That photo yesterday. The  photo. I don’t know if you remember from the many times I’ve told our story in the past, but Don had been sitting in that exact place on the sofa, catching my eye and smiling at me, whenever I entered the living room of Kathy’s cottage. This happened several times. So I finally bit the bullet and walked over to him. I assume I introduced myself. I ended up sitting next to him and we started a conversation that hasn’t ended.

I’m not sure when Rick entered the picture. Was he there before I walked over to the sofa? Or did he come along later and join in? That part I’m a bit foggy about.

A few of my friends have remarked on our body language. Definitely in sync. And if you look at my eyes, you can tell I’m already smitten.

I love that picture. It will soon be framed, I promise.

Alright, on to yesterday. We were out and about and stopped at our favorite antique center – the one where I could do some major damage quite easily. I didn’t do that, of course, but I did find some unexpected treasures.

A long time ago, I wrote on this blog about my desire to collect vintage Nancy Drews. This was prompted by my discovery of a vintage Nancy Drew with a cover illustration by Russell H. Tandy; the best, in my humble opinion, of all the cover illustrators. He designed the covers from 1930 – 1949 and was a friend of Edward Stratemeyer, the actual author of the Nancy Drew books.

Look what I found yesterday:

Two of them! They were in the middle of a stack of books in one of the booths. Only $8 each, which is a steal, and in pretty good condition, with normal cover wear. Needless to say, I’m thrilled. This makes 3 Nancy Drews and we all know that equals a collection!

Gosh, I love the vintage look of his illustrations and the vivid colors.  I also love the font used for “Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.” I grew up reading the standard fifties and sixties books with the yellow spines and I know a lot of people collect them, but once I saw Tandy’s work, I was a goner.

In a recent conversation, Don mentioned that he had read all the Hardy Boys books when he was a kid, so, you guessed it…I am determined to collect them for him. I found one yesterday.

And here they are on the shelf:

They sit in the middle of a shelf full of childhood favorites, including books that belonged to my mother and my father.

I also found two record albums.

I own both of these, but they are…class? anyone? anyone?….yes! In the shed. Though the cover of Tapestry looks worn, the actual record is in great shape.

And then we stuffed our faces at a local restaurant and I ate too much, so we took a trail walk to counteract the calories.

Today, I take the car in for an inspection and some scheduled maintenance. I hate sitting in that waiting room, but it’s raining today, so I just might get stuck there. If the rain lets up, I’ll walk to Barnes & Noble.

Happy Monday.