiting and I will hopefully see you for next months blog carnival!

have a lovely day!

victoria

***
*

Please click here to see other EtsyMetal team member thoughts on this months topic!