This and That

The big news is that Murray and I purchased plane tickets yesterday for a whirlwind tour of our continent's extremes. In June, we'll be going up to Timmins so that Murray can see where I grew up, and then we'll head straight to Texas for Murray's brother Steve's wedding.

In Timmins, I'll take Murray on a culinary tour of the best the city has to offer. We'll eat poutine from Chez Nous, Poutine Land, lasagna from Toffanello's, pizza from Don's Pizzeria (the King of Pizza), and pickerel at the Fish Bowl.

In Texas, Murray will take me on a culinary tour of food found only in Texas, as he experienced on his mission. I know that some sort of peach drink will be involved, and possibly southern barbecue.

The great news is that we got all the tickets for $750 total. Not shabby, if I do say so myself. Are you planning a trip soon? Take advantage of Southwest's nationwide sale going on right now, but be quick. It's the third day of the sale, and Murray and I already bought the last $99 fare from Salt Lake to Buffalo yesterday. They're selling fast!

Now I'd like to direct your attention here briefly to household beauty products. Have you ever bought a product you loved, only to buy it again and find it has a different odor? I'm experiencing that problem right now. For over a year, I had the itchiest legs on earth, due to eczema. I even went to a doctor for help, but when she prescribed a one-ounce bottle of cream, I realized that she didn't understand that the itchiness covered my entire legs and was beyond tolerable. Then I discovered Aveeno's wonderful moisturizing lotion. It smells like menthol, but not too bad, and it was very nice and soothing when I put it on. In fact, in about a week of putting it on morning and night, my itchy legs were pretty much cured. The itchiness only comes back when I'm not good about moisturizing now.

So I went through a whole bottle. And this week, I bought a new bottle. Of the exact same stuff. But now, instead of the menthol scent, it smells like must and mold. It's gross. I kept smelling it on myself all morning. I'll be the first to admit that menthol isn't the most sexy smell out there, but it sure beats what I smell like right now. I'm ashamed to be out in public. Why do I buy the same product and get a different smell?

The same applies to Design Line hair products. I bought some volumizing stuff from my mall hairdresser and it smelled great---just a subtle smell. The next time I bought some, it smelled like musty mold. What is with the musty mold scent that is popular these days? It's okay, though. My volumizing root boost, also from Design Line, that I use with the other product, smells like Pinesol, so at least no one smells the mold.

I'm afraid that people will think I'm decaying, when really it's just my beauty products.

14 comments:

MTDA said...

I always dreamed my wife would smell like exactly like musty mold,(not regular mold but musty mold) and now that dream has become reality.

I think I just got an idea for my next consumer question call. Stay tuned for that one.

As far as Texan delights....te beverage, it's called 'Big Peach'.

also there is Blue Bell Ice Cream (but I like gelato better)

and yes the barbeque was worth my 2 years spent there alone.

Unknown said...

I regret that I didn't have any poutine when I went to Canada a few years back. I'll have to remedy that sometime.

lilcis said...

Maybe you're just buying product that has been on the shelf for too long? You could try returning it to the store, and then testing what's on the shelf before buying another one. Or try buying from a different store.

Kelly said...

I tried to use the Aveeno products once and thought they all kind of smelled gross. Musty mold is a good description.

So maybe TMI, but I've had eczema my entire life and am the queen of moisturizers (or as Jason calls them, "Lotions and Potions"). My current favorite is Cetaphil. It doesn't really smell like anything. I use the stuff in the pump bottle on my face (and on my entire body in the summer when I want light coverage and it's muggier). In the winter I use the big tub of Cetaphil cream on my body. It's all very gentle. And as a bonus, they sell both products at Costco in cheapo 2 packs.

Anonymous said...

I have to add to your Timmins list.

Vachon Cakes
Sub Sauce
Real, fluffy, yummy bread (not european yummy, I know, but infinitely better than the dry styrofoam here)
Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp, Wonderbar, Big Turk
Penny Candy (which is actually quarter candy now)
Viva Puffs

I have more to add but I don't want to give you or Murray a stomachache. I miss my Canadian food...

Anonymous said...

What about the Golden Mile???? You can't possibly miss out on that. Oooh ooh and french fries from the Mac? Cicada! So much good food!!

Timmins in June eh? Hmmm. Think the snow will be melted by then? :D

Shop Girl* said...

...and really, we can't forget 3-4-1 Pizza, if you're going to do Chez Nous, you can't leave that out. They are the two after-bar stops for all of Timmins' most lovely people. :)

Mariposa said...

um...are you pregnant? things always smelled moldy to me when I was with child. admit it. you have a bun all nice and toasty in the oven...

Jordan said...

My mom's cousin is coming from Calgary this weekend and I'm sure she's bringing my mom's favorite Canadian fare: Roger's Golden Syrup and awesome OTC pain pills. That last one sounds bad.

Anonymous said...

I hate to be a creepy anonymous commenter, but Aveeno does have a new eczema line. I haven't smelt it, but I've heard it works fabulously. I personally buy the double pack of daily moisturizing Aveeno at Costco.

As a dry skin sufferer with a daughter with eczema I have to tell you that we HATE cetaphil. It doesn't soak in at all, even my husband hates it.

bedelia said...

What mission did he serve? Gelato is good but never having had the real stuff, I'd say Blue Bell is way better. If you are going to be anywhere in the Fort Worth vicinity, there is a sweet Italian restaurant that is in a gas station. Weirdest thing ever, but amazing. Plus you can see the chef with his nice white hat and outfit cooking everything...in a gas station. I'm paranoid to leave comments on your site for fear that you secretly mock spelling and grammatical errors. And since this is the longest comment ever, I will go ahead and leave you with this comment that I found on a Parker College pen. "The Magic Bullet of all Healing is Love." -Dr James W. Parker. Please note all of the beautiful capital letters that are included in this quote for no apparent reason.

jeri said...

Maybe Aveeno is attempting to stave off olfactory fatigue by tossing random bottles of Eau de Mildewe.

I dyed my hair today and the conditioner smells strongly of someone's grandmother. So instead of having gray hairs like an old lady I just smell like one.

Rynell said...

As sensitive eczema sufferers, we've tried it all. Cetaphil, Eucerin, Aquaphor and prescriptions. Persoanlly, I like the Cetaphil, but my skin doesn't require as much moisturizing as the off-spring. They require Eucerin and in times of skin distress, Aquaphor. (Ok I didn't drag out all those bottles to check my spelling, so there you have my approximations.)

One other thing of note that probably doesn't matter to anyone else...is that Cetaphil has macadamia nut oil in it. I used it unknowingly for quite sometime on my nut allergic toddler son. And surprisingly went through a lot of Benedryl too. Eczema and allergies kind of go hand in hand for many families, in case you wondered. So I was a little peeved with myself and with Cetaphil.
(Sorry for the long comment.)

Th. said...

.

Wow. I remember when I mentioned Timmins in a post and you about died. I take it you're not as concerned about stalkers as you used to be?