I was in Girl Scouts when I was young, and we mostly did arts and crafts. One of my favorite Christmas crafts was making orange pomanders, you know, decorating an orange with cloves and ribbons? I remember how the scent of orange bursts out with the press of each spicy clove into the peel. Can you smell it too? I love this combination. I remember my disappointment when the pomander didn't dry out like a gourd - it turned into a gross mess in a few days - and Mom had to throw it away. Then she became annoyed with me for using up all her expensive cloves making new pomanders. I get it now, spices are expensive. Sorry Mom :)
My husband has a similar memory of this scent combination, only as a stovetop potpourri instead of a pomander. His grandmother, Martha Lyn, would add cut oranges and sometimes a slided apple to a pot of water or cider, and spice it with cinnamon sticks and cloves. She would add water to it as the liquid evaporated away. It would make the house smell amazing, like a warm hug on a cold day.