Ten Favourite Things Beginning with J

I knew I’d get a challenging letter! I decided to have a go at the alphabet meme that’s been doing the rounds, and Suey gave me the letter J.

Jacarandas
Every spring these trees burst out in flowers of the most gorgeous blue-mauve. Around the same time, apparently, University of Queensland students start shielding themselves with books and umbrellas, because of the belief that if a jacaranda flower falls on them, they’ll fail their exams. Happily my own uni had no such superstitions - perhaps because it has no jacarandas.

Jeans
I live in jeans as much as possible during the cooler months. I have the devil of a time finding ones that a. fit, b. flatter, and c. won’t blow the budget, but the end result is worth it. Stretch denim worn tight has a nice sucking-in effect.

Jigsaw puzzles
I have one with the same image on both sides, rotated 90 degrees. One with no edges and five pieces left over. One with no picture to work from. One where the image is made up of numerous tiny ones - a photomosaic. One with 3,000 pieces. None took more than a few days and my family has given up trying to find one that will really challenge me. *Sigh*

Jane Austen
Who doesn’t love Jane? I’ll never get tired of re-reading her novels and spending time with her characters. (Thinking of which, it’s probably about time I re-read Sense and Sensibility.)

Jumbles
Is anyone else familiar with this species of newspaper puzzle? Nine letters in a 3x3 grid, where the aim is to create as many words of 4+ letters as possible, including a 9-letter word, all using the letter in the centre square. Even better than a cryptic crossword.

Jasmine
The house where I grew up had a fence covered in jasmine (and the neighbour’s ivy). When it was in flower the whole corner of the yard was filled with the scent.

Jewellery
I feel undressed without my rings and love drop earrings. Sometimes I make my own from beads and wire, and I find a jewellery sale nearly as irresistable as a book sale. My jewellery box is a tangled mess but I haven’t quite worked out how else to store them.

Junk
I’m nowhere near as bad a hoarder as I used to be, but I still manage to accumulate an excess of stuff - and leave it everywhere. I must reform. I must!

Jet black
There’s a preponderance of black in my wardrobe, because it’s what I buy when I can’t find any colours to suit (which, as I’m not one of the tanned blondes and brunettes for whom fashion is designed, is often). Plus, I look good in black. Sometimes I think I should just give in and turn goth, but I love colour too much.

Julia fractals
All fractals, really, but I was running out of ideas!