Monday's Postcard: Kalakala

These are some of my favorite postcards of the Kalakala ferry boat in Seattle, WA circa 1935. The Kalakala was the World's First Streamlined Vessel and postcards circulated around the country, along with news reels, and newspaper and magazine stories. She became an international sensation. In a 1963 poll, Seattle World's Fair visitors voted the Kalakala the second biggest attraction after the Space Needle!

Monday's Postcard: Colorado Pikes Peak and Red Rocks

These postcards are from 1938 of Colorado Pikes Peak and Red Rocks. It says that the pueblo was built to match the area at the park of the Red Rocks and serves as a museum, curio shop and refreshment stand.

Monday's Postcard: Large Letters States

I love the Large Letter Postcards. These cards evolved from turn-of-the-cenury greeting cards with black and white images of women's faces that spelled out a woman's name or the year. The use of views of a city or town were next in the evolution of the postcard. The large letters spelling out the name of the city or town were usually preceded with "Greetings from . . ."

The first large letter postcards date from about 1901 and they were of black and white photo montages or hand-drawn images in the letters against a black background. Large letter postcards reached their peak in popularity during the 1930's and 40's. Actual photographic images began to appear in the backgrounds. The cards from the 1950's are the most colorful.

I want to collect one of each of the 50 states and believe it or not, I still have a long way to go!

Monday's Postcard: Wilmington, NC

More postcards from where I grew up. A Large Letter Postcard from Wilmington, NC  and below it, we have Greenfield Lake in Wilmington, famous for their azaleas.

April Reading

Books I read in April



Cape Fear by John D MacDonald the book that the movie was based on aka The Executioners
Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford the story of Flagler and the railroad to key west --bought this one on vacation in the keys and very much enjoyed it
In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson (library) I enjoyed it although Ryan thought I might find it dry I actually liked it better than Devil in the White City
Good Kids by Benjamin Nugent (library) quite enjoyed
Free Fall in Crimson by John D MacDonald ballooning, the movie business alot going on in this one
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (library)  YA fun, very Lemony Snicket/Harry Potter fantasy
The Carrie Diaries by Candance Bushnell (library) cute, I was watching the series on TV and thought I'd try the book
The Garner Files by James Garner (library) autobiography and I am a James Garner fan 
 Making Habits, Breaking Habits by Jeremy Dean (library) trying to make new habits (exercising and eating right)
We live in Water by Jess Walter (library) short stories awesome, the same author that wrote Beautiful Ruins. Great stuff
Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald I just read this one a couple of months ago...but I am rereading the books in order and had to do it again :-) which is fine with me because this is one of my favorite Travis McGee books
The Lonely Silver Rain by John D MacDonald
The Boy by Lara Santoro (library) Mom has affair with her neighbor's son--poignant
Life after Life by Jill McCorkle (library) wonderful, love her stuff
Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (library) great, about George Mallory and his climb of Everest -- a fictional account, I very much enjoyed it and highly recommend it
Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley the latest Favia de Luce book and I LOVE these!!
Killing Them Softly by George V. Higgins This was originally titled as Cogan's Trade and I read it YEARS ago!! But the recent Brad Pitt movie was based on this book and it was rereleased as Killing Them Softly. A passenger on the airplane gave me this book after he was finished with it. I noticed he had it and had started a conversation with him about the book and the movie. 
The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker
Catalogue of Death by Jo Dereske a Miss Zukas librarian mystery I always enjoy these
Unfinished Portrait by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott this is a gothic romance by Christie that she had published under the name Mary Westmacott --she only did 6 of these

20 books read this month

Monday's Postcard: Niagara Falls, NY

View of the Whirlpool, Niagara Falls, NY


Horse Shoe Falls from Table Rock, Niagara Falls, NY
These cards are from the 1930's and 40's.

Monday's Postcard: Bermuda

I discovered these postcards of Bermuda when we went on a cruise there in 2008. I was mesmerized by these paintings that were made into postcards.

I bought as many as I could find and then I found out that many of the images were collected into a book called, Glimpses of Bermuda, and I bought that too!

The artists were two ladies who lived in Bermuda. Many of their paintings are in the Bermuda National Gallery. Here is a website with some more details:

http://www.postcardcollections.fsnet.co.uk/artists/tuckers.htm

Monday's Postcard: Tulips

I am a huge fan of tulips, they are one of my favorite flowers and these postcards are from 1917 (the Happy Birthday card) and 1952 (the dark card). I have relatives in town visiting for the annual Skagit Valley Tulip festival. And I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to my cousin, DeAnna whose birthday is this week during tulip season!

Monday's Postcard: Valley Forge, PA

I began collecting postcards as a child while accompanying my Mom and Granny to Antique Stores and Flea Markets. I got dragged along on these shopping expeditions and after playing with the resident cat, my sister and I would be extremely bored. In order to give us something to occupy ourselves, my Mom would give us 50 cents and tell us to find something to buy. Postcards were often 5 or 10 cents. You could buy one or two and still have money left over for a Coca-Cola and a package of Lance crackers. While the older generation was debating the merits of chairs and tables. My sister and I were poring over boxes of cards trying to decide on the perfect one to buy. These postcards of scenes from the Valley Forge area were likely purchased while on a trip to Pennsylvania and Delaware visiting relatives.

Monday's Postcard: Easter Chicks

My Easter Chicks are from 1909 according to their postmarks. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Monday!

March Reading

The books I read in March:

Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky (library) actually I read this one in February, but forgot to add it to that list, a fun look at the Hotel industry!

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich (library) same old same old from Evanovich, but did make me laugh several times
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (library) the movie was very true to the book
Sutton by J. R. Moehringer (library) inspired by our gangster tour in Chicago to read about this NYC bank robber
The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen (library) lots of fun (I'm a huge fan)
The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd (library) more romance than mystery in this latest Charles Todd book
I Do and I Don't a History of Marriage in the Movies by Jeanine Basinger (library) Analysis of how marriage was portrayed in movies from silent films to the present. very good
The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro (library) A great take on the Gardner Art Heist. I liked it a lot
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (library) OMG, loved it, cannot image how they can make a movie from this...hmmmm
The Empty Copper Sea by John D MacDonald loved reading this while on the beach in florida
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (library) WWII England intrigue, reminded me a bit too of Elizabeth Berg WWII stories also
Going Away Shoes by Jill McCorkle (library) short stories by one of my favorite authors
Creatures of Habit by Jill McCorkle (library) more short stories and I am not sure how I got out of the loop on these two books, but better late than never.
March by Geraldine Brooks (library) you know Little Women and their dad was off in the war, this is the story of their dad, reminded me of cold mountain a little bit
Reached by Allyson Condie (library) Okay, I had to read it to finish this trilogy, actually liked it better than the second one (maybe because it tied up loose ends)
Prima Donna by Megan Chance set in 1800's Seattle an opera singer flees her past
The Green Ripper by John D MacDonald This one should be read after Empty Copper Sea as some of the same characters return but could stand on it's own as well....You read Copper Sea aftewards and it is a bit of a spoiler
Bad Blood by Dana Stabenaw (library) Kate Shugak mystery
Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd (library) Ian Rutledge mystery
The Railway Detective by Edward Marston

20 books read this month

Monday's Postcard: DC Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC are a tourist attraction since the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the Mayor of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC.
On March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle when Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from the trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood. This year the festival runs from March 20-April 14

Monday's Postcard: St. Patrick's Day

A day late, but I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! Ryan and I are enjoying our vacation in the Florida Keys. We toured  Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas the other day and I have been having seafood every day. The Dry Tortugas are 70 miles away from Key West at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. A book by one of my favorite authors,  Flashback by Nevada Barr, is set on Fort Jefferson. The mystery shifts between the site as a contemporary national park and as Fort Jefferson during the post-Civil War era.

Monday's Postcard: Cats

Cats from Grandmother Arkebauer --She often sent Mainzer Cats cards to me and my sister and the notes on the back would correspond with something that was going on in our lives. The cats falling off the floating dock has a note on the back about my Dad building a dock behind our house in North Carolina. The cats at the piano has a note reminding me to practice my piano exercises (yes, I took piano lessons when I was a kid).

