Oopsie Doodle

August Stuff

August 9, 2026

Mini Golf Stuff

Every summer, my husband and I play mini golf at least once. The place we like (Lilli Putt, for anyone in the Twin Cities) is an old-school, hokey, somewhat grimy spot that has been around in one form or another since the 1960s. I love it there.

My usual strategy is to whack the ball as hard as I can and hope for the best. It's fun and satisfying, but it unfortunately results in me doing very, very badly at mini golf.

But this year, I decided to chill the hell out and lightly tap the ball instead of attacking it full-bore. And that is how I played my best mini golf game ever last Tuesday and won for the first time. Not to brag, but you can call me Nelly Korda from now on. I did kind of miss blindly whacking the ball though.

Work Stuff

One of my coworkers gleefully (I assume) left us behind. They also left behind the most premium desk in the office, in the coziest corner near the back door.

To be honest, I was pissed when I showed up on the first back-to-office day and discovered that my assigned desk was smack in the middle of everything. An open office is already hell on earth, but at least let me have one direction that I can look in without making accidental eye contact with someone as they slurp down soup.

Anyway, I moved to my former coworker's desk. Suddenly I have a wall at my back and a view of the sky. I tend to be tense and hypervigilant in the office, which invariably results in a headache, a neckache, and an amount of exhaustion that prevents me from even turning on music for my drive home. Maybe my new little hidey hole will help. The office is still a panopticon, but at least now it's a panopticon where I can look up and remember that clouds exist.

Thrifting Stuff

Frankly, I'm mad that they still haven't put the sweaters back out. Some of us wear them year-round.

The best thing I've found lately is this old children's desk set:

I asked my friend if I should buy them. She said no. I don't know why I asked; I was never not going to bring them home. They hold envelopes and stamps on my desk.

They also sort of match the giant pencil coat rack that holds my little toy camera collection. It's also thrifted:

(My husband found that one at Savers and immediately knew I'd want it. He was right. One time I saw a giant Ticonderoga pencil for cheap at an antique store in Duluth and didn't buy it. I still think about it. The other one that got away.)

Movie Stuff

I saw The Odyssey, or as I like to call it, The Long Nap. Sowwee. It felt disjointed to me, like every part of the story was rushed and glossed over. Odd for a movie that lasts 900 years.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was also just fine. I was less entertained than I'd expect to be at a Spider-Man movie. It's possible I was watching under the haze of two or three beers for both of these movies.

At home, I finally watched Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. It was a goofy silly delight. I liked it.

Garden Stuff

My zucchini died. The survival of the cucumbers is questionable. The peppers and tomatoes are thriving. I'm getting tired of watering. The weeds are encroaching. Is summer over yet?

Making Stuff

My husband asked me to teach him to knit. We're both making this dishcloth.

His is hilarious, as most first knitting projects are. Here's our progress so far:

The blue one is his, obviously.

I've also been making little pocket notebooks out of old wrapping paper mounted onto cardstock. I use this type of notebook for everything, so it's kind of fun to make my own. Plus, it's a way to use some of my wrapping paper other than making them into seamless-ish backgrounds.

I also made deviled eggs! They're for the virtual potluck that skep and myrtletribe are hosting, so I will wait to share how they turned out.

Stray Observations