Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Rainsoaked

 Boy, have we.

The Brick just read that our part of Colorado (Sedalia) was #3 on the top rainfall for this past week: 6.37 inches. And we hit more storms coming home from a Mother's Day celebration in Boulder, including some eerie bits of hail mixed in with the sheets of rain and fog. Scary. 

We must be up past 7 inches. All this, from an area that normally gets 13-19 inches. A YEAR. More's expected this week.

The clouds just lifted a bit. What's that strange light that appeared in the sky? Could it be...gasp... .the sun?? oh, never mind -- it's gone again. 

But the plants are loving it. 

* * * * *

Something odd happened last night. We met Jack and Kathy, the parents of Daughter #1's partner, for the first time. (Lovely people, by the way.) Since we were going to be gone for a while, we brought Ruby with us in the truck. 

At supper, Jack mentioned Ruby, then asked about the OTHER DOG in the truck. The Brick looked at me -- and I him. 'What kind of dog?' I asked. He looked at us strangely. 'A white one,' he said. 

    'A large one?' I asked. He nodded. 

    Our beloved Charley, who died last February, has been our only 'big white dog.' (Jack had no prior knowledge about Sir Charles, by the way.) Charley loved riding in the truck as much as Ruby does. Did he make a Mother's Day appearance to remind his Mom that he was still around? I have no idea. Even Jack said he didn't believe in ghosts: 'I'm a scientific man,' he said. 

     But he was adamant that he'd seen a 'big white dog' keeping Ruby company in the truck while we were inside. Daughter #2 said he'd even commented to her about it, while we were talking to Kathy.

 Makes you wish that dogs -- particularly, Ruby -- could talk. 

I miss our Charley still.   He was a Very Good Dog.

Meanwhile:

Smark-aleck memes on the British coronation.  Rude, rude, rude. Speaking of...

Brittney Griner takes a different approach to the national anthem now. Hmmm.

An admiring look at Queen Elizabeth's daughter Anne. Feisty, opinionated...and not afraid to tell a would-be kidnapper to shove off.

Can you find the valuable piece on this charity shop shelf? (Actually, there are a few others...but this is the best one.)

Chinese porcelain jars found at a thrift shop for $25 -- they're esimated to bring at least $60,000 at auction. Maybe more...

'Spite houses' -- and the stories behind them.

Just not sure what to think about all this -- but Hillary Clinton's efforts to tie Donald Trump to 'Russian disinformation' have now been thoroughly discredited. 

Drinks and dishes you can make from dandelions!  (From Little House Living)

A Colorado fisherman hooks a world prize-winning trout...but can't claim the record because he let the fish go. Photographs and scale weights don't matter -- you have to kill the fish to prove your claim. (This just doesn't seem right.)

Strange things that people found out from DNA test results.  This is coming from someone who found out they had a 'secret' cousin via Ancestry.com.

An ancient flint dagger found by a child -- in the schoolyard!

Odd things discovered at the death scenes of some music stars. This one was definitely surprising, including -- duck feathers at John Denver's plane crash?!?

'Free food' hacks at Olive Garden -- from a server. (How long do you think these are going to hang around now?)

Background facts from 'The Rifleman:' one of our favorite vintage shows.

Four Picasso plates purchsed at a thrift store in 2017 for $1.99 each -- three are auctioned off for $40,000!

A kid makes a disturbing drawing, and parents are called in by the teacher. What happened next?

The 'orphan' (because he killed his parents) and prison escapee who held police off for more than 50 years -- found out from his DNA.

The MEG 2 -- I love these wacky shark movies. Throw Jason Statham into the mix (literally), and you've got my approval.

A skier survives a Colorado avalanche -- barely.   (His partner's not so lucky.)

Millionaire interview #358.  This regular feature, from ESI Money, can be very instructive.

Weird facts about 'bog bodies.'  Including a separate feature about the Tollund Man. 

Lovely ways people got revenge... and it was deserved.  

George and Gracie -- back at their annual nesting spot near Denver's City Hall.

Is there a self-portrait of Vermeer underneath one of his known paintings? Hmmm....

People who left millions in donations after they died -- after living modestly for decades. (Now you know why they were able to leave millions.)

Lottery winners -- after they won.    Sometimes their lives were good...sometimes not.

And my favorite 'Well, here we go' song:

As Tom Selleck mused in Quigley Down Under:

    "Don't know where we're going -- but it won't do to be late."

Have a good week....hopefully not too waterlogged.