Monday's Postcard: Happy New Year 2013!

Happy New Year! For 2013, I am going to change things a little bit by using postcards from my collection that are vintage cards. I was getting tired of all the modern locations. So for one of my new year's resolutions, I will be digging into my extensive postcard collection for all my OLD cards, starting with these celebrating the holiday.

If you want, you can get my blog posts sent directly to your email address. I will be posting a vintage postcard every Monday and once a month I will be posting about all the books I read. So just enter your email address into the box on the right hand side of the page and you can get all the posts with out having to go look for them every week. Or you can just visit lhttp://www.amandafromseattle.com whenever you feel like it! :-)

Monday's Postcard: Wilmington, NC

Where I grew up, this was labeled the World's Largest Living Christmas Tree! It is a 300 year old Live Oak and covered with more than 4,000 multi-colored lights. So famous, it has a postcard made for it!! However, this year it looks like they will not be lighting the tree. They say that the oak is now too old to support the lights. Here is a link to a story about the tree.

Monday's Postcard: Salisbury, NC

My mom sent me this postcard several years ago. She wrote that I might want to think about planting a letterbox here! :-) I believe this is the Kerr Mill in Mt. Ulla, NC.

Christmas Ornaments

cross-stitch

Antique

crochet

It has been so much fun to get out all the Christmas decorations this year. I put the tree up a week ago, but I am finally going to blog about it. I inherited some great ornaments from my Mom and Granny and now more than ever, putting up the tree is a trip down memory lane as I unwrap each one. The ornaments on the red background are homemade. My mom crocheted around glass balls and the mini ones are cross-stitch. The glass ornaments on the green paper background are antique from the 1940's or 50's. I love their unusual shapes. And the colors are so faded after all these years. They have a lot of character.

Germany

Sweden

The next grouping of ornaments are all from my travels around the world. The horse is from Sweden. Santa in an airplane is from Germany. The Blue Delft Tree with the Windmill on it is from Holland. The mukluks are from Alaska and the little Asian girl is from Taiwan (I don't even think it is meant to be a Christmas Ornament, but I re-purpose stuff all the time, the Delft tree is on a key chain!) And finally, the little man is a Canadian Mountie from British Columbia!                                            

Alaska

Holland

Canada

Taiwan

I love handcrafted ornaments. I have several from craft fairs and art shows.The quilted ornament I got on a trip to the Amish Country in Pennsylvania. (the Santa behind it is a wooden carving from Thailand) Some  that I inherited from my mom include the beautiful angel  made of seashells and  this rustic wooden ornament. I have a couple of these and they are all different!   The knitted girl is from a trip to Hawaii!

Pennsylvania

Hawaii

Seashell Angel

Turned Wood

Harrods Bear

There are ornaments that remind me of family. This Harrod's Bear (another key chain) reminds me of trips to London with my Dad and I made this ornament with my Granny's photo on it especially to place on the Christmas tree because Christmas was one of her favorite holidays.

Granny

flight attendant

Then there are the ornaments that I get because of my job! I love my little flight attendant. I always have lots of airplanes on my tree. And it wouldn't be my tree with out some Nancy Drew ornaments on it! Of course this is only a small sampling of the ornaments I have. Each year I pick and choose a few old favorites, a few new additions from my travels and I rotate through them each year. There are so many and I can't part with them when they mean so much. It would take a 7 foot tree to hold them all!! The editing process adds to the enjoyment of trimming the tree in my opinion.

Nancy Drew

Santa on Airplane

But there are lots of ornaments that did not make it out of the box this year. Maybe next year!!

Monday's Postcard: Solvang

I first visited Solvang on a road trip with my family. Since then, Ryan and I have been back several times. It is a fun stop on the drive south from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles.

Wild Card: Istanbul

A friend sent me this postcard from Turkey, still on my "to do" list.   Ryan has already been, something he likes to lord over me. It is pretty rare when he can say he has been somewhere that I have not! So he really likes to milk it for all it's worth. :-)

Monday's Postcard: London

Always a fun layover, I enjoy my time in London. I consider myself lucky that I get to spend so much time exploring this wonderful city. Although it looks like I won't be back here again until sometime in the Spring of  2013. No more international trips scheduled in the near future for me.

Books I read in November 2012

Great quote about books from Doctor Who! I was inspired by a new years resolution of friends of mine to keep track of all the books I read each year. So I have been posting every month a list of the books I read. We are almost to the end of 2012....

