College looms and we've been working on college skills. The obvious, like living in sweats on minimal sleep. And the far-fetched, like cooking.

The chocolate Lab needs a chocolate name, and we sampled a rich variety. Chip got chopped. Hershey seemed too big-box. Toblerone too small-box. We took to pacing the candy aisle, muttering. Rolo? Bosco? Charleston Chew?

Bread means food, job, money. Bread is heavy.

One morning on the snowboard. One afternoon in the ER. One day of vacation shot.

The bomb may be fearsome on the front, but as metaphor, it's the bomb. Chic, charming and clever are the bomb. Unlike, say, the actual bomb. Hard to grasp how something so fierce came to define some things so fine, but that's the lingo.

The melting pot, once a staple of the social-studies classroom, has been retired. And a good thing too. Our regional cuisines, stewed together, would yield a mess. Better to dine at the Great Smorgasbord.

You plan to travel. You plan to travel with cake. Why not? It's good company, and unlikely to snag the window seat.

Hearth and home get cozy in the political speech and needlepoint pillow. I'm clear on home. Hearth? Not so much. Fireplace? Big fireplace? Big fireplace with cauldron? Like speechifying and needlepoint: Nothing I need.