Atomic Monster Cafe: Here's Something...

...I've never seen before...our very own personal rainbow in our backyard...sudden rain showers on a sunny day and voila...

...instant pot o' gold.

If only.

Those light showers did eventually turn into a heavy downpour...

Gotta love Michigan weather.

A little while ago I brought hope and inspiration to you, my beleaguered readers, with a heartwarming photo of heroic leaves, still clinging to their tree branch.

When all others had lost hope and been swept away by the cruel winter winds, those determined leaves refused to give in, follow the crowd and succumb. Against all odds they were still hanging on for dear life.

Well today I bring you an update...

Here we are nearing the end of May, and they're still hanging on.

So now I have a new message to share:

Give it up already!

Nobody likes a show off.

It's summer and that dried up dead leaf look is so last fall.

Talk about overstaying your welcome...

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a beautiful art deco home built in 1926...

shades of American Foursquare

...a very cool Gatsby House available for the paltry sum of $650,000...and today Karen and I walked through it...

me negotiating with the bouncer in an attempt to gain entrance...

Karen standing in the elegant foyer...

...and yes, it's big...

Took lots of pictures and it is, as expected, lovely inside...

...and out.

Even the doorbell is amazing...

...a musical event when someone rings it...which of course I did...twice.

It's wonderful in many ways...

the view from the balcony...which is one of the reasons it's been on the market for more than 210 days now...

...elegant decor, well maintained, spacious without sprawling; but IMHO it's overpriced.

Why?

Because their main view is of the McMansions across the street...while the view from those McMansions is of the lake...and that makes them worth a million plus.

So there it languishes on the commoners' side of the street, flanked on either side by homes valued at half its asking price.

Tough place to be, and I imagine the owners are a tad mystified as to why their spectacular dwelling hasn't been snapped up by someone with impeccable taste (and plenty of money).

And who knows?

Maybe tomorrow someone with deep pockets will do just that...but more than 7 months ago they listed it at $690,000...now it's at $650,000 and still it sits.

One of two things is bound to happen...either Snobbius Foppington III will decide to buy it as a bauble for his beloved daughter Muffy who's currently between husbands and about to marry that worthless lout Biff...

pray they don't have children

...or else the bright rays of reality will pierce the owners' fog of unreasonable expectations and the price will continue its earthward trend.

Eventually someone will negotiate a more realistic price and they'll end up in their very own Historical Treasure.

Either way, it won't be us.