Monday's Postcard 2014: From my Sister

Now I get lots of postcards from my sister, these are from several years ago

Monday's Postcard 2014: Postcards from Dad in Asia

My Dad worked for EVA airlines and was based in Taiwan in the 1990's so I have quite a few cards from Asia from that time

The Monkeys are trained to work helping harvest the coconuts in Malaysia and the other card is from the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand. I actually got to stay at that hotel when I visited Bangkok!

Monday's Postcard 2014: California

I have lots of friends and family in California, so I get lots of postcards from all over the state

Monday's Postcard 2014: Letterboxes

Many of you know about my letterboxing hobby. Well, here are a couple of postcards from Letterboxers, either telling me about letterboxes or just saying "hello"

Monday's Postcard 2014: France

Paris and more !! France is a popular vacation destination for my friends and family too.

May Reading

Always with my nose in a book!


Coolidge by Amity Shlaes (library) after Reading Bryson's book about 1927, I wanted to know more about Coolidge
Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist (library) spooky ghost story set in Sweden
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (library audio book) it was interesting because I was listening to this audio book while driving around and then reading Harbor the old fashioned way when I was not driving. Both books had magicians featured.
Dust by Hugh Howey (library) continuation of Wool Series
Hell on Wheels by Dick Kreck (library)  History of the Union Pacific Railroad expansion into the west, I really enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot
Revolution in the Head by Ian McDonald (library) The story of the Beatles songs how and when they were written and composed. Very interesting
Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson (library) another Longmire novel. love these, this one set in Philadelphia, when Sheriff Longmire visits his daughter, reading it out of order cause it was so hard to find and had a huge waiting list at my library
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls This is my Retro read this month...I cried buckets of tears over this book when I was a teenager and yeah, I cried again
How Elizabeth Barret Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed (library)Really enjoyed this one, gonna recommend it to all my friends who like Antique Roadshow!!
A Serpeant's Tooth by Craig Johnson (library) crazy religious cults in Montana and Wyoming, this has been one of my favorites of this series. I really enjoy the evolution of the main characters
Careless People by Sarah Churchwell (library) I really enjoyed this book about the writing of The Great Gatsby
Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke (library) Creepy, about a mother who adopts a child from Russia. And something is not quite right....
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (library) the second in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson (library) A Christmas story
The Shift Omnibus by Hugh Howey (library) more of the Wool Series...out of order
August Osage County by Tracey Letts (library) loved the movie, so that is what led me to the book, which is the script for the play
Based on the Movie by Billy Taylor. Funny satire about the film business from perspective of a grip


Only 17 books read this month.   I blame my 6 days in Dallas in Training with American Airlines. I had no time for reading!! Very frustrating!! :-)

Monday's Postcard 2014: San Antonio, TX

I've had several friends and family members visit San Antonio and send me postcards

Monday's Postcard 2014: More places I have NEVER been!

I have some great friends who got to go to some neat places in Tubingen, Germany and Vienna, Austria...hopefully one day I will follow in their footsteps

Monday's Postcard 2014: Postcards from Mom

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day yesterday and here are some postcards from my Mom when she would travel the world.

Venice and New Orleans!!

Monday's Postcard 2014: From Ryan along the PCT

Ryan sent me both of these postcards when he made his trek of the Pacific Crest trail in 2010

April Reading

Meeting an idol, this is Mildred Wirt Benson, the author of many Nancy Drew Books and a newspaper reporter well into her 80's, in fact, she was still working at the Toledo Blade until the day she died.


The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie a Miss Marple mystery and fun to read again, I had forgotten who done it!
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek (library) yuck, hated it...maybe it was the translation, but I found it disjointed and I just did not get it. Can't believe she won a Nobel Prize for Literature
Murder in The Marketplace by Lora Roberts I really enjoyed this mystery series about a lady who is basically homeless and lives in her VW Bus. Things evolve thru the books, so they are best read in order of publication
Murder Mile High by Lora Roberts  The protagonist goes home again (and you know "you can't go home again!!" LOL)
Wool by Hugh Howey (library) Loved it and will be reading more by this author
No Man's Nightingale by Ruth Rendell  (library) Inspector Wexford, retired but still solving mysteries
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (library) enjoyed this one
Frog Music by Emma Donahue (library) I liked Room better, although it did have some nice 1800's SFO imagery
Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus (library) continuing to read this author
Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham (audiobook) listened to while traveling to meet Ryan on the Arizona Trail
Agatha Christie An Autobiography  This is my flashback book this month. I did a research paper on this book and Ms. Christie back in High School and I read this book many many times.
From Scratch: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin (library) The story of how the food network came to be and turned chefs into rock stars
Foggy Mountain Breakdown by Sharyn McCrumb (audiobook) a collection of short stories very much enjoyed
Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie an ebook...had to read it cause I had nothing else in my suitcase!! Ack but always enjoyable.
Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson (library) reminded me of Tony Hillerman books, lots of Native American stuff in this one
Kindred by Octavia Butler (library) time travel....a black woman from 1976 travels to 1815 with slavery and everything, very good
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (library) Still enjoying these...it is weird that I cannot find them at most used book stores. I have had to rely on library copies only
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (library) ripped from the headlines about a teacher seducing her 14 year old students very explicit.
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth Silver  (library) I am not a huge fan of courtroom/death row type stories I can barely stand Grisham....so if you like that kind of thing, you might like this better than I did
The Remarkable Millard Fillmore by George Pendle  I got this at a used book store thinking it was a serious biography. Instead it is a comedic fictional story. Very silly
Above Suspicion by Helen MacInness (library) another WWII spy novel written in 1941!! And I quite enjoyed it. She is a forgotten gem
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough okay, this one was real history and I enjoyed it I generally like all of McCullough's books I have read so far

