2003-09-04 - 5:04 p.m.

On the internal soundtrack:

Thursday, September 4

Here's a (bad) photo Poindexter took of me in the subway last week. In that bag are my new low-heel black sandals with a strap around the ankle that cost me $99 but have the softest (word please?) footbed I've ever owned and are guaranteed to last 10 years. Photos forthcoming.

So, thanks to Miss Kitiara, I am now in danger of becoming a whole-pickle addict and there is a mayonnaise dichotomy in my household.

I bought a few jars of pickles to have on hand for her visits, see, but they're slowly disappearing and she's not even here. They're awfully good for snacking on. And only about 10 calories per pickle, with all that flavor?! Wowie.

As for the mayonnaise: On Sunday, she was kind enough to give me a jar of Duke's mayo, the praises of which she and Rhiannonstone have been singing recently (highly amusing thread of silly banter). Phanatic insists that homemade mayo is the best, but he hasn't brought me any yet (although he did provide a recipe) so the jury's still out on that one. ;)

Anyway, I did a little taste test with pea-sized bits of Duke's and Hellmann's. I started with the Hellmann's. It was, y'know, mayonnaise. Then I tried the Duke's. It's true; there is no contest. Duke's is much thicker and has a much more powerful taste, with a vinegary aspect to it that I was bound to love.

Poindexter, however, doesn't want to be too aware of his mayo. As Kit rightly pointed out, "A man who doesn't like cheese can't possibly hold a respected opinion on mayonnaise". He found it "overpowering".

Looks like when Kit visits we now have to make 3 batches of tuna salad:

- Hellmann's, with celery

- Duke's, with celery

- Duke's, no celery

One of the things that entertains me, since I am easily amused, is place names.

I think everybody knows about Intercourse, PA. They've got a town called "Bird-in-Hand" too, I think.

I like places where people just continued to use what the local indian tribes called a place. Conshohocken, Passyunk, Manayunk. Part of Passyunk Avenue used to be an indian footpath, apparently. I could say "Conshohocken" to myself all day.

NJ has a lot of nutty place names. Ship Bottom, for one. Ho-Ho-Kus is a good one. And Cheesequake!

I tend to like places called "Somebody's Corners". Virginia, which doesn't have a lot of incorporated towns, has a few places like that. Five Corners, Tyson's Corner. And then there's places defined by what's there -- I grew up not too far from Grover's Mill, the town from "War of the Worlds".

OTOH, I am a little disappointed with the lack of originality of names endin in "-ton", "-town", or beginning with "New". People come to the colonies to make a fresh start, and they name the places after something back home.

In upstate New York they seem to use the suffix "-kill" a lot. Fishkill, Catskill Mountains. I think it means "place of".

I'd post more examples, but I have to go meet my husband. Tell me some of your favorite place names, if you're so inclined. :)

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