I'm laying in bed smelling of campfire right now, which is one of my favorite states of being. It's been two nights in a row going to bed like this. Pretty awesome in my book. I would smell of campfire all the time, if possible. When I worked at a summer camp a few summers ago, we would have a campfire every night, so I basically did smell like campfire all the time. I also smelled like dirt and leaves, which was also agreeable. Despite it not being quite refined, I actually sort of like having chewed down fingernails with a bit of dirt underneath. I mean, not to the degree that I look like I haven't showered in a week, but I like seeing that evidence of living. I have dirt under my nails because I was digging in the garden. I find sawdust particles on my clothes because I was in the garage working. My nails are short and chewed off because rock climbing doesn't allow me to grow them long enough to warrant putting polish on. I don't mind looking unrefined, I see it more as a testimony to living a full life. Delightfully Tacky, Yet Unrefined? Thanks, Hooters.
Dan snapped these photos on a neighborhood walk. I really like walking through alleys. You get such a better picture of people when you see their house from the alley. The front yard is what they present to other people, but no one cares about what you see from the alley. You get to see what kind of backyard they keep, if they have pets, if they like gardening, if they have kids, if they dispose of couches by just dumping it in the alley... It's a different perspective and I like it. In a lot of ways, it feels more personal. You can hear kids laughing from behind a fence, or smell someone's backyard barbecue. It's a more accurate way to get a feel for a neighborhood, I think.
