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Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that you said?

I love alliteration, and I’ve been having fun with this meme, but this letter, J, is difficult for me.

I thought about Jello. It’s not just a brand, it’s a symbol. Kathleen Norris, in her book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography suggests that the popularity of the Jello mold in midwestern cuisine has to do with the fact that the rural midwest was the last part of the continental USA to have refrigeration. Summers there can be brutal, so anything that is cool and fruity is worth celebrating, I guess.

Personally, I associate Jello with college parties: Jello shots and jungle juice (fruit juice mixed with everclear), jalapeno poppers, tequila shots, and conversations (and hangovers) that jangled in your head for days after.

Jingle and jangle. Can’t you hear keys clicking against each other, or a klaxon alarm when you read those words? I’ve never thought of them as examples of onomatopoeia before, but they demonstrate the concept well.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me.
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you.

Note: Song lyrics are from “The Windmills of Your Mind,” by Alan & Marilyn Bergman & Michel Legrand, and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” by Bob Dylan.

I say… And you think… ?

1. Colorblind:: casting
2. Shallow:: water
3. Erotica:: fiction
4. Figment:: imagination
5. Eviction:: notice
6. Composed:: entry
7. Chill:: out
8. Girl:: power
9. California:: burger
10. Bond:: stock

Like this meme?
Play along here.

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Kitchens: People always say that the kitchen is the heart of the home. I hate mine. It’s too small, and there’s not enough counterspace, and there should be light switches at both ends of the room. Also, I hate my stove, but that’s a story in and of itself.

My dream kitchen is large, bright, tiled, and has double wall ovens and a gas range. It also has enough room for several cooks to work at once. It does NOT have a television.

Kites: It’s a warm but windy evening, so windy that the picnic awning in the yard on the other side of our back fence is threatening to take flight, like a giant blue kite. I’m remembering trips to the beach with paper kites when I was a kid, and feeling a little wistful.

Keds: I know there was a line of Keds canvas sneakers that was re-introduced a couple years ago – Keds for adults – and I’m wishing for a pair now. My favorite shoes EVER were my red Keds. Comfortable, durable, and colorful. My favorite sneakers now are a pair of red Keds-like canfas sneakers by Cloudwalkers, but it’s just not the same. The toes are just a little too pointy, and the arch isn’t right.

In my wind-borne fantasy I’m wearing Keds while flying a Kite, and afterward, I’ll nibble Key Lime Pie while sitting in a glorious Kitchen.

How kitschy. :)