Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Author: Ellen S______

  • I have Become Death, Scanner of Documents.

    I had assembled all the documents I needed to submit for this Radiation Compensation Claim, but then I stopped and dragged my feet for a month. I had a plan to scan in one document a day into the online portal, but then I went on a tear and scanned everything from 4:30 to 12:30.…

  • How to fix a noisy Toto toilet the right way

    Remember when I fixed my noisy toilet? I was so pleased with myself for having jiggled the toilet into submission. Sadly, it began making noise again last week. I had to wait until Gary was out of the house before I could get my hands into the tank and begin jiggling again. I was poking…

  • 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…

  • TWIL: Scents

    I know former smokers turn to food, and (per my late brother) recovering alcoholics turn to Altoids and baby carrots. Now I see from this Huffington Post article that some GLP1 weight-loss shot users turn to smells now that tastes aren’t as gratifying. I personally have not had that experience, but I haven’t tried a…

  • Review: Etoile

    I am horribly late to the game with this Etoile show on Amazon Prime. A friend at work recommended it last year as I dismissed it for a month. I watched the first few minutes of bitchy ballet people and thought, “This sounds like Gilmore Girls. Gary liked that show. Gary will like this.” Then…

  • Neck cream update from Science Girl

    I have a short update on the Lancome Cream cage match science experiment outlined at the end of this post here. Briefly, the right side of my neck has benefited from application of the supposedly magical RIDICULOUSLY Pricey Lancome Skin Cream for the last four weeks, while the left half has been left to wither.…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 5/28/2026

    Previous floating buffalo: This is the progress: This pass started here: He was originally: Really tickled with that one. That one’s done.