Books I read in November:


A Play of Lords by Margaret Frazer The players go to London!
A Play of Treachery by Margaret Frazer
Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D MacDonald
Your House is on Fire, your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye (library) spooky
I watch therefore I am  by Gregory Bergman and Peter Archer (library) Philosophy from TV shows, yes it is possible! a bit of fun
The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly (library) liked, similar to Kate Atkinson and Elizabeth George
The Corpse in the Flannel Nightgown by Margaret Scherf --Ms. Scherf was a ghostwriter for one of the Nancy Drew mysteries and she also wrote many other mystery books under her own name during her short career
Strapless by Deborah Davis (library) I read Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation  by Davis last month and enjoyed it so much I decided to read more of her work. This is about artist, John Singer Sargent.
The Forever Marriage by Ann Bauer (library) enjoyed it, would recommend
Inside Joss' Dollhouse ed. by Jane Espenson essays about the Joss Whedon TV show Dollhouse
When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald (library)--I thought it was just okay
Niceville by Carsten Stroud (library) loved this one, very Stephen King-ish Creepy, but great characters I will be looking for more by this author!
The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman (library) history about the world before WWI, from my obsession with Downton Abbey and Maisie Dobbs and other WWI novels, this book gives you what the world was like before WWI
Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D MacDonald
Darker Than Amber by John D MacDonald 190 pages read in approx. 2 1/2 hours on flight from Seattle, WA to Charlotte, NC
One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D MacDonald
The Empty Glass by J. I . Baker (library) very film-noirish book about Marilyn Monroe's death
Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub (library)
Broken Harbor by Tana French (library) thriller, I really like this author and each book gets better and better than the last

Pale Gray for Guilt by John D. MacDonald

20 books read this month

Monday's Postcard: New York State

Super cute map style postcard from my sister in 2001. I always enjoy the retro style map postcards.

Monday's Postcard: Champaign, IL

I had a layover in Champaign, IL in 1990 and I bought this gorgeous postcard at the airport.

Monday's Postcard: Yosemite

Still haven't been to Yosemite...another year goes by....

Wild Card: Munchen

A postcard from a dear friend who went to Oktoberfest in Germany last year!

Monday's Postcard: Vancouver Island

Closer to home, a waterfront view of Nanaimo, BC, Canada, if you have the chance, you ought to visit here too!! :-)

Books I read in October 2012

I should note that when I first got out of college, I would usually buy all the books that I read. I rarely went to the library. I did buy used, so that was good, but I did buy a lot of books in hardback as they were published. I also used to rack up a lot of debt!! Compared to now! I rarely purchase a hardback book that has just been published. I just cannot afford it. I use the library almost exclusively and rely on used bookstores (both brick and mortar and online)
Here are the books I read in October:

The Dark Rose by Erin Kelly (library) quite liked it, if you like Kate Atkinson or Elizabeth George modern British mysteries
Gilded Age by Claire McMillan (library) If you like Edith Wharton, this is an modernized House of Mirth
King Dork by Frank Portman (library) YA nerdy guy in junior high/high school and why he hates Catcher in the Rye --quite amusing I thought
Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers by Ellen Schultz (library) I just kept getting angrier and angrier while reading this one
Gone by Cathi Hanauer (library) A woman's husband runs off with the babysitter/midlife crisis drama
Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks (library) picked up after reading The Chaperone last month
A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald -I pack these paperbacks in my suitcase for easy reading on the road
A Play of  Dux Moraud by Margaret Frazer 2nd in this series and thoroughly enjoying these!
The Innocents by Francesca Segal (library) another modernization of Edith Wharton--this time Age of Innocence--I liked Gilded Age better and the original age of innocence better
Guest of Honor: Booker T Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation by Deborah Davis (library) very interesting!!
The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George (library) George tries her hand at a YA novel set in the PNW, I enjoyed it and hope for more!
Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult (library) Picoult also doing a YA novel with her daughter, okay
You are the Love of My Life by Susan Richards Shreve (library) depressing
A Play of Knaves by Margaret Frazer -just fun and easy paperbacks to read
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian (library) super spooky ghost story
We Rode the Orphan Trains by Andrea Warren (library) Picked up after reading the Chaperone last month
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton-- reread because of reading The Gilded Age earlier this month
The Quick Red Fox by John D MacDonald--reading these in order of publication
The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams (library) a Jack the Ripper-ish story
Double Image by Helen MacInnes (library) So I read this article about the best sellers from 1966 compared to today and this was one of the Best Sellers of 1966 (the 1960's books got often better reviews than the modern books when compared!!)

20 books read this month
Abandoned books: The Queens Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray --just did not grab me and was due at library, so I returned it without finishing it

Monday's Postcard: Warner Springs Ranch

I can't rave enough about this resort in Southern California. It was wonderful. Outside San Diego, if you have the chance, it is definitely worth a visit. Ryan and I stayed here for a few days while he was hiking the PCT.

Monday's Postcard: Aukland

A postcard from my Dad from 1994, featuring the Aukland ferry terminal. I must say that New Zealand is fabulous and if I could I would live there in a heartbeat!

