Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: October 2020

  • Excellent Start to Halloween

    I woke up early while Gary was brushing his teeth. I crept into his room, got in to bed, and covered myself entirely with the coverlet. He called out, “Morning, Ellen.” I waited a beat and whipped off the coverlet. I finally got revenge for all this nonsense.

  • Clue

    We are well into Poirot. Season six, episode two is Hickory Dickory Dock (co-starring a young Damien Lewis, eee). There’s a point where Poirot trips up a young “Keats expert” by quoting some Keats at her. He then says to Hastings, “She professes to be the expert on John Keats, yet the lines that I…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 10/29

    This week the sunflowers went from this: … to this: This is getting close. Some of the thistles need to be darker overall, and some need darker centers, but aside from that I think I am done. The basement is damp right now, so things are taking a very long time to dry. The daisy…

  • Election Prep

    Remember when CNN convinced me there would be rioting after Obama’s election in 2016? And then there was no rioting at all? People taunted George W. Bush on the way out, that’s about all the rioting there was. Have I learned my lesson, though? No, I have not. I am now worried that there will…

  • Consumer Warnings

    Key information is lurking in the websites and fine print for some over-the-counter medicines. Beware. Not only is Geritol 25% alcohol, MiraLAX has key data on the website that is not on the bottle. My neurologist heard I was still on a weekly elimination schedule and suggested the MiraLAX. I followed the directions and the…

  • Invisible Guests

    Gary conceded that the blue chair doesn’t fit in the Stickley room. Points for him. He has been using the reclining feature of the replacement chair instead of elevating his feet on an enormous black exercise ball. Bonus points for him. But then I wake up every day and on my way to the kitchen…

  • Mysteries

    Poirot We are still slowly binge-watching Poirot, and it is still delightful. The only sad thing is that some episodes dramatize actual Agatha Christie stories, so we start the episode aware of who the murderer is. I do love the idea of a fussy person dealing with murder. Poirot tends more to the Monk end…

  • The Heat

    Every fall I hear the same thing. “I try not to turn the heat on until November, but last night I broke down.” Then in the spring I hear, “I go as long as I can before I turn on the air conditioning, but even with all the fans on last night it was too…

  • Apple Watch Drama

    This past weekend I went out to do the fall leaves in the front yard. I didn’t want to work on it after four because I had someplace else to be. Usually I would bring my phone out to tell me the time, but now I have this new thing, a “watch,” specifically they call…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 10/22

    This week the sunflowers went from this: … to this: When I like things this late in the game they usually go south. I still like this. Six more thistles and some detail. Cross your fingers. The glazed daisy went from this: … to this: