Monday's Postcard 2016: Airplanes

        Airplane Postcards! I will use cards like these when I write Thank You notes. 

Monday's Postcard 2016: Shakespeare

Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy some Shakespeare quotes on Postcards.

Monday's Postcard 2016: Antique Labels

I found these postcards of Antique Vegetable Crate Labels on a road trip across country when I was moving out to Seattle. I never sent them to anyone, cause I just loved looking at them myself!!

January 2016 Reading

The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig (library) I found this book on a list of stuff to read if you like Downton Abbey. It is set in that era of the 20's with changing social structure in England.
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham (library) yes, the Lauren Graham that starred in Gilmore Girls. The book is about a young actress in NYC and it was a lot of fun. Chick Lit for sure, Reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada and that TV Show Younger.
The Revenant by Michael Punke (library) Very Good book. They made it a movie and I have not seen the movie yet, but I only hope it is as good as the book.
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (library) great stories, I love his little commentaries before each story.
The Traitor's Wife by Alison Pataki (library) the story of Benedict Arnold's wife. I really enjoy this authors historical novels
The Color of Secrets by Lindsay Ashford (library) WWII about a British woman who falls in love with a black American GI. And all the complications that that brings. I enjoyed it.
Making History by Carolyn See (library) Meh, not my favorite....about a family in California....too much money, too entitled. Bleh
Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon (library) I like this author, she is like the fast food version of Gillian Flynn. (Gone Girl) same sort of Psychological Horrorish Thriller.
Oranges and Sunshine by Margaret Humphreys (library) Very similar to The Orphan Train that I read last year about orphans in America, but this one is a little more disturbing....children were shipped off to Australia from England and often they were just taken from their mothers. There is a movie also!!
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (library) McLain also wrote The Paris Wife which was fabulous. This one follows the life of Beryl Markham! Out of Africa fans,you might like this one
A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George (library) I  just love her and this is her latest
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (library) I just love that I am learning all the history I should have learned in school from Sarah Vowell. Very interesting!! 
In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (library) again if you are a Gone Girl, Jennifer McMahon, The Girl on the Train, etc fan....this is of the same vein with an unreliable narrator.  

Monday's Postcard 2016: Space

These postcards came from a Planetarium or Museum. Pleiades, Saturn and Mars.

Monday's Postcard 2016: Ansel Adams

Some of the best Art cards ever, Ansel Adams Photographs!! Love these and I have sent and received these many times over the years.

Monday's Postcard 2016: Sting

One of my favorites! That middle card was on my bulletin board during college. "Brand New Day" was sent to me by a friend. These types of postcards could be found at record stores.

Monday's Postcard 2016: Crowns

These postcards are of crowns obviously and I think these are in the collection at the Louvre in Paris. The postcards were sent to me by a friend who lives in Illinois. With messages on the back about how their summer was going! I know my friend has not visited the Louvre and I know they have not been to Paris, so I don't know where they got the postcards, but they are pretty random and could have come from a museum gift shop or a bookstore.

Monday's Postcard 2016: Trees

So this year, I set out a challenge to all those folks who say.....it is easy for you to send postcards, Amanda, you travel everywhere. Well, I just have to say that you don't have to travel to send postcards. There are lots of postcards available everywhere that don't have anything to do with a specific place. And to prove it, this year, all the postcards from my collection that I am going to post are generic. They come from bookstores and card shops. They are pieces of artwork and photos of interesting things. They are cartoons and recipes. Cute animals and pretty flowers. And many of them were sent to me by family and friends! These particular postcards, I purchased in Sweden because I loved the artwork.

Books I read in December 2015

X by Sue Grafton. (library) Nearing the end of this series and I enjoyed the minor mystery of Henry's neighbors more than the main story in this book.
The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss (library) very enjoyable story of a pioneer woman in Oregon 1800's. I highly recommend.
Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves (library) he wrote this after 9/11 about traveling the world to learn about other cultures and also to be that American overseas that is not "ugly"
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell (library) just what it says and entertaining to anyone who has worked retail and/or loves books
As If by Jen Chaney (library) About the making of the movie Clueless, if you are a fan of the movie, you really should read this one
This is Your Life Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison  (library) very good a woman whose husband has died goes on an Alaska Cruise that he had won for them prior to his death. Along the way, her husband's ghost visits her and she reconnects with her estranged daughter. I enjoyed it
Descent by Tim Johnston (library) super quick read for me. Great thriller along the lines of Gone Girl or The Room. I highly recommend if you like that sort of thing.
Dry Bones by Craig Johnson (library) a Longmire novel I really enjoyed this one with info about dinosaur fossils in Wyoming.
Falling From Horses by Molly Gloss (library) this one concerns a guy who wants to be a Hollywood stunt man doing Westerns during the 30's I loved it!
Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont (library)
The Whites by Harry Brandt (library) corrupt police in NYC very good, it played like a movie in my head
A is For Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup (library) the poisons used in the Agatha Christie novels
Wild Life by Molly Gloss (library) since I read Jump-Off Creek and enjoyed it, of course I am going to read everything else by this author!! LOL
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss (library) enjoyed this one VERY much! WWI era Oregon and a woman who breaks horses.
The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki (library) Very interesting about Empress Elisabeth of Austria. I am woefully ignorant of European History, so books like this help me fill in some gaps. 
The Box Wine Sailors by Amy McCullough (library) a couple with very little money live on their sail boat and sail down the coast of California.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Wyoming

Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote. Yellowstone is the first official National Park (1872) Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 United States. The first coal mine in Wyoming was in Carbon in 1867.  The largest coal mine in the USA is Black Thunder located near Wright.  Wyoming lead the country in coal production in 1994 with 3 million tons per week.

