The Weekly Ramble – March 6, 2026

I love sharing our Sunday Dinner tablescape with you. This past week I dug out my vintage bunnies. They’ve been with me for oh, about 50 years!

You can’t tell in the picture, but the basket is a small little container. Many years ago, my parents added a soft padded sticker on the bottom so that it wouldn’t scratch a furniture surface. That also means you can’t know the maker.

So, I did what we do in 2026 and did a google image search. Have you done that yet? It’s fantastic, especially if you have old items that you want to match, like the Norwegian candlesticks I found on eBay last year.

Anywho, the bunny mama and her baby were created by Lund’s Lites. There are several listed on eBay as well as other variations.

The problem with this, of course, is that you find more things that you want to have. Like I need more stuff.

Seriously, I have come to the realization that I need to do some more massive dejunking. Didn’t I just do that? It feels like I’m doing it all the time.

I honestly am not buying that many mugs, candles, and blankets! But it does seem everywhere I turn in our house that it’s hard to put things away. So, I’m thinking I’m due for a big spring cleaning.

So, as of now, I’ve booked it for the community college spring break when I won’t have to drive around anywhere. That’s a few weeks away, so here’s hoping I make some good progress.

Do you do regular spring cleaning? At the old house, both the property managers and the homeowners would inspect the house — twice a year.

That was annoying, but also helpful in getting rid of junk and taking care of things properly. So, I’m going to gear up to get “inspection ready” later this month. Lord willing.

Miss 17 and I strolled through Target this week. We found these gems.

I’m beside myself wondering:

1. Who dreamt this up?
2. Why did they think someone would want it in their Easter basket?

Our kids never had Easter baskets so that was also something we discussed during our browsing. It’s always fun to see when an iffy choice you made later turns out okay.

We came home with new jammies for my girl and a cute spring tin. No KFC jelly beans, though. Ha!

Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, and/or reading this past week:

What I’ve been Doing

I’ve been trying to figure out a spring capsule wardrobe that suits my current life. In years past I relied on the Get-Your-Pretty-On style challenges and later the Outfit Formulas app.

Both were really helpful to fight the frump, but I don’t feel like I can recommend the products anymore. It feels a bit like a money-grab and it encourages buying tons more clothes.

Instead, I’m doing it on my own, heavily influenced by Instagram ads, apparently. My feed? Yikes!

When we went to Japan last summer, I had one very small suitcase for 3 weeks. It was very minimal, all mix and match, all neutrals. It fit the Japan-vibe very well.

But, I don’t live in Japan. So I’m working on putting together a capsule without having to buy all new. Unfortunately I was late to leave the skinny jean era so I still have some pants that need replacing.

Good problems to have, but I’ll be happy to have this sorted so I don’t spend so much time trying to figure out what to wear anytime I need to leave the house.

What I’ve been Eating

I made another batch of deli roast beef, this time with a huge eye round roast I bought at Costco Business. It was under $6/pound which is my target price for beef and much cheaper than the deli roast beef anywhere.

I cooked it on Monday, chilled it, and then sliced it up thinly for sandwiches, salads, and wraps. It was incredibly good with caesar salad in a wrap. So good!

Other yummy meals of note: I roasted two whole chickens and served them with pesto ravioli and a caesar salad. Then later in the week, turned the leftover chicken into stock and made Mulligatawny.

I also boiled down some of the stock into gelatin cubes. It’s been years since I did it, but it’s a nice way to save space in the freezer.

Aside: roasting the chickens led to telling the kids about the countertop rotisserie Bryan’s mom bought for us 30 years ago. Did you have one of those? It was such a pain to clean!

What I’ve been Listening/Watching

I’ve been watching lots of French murder mysteries, specifically the “Murder In” series on Prime. Only season 1 is available for free. The others are on MHz. I’m trying not to subscribe to another channel, but it was fun to watch Murder in Collioure, since we’ve been to Collioure!

One night this week I dreamt in French so that was reassuring. I haven’t lost it completely.

I still need to read the subtitles most of the time, but I can turn away from the screen from time to time which is encouraging. AND I can tell when they don’t quite translate it right, usually when bad words are involved.

I spent eight years of my life studying French, it would be nice not to lose the skill. Of French. Not the bad words.

I’d like to find some novels to read in French, but not sure where I want to start or how hard it will be to find. French book stores are thin on the ground in San Diego.

I really enjoyed The Red Notebook years ago when I read it in English. Maybe read that in French? Or another book by the same author?

Speaking of reading…

What I’ve been Reading

I read a couple romcoms that were okay. Nothing worth reporting on.

I am rereading Mansfield Park. Once upon a time, it was my favorite of the Jane Austen books, but then another took its place (not P&P, if you would believe it).

I’m curious to see where I land in this stage of life.

Other books I’m hoping to read/listen to this month:

• The Art of Spending Money
• That Hideous Strength
• my fave Jane Austen (can you guess?)
• a book in French?

What I’ve been Writing

Here’s where I’ve been putting my words recently: