Category: The Household Book

The Mom Weekly Volume 157: August 11, 2026 

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here. https://themomweekly.com/

Notes:

I giggled when I wrote the headline for today’s Weekly. It is such fun to have inside sayings.

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

What Brings You to Town?

The expression, “What brings you to town” first became a cause for merriment in our family when three of us were at a St. Louis-area hotel a couple of years ago. The same weekend, there were a series of baseball games between the Cardinals and the New York Yankees at Busch Stadium downtown. 

Nearly every time we were on the elevator, there was a person, or a couple, or a family—different people every time—who were outfitted in either a little or a lot of Yankees or Cardinals hats, shirts, and other swag. It got to be funny, because after we would leave the elevator, we started saying to each other, “What brings you to town?” Because, obviously, baseball brought them to town.

The expression “What brings you to town?” has become sort of a family shorthand for noticing someone is telegraphing exactly why they are in town/dressed the way they are. And I can do this telegraphing as much as the next person.

The most hilarious version of this is when I attended the 2024 JASNA AGM (Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting, for those who don’t know), which was on an October weekend at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. It turns out that the same weekend was also the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 

A few days ahead of the conference, the JASNA attendees, received an email informing us that we would need to have ID and proof of reservations to be able to get in or out of the hotel all of that weekend.

That was quite the fun, “when worlds collide” scenario. JASNA people are often dressed in Regency-era costumes, so it would be very easy to see what bring them to town.  (see this gift article from last year’s JASNA in Baltimore which was SO MUCH FUN)

But back to Cleveland.

Even though I do not wear Regency wear, it was apparent to everyone that I was at the hotel for the JASNA conference, not the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame. And it was extremely obvious who was staying at the hotel for the ceremony. 

Apparently, Cher (one of the inductees) was staying at our hotel, along with several rap singers I cannot recall, Kool & the Gang (another inductee), and more.

I did not see Cher (darn), but I did get a photo with the only remaining original member of Kool & the Gang, who I recognized because the group was wearing bomber jackets with “Kool & the Gang” emblazoned on them.

When I spoke with several of you while I was away, one of you said, “You should ask people in the elevator, “What brings you to town?” That became my kryptonite for the rest of the weekend. 

Every time—every single time —I got in the elevator, it invariably included a person or group who was a) Dressed in all black. b) Carrying a wine glass or other adult beverage c) Appeared in dress or demeanor to be a rock ’n’ roll person of some kind. And I would have trouble not breaking into laughter. I tried a few times to actually say, “What brings you to town?” But I couldn’t and keep a straight face.

One time, I got on the elevator alone with a young-ish woman who looked kind of like a younger Cher. She was beautiful and dressed in all black, naturally. It was obvious that her clothes were super expensive. I couldn’t say, “What brings you to town?” Even though I knew exactly what brought her to town. 

I said, “How are you?” without bursting into laughter, which I consider a great win, I promise you.

She was friendly and we chit-chatted until one of us got out. I honestly don’t remember anything about the interaction, it was so unmemorable. I definitely didn’t know who she was, just that she was there for it. A musician? A publicist? Who knew. There was no “Kool and the Gang” bomber jacket to tip me off.

Later, I looked through the artists who were there for the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Dear readers, it turns out I shared an elevator with Dua Lipa, who was part of the induction ceremony to sing a duet of Cher’s classic “Believe” with her. (I won’t put the Youtube link in here, because that affects the email client, but you can Google it to see it).

Now, you young subscribers will know who Dua Lipa is, and that she is kind of a big deal. But I still don’t know much about her, nor could I name one of her songs. 

(Okay, I spoke too soon. Apparently, I recognize two of her songs, when I played a few on Spotify, prompted by one of my children who shall remain nameless. “Dance the Night,” which is a song from the Barbie movie, and “Levitating” because it was a BodyPump song.)

Those encounters with the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame people are still some great memories from that JASNA. But I honestly had more fun with my JASNA people.

The next time you are in an elevator or with someone that you are pretty confident why they are in town, just try, I dare you, to say, “What brings you to town?”

Interesting/Notable

Our Favorite Foods at IKEA—Wirecutter

This was a cool article that Dad shared with me. I also enjoy IKEA food!