Monday's Postcard: Norfolk

That's a Piedmont Airplane in the photo! I miss layovers like Norfolk, Roanoke, Louisville, TriCities, Savannah and Charleston, but I have to say that I like to work the long haul flights a lot more than the short hops.

Wild Card: Sauvie Island

Today's Wild Card is from a date that Ryan and I had when we first started going out! He took me to this Corn Maze outside of Portland, OR! It's a wonderful thing to do this time of year.

Monday's Postcard: Mexico

From my Granny, the mountains in Mexico. Is it any wonder I have the wanderlust when so many of my family members traveled so extensively!!

 And for Ryan's Progress...he is most likely in Santiago de Compostela today!! On 10/5, he was only 3 days walk away. But you know Ryan, he isn't really stopping there, he plans to continue on to the ocean, like they do in the movie, The Way.



View Larger Map


A = Le Puy on 8/12 B= Aumont-Aubrac pm 8/14 C=Aubrac on 8/15 D= Figeac on 8/19 E=Cahors on 8/22 F=Moissac on 8/24 G= Auvillar on 8/25 H= Montréal-du-Gers, France on 8/28 I= Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France on 9/4 J= Pamplona, Spain on 8/8 K= Estella, Spain on 8/10 L= Santo Domingo, Spain on 8/14 M= Burgos, Spain on 9/17 N= Villalcazar de Sirga, Spain on 9/20 O= Sahagun, Spain on 9/22 P= Calzadilla de lost Hermanillos on 9/23 Q= Mansilla de los Mullas on 9/24 R= Leon on 9/25 S= Molinaseca on 9/28 T= Triacastela on 10/2 U= Palas de Rei on 10/5

Books I read in September 2012

A river of books!

Here's what I read in September:



Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown (library) the law case stuff bogged it down for me
The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman (library) enjoyed (sad)
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart (library) very cute memoir if you like Elizabeth Berg type stuff
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty (library) Highly recommend. Loved it. Louise Brooks leaves Kansas for dance classes in NYC when she is 15 years old. This is the story of her chaperone.
All That I Am by Anna Funder   (library) Pre-WWII, Hitlers rise to power exiling, imprisoning and killing his political enemies.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter  (library) enjoyed
Deep Blue Goodbye by John D MacDonald just for fun
Nightmare in Pink by John D MacDonald trying to read these in order now, still enjoy them after all these years
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (library) about a girl with cerebral palsy who just wants to be normal
The 500 by Matthew Quirk (library) it got great reviews and was compared to the Firm, but I thought it was just okay
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (library) 2nd in this YA series
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom   reread cause went to see her house in Holland on my Amsterdam layover
Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann (library) 1950's housewife angst-enjoyed it-reminded me of story lines on Mad Men
Criminal by Karin Slaughter (library) thriller
Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (library) FUN loved the send up of Seattle/land of microsoft!
Imperfect Bliss  by Susan Fales-Hill (library) another FUN read!! Jane Austen style story updated to present day with the filming of a reality TV show??!! Yes it is possible (look what they did with Clueless, the valley girl, Emma)
If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley (library) Like Bill Bryson's book At Home, about why our houses and rooms are the way they are very interesting lots of photos etc
A Play of Issac by Margaret Frazer 1st in mystery series set in 1400's with a troop of players

18 books read this month

Abandoned books:  The Astral by Kate Christensen (library) Couldn't get into it-you were right Alisa! Don't remember who recommended this one or where I read about it, but it did not grab me 

Monday's Postcard: Eygpt

A friend of mine took a cruise up the Nile, this has been on my life list ever since reading Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie!!

An update on Ryan's progress:



View Larger Map A = Le Puy on 8/12 B= Aumont-Aubrac pm 8/14 C=Aubrac on 8/15 D= Figeac on 8/19 E=Cahors on 8/22 F=Moissac on 8/24 G= Auvillar on 8/25 H= Montréal-du-Gers, France on 8/28 I= Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France on 9/4 J= Pamplona, Spain on 8/8 K= Estella, Spain on 8/10 L= Santo Domingo, Spain on 8/14 M= Burgos, Spain on 9/17 N= Villalcazar de Sirga, Spain on 9/20 O= Sahagun, Spain on 9/22 P= Calzadilla de lost Hermanillos on 9/23 Q= Mansilla de los Mullas on 9/24 R= Leon on 9/25

Monday's Postcard: Bridge of the Gods

In September 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew up the gorge from Portland, OR and underneath the (new) Bridge of the Gods! And all in the Spirit of St. Louis!! Yes, it actually happened. I love these Retro style postcards.