22 books

Monday's Postcard 2014: State Pride

Some folks are very proud of their states!! I got these cards from friends who live in Kentucky and Georgia

Monday's Postcard 2014: Caves

Here are a couple of postcards from caves and/or caverns...what is the difference anyway? And you know what, these also count as places I have NEVER been! Thanks you guys for these cards

From Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota

This week, this post is very timely because I hope to visit Colossal Cave in Arizona!!

Monday's Postcard 2014: Zoo and Aquarium

I get lots of postcards from Zoos and Aquariums!

The North Carolina Zoo and the Monterrey Aquarium are represented here with these postcards.

Monday's Postcard 2014: Places I have not been YET

Hard to believe, such great destinations here in the USA!! And I have still not been

maybe this will be the year!!

March Reading

It started a couple of years ago as a New Year's Resolution to keep track of the books I read each month. So here I am again in 2014 with a list of the books I read each month. If you subscribe to my posts, they will come directly to your email inbox --just enter your email address into the box on the right hand side of the screen. And now for the books:

Surly Teenager Reading...(and if I am not mistaken, that is Flowers in the Attic that I am reading in this photo!!)



The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson  given to me by a passenger, this is a Longmire novel (made into a series for A and E TV) so there are more and I really liked it, so I will be getting more from this author. He has been called Louis L'Amour with attitude.
The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell (library) a crime story in a small town, the author also wrote Winter's Bone
The Martian by Andy Weir (library ebook) loved it, highly recommend!! an astronaut stranded on Mars
A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith (library) enjoyed it and recommend it. a mother who lost a son in WWI goes to visit his grave in France
The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus (library) loved it.  I think I liked it even better than 1,000 white women.
Scruples by Judith Krantz this is my Flashback book this month and my edition is dog-earred and was read multiple times. definitely a guilty pleasure :-)
Death Without Company by Craig Johnson (library) enjoyed it and will continue reading this author
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick (library) YA about suicide and I enjoyed it
Stories by O'Henry a collection of short stories by O'Henry love these!
The Wives of Los Alamos by Tarashea Nesbit (library) I really liked it but the writing style is a little gimmicky
Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson (library) another Longmire novel
Dark Horse by Craig Johnson (library) really liked this one!! recommend to my horse loving friends
The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin  thanks Suzi for letting me have this one, enjoyed it
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus (library) I enjoyed it and I'll be looking for more by this author
Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes (library).  This book as written in 1942!!! And it is a fun spy novel.  I am just discovering Helen MacInnes
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (library) A YA time travel/holocaust story
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (library) I thought this one was fun !
The Giver by Lois Lowry (library) I never read this as a kid...
Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell (library) Sad, but in a good way and it ends well
The Returned by Jason Mott (library) basis for the TV show Resurrection

20 books



For those folks who would like to read more often, the Huffington Post has an article about committing to read a book a week. This is a great goal!

Monday's Postcard 2014: Ryan in Spain

Ryan knows how much I love postcards and he always sends me some when he is away on his hiking adventures

These are both from his trip across France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago

Monday's Postcard 2014: from Dad in London

From the late 1980's through the early 90's, my Dad worked a lot of trips to London, so I have a bunch of cards from him from those years.

The airport is Gatwick, on the back Dad writes that it is a rare picture because the sun is shining!!

Monday's Postcard 2014: Happy St. Patricks Day from Ireland!!

Folks know how much I love Ireland, so when friends and family visit, I always get a postcard!

Monday's Postcard 2014: From my Grandmother Arkebauer

Last week, I posted 2 postcards from my Granny. My Grandmother Arkebauer might not have traveled as much, but she also sent me many many postcards!

These are from the Museum of Natural History in Fort Wayne, IN where she lived, and The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT, from a trip she made to visit one of my cousins in Mystic, CT