Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: December 2022

  • Chemo Snack

    I was prowling around the house looking for a salty snack, when I remembered Dad’s favorite. Saltines with pats of salted butter. I particularly remember him eating these when he had chemo. This is how he would eat them, too: one serving eqaulled one small plateful. I was horrified by it when I was a…

  • Migraine Cure

    Recently Gary went to the NP at the neurologist’s office to see if he can get some relief with his migraine. He came back and reported: The NP is sick with covid The neurologist is not available for three months There were remarkably few cars in the lot because, as Gary surmised, Covid There has…

  • The Beleaguered Minnie Ornament

    Gary’s Hallmark Minnie ornament arrived with her right arm broken off like the Venus De Milo. I glued it back on. Easy. Fixed. Then I dropped her on the way to the tree. Here she is on the right. Her replacement is on the left, recuperating after a procedure to re-affix her left arm that…

  • One Dave Thing Still Undone

    I have had plenty of opportunities to call the University of New Mexico medical center and go through the steps I have to take before Dave’s Surprise Cancer Doctor will talk to me. I haven’t done a thing, except for listen to people tell me stories of how people they knew, too, either “bravely” hid…

  • Not Being Dave

    I remember being seven. I was asked if I liked ketchup. I thought, “Does Dave like ketchup? He does.” I answered, “I don’t like ketchup.” It was obvious Dave made my parents unhappy, so it was best to be as little like him as possible. It was a shame, and I can’t think how anyone…

  • Rewriting the Novel: Forensic Literary Criticism Has Been Done

    I noticed that in what I am now calling “Dave’s draft,” things are textbook dull — until chapter 3 when the hero shows up. It’s buried in Chapter 3 here, but my copy starts with it. I started to notice that other things in Dave’s draft were regressing, and I compared the two. Based on…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 12/15

    This week the seascape went from this: … to an encouraging beginning. I had three colors to mix: ..which I mixed: … but somehow they turned into mud on the canvas. Well, I can try again after it dries.

  • Terrifying Drive

    I was behind the steering wheel, in the dark, way too early in the morning, with Gary, and it was rainy, and there was road construction, and good god — it was horrifying. Here are the events: Gary disagreed with me, Siri, and the Mini GPS on what the route should be. His suggested route…

  • Bad Timing

    Today scientists announced they cracked fusion. Now they can produce more energy than they started with. It’s possible this is a hoax. But if not, it means:

  • Feral

    Here’s something I recently learned. Let us say you have been making friends with a semi-feral cat. You read that cats will show their trust by sniffing your face. If you lean in close to a semi-feral cat and gently whisper “I like you best” then the cat will look lovingly in your eyes and…