Over the weekend, I had an uninvited visitor which compounded the problem by bringing a friend. Looking in the cabinet under the sink, I found shredded pieces of napkin from the garbage can.

Now what could that be? A mouse in the house! No! Dashing to Kroger, I bought two sticky traps, placing one in the cabinet and one in the garage.

Voila! Two ensnared mice. Sticky traps are horribly inhumane, but over the years too many mice have successfully snatched the cheese, or I have smacked my fingers trying to remove the peanut butter.

Sunday was busy, so cleaning any traces of mice was delayed until Monday. Not the deep cleaning of each room which occurs annually in the depths of winter. This was to be the normal vacuuming, dusting, bathroom disinfecting, floor mopping, etc., while on the outlook for droppings.

Then, I remembered The Queen.

As a young girl, I was fascinated to no end by Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. The tattletale book by their governess, “Crawfie” landed that lady in a tub of very hot water, but was a smashing read. The fascination never left, particularly for Elizabeth.

Poor Margaret Rose, lacking the steadiness of her sister, was fated for disappointment.

Elizabeth was almost too good to be true. Her graciousness, humor, and practicality shone through. She would tromp around in a headscarf and Wellingtons, then dress to the nines for a formal occasion.

How fortunate was she to marry for love as opposed to the royal tradition of marrying for alliances. The success of the marriage was due in large part to Prince Philip, who put aside personal ambition to support his wife, and thereby the throne.

One can imagine his frustration at his children not bearing his last name.

Wallis Warfield broke the reluctance of the British press to safeguard royal behaviors. Since then, the gloves are off and, like any family, the royals are prone to misbehaviors. Queen Elizabeth bore this with outward calmness, impressive to any mother.

Is it possible that she too owned a fly swatter?

Realistically, the heavy hand of the British empire on peoples of the world deserves scrutiny. One positive was the establishment of a civil service, which continues to exist in those emerging areas not prone to throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Queen Elizabeth was not a dictator. She served at the whims of England’s governing bodies with less interaction than an American president. For 70 years she visited the entities of the British Commonwealth, not as a politician up for reelection, but as the representative of a monarchy dating, with a few interruptions, back to 1066.

No one can put on a show like the British, especially with such taste and class. The incredible pomp and ceremony during Monday’s event may never be seen again.

Obviously, my cleaning didn’t get done, but the house plants were watered, and that is quite enough activity for one day.

The biggest problem is that once again, the person who is supposed to help did not show up!

This has been going on for over 60 years. I really should fire her, but now she is too old.

Ann Kuehn resides at Ohio Living Cape May in Wilmington. She says, “I gravitated to Ohio at age 18 and never left” and moved to Sabina in 1987.