Merry Christmas Ornaments!

A talented woodworker in Virgina made this ornament!

It's that time of year again when I talk about my Christmas decorations!

Pacific Northwest is represented on my tree!

Got this ornament when I was working on filling up my McMenamins Passport

I had been wanting one of these sea urchin ornaments for a while and was happy to find one at a craft fair in Virginia

Ryan got this one for me for Christmas a few years ago

A Cowbell ornament I got at Oxfam in England last year

This is an oil diffuser, makes the house smell like Balsam, perfect since I have a fake tree!

Monday's Postcard 2015: Wisconsin

The nation's first kindergarten was established in Watertown in 1856. Its first students were local German-speaking youngsters. Wisconsin snowmobile trails total 15,210 miles of signed and groomed snow highways. The first Ringling Brothers Circus was staged in Baraboo in 1884.

Monday's Postcard 2015: West Virginia

 

West Virginia is considered the southern most northern state and the northern most southern state. Outdoor advertising had its origin in Wheeling about 1908 when the Block Brothers Tobacco Company painted bridges and barns with the wording: "Treat Yourself to the Best, Chew Mail Pouch." West Virginia's nickname is the Mountain State and its motto is "Mountaineers Are Always Free."

Monday's Postcard 2015: Washington

The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president.

Washington state produces more apples than any other state in the union.

Before it became a state, the territory was called Columbia (named after the Columbia River). When it was granted statehood, the name was changed to Washington, supposedly so people wouldn't confuse it with The District of Columbia.

Books I read in November 2015

Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein (library) a science fiction thriller by Sandford with help from Ctein. Moves along fast...if you liked the Martian, try this one. Especially if you don't usually like science fiction.
Make Me by Lee Child (library) the latest Jack Reacher. Bad things happen in a mysterious town called Mother's Rest.
Jim, the Boy by Tony Earley (library) so I was reading a magazine article about the 50 books that represent all 50 states (yeah, I had read most of them already!) But this book was for North Carolina, where I am from!! and I had never heard of it. It was really good and totally reminded me of North Carolina.
The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon (library) creepy ghost story type book. I am on a quest to read all the books by this author, but they are unsettling.
The Brixton Brothers, The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett  This is a kid's book that has been on my to read pile for quite a while and I am finally getting around to reading it. Very cute mystery series book.
The Brixton Brothers, The Ghostwriter Secret by Mac Barnett  super cute story and all my Children's Mystery Collector friends ought to read this one!
Mad River by John Sandford I just love these characters in these books. And the action moves so fast....you have to read read read and then it is over and whew, it was such a ride
The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon (library) another creepy book by McMahon, this one concerns a serial killer
361 by Donald Westlake another classic noir thriller worth a look if you like this genre
Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon (library) When I say I am going to read everything by an author, I am not kidding. Lots of great creepy atmosphere and twists and turns.
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson (library) That book I read last month about the divers who found the pirate ship, well this one is about their quest to find a German U-boat
Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald E.Westlake Yup, another instance of me reading everything I can get my hands on by one author.
A Pattern of Lies by Charles Todd (library) A Bess Crawford mystery. Bess is a WWI nurse and becomes involved in a mystery through a former patient
Stu Who?  Forty Years of Navigating the Minefields of the Music Business by Stu Phillips. Great book about composer and music producer, Stu Phillips, who was behind the music of so many TV shows and TV movies, including Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys! Quincy, Knight Rider, Battlestar Gallactica and many many more.
Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (library) A Deborah Knot novel where we learn more about Deborah's mother and why an educated city girl married an older moonshiner
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin (library) I loved this book and they made it into a movie. Sherlock Holmes as an old man and he is getting Alzheimers.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Virginia

Jamestown, the first of the original 13 Colonies was founded for the purpose of silk cultivation. Silk to be traded with the Court of King James. After blight fungus destroyed the mulberry trees (silkworm food), sericulturist planted tobacco as a cash crop. Eight United States Presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Vermont

Vermont's state capitol building is one of only a few to have a gold dome. Atop the dome is a statue of Ceres.  With a population of fewer than nine thousand people, Montpelier, Vermont is the smallest state capital in the U.S. Montpelier, Is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Utah

Completion of the world's first transcontinental railroad was celebrated at Promontory where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 10, 1869. It is now known as Golden Spike National Historic Site Because of the state's inland location Utah's snow is unusually dry. Earning it the reputation of having the world's greatest powder. 14 Alpine ski resorts operate in Utah. State symbol: The Beehive symbolizes thrift and industry.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Texas

The Alamo is located in San Antonio. It is where Texas defenders fell to Mexican General Santa Anna and the phrase Remember the Alamo originated. The Alamo is considered the cradle of Texas liberty and the state's most popular historic site.  Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation. The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.

Monday's Postcard 2015: Tennessee

Tennessee won its nickname as The Volunteer State during the War of 1812 when volunteer soldiers from Tennessee displayed marked valor in the Battle of New Orleans. The Tennessee Aquarium is the largest facility of its kind to focus on fresh water habitat. It features 7,000 animals and 300 species of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world. It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.