Nosy Interview: Jenny Di Meo

Jenny in Young Stars in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud, © NASA

Jenny and I met in the aisles of a grocery store before starting kindergarten together. As I recall, she was hiding behind her mom's legs, and I was sort of foisting myself and my friendship upon her. Her home is second only to my own on the list of interiors I remember from childhood, and while the grocery store is long gone, we are still friends, thank goodness, a quarter of a century later. 

What do you smell like? 

I know I must smell like the things I consume most, especially because I’m prone to spilling at least one of them on me daily--coffee, Greek yogurt, red wine, and ice cream. Thanks to my absolute favorite perfume, Ginger Origins (also one of my favorite things to smell), I hope I also smell strongly of spicy gingery goodness.  I’m pretty sure I also smell of the scent of runny noses and waxy crayons after a day with my first graders.  

What do you like to smell? 

I like to smell things that remind me of home—lilacs blooming on the bush, old library books, dog breath, the whoosh of air from a can of freshly cracked tennis balls, cheap sunscreen, tomato vines from the garden, rubber bike tires, towels line-dried in the yard, a deck of well-used cards, dusty fumes from heating vents turned on for the first time each season, the spice of a pine tree, warm dryer sheets in the cool air outside, and lemon pledge sprayed straight from the can.