The Mom Weekly Volume 149: June 16, 2026 

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

Notes

I hope you were able to celebrate Flag Day is a small way! I’m going to try to make it more an “event” in my life going forward. It makes me happy to do so.

Speaking of holidays, this Sunday is Father’s Day, so this is your reminder to reach out to Dad, send a card, etc.

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good

I purchased a scrubber tool kind of on a whim from Costo last month, and it sat in the back entryway for a long time until I was ready to tackle it and figure out how it works.

I finally did so a few weeks ago, and I was really pleasantly surprised with how well it cleaned off hard water stains from sinks. We have hard water here, and even though we have a water softener, the water leaves such a weird cast on the faucets and residue on the sinks. They don’t seem dirty, and they aren’t dirty when you clean them, but it takes so much scrubbing to get them relatively shiny. Even with that elbow grease, they never look “great” and it’s often an annoying prospect. 

It doesn’t help that I actively dislike two sink/cabinet combos that the previous owners put in during their gut remodel of parts of the house. In our bathroom, the sink is comically high off the ground, so much so that I can’t easily wash my face in it. So I get water all over myself and the side of the sink/floor when I do wash my face. 

The first floor powder room sink is unattractive and too big for the space, and also too high. I don’t think the previous owners were super tall people, but the sinks are just not great!

(In case you were wondering, no, they weren’t DIYers. They used a very “high end” local firm that does “fancy work.” But I’m not impressed, at all, and wouldn’t use them for a renovation.)

Anyway… I finally opened the scrubber tool (it’s this brand) and read about how to make it work. I actually had to also watch a YouTube video to see how to recharge the unit. And I tried it for a few minutes on the powder room sink. I used some water and Barkeeper/s Friend, and rinsed thoroughly afterwards.

Reader, it worked really well! 

Even though I didn’t have time right then to be super thorough, the work I did made real difference in both the faucet and the sink. 

A few days after that, I was giving baths to the dogs, and I realized, I should really clean this bathroom. (It’s not used very much). 

Related question why do bathrooms get so dusty in addition to dirty? It’s so annoying!

After the baths were over, I decided to get out the tool and clean this bathroom. Again, the tool did really great work, and the bathroom looked sooo much nicer than before. And so I cleaned another bathroom.

I took a few photos, intending to share with our family chat with the caption, “You may admire my handiwork.” When I looked at the photos, however, it didn’t look “perfect.” These are old bathrooms, and while the tile is kind of cool and old-fashioned looking, you could still see some water stains, and some discoloration of the bathtub that cleanser won’t get out.

I was discouraged for a moment, because I thought, “darn, I worked hard, and the scrubber tool worked well, and it looks nice and I want people to admire it!” And then the phrase “The perfect is the enemy of the good” came into my head. 

The bathrooms do look much, much better than when I started. But even if I had take before and after photos, I might have still been dissatisfied with the finished product. 

So. I sent the photos and instructed, “You may admire my handiwork.”

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.” I needed to be happy with a “good enough” (actually great) and sparkling bathrooms, even if they weren’t perfect.

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Reflecting on this made me think that cultivating happiness and satisfaction with work we have completed, is extremely important. It’s important to ourselves and other.

The perfect is the ENEMY of the good. Perfectionism is actively a bad thing, not a neutral. This can be true in our work, in our relationships, and more.

Let’s take The Mom Weekly, for instance.  Some weeks I know that I “hit it out of the park” with a really funny or insightful Weekly. Sometimes it is pretty good, and sometimes, it is completed, because I intend to “ship it” every week. And all are fine. 

But being happy and being able to celebrate “good enough” or “great” or “completed” is good and helpful, and an important life skill.

You may admire my handiwork!

Interesting/Notable

To-Do List Before Driving Off in a Rental Car–Autoslash blog

I saved this article a long time ago, but it seems apropos with upcoming travel! 

The one potentially “dated” aspect of this was using the “penny test” to check the tire treads. Place a penny, Lincoln’s head side down, into the tire. If part of his head is covered, the tire is fine. Conversely, if you can see all of his head, the tires are not great. 

But pennies are no longer in circulation! I guess it’s worth keeping a penny in your wallet for this purpose, just like we keep a quarter in our cars for Aldi carts.

The Mom Weekly Volume 132: February 17, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

Notes:

As I’ve said before, one reason I write The Mom Weekly is to tell myself things as well as you. And I thought of something I personally would like, leading into Lent starting tomorrow: a list of good ideas for Lenten meatless lunches and dinners.