The cats with the airplanes are among my favorites --they refer to visits to or from Grandmother (she would fly to North Carolina or we would fly to Indiana)

The Alfred Mainzer Company has published these cards for 50-60 years. These funny cats are drawn by European artist Eugen Hartung. The images were popular and used on postcards which are still sold today. They are usually called Mainzer Cats after the name of the publisher.

Monday's Postcard: Edinburgh, Scotland

From Edinburgh, Scotland, Greyfriars Bobby and The Knox House. I have visited both of these locations while in Edinburgh.

February Reading

The Schooling of Claybird Catts by Janis Owens (library) reminds me of Clyde Edgarton books

Hello Gorgeous by William J Mann (library) I am a fan of Barbra Streisand, so I enjoyed it, also inspired me to listen to her earlier stuff.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (library) interesting for me, since I went through palliative care with my Dad and Mom

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowlings (library) reminded me of Elizabeth George, but without the mystery.

The Turquoise Lament by John D. MacDonald

Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City by Wendelin Van Draanen fun

Scat by Carl Hiaasen (library) he writes for young adults too and very well

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke (library) mystery set in Louisiana

The Killing Moon by Chuck Hogan (library) creepy but human characters reminded me of Stephen Kings characterizations a bit

The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau (library) Pulitzer prize winner (I have a goal to read more of these)

The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D MacDonald Travis McGee kicking butt and taking names

The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron (library) I'm a fan and read most all her stuff -nice mysteries

On Chesil  Beach by Ian McEwan (library) McEwan wrote Atonement and this is a sexy novelette about a honeymoon couple

The Way West by A B Guthrie (library) inspired by my Louis L'Amour reading last month I read this one about the Oregon Trail. Great Western story

The Stand Off by Chuck Hogan (library) Hogan's first book 

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain (library) valid points here

My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss (library) Italian-American grew up in Boston and Berlin and living in Berlin now--I was hoping for more German recipes, but the memories and recipes tied together nicely

Script and Scribble by Kitty Burns Florey (library) what has happened to handwriting in this age of typing!!

Dead Silence by Randy Wayne White (library) Doc Ford kicking butt and taking names again

Devils in Exile by Chuck Hogan (library)

Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay (library) great thriller. Premise is what if you saw a murder on google streetview?.....

21 books read this month

My favorite quote from a book this month:  “One of the many things I love about bound books is their sheer physicality. Electronic books live out of sight and out of mind. But printed books have body, presence. Sure, sometimes they'll elude you by hiding in improbable places... But at other times they'll confront you, and you'll literally stumble over some tomes you hadn't thought about in weeks or years. I often seek electronic books, but they never come after me. They may make me feel, but I can't feel them. They are all soul with no flesh, no texture, and no weight. They can get in your head but can't whack you upside it.” 

― Will Schwalbe, The End of Your Life Book Club

Monday's Postcard: San Luis Obispo

Not to neglect Ryan, I gave him this framed collection of San Luis Obispo postcards for Christmas one year in appreciation of his hometown. The card displayed above is a view of Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo, CA

Monday's Postcard: Wrightsville Beach

Here is a postcard from Wrightsville Beach, NC near where I grew up. I collect a lot of old postcards of the Carolina Beaches and I have framed them together to hang on my walls.

Monday's Postcard: Racey Helps

Seaside Fun
Picnic on the Beach


The Late Scholars

These are postcards by Racey Helps, who also wrote and illustrated children's books. My sister and I used to receive these postcards from our Grandmother Arkebauer. I especially loved the seaside ones. And I was intrigued enough to find some Racey Helps books now that I am an adult.

http://www.raceyhelps.co.uk/

Monday's Postcard: Paris

Ryan and I spent 2 days in Paris last year and I visited Les Bouquinistes along the Seine. It was there that I purchased these two antique postcards. The top postcard depicts Les Bouquinistes in the 1890's. These outdoor bookstalls run along both sides of the Seine and it has been described as the only river in the world to run between two bookshelves. Today, the stalls sell secondhand books and other ephemera including new and antique postcards and other tourist items. The second postcard depicts a very famous train wreck at the Gare Montparnassse.
Ryan and I stayed at a hotel a block away from this train station. Ryan then went on to hike the French portion of the Camino de Santiago, it is an ancient pilgrimage trail to the Cathedral in Santiago. You can virtually hike the trail on his new website! Walking4Fun