DA old timers  

On closer look, your yellow lamp passes with flying colors. And the crystal curiosity is way expensive, I lately notice. So, problem solved. Maybe someone will donate it to the mineralogy department at the Smithsonian . . .
I like your pants more than my socks. The cap is from the tiny kitchen/tabletop woodenware company I worked for at the time. Sausalito plant, company accounts in Mill Valley. Jeff Bartelt died suddenly in 1984. He liked the "cattle crossing" highway sign so it became the company logo.

Hi SDR.
Sorry to hear of Jeff's passing. I'm always the last to know. The pants I borrowed from lunchbox.
carry on,
Aunt Mark
(EDIT): I read this. Me.
1991 -- 25 years ago: It’s a busy day in Manhattan, and hordes of people are storming along the sidewalks not watching where they’re going and yelling at something in their hands. It’s the future, not too long from now, and they’re talking on the phone. It may be a blessing or a curse. With the phones of tomorrow, there will be no more excuses such as, “I was at lunch”.

Mercy. Was that a passage from a work of science fiction, c. 1991 ?

Hi.
Todays pant borrowed from my elderly Aunt who is going to the dogs..
Cat was borrowed from Eameshead's shed.
Teeth are fake.
Hi.
Aunt Mark
ps meeting the gals for breakfast, and then shoe shopping. I need a certain pair.

And
Something that I read today and found quite romantic........
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On her wall hang deer heads. One in particular makes her proud.
"He's a beauty," McKay said, looking up to the biggest head. "He's my pride and joy — until I get a bigger one."
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yup,
Aunt Mark
(EDITED) to add this....
She uses the deer meat in tacos, spaghetti — any meal, really.

Okay -- I know it's none of my beeswax -- but I have to ask: do we want to see Mark's beautiful pants like this -- or like this ?

Hi SDR!
But the dogs have been specially trained to roll over on command. You should see them shake! Now, have ya'll ever had a deer taco?
Hi,
Aunt Mark!

I have not -- now that you mention it.
I have not led a very adventurous life. I have not ridden on a cable car. I have not taken a ferry to Alcatraz. I have not taken a fairie to the prom.
Let's face it: I haven't LIVED . . . !

I took one of the neighbor girls to her high school prom. Years later we encountered one another at a party. Told her I'd spring for a steak dinner if she'd wear the tragic lime green prom dress from 1979. Yes, she barked! So she arrives at my place a week later all set for dinner, wearing the polyester midi dress from hell. After chokin' on a fat boy, I took a pair of kitchen scissors and did a major modification to the dress length, wrapping all excess fabric around her head (turban-esque). Big improvement. Asymmetrical and practical, slit up the side. Couture fo shrizzle! And out for a steak dinner we went! I think that she ended up going to prison years later. It was a simple life. Folks called her Bambi. I'm not sure why.
Carry on,
Aunt Mark

Well, there you have it: YOU've lived.
Your story reminds me of something, however: I was invited to the wedding reception of a college friend. I don't recall a wedding. Do people just invite you to a reception ? Anyway, I met a girl with a limp. We must have hit it off, because we decided to drive to Provincetown, on Cape Cod (the reception was in Raynham or someplace -- on Rt 44 in eastern Massachusetts, anyway). We ended up meeting a guy in a bar, and he invited us home. His wife, or mother, was asleep somewhere in the house. He had two of the biggest striped cats I've ever seen. One was on the fireplace mantel. Upstairs he had a complete carrousel, disassembled, the horses prancing upside-down in a bedroom. In the attic was the organ, which he turned on for about two seconds, in the middle of the night. We slept, somewhere in the house, and drove away the next morning.
It was altogether the strangest day of my life up til then. I thought you'd want to know . . .

Yes.
Jesus Christ, SDR, that's fabulous! I figure that the only way to make that situation any more twisted would involve a clown costume on either mom (wife), or your host, and they spoke a foreign language. Probably smoker's. You saw his organ upstairs? Fierce!
Yes,
Aunt Mark
ps. she went to prison for killing her soon to be dead husband who died of death. He is still dead. She was a very sweet girl.

Yes it's true.
I did wear a lovely dress one evening back in October 1984. I know what you must be thinking. It was a party that I couldn't and wouldn't miss! The host was known for throwing whacked dinner parties, and this one sounded decadent. Every invite had to come in costume to the party as Jackie O..or you would be politely turned away. Over 50 guests mingled dressed as Jackie. My mother provided me with a stunning ice blue silk St John suit, complete with pillbox hat with a peek-a-boo veil. I had shoulder length hair, and Mothers hairdresser did a roller set/tease/comb out/spray/etc. Very Jackie Kennedy. My biggest hurdle was finding the right pair of shoes. I wear a size 11 (44.5) and wanted something tasteful...like the pair of blue/white low heeled spectator pumps that Mothers housekeeper located in a Famous Footwear in the way wrong part of town. They were expensive for something that I would only be styling once, so I decided to put duct tape on the bottoms..and return them the next day. Later in the evening, I see the host (also Jackie O) yanking a piece of duct tape off of a shag rug in the living room. I privately looked at the bottoms of my shoes (the way most gals do when they think that they probably stepped in dog shit) and saw a problem.
I ended up keeping the shoes (in their original box) for many years, moving them from house to house. I finally donated them to a local charity. Worn once. I miss them. No pictures. No.
Yes, Hi,
Aunt Mark
ps I was really pretty.

Fabulous. I bet you pulled it off divinely. There MUST be pics of this event -- and the shoes -- somewhere . . .
A journalist of some stripe recently cited Natalie Portman, in the new movie, as having a "startling" resemblance to her character, Mrs Onassis. To which I say, "really ?" "Are you mad ?"

I have a lump in my throat as I type.
They were a sensible pair of heels just like these pictured (not mine). I had to drive to the rough part of town to buy 'em because Mother's sweet housekeeper knew that some women have very large feet (or toe's?) in that neighborhood. They were so kind to me at the shoe store, I recall. I won a prize that night for something. My hairy legs required forethought from the kneecaps to the ankles. ..or at least the one. Yup, the fucking worthless piece of 3M Brand (probably?) silver tape let me down, however it lengthened the lifespan of a tasteful pair of heels that could be worn to church, or out for most any occasion except bowling, boating, or bunion surgery. It was a simple time.
Best,
Your Aunt Mark

A fool in the kitchen am I. Practical Cooking, No Spitting. Junk Yard Raised. Pets and Meat. Hi. Void where Prohibited.
I whipped up an ugly quiche this morning. Leftovers as shown. Then I cranked out a chicken creme boule cheesecake that I over-torched (still in spring pan..see it?). I may sling some shaven dark chocolate on the roof. It's for Sunday night. You're coming right?? Thankfully I have dim lighting...a requirement (meant politely) for all people over 50. We all look best in dim or very very dark lighting. And we smell our best under black light. Yup.
Order up,
Aunt Mark