And now let's play ...
"What the hell is that Smell?"

Ever play this game? It's hugely frustrating. And yet it must be played. A random bad Smell in the house cannot be left to its own devices. And, yes, I meant to capitalize it. A Smell is a vivid and definite living thing.

Day one, I began playing WTHITS. At first, it's very subtle. A faint whiff. What was that?? But now it's gone and one goes about one's business. But later, there it is again. The Smell. At this point, one usually starts searching. If you've ever played this game, you know what it looks like. One wanders about the general vicinity of the Smell because, if you could identify the specific location, you could identify the Smell. So you play bloodhound, nose to the ground, sniffing around like a penniless cocaine addict looking for a few left-over grains. During these searches, one will often sniff things that are, really, never meant to be sniffed. Admit it ... you've actually stuck your nose into a trash can and taken a big whiff! You know you have.

On day two, the hunt continued for my Smell. I thought it was either spoiled meat or decomposing small animal. Yes, I've smelled both. The former after an unfortunate forgot-a-grocery-bag-in-the-car incident. The latter because our darling cat occasionally brings the results of her hunts inside and caches them for future use.

Early on day three, I finally identified my Smell. When I was doing laundry. Note to self: In the future, when you spill a half a plateful of blood from the thawing out roast onto the floor and wipe it up with a wet cloth, RINSE THE STUPID CLOTH BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO THE LAUNDRY HAMPER!!

Smell solved. Lesson learned.