Category: To Occupy my Time

Mystery Masquerade Party

The day has arrived! We had a wonderful time at Renee’s birthday party. Everyone brought their A game.

Including Renee. She needle felted little party favors for each person. Here’s my mouse, hanging out at my fancy plate, napkin, and envelope.

Here is my final version of my mouse costume. I made the collar that very day.

And here is Matt’s stallion costume.

Birthday girl Renee, reading from our guidebook. She was the Countess.

And her husband Greg, the inspector, who guided us through the mystery.

Two other fun costumes: the Cat, a widow.

And the Weasel, who took home the prize for best character.

I realized at the start of the mystery that all my party energy had gone into planning my costume, leaving nothing for mystery solving. It turned out I was sitting next to the murderer, who escaped mine, and everyone else’s attention.

And here is our group shot.

This was a very fun evening. We all had some eyerolls at the gendered notions of the plot, but we were able to overlook those.

Requiem: The Final Small Bowl

I don’t think a full set of these bowls came to me with Grandma Collins’s china, but perhaps there was. We’ve enjoyed using them. They are a nice size for a small snack or a piece of cut up fruit.

But today, we said goodbye to the last of the small bowls. We are a flat-dish and cereal-bowl-only household now.

Library Demerit System?

I think we can correctly guess that this letter writer is a prompt returner of library items.

The Multnomah County Library hasn’t had fines for a few years now. (Given my loose grasp on the passage of time, it could be anywhere from three years to fifteen.)

While I did enjoy the low-key pressure to renew or return my books to avoid fines, I similarly enjoy that I get an email when a book I have checked out has a bunch of people waiting.

I bet you can guess that I would do well in this demerit system.

Heloise Is Like, So Old!

The Oregonian has gifted us with a Hints from Heloise column a few days per week (or maybe all days?) This Heloise is the daughter of the original. I know this because readers often say something like, “I have learned many tips from your mother and from you over the years.”

I don’t know how old the daughter Heloise is, but I’d guess ancient. It’s a very old-fashioned column. This one, in particular, tickled my funny bone on a few levels.

“It’s boring but very helpful” (!!!!) Sheesh John S., Way to sell the fun that is diagramming.

As you know, I’ve been learning to diagram sentences over the past year. I can say that it has no effect on how many times I say “like” in a sentence. You’ll note that Heloise didn’t even bother to address that odd little tip, she just went for the jugular of “like.”

I read your column in the Portland, Oregonian. (That’s how many people sign off.)

Funny Internet Things June 2026

Algae in the reflecting pool:

This makes me laugh. But also, we’ve been making trickle down jokes since the 80s, yet our economic policy is still trickle down economics. I think it’s the rich people who are really laughing.

The president did his level best to make the celebration of the USA’s 250th birthday un-fun.

I wonder if people bought the shirt on the left?

Movie Quiz Results June 2026

It was a great night for the Good, the Battleship, and the Ugly this month at the Movie Quiz.

We aren’t even holding up the bottom of the middle; we’re smack dab in the middle! Our 130 points is 10 above what I consider an acceptable score!

Fun names this month: Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie, the quiz; the Rambo Connection; and Ken Burns’s Squatty Potty