everydaywithvj

There it was.  A large size bottle of Vitamin B Complex from my mother’s cabinet, expired.  And not just a month or two out of date, but well over a year out of date.  Hmmmm, what to do.  I hate to waste anything. I know, I’ll use it as Vitamin B fertilizer for my plants. Brilliant solution.  Right?

Years ago, I toured a vitamin factory and as we were walking about the grounds I mentioned to our tour guide that the plants, especially the roses, looked so healthy and vibrant.  Did they feed them their vitamins, I joked?  “Yes” she replied, “every night we sweep the floor and put the resulting vitamin dust around the lawn and plants.

With that in mind I took the bottle of vitamin B and poured the tablets into a pint container where they almost filled the bottle.  Then I filled the bottle with water and put it aside.  Over the next few hours I shook it and stirred it now and then until all the tablets were dissolved.  But it the resulting solution was thick.  I poured the solution into a 2-quart pitcher and filled it with water, stirring well.  Ahhh, this would work.

Taking the pitcher outside I carefully worked at pouring the solution at the roots of plants in the front yard and in the potted plants near the front door.  Patting myself on the back at what a wonderful thing I had done I retreated to the house to wash the pitcher and wait for the resulting gorgeous garden.

My plants think I am wonderful!  My nose – not so much. The next morning as I walked out the front door to pick up the morning paper an odd odor greeted me.  It was familiar and kind of musty, not fetid.  What in the world?  Then I remembered.  Vitamin B.  My entire front garden smelled like Vitamin B. Yuck.

This wouldn’t be too bad in ordinary life. But right now our lives are not ordinary.  Our house is for sale and it wouldn’t work very well for an agent to bring a prospective buyer to the house and have them walk through “Eau de Vitamin B”.  I got out the garden hose and watered things down, washing off leaves and hoping to get all that smelly stuff into the dirt where it belonged.  It seemed to work. For a bit.  But by afternoon the fragrance was there again, although not quite as strong.

I have been washing down the plants twice a day and most of the smell is gone. Well, OK, I can still smell it somewhat or think that I can, but I’m hoping that potential buyers don’t notice or assume that it is some type of fertilizer – which it is – vitamin B – smelly vitamin B.

Have you ever done anything that resulted in a fragrance that you didn’t expect? Do tell!

Every Day Is A Good Day.  VJ