Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: June 2026

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 6/4/2026

    Here’s where I left off on the pitcher of peonies: … when it was originally this:  Let’s see if I can’t make peony petals look like they aren’t made of bologna.  

  • Neck Update

    The science experiment with the Pricey Lancome Cream continues. Here’s the opera bathroom update at four weeks in. I suspect it’s the angle of the light in the opera bathroom that makes half the wattle look smaller. (Treated wattle is on the right side of the photo.) (This pose makes me look like I am…

  • Opera Review: The Light in the Piazza

    First off, it’s very much like a musical: it was nominated for Tony awards. But it’s heavily orchestrated, and large swaths of it are in Italian. Okay, [SPOILERS] below. So, the romantic lead is a woman in her 20s who has had traumatic brain injury. She is touring Italy with her mother who is devoted…

  • Pre-opera: The Light in the Piazza

    Where we ate: We have wanted to eat for years at Olive and Oak, and this was the night. I had checked the on-line menu earlier and discovered that other than the giant hundred dollar steaks the food was all a) unfamiliar to my stomach or b) seafood in St. Louis or c) spicy or…