Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Books, Pals, Pairs

This is another book from the hospital cart. I didn't show it to you yesterday.

Hospital Gift Shop Book Haul

It's a detective novel of sorts, by John Ross Macdonald Millar, published in 1952, fifty-seven years ago.

Here's a lovely little overwritten description (from the library call card holder glued into the book):

Shirley's Old Book
"In The Ivory Grin, Archer, the private eye who sees deeper than most, presses another murder investigation to a strange, moving conclusion. A dozen lives are laid bare, as, in the end, is the criminal secret that links them all together. It is a book for those who are wear of gin-mll mysteries punctuated with automatic bumps on the head--a book to refute the too widely credited charges that the detective has passed his peak in American fiction.
And after this little book retired from library service, it was owned at some point by Ms. Shirley Mussner. Or Missner.

Shirley's Old Book

Perhaps of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mussners. Or Missners.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Or perhaps it's just the book that is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I like to think that Shirley was a library rules scofflaw like me. Perhaps she checked out the book and then neglected for so long to return it that, in the end, the exorbitant library fees convinced her to just keep the book.

Shirley's Old Book

Perhaps she even had to flee Cedar Rapids because of it.

I have a very romantic view of overdue library books, I think.

Your Very Own Little Pals

My pal Kelly First sent me a care package of little pals!

Little Plastic PalsLittle Pals

A little elephant, a little jackass, and a little giraffe!

Little Plastic Pals

A pair of Noggin Bops wind-up toys that do The Twist!

Little PalsLittle Pals

Little PalsLittle Pals

This bee who collapses from the pressure of daily living. Or something.

Little Pals

Huh?

And a mini-Wooly Willie.

Magnetic Personality

"Magnetic Personality"? That's code, yo. It means that he's not very good-looking.

Little Pals

Thank you, Kelly!! I love my new little pals!

From your pal, Brenda!

Pairs

I've made a handful of paper beads since I've been here, and today I made a handful of earrings from those beads.

Handmade Paper Bead Earrings

They're all roughly in this vein (there are more photos of them over on my flickr site), none of the giant chandelier Latina chica earrings I promised you.

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