Mild Amusement

As I've mentioned before, the Mild Wife and I invested in a sewing machine during the pandemic. It was the most basic model we could find, but it was good enough for what we needed: to make a few masks. And now, over a year later, I still think that it was a good investment. Interestingly, even with restrictions being lifted a bit, we still find that we need masks. Some stores still require them, and neither of us wants to be in a position where we needed a mask and didn't have one. So, we still have to wear and wash them. And even though we've never run out of clean masks to wear, we did notice that we were close a couple of times. So, I recently broke out the sewing machine to make a few more masks. When we initially invested in supplies, we bought a pack of fabric squares. We figured we weren't going to need super high quality, and having a bunch of squares would give us options in case one of us screwed up (read: me). That also gave us the ability to add a little v...

At my parents' house, they have a chopstick that has been worn down a couple of inches. It lives near the coffee machine, and has become a fixture there. It's not quite worn down to the nub, but it's well on its way. Imagine a pencil that has been half-used, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it looks like. It's just been worn down over time and through use. Now, I've always found that one chopstick mildly interesting. I mean, I fully understand the physics that led to that, but it's sort of like seeing a rock that has been worn smooth by a running river. There's this moment of wonder where you contemplate the ravages of time, you know? The other thing that always came to mind was a sense of wonder. I mean, clearly, my parents could see that this chopstick was getting the worse end of that interaction. Couldn't they have just switched to a different tool/implement? And why the coffee machine? That seems like a strange place for a chopstick. I...

I've mentioned here and there that the Mild Wife is a really good cook . I mean, I try to pull my weight and I have a trick or two up my sleeve , but I can't quite make up the differential in time and reps that the Mild Wife has. Basically, she's put in a lot of effort into honing her craft in the kitchen, and it shows. I'm leading with that only because it's the only explanation I can find for some of her inspirations. It's not so much that she's imaginative, it's more that she has inklings that certain ingredients will taste good together. I firmly believe that a good part of the reason for this is that she has worked with these ingredients enough to truly get a grasp on their flavors. Think about it; if you're a carpenter, your experience gives you a good idea what type of wood or nails are best for a particular project. If you then have to build something you've never made before, you can probably guess which materials you could apply. Heck, ...

A long time ago, the Mild Wife shared a story about one of her friends' kids. This particular friend has a young daughter who happens to like Hello Kitty quite a bit. This in it of itself is not that surprising - that's a huge industry worldwide, so there are lots and lots of kids who like Hello Kitty. However, what made this story funny was that they found Hello Kitty where they least expected it: the supermarket. You see, Hello Kitty has branched out beyond the usual toys and plushies. It is now possible to buy Hello Kitty wine and Hello Kitty pasta . This notion had never occurred to me before, but as the Mild Wife's friend discovered, it is most definitely a real thing. When her daughter discovered this at the grocery store, she insisted that they buy some. The mom gave in and purchased the pasta, so there was a good laugh to be had. The story doesn't end there, though. No, this particular kid was so enamored with the pasta of one of her favorite characters that s...