Seattle Postcards: Seattle and Mount Rainier

 It's always a special day when the mountain is out

Seattle Postcards: History Museum

 These postcards are from the Museum of History and Industry and they are from photographs from the 1893, 1906 and 1915. 

Two boys and their wagon 1893

Longshoremen 1906

Truck loaded with Alaska Yellow Turnips 1915

Seattle Postcards: Boats

 With Seattle surrounded by water we have lots of marinas full of boats!

Book List February 2023

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell  By the author of Eleanor and Park, I really enjoyed this one it was a fun kind of Rom-Com/Chick flick type of story. Lincoln is the web security guy at a Newspaper and he has to read flagged emails to make sure they don't contain porn or whatever. So he starts reading the correspondence  between two girls in the office and he gets a crush on one of them just from reading  her emails. When he finally meets her, will he admit that he knows all about her from reading her emails?  

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz I really enjoyed the first one I read which was actually the third book in this series, so now I have read the first book in the series. Hmmm, If I started with this one, I might not have gone on to the others. I definitely liked A Line to Kill better. 

A Grave Denied by Dana Stabenow A Kate Shugak Mystery. I enjoy the ones that take place during spring time "Break Up" is my all time favorite of hers. It seems crazy things happen in Alaska in the spring. 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Call it Harry Potter with more romance??!! I really enjoyed "Attachments", but this one I had trouble getting into, but I will try more from her. 

Bird Box by Josh Malerman So this is horror and I don't usually read or watch it. gonna have nightmares for sure now and of course the book is better than the Netflix movie

Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie a collection of short stories featuring Miss Marple, as I thought, these were all in other compilations that I read in 2022. 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell  trying another from Rowell and I like this one better than “Carry On” A woman spends Christmas at work instead of with her husband and kids. She stumbles across an old rotary phone that allows her to speak to her husband as if they were 10 years in the past —

The Hot Gates by William Golding  Short Stories by the author of “The Lord of The Flies! “ I really enjoyed them

The Letter Writer by Dan Fesperman  thriller set in 1940's NYC It took me a while to get into this one. 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks  Loved it!  Brooks wrote “People of the Book” which is wonderful. This time she takes the skeleton of a Civil War era racehorse that had been forgotten at the Smithsonian along with a painting from the same era of a race horse and his enslaved groom and delves into recreating the history behind the slaves who worked with horses as their grooms, trainers and jockeys. The Civil war era was a time when these men were considered property just like the horse. 

Guess Who by Chris McGeorge  Murder Mystery in the "locked room" style. 5 strangers are kidnapped and locked up together in a room with a dead body. They are told that one of them is the murderer. They have 3 hours to solve the murder or the building they are in is going to be blow up. 

 

Seattle Postcards: Judi Smith Artist

 These Postcards are all the art of Judi Smith and depict different scenes around Seattle

Seattle Postcards: Alki Lighthouse

My local lighthouse

 

Seattle Postcards: Kalakala Ferry

MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

After retiring from passenger service in 1967, the ship was beached in Kodiak, Alaska, and converted to a shrimp cannery. In 1998, the ship was refloated and towed to Puget Sound with the owner hoping to restore the ship. During this time, the ship continued to deteriorate, with the Coast Guard declaring the ship a hazard to navigation in 2011. Unable to raise the funds required for restoration, the ship was scrapped in 2015.

 

Seattle Postcards: Woodland Park

These antique postcards are all from Woodland Park in Seattle 

 

Book List January 2023

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (library)  I liked it. The characters definitely seem to be "on the spectrum" Dysfunctional family drama and while not really comedic, it was a fun read. 

Death in a Desert Land by Andrew Wilson (library) another fun one where Agatha Christie solves the mystery. I like all the hints at real people and places that Agatha encountered in real life. 

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley (library) I really enjoyed this one about a girl in a brothel in 1800's Monterey, CA. It's got all the historical atmosphere and a murder mystery element as well. 

Sitka by Louis L'Amour  a rollicking Alaska Adventure with a lot of the real history behind the Seward's Folly included. It takes half the book for you to actually get to Alaska. You begin with the protagonist as an orphan in the swamps? of the Susquehanna! And follow his adventures across the country to San Francisco. Enjoyable fluff

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair okay, so I say that I never want to read a book on a kindle or e-reader etc. But I was stuck on a flight and I did not have a back-up book in my bag and I was forced to see what I had on my phone!! And lo and behold, I had downloaded this free book ages ago (it is a favorite) - so I read it to pass the time on my commute to work. Still a great read in my opinion. But reading on the screen does give me a headache!

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen His stories are sometimes so over the top crazy. But then again, they are set in Florida and some of the stories do have a "ripped from the headlines" feel to them!! LOL

The Last Flight by Julie Clark (library) interesting twist on a thriller where two ladies switch airline tickets and then one of the planes crashes into the ocean with no survivors! 

A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz I enjoyed Magpie Murders so now I am reading  more of Anthony Horowitz. If you like modern British mysteries, give these a try! 

Key West Connection by Randy Wayne White This was his first book that he got published back in the day and it is interesting to see how he evolved his characters from this beginning to what kinds of books he writes now. 

A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans The true story of a wolf who visited a community in Alaska and interacted with the people for several years. Spoiler alert: it is a book about dogs, you are gonna cry

Breakdown by Sara Paretsky (audiobook) I used to like the V I Warshawski books, but lately the last few I have read, I have not enjoyed very much. Suffered through this one in the car. 

Seattle Postcards: Salmon Fishing

 

We love our Salmon here in Seattle!

Seattle Postcards: Luna Park

 

These are some of my favorite cards from my collection. Very hard to find and often expensive. They are of a Coney Island style entertainment center that was on Alki Beach back in the day.  At night, the park was lit up brilliantly, with each building and ride outlined in light bulbs. The park could be seen from miles away and was advertised as a safe nighttime destination for women and children.  The rides were disassembled and removed in 1913, with the Zeum Carousel traveling to California (the carousel is now in operation at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.)  Today all that remains of Luna Park are the original pilings, which are visible during extremely low tide and people often come from all over Seattle just to view these pilings!! The Luna Park Cafe just down the street was named after this, "The Greatest Amusement Park on the West Coast."

And here is a modern postcard celebrating Luna Park.

Seattle Postcards: Troll

The Fremont Troll used to be a sort of "local's only" secret treat. Now it is on the route of most city tours of  Seattle. Tour buses come by so everyone can get a photo op with the Troll.  The Troll is a statue, located on N. 36th Street at Troll Avenue N., under the north end of the Aurora Bridge. In 1989, the city asked the Fremont Arts Council to launch an art competition to rehabilitate the area under the bridge, which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. Therefore the Troll is considered an example of hostile architecture having been erected to deter the presence of homeless people and antisocial behavior under the bridge. It is clutching an actual VW as if it had just swiped it from the roadway above. Originally, the car held a time capsule including a plaster bust of  Elvis, which was stolen when the sculpture was vandalized.

 

Seattle Postcards: at night

 

I especially enjoy the antique postcards of Seattle at night. They are so atmospheric.

Seattle Postcards: Greetings

This year my postcards are all going to be from Seattle, WA! 

I collect lots of Seattle postcards and specifically, I love to find old ones from my neighborhood in West Seattle, but you will get to see many postcards from all over the Seattle area this year.