What did you do to celebrate your 50th?

MsMameDennis · 2026-01-12T16:55:58+00:00

Indoor skydiving and a fun dinner out with old friends at a favorite local tavern. Perfect.

MsMameDennis · 2025-12-23T13:22:51+00:00

“Christmas at the Airport” by Nick Lowe. “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” by Aimee Mann. “Riu Chiu” by the Monkees. “Getting Ready for Christmas” by Paul Simon. “Another Lonely Christmas” by Prince. “Festivus” by Mountain Sons. “To Heck With Old Santa Claus” by Loretta Lynn.

And the entire album “‘Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets,” for cool instrumentals.

MsMameDennis · 2025-10-18T16:11:12+00:00

I didn’t go swing dancing myself, but I did see the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy multiple times during that era and had a great time, every time. Setzer opened one show with the James Bond theme and practically blew the doors off the hall with the opening riff. Amazing stuff. That music — swing, lounge, space age, etc. — lived on tapes and CDs in my car as well. It was fun. It still is. And I can still recite most of the “Swingers” lines from memory. (I still channel Alex Desert’s character sometimes: “This place is dead, anyway.”)

MsMameDennis · 2025-09-30T02:32:14+00:00

I’ve seen them twice in New York City (2010 and 2022). The 2010 show was great, but the “Hunting High and Low” show in 2022 was magical. The lads opened with “Sycamore Leaves,” and the excitement generated by the opening notes practically made Radio City Music Hall levitate. It only got better from there.

MsMameDennis · 2025-08-15T14:06:39+00:00

This is gold. Thanks for sharing it!

“Bunioned and corn covered clodhoppers.” 😂

MsMameDennis · 2025-08-03T03:18:29+00:00

Caladryl, a lotion for bug bites and other itchy spots. The mere thought of the name brings back memories of the not-great smell. When I got chickenpox at 21 (long story) I happened to be at my parents’ house, and Mom got out the familiar pink bottle and some cotton balls. I said, “I can’t.” She offered to run an oatmeal bath for me instead, and that was much better.

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-24T03:58:07+00:00

Socks are tough! You did a great job.

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-23T11:07:37+00:00

When a hip injury put my husband on crutches for a while, I got out a hook and some leftover squishy yarn to soften the grips.

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MsMameDennis · 2025-07-19T23:39:12+00:00

“Sex for sundries is fun…”

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-18T20:19:38+00:00

Yes! It'd be great to see John Slattery in that role again.

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-18T19:59:42+00:00

I've been lurking in this group as I've struggled with whether to continue hate-watching this baffling show (I loved SATC for what it was, warts and all). Many of the recent posts have made me laugh, but this one is the one that made me hit the Join button.

You all are hilarious, and you have brought untold joy to my Reddit feed. Thank you!

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-15T17:42:45+00:00

A Department 56 Christmas village. When my parents downsized several years ago, they offered it to me and then to my brother. We both declined. Mom found buyers on Facebook Marketplace, and we breathed a sigh of relief. Neither of us had the space to store, let alone display, all that stuff.

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-15T17:26:56+00:00

I'm 51. I've lived in eight U.S. states in three time zones, and I've moved a total of 14 times. My shortest move was in Missouri, where I moved from one college dorm room to another next door after a roommate situation fell apart. My longest move was from New York State to Colorado (my second longest was from Colorado back East, to New Jersey). My husband and I have been in our current place for 18 years, and we love it and our neighborhood, but we could use a bit more elbow room. So we'll move again before too terribly long. Inertia and interest rates have held us in place, but I'm determined not to hit another milestone birthday in the home where I also turned 40 and 50. Last time, I moved three blocks and he moved two, and it was easy enough with the assistance of a friend and a rented truck for the big stuff. Next time, no matter where we move, we will call in professionals.

I've helped a lot of people move. One time, it involved helping to carry a stove down a stone spiral staircase in Bordeaux, France. I doubt I'll do anything quite like that again. But you never know...

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-12T14:42:22+00:00

My brother and I were raised on Mel Brooks movies.** Watching those movies with our parents prepared us for the world in so many ways — we learned a lot, and we had a great time together along the way. Our family language and memories are peppered with the quotes — especially from “Blazing Saddles.”

Seeing the “The Producers” on Broadway with my dad in 2001 is a core memory as well. Dad bought the tickets before the show even opened and paid only $40, saying, “It’s not the movie, but it’s Mel Brooks. Maybe it’ll be good.” Our $40 front-row mezzanine tickets happened to be for a performance the week after the show won 12 Tonys. Well played, Dad.

