Tabletop Chimes

I hopped off the console table and trotted straight into the kitchen, where four stainless steel measuring cups were resting upside down on the butcher block. They looked just like a row of miniature polished bells! I grabbed a clean bamboo coffee stirrer from a ceramic crock, balanced on my rigid plastic boots, and gave the smallest cup a sharp tap. *Ding!* A crisp, ringing chime echoed across the tiles. Naturally, I couldn't stop there. I bounded down the line, striking each curved base from the tiny quarter-cup to the hefty one-cup giant—ding, dong, clang, gong! By shuffling their order across the wood, I tapped out a whole upbeat morning rhythm.