Monday's Postcard: New Orleans

New Orleans

And an update on Ryan's Progress on the Camino de Santiago. You can read his blog HERE and here is an updated map of his progress as of September 14th, he was in Santo Domingo, Spain.
View Larger Map A = Le Puy on 8/12 B= Aumont-Aubrac pm 8/14 C=Aubrac on 8/15 D= Figeac on 8/19 E=Cahors on 8/22 F=Moissac on 8/24 G= Auvillar on 8/25 H= Montréal-du-Gers, France on 8/28 I= Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France on 9/4 J= Pamplona, Spain on 8/8 K= Estella, Spain on 8/10 L= Santo Domingo, Spain on 8/14

Wild Card: New Zealand Rose Gardens

When I visited New Zealand in 1995, I sent this postcard to my Mom. The garden is in Auckland, NZ and it is a popular spot for weddings and taking wedding photos.

Monday's Postcard: Glastonbury Tor

From my Granny in 1989. I just love getting postcards, they just whet my appetite for more travel.

Monday's Postcard: Glendalough

Just outside of Dublin, Ireland, Glendalough was home to one of Ireland's most important monastic settlements. Founded in the 6th century, by Kevin. It was reduced to rubble by English forces in the 1300's, but survived as a place of pilgrimage. The buildings that survived are from the 10-12th centuries. My favorite is the round tower shown in this postcard.  The Round towers served as landmarks for visitors and bell towers, but also were put into use as storehouses or places of refuge during attacks. 

Books I read in August 2012

Slumber party at my house and Jenny is reading?! It was something we would do, Judy Blume, Nancy Drew, Phyllis A. Whitney's young adult mysteries. This is probably 1977 or 1978.
For folks just tuning in, this is my list of the books that I read this August. Each month I provide a list of the books I read and some books that I don't read! You can also follow the links along the right side of this page and see my lists from previous months if you have been missing any of the postings, you can also subscribe to my blog and get it in your email inbox each month when they are posted.

A Tale of Two Trails by Ryan Carpenter! available for purchase HERE
Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald (audio book) great for when driving to trailheads for hike-a-thon
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (library) not the mommy porn book, this is about Lithuanians sent to Siberia by Stalin during WWII
The Red House by Mark Haddon (library) dysfunctional family
Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack by Wendeln Van Draanen great YA mystery series
Shelter by Frances Greenslade (library) a mom abandons her two daughters 70's Pacific Northwest
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane rereading this one after viewing the movie
The Turnaround by George Pelecanos Washington DC crime thriller
A Cup of Tea by Amy Ephron sort of Downton Abbeyish
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (library) teen bullying and suicide
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (library) the latest by this author I loved it
Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (library) accident changes lives of  a group of friends
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (audio book) an old favorite read by a favorite actress, Frances Macdormand
I Brake for Yard Sales by Lara Spencer (library) fun book about decorating with thrift store finds
After Life by Rhian Ellis (library) story about a psychic and her daughter 1970's era If you like Practical Magic and/or that kind of spiritualist dysfunctional family life stuff
Women on the Case ed. by Sara Paretsky (audiobook) short stories by female mystery authors
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away by Eric Wilson (library) nonfiction
A Room with a View by E. M. Forester (audiobook) a favorite revisited
A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D MacDonald A Travis McGee novel by MacDonald, I will probably be rereading a lot of these in the coming months.



19 books read this month


 abandoned books:
The Green Shore by Natalie Bakopoulos (library) could not get into it and had other stuff waiting at the library

And thanks to everyone who donated for the WTA Hike-a-thon! I just got checks in the mail from Frank and Gwen! Thanks so much!! My hiking is done and I did 52.2 miles total and I have until Sept 10th to collect all my pledges.   If you get it in the mail to me today, it'll just make it! Make that check out to WTA (Washington Trails Association) and send it to Amanda Arkebauer PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA  98116 or you can donate directly through my donation page at WTA Hike-a-thon

The last 8 miles for Hike--a-thon 2012

Back home in Seattle again. My mile high hiking got derailed. Hurricane Issac took it's toil on the East Coast and airline schedules. On the 29th I did 2 miles at the Evans Creek Preserve near Redmond, WA. Washington Trails Association volunteers built a boardwalk here! Evans Creek Preserve The Blackberries were ripe, wish I had brought a container for them.

The next day I did 5 miles on the Tolt Pipeline Trail out in Woodinville, WA. This pipeline provides water to Seattle! The trail is used by lots of locals walking dogs and riding horses.

And finally on the 31st of August, I did my last 3 miles hiking the trail to Lake Dorothy!

For a grand total of 52.2 miles for the month of August. I made my goal of 50 miles hiked and as of today, Ryan and I together raised $1,050 dollars for Washington Trails, so we made our goal of raising $1,000 also! Thanks so much to everyone! And our last minute pledges from Sarah, Lou and Alisa helped to bring us up to our goal! (I wasn't worried, okay maybe a little bit)