Sunday splat.

What? The Titanic was a real event? It wasn't just a movie?

Heh.

**********

I've been reading some old Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) mysteries.

One, written in 1960, is set in an ultra-rich, ultra-fancy penthouse.

Get this. It had "stainless steel appliances!" What's more, it had "marble countertops!" "Carpet covered, secret doors!" (O.K. Maybe that last hasn't happened.)

Kind of interesting that what was considered ultra fancy in 1960 is now in every McMansion in America.

As Nero Wolfe would say: "Pfui."

**********

The picture of the Egyptian blue hippo ("a gift shop favorite") in the Bulletin today brought back memories. We got that exact figure in the gift shop on one of our visits back east when I was a kid. My room also had a nice print of cave art horses.

Brings back the nostalgia.

Wonder whatever happened to those?

I'll bet both are available online.

**********

Instead of that nostalgic decor, I'm dealing with four signed and numbered prints that we pulled out of the family storage unit. (Apparently, Mom's father collected prints.)

Looking them up, they are all name artists, and in fact, in all four cases I was able to find references to the exact same prints. The artists are: Rockwell Kent, Lawrence Beall Smith, Fred Morgan, and J. Chatwood Burton. They are early 20th century.

None of them are worth very much -- especially if they had to be auctioned off. In fact, if I go ahead and reframe them, that might be more than they're worth. Just goes to show, just because something is nearly a hundred years old doesn't mean it's worth anything.

Then again, they are almost a hundred years old...

They are nice and charming, and I think I'm going to frame them and display them.

**********

I had bad dreams last night. The usual ostracism dreams that I seem to always get.

(Linda on the other hand always has "hero" dreams where she saves people, especially children.)

I think the nightmares came from a couple of Netflix movies: "Devil's Playground," a zombie movie; and "The Lazarus Project" a freaky (what is real and what is imagined?) movie.

"Also "Cabin in the Woods," Linda says, when I tell her about my bad dreams.

So what did we go and do yesterday? We rented a cabin in the woods for the 29th anniversary of our first date. Up on the McKenzie -- far enough away that it's not local, but only an hour and half drive.

We drove there yesterday, just to look around. Had hot dogs at 'Reservoir Dawgs' (yep, he had the whole motif going, but I told he he was missing a bet not wearing a black suit and tie.)

It was a beautiful, lazy day. Few other tourists, mostly locals. Drove up and circled Blue Reservoir, and just sort of relaxed.

**********

Linda's back has almost returned to normal. It took two weeks, or so. I'm very thankful that my little love-bump that sent her sprawling didn't do any lasting harm. I've noticed that I do that, without being aware, kind of bump up against her. Did it twice on the trip yesterday and pointed it out each time. I don't think I even knew I was doing that.

**********

Dad has decided that he's got cancer and he's going to die in two weeks anyway and he didn't go to his doctor coffee klatch, nor does he want to take his pills.

The pills are antibiotics, because he ended up in the hospital with an infection. He somehow thinks they are vitamin pills and "useless." Dad is profoundly deaf, and only seems to understand what he wants to understand.

So a couple of days ago, he changed his self-diagnosis. "I think it's the prunes," he says. "The prunes have turned on me...."

So there you have it: It's either cancer ....or it's the damn prunes.


**********

One thing that would stop me from trying to run a 'full-service' new independent bookstore would be the necessity to buy all the "best-sellers."

It is a little unexpected, but I purposely avoid all best-seller lists. I've stuck with the tried and true, mostly. Books that have a history; cult books, favorites, classics, quirky.

Oh, I sold plenty of Hunger Games and Game of Thrones -- I ain't totally crazy -- but I've avoided the latest Nora Roberts or Tom Clancy.

So why give up the luxury of carrying books I want to carry, versus books I feel like I have to carry because they are on some list somewhere?

**********

I wonder how many kittens are being named Katniss, even as we speak?

**********