sense, scents, and cents

My uncle once asked me if I was OCD. I'm pretty sure not, but I've been reviewing my personality lately (beats me what for; an upgrade?) and I do have some obsessions. All to do with the smell/taste senses.
Coffee, spiced pumpkin, ginger snaps, and pine (although cedar will do).

I've never had coffee. My fascination is with the smell. It just smells so...earthy. I think I got hooked on it after smelling the coffee beans that fragrance shops put out to clear your olfaction in-between smell tests. When I went to school in Utah, there was a definite lack of coffee smells. So now when I grocery shop, I make a specific stop at the coffee aisle. Okay, sometimes repeated stops. I know which is my favorite coffee mix at H-E-B. Besides making me look somewhat autistic, it's a harmless and priceless obsession.

I don't know if that can be said for my obsessions of spiced pumpkin and ginger snaps. Because I do eat those. Without ever feeling like I've had too much. That's where the problem is.
In college, I had a roommate that, probably to our detriment, was about as infatuated with pumpkin pie as I was. I think we made a dozen pies that semester, theoretically to share with our other roommates, but, well, they just didn't love pumpkin pie as much as we did (so we rationalized). It's a vegetable, right?
Last year I discovered this wonderful item called pumpkin butter. It's like pumpkin pie filling. I could eat it right out of the jar. It's rather upscale, though, as in I don't find it often and it's more expensive than the close alternative, apple butter. A couple weeks ago I found a jar at the store, but it didn't have a price, so the inpatient cashier gave it to me for one dollar. I was so elated.

I can't tell if I'm in more or less trouble with ginger snaps. I only like the Nabisco ginger snaps, you know, the ones that look like cardboard with a stamped 'crinkle' on top, that are rather hard and really should be eaten soaked in milk? The serving size is 4 cookies. But then I rationalize that broken cookies don't count. I bought a box today. I snacked on them while driving (you know I'm dedicated if I can eat them without milk), while reading...I don't think this box is going to last long.

I want to break these needles...mmmm

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd postulate that the pine obsession comes from yearly trips up north, where evergreens are more prevalent. Maybe I associate the smell with vacation. Or maybe I associate it with Christmas, back when we still stuck live trees in our houses. What I can say is that smelling pungent trees is a de-stressor, a soothing balm for a troubled (as in worried, not as in homicidal or suicidal or anything of that nature) mind. Someone at some point in my life gave me an evergreen candle; just opening up that tin does wonders for my mood. [BTW I also have a pumpkin candle, but I try not to smell that one, because then I'll want to eat something.] Once, about a year ago, I walked into one of my patients' rooms and it smelled like evergreen; the patient said his body wash smelled like that. I have looked all over (internet, all types of stores, shops, and malls) and the only thing I've found is a cedar body wash. Which is still good, but I don't really smell the cedar once I'm out of the shower. Any pointers would be appreciated.

I know my obsessions (or compulsions) are non-sensical. But that sort-of fits my personality. And luckily I don't think I'll go broke with the quirks in my current personality operating system. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it.