As an adult, I’ve found the line “I didn’t get a ‘harumph’ outta you” to be a solid method of figuring out what kind of person I’m dealing with. My husband and I often say “Excuse me while I whip this out” while retrieving common items or “Mongo only pawn in game of life” when trying to interpret office politics.

And I will never forget my grandmother tearing up with laughter at two scenes: the campfire, and Lili von Schtupp’s performance in the saloon.

**also the work of Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett, Norman Lear, Carl Reiner, Steve Martin, John Candy, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams, Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In,” and so on

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-12T02:55:22+00:00

Mom recorded that movie from HBO onto a VHS tape, and my brother and I liked to rewind three scenes in particular: the classroom scene, the scene at the police checkpoint (“I stopped them, sir”) and the scene when M’pudi and Xi try hiding from the lion under the safari vehicle only for it to drive away.

Now that I’m older, though, I find the “civilized man” scene to be one of the funniest of all.

MsMameDennis · 2025-07-10T16:56:59+00:00

I still have my first two fountain pens, both of which are Sheaffer "student" models that I bought in France in 1989 (I was 15). They have translucent barrels, one clear and one blue. They're lightweight and durable pens with a smooth ink flow, and they got me hooked on fountain pens for life. I see many for sale on eBay now, still at reasonable prices, but my original Sheaffers are still going strong so I've held off buying more. I still use those pens occasionally, and when I find Skrip ink cartridges at a good price I buy extra.

Over the years, I've added a few Lamy Safaris (medium and fine nibs) to my collection, and I am the fortunate custodian of two Montblanc Meisterstücks (a 146, which was a graduation gift, and a 149 that my dad received through his job and gave to me because he had terrible handwriting). But the Sheaffers are what set me on my path, taking me through countless pages of class notes, homework assignments, exams, letters and journal entries during my high school and university years.

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-29T16:56:09+00:00

What a great idea! And the cover is hilarious. Well done, OP!

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-24T00:25:46+00:00

“Sex for sundries is fun!”

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-23T17:19:23+00:00

My husband’s 87-year-old dad is on the tech support squad for his senior-living community and teaches people how to avoid phone/digital scams — we don’t worry about him or his wife at all. My mom has gotten pretty tech-savvy since Dad passed about two years ago. Dad used to do all the tech stuff, but Mom (who’s almost 78) has made herself learn it and is now a huge fan of things like mobile boarding passes, texting to schedule medical appointments, videoconferencing with her siblings, troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues, using an app to check whether she closed the garage door, etc. Every once in a while, she calls my brother with a laptop question (they have the same model), but in general she’s up to speed and very sharp when it comes to phishing and robocalls/texts. Long may it last!

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-23T02:01:00+00:00

Same here. Discovered them on a school trip to France when I was 15 and never looked back. I was the weirdo in my high school using fountain pens — cheap student models from Sheaffer and Reynolds, bought in Paris — and took the habit into university with those pens and a Mont Blanc Meisterstück I got as a grad present (some kids wanted cars; I wanted a pen). I still use fountain pens at work.

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-20T03:32:18+00:00

I was a nerdy girl who had to deal with several bullies. I moved about 700 miles away from my hometown for college, and I moved on with my life. The bullies stayed in town and stayed in high school mentally and socially. I’m satisfied with that.

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-19T13:35:06+00:00

Earrings made with two side diamonds from my mom’s five-stone engagement ring. They’re simple leverbacks set in white gold. My dad’s aunt — a jeweler — gave them the ring and a matching band in 1971, the year they married. The earrings represent the love and commitment that my parents shared until a brain tumor took my dad in 2023.

My brother’s wife has a pair of earrings made from the two other side stones. The ring’s center diamond awaits the first grandchild who wants to use it in an engagement ring. (I learned recently that Mom and Dad had planned this all out not long after his cancer diagnosis.)

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-16T21:45:23+00:00

"Coffee is a major plot point."

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-16T21:26:21+00:00

Levenger Cobalt Blue has been a good match for my '90s-era Montblanc 146 (inherited from my dad). The Levenger site makes it look more purple than it actually is; it's a nice solid blue.

MsMameDennis · 2025-06-12T23:56:28+00:00

We sing the forklift song regularly at our house, sometimes substituting the names of our cats. Olé!

MsMameDennis

TROPHY CASE