that "mormor" smell

on sunday, husband and i went for a walk. our neighborhood is what they call in danish a sølvbryllupskvarter. that means that most of the people living here have grown children and are either retired or on the verge of retirement--so they have reached or (long) passed their 25th wedding anniversary--hence the silver wedding reference. they have yet to sell their big houses and move to a more convenient apartment somewhere, so there are only families with young children here and there in this neighborhood.

so we were out walking, it was a very still late afternoon, no breeze at all. the sun had been shining, but it was a bit clouded over and grey again. the temperature was probably 3-4 degrees (C) and so with coat, mittens and hat, it was good walking weather. as we walked past one house, with a very 70s-looking front garden--one of those with lots of those low evergreen bushes so popular in that decade--a smell hit our noses. it was a particular combination of laundry softener, bathroom cleaner and cigarette smoke, underlying it there was the faint mustiness of carpets that hadn't been changed in 30 years. the mormor (grandma) smell. that house at the top of the hill was fairly exuding the smell. we didn't see anyone, so we couldn't confirm the age of the residents, but the lace curtains at the windows confirmed it. grandparents lived there. maybe even great grandparents.