I typically don’t eat meatless the entirety of Lent, but I know I will need ideas for Fridays, and maybe Wednesdays if I get ambitious. 

And so writing these ideas ahead of time should help me have a ready-to-go list. I hope it might help you too or inspire you to create your own.A

Also! Breaking news! I edited this post before it went out, because the Holy Father released his Letter for Lent 2026, and it’s well worth planning to read prayerfully and slowly this Lent. Here it is:

“Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion”

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

Meatless Lunch/Dinner Ideas

Baked Salmon, rice, veggies.

Scrambled eggs, salad.

Frittata, baked potatoes, veggies.

Curry wraps with peanut sauce (I adapted this recipe in various ways, notably that I add the peanut sauce to the wraps, and I wrap it in tortillas, not the collard leaves .

Corn chowder made without ham or bacon.

Grilled cheese, veggies or salad.

Korean Tofu Bowls or Wraps with rice or tortillas.

Tortellini with some kind of sauce, Caesar salad.

Aklit Spiced Ethiopian Vegetable Stew , rice

Vegetable soup, bread (note to self: look for a good veggie soup recipe!)

Meatless meatballs (Aldi) in Rao’s sauce, on Turano rolls for meatball subs, sautéed zucchini and onions

Homemade pizza with fresh mozzarella and/or artichokes, salad. 

Peanut butter on toast, sliced apples.

Mexican bean soup (find a good recipe), cornbread.

Blueberry pancakes made with Kodiak mix and/or coconut flour (for more protein and fiber).

I am genuinely interested in any ideas or recipes that you have come across that are meatless for Fridays. Please let me know!

Interesting/Notable:

Debate: Should We Delete Catholic AI? New Polity podcast (Matthew Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, and Marc Barnes

Sometimes Spotify annoys me when it auto-plays whatever random podcast I’ve listened to in the past, but this one was a home run. 

I’m not even 30 minutes into this episode and I have so many thoughts! It’s fascinating, and such a respectful conversation (at least as far I have gotten).

An Action Item: Download the Prayer of St. Ephrem to your phone

When I looked at last year’s beginning of Lent post, after I already completed this one, I thought, that was good! (Including my first-ever GIF).

But that post featured an image of the Prayer of St. Ephrem, which is traditionally prayed during Lent. I’ll feature it again here, and consider adding it to your phone, possibly to your lock screen? So that you can remember to pray it every so often during Lent.

The Mom Weekly Volume 105: August 12, 2025

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

The Mind is For Having Ideas, Not Holding Them

“The mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

This is a famous quote from productivity guru David Allen. He’s the person behind the Getting Things Done system.  

The theory behind getting those items out of our mind and into a list, or lists, or some kind of system, is this: If we clutter up our brain with all of our to-dos, there isn’t space for thinking, deep work, and things we really want to accomplish.

That’s why a regular “mind sweep” or “brain dump” is such a good idea. Here is a podcast episode (but with a transcript, so It’s easy to skim for the good content) of David Allen walking through a mind sweep and how to handle items on them.

I haven’t done a proper “mind sweep” in some time, so I plan to add this an an action item! But I do have a weekly habit of writing out what’s going on for the next week and a half or so. I do this one page per day, on light blue colored paper, that I keep on a fancy clipboard. I can add things to each day. Like many, I enjoy crossing off the items, and I even add things to the list so that I can cross them off. It truly helps me not to miss events and appointments, even ones that are on my calendar!

Interesting/Notable: 

How to de-addict Gen Z 

I had some reservations about some points of this article, but overall these young men are doing good work.

Action Item: Do a “Mind Sweep” Ahead of September

Set a time for 10-15 minutes (or more! Some people recommend a half hour or longer to help you capture a lot of items) and write down all the things you need to do—pay certain bills, check on your grocery list, make plans with friends, plan where you’ll be for Christmas or Thanksgiving, make your annual doctor or dentist appointments. You’ll be really glad that you did.

I have also done this walking through our house, writing down all the little things that I’d like to accomplish—cleaning off a surface, touching up paint on a wall or doorway, or organizing a closet. It’s great to have such a list, so when you are thinking of something to do, you can check the list and do one of the items. And, best of all, you get to cross off that item!