Author: Rene

Go to Sam’s Club ten minutes before closing. It’s not busy – you can breeze through the aisles, and you don’t have time to spend on unnecessary purchases. No perusing the Christmas decor, the comfy loungewear that looks inviting, the snacks. You just run in and get what you need.

What was so essential to lure us out for date night to this posh establishment? Eggs. We had none for our culinary plans in the morning. Thankfully, they also sell delicious ice cream sandwiches. I’m guessing this would also be an excellent time to visit Target, the other potential monetary trap?

Stay tuned for more tips on keeping your savings safe.

There was no hope for me to be in a marching band. I chose the vocal route in high school and dismissed the lugging-of-an-instrument-during-halftime-of-a-game approach. I couldn’t do both, though I adore marching bands. They are my favorite addition to any parade or sporting event.

Now, if I had been adept at wielding a baton, perhaps I could have led the band? Graceful tossing and twirling was never in my wheel well either. (I can see my sixth grade teacher amused and internally rolling her eyes to the “Downtown” baton routine to which my three partners and I subjected her and the class.)

Today I stride forward to the music of another beautiful day carried on the breath of autumn’s being.

It wasn’t cake decorating, but it was painting windows and trim, very much akin in their goals. Looking good.

We had two doors and a window replaced last week, so the obvious touch-up before winter needed to occur. Thus, taking our lives in our hands with the extension ladder, we caulked and painted while the weather is still so accommodating. It just reminded me of icing a cake. Smoothing the frosting, adding the final touches, admiring the work. Now we await the arrival of a snowstorm to test the front door. No more indoor drafts and small snow drifts when a wicked wind unleashes its fury.

Obviously, it would be nice NOT to have such a trial. But if it happens, we are prepared.

We still haven’t taken in the outdoor furniture and cushions. This unseasonably warm fall has done a favor, and quite frankly, is making me a tad nervous since we turned off the irrigation system to the desert here. Dragging hoses around all winter is not my favorite sport.

The squirrels are preparing for the inevitable so I am feeling the pull to do the same. Perhaps later today when the sun has set? I’m still in vampiric mode as my pre-cancerous facial treatment has me staying indoors until tomorrow.

You might think I’m accomplishing a lot being inside with a house in dire need of cleaning? So far I’m halfway through my novel and have managed to clean the microwave. Whoo hoo!

It’s necessary and just not much fun, whether it’s for your car or your face. Yes – the annual dermatology appointment. I should be done soon though! Hopefully those nasty little pre-cancers are gone and we can resume outdoor fun soon.

Heading out soon.

Truly…some nights the entertainment is just that – trying to find entertainment. Watching pre-recorded “Jeopardy” is only good for so much fun – especially since it’s about 15 minutes worth of show with 15 minutes of chatter and ads. Fast-forwarding allows you to get through three shows quickly, but who has three shows recorded?

Ah – that’s okay. Best to keep reading and plowing my way through the stack by my bedside. I’m currently reading, “Mrs. Dalloway” – Virginia Woolf, (never did get to that one in my studies) and “The Known World,” which keeps me wishing I could lie on the sofa and just read all day.

Both tomes are definitely better than wrangling the remote.

Yes, I had to borrow this because sometimes my brain is still waking up on Monday morning. So here’s my laugh to get me going and maybe you? The coffee is about to kick in, too, helping me realize that now I shall waken at 4:30 am for at least a week.

Happy Monday.

Finally, I figured out how to get rid of the title on my blog. For some bizarre reason, “romper room” has been hanging out ever since I published that post. I tried everything – except enlisting the support of my personal IT guy, “Pen.” I gave up, until yesterday.

It was a total accident because I hit the incorrect heading in my editing. Apparently I accidentally hit it on a previous episode of quirky and mundane, also.

Sometimes the easiest solutions are just that – the easiest.

The absolute best part of baking a pie from scratch is being able to enjoy it for breakfast the next day. It’s a pastry delicacy that I truly relish with my morning cup of joe.

Absolute pie perfection comes from my daughter’s exact measurements of the lattice top on a cherry pie. My pies scream “homemade” due to their slapped together, haphazard criss-crossing and imperfect pinching of the crust. I really should take a little more time and pride in the execution, but you know what? It all tastes the same.

The last piece of deliciousness awaits. (And my daughter will be providing the Thanksgiving pies so that they actually do look as beautiful as they taste.)

We used to carve jack-o-lanterns (tradition which originated with turnips in Ireland, by the way). We no longer do that fun and messy event. Why? Squirrels.

Whenever I would set my lovely artistic decoration outside it would be eaten by those nasty little imps. I assumed it was squirrels since the orange “fruit” was set high on the pillars of the porch. Deer couldn’t reach there and I didn’t think birds could gnaw that big of a hole. And squirrels? They are the bane of my existence.

Perhaps we shall renew that fun when the grands are older. I do miss making a mess – and I know “Pom” and I would still enjoy roasting those seeds!

Here’s hoping for a gentle Halloween night for the children and parents herding them round the ‘hoods. The week’s weather looks slightly promising.