Actually, he came home, and took a while... I mentioned to his friend that something had gone wrong, and admitted that there was a strange smell. He looked up, very tired, and said, "yes, I'd been wondering what it was." He was pretty understanding - he'd carbonated a pot of honey this past summer. But then, that's better weather for opening windows. It's been COLD recently. The house still smells variously like peppermint, incense, lavender, chemicals, and burned chicken. Ah well. Time is the great healer.

-J