2017 Monday's Postcard: Alpine Children

Merry Christmas!! And here are some postcards from my grandmother Arkebauer that depict some Alpine Children/Dolls in various poses. This is my last post this year from the Box of Postcards that my cousin Holly sent to me. I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I did!!

2017 Monday's Postcard: Space Shuttle

These cards date from 1984 to 1993 during the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center

2017 Christmas Ornaments

Many many of my ornaments come from my travels and since I don't stop traveling, I always have new ornaments for my Christmas Tree every year!     

From Yosemite, this was actually a keychain. I did not like any of their ornaments for sale in the shops or I thought they were too expensive, so I got this keychain and repurposed it! 

                            

This fish from Portugal was also not a traditional ornament. I think it was meant to be a sachet for your closet or drawers. 

I did a lot of wine tasting in 2016 and this ornament was purchased during one of those trips. 

Now Shenandoah NP had some lovely Christmas Ornaments! It was difficult to chose just one to bring home. 

This little painted snowman is from St. Petersburg, Russia

This metal ornament from Germany unfortunately blends into the tree and does not stand out very much. I have to remember where I placed it, or it might get left on the tree when I put everything away in January. 

I have several of these ornaments now. They come from a gift shop in my neighborhood. They are made from old photographic slides. A piece from a Christmas card is cut to fit where the photo was and they are bedazzled with glitter and a bauble attached. I think they are so clever! 

I have not visited the Almanzo Wilder Homestead (yet), but my friend, Lea did and she gave me this ornament as a memento

2017 Monday's Postcard: Lutheran Churches

My Arkebauer family is Lutheran and it seems that Lutheran Churches in America produce lots of postcards!! And of course my family would send these postcards.

2017 Monday's Postcard: Vancouver, BC

The 1980's in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Gorgeous!!

And of course, I am a huge fan of the Pacific Northwest! Keep those postcards coming!!

2017 Reading List November

                      Artist Unknown (French)  Portrait of a Lady Reading, sixteenth century




Killer Stuff by Sharon Fiffer (library) This was a fun murder mystery.  A mysterious "American Pickers" or "Antiques Roadshow" and add a dash of romance. I'll be reading more by this author.
Deep Freeze by John Sandford  (library) A Virgil Flowers book, I love these, because I love the characters. The mystery is now secondary to me, although this one moves fast....I just like the interaction between Virgil and everyone else.
Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor (library) basically a romance novel with a love triangle and lots of shark info. I liked it well enough. Ann Kidd Taylor is the daughter of Sue Monk Kidd
Second Life by S. J. Watson (library) Julia's sister has been murdered and when Julia tries to get answers as to why, she finds out that her sister had a secret life and there are questions as to what kind of life Julia has been leading also...I liked Before I Go to Sleep better than this one by the same author.
So You've been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (library) How we now use social media to publicly shame people, and how this is becoming a norm in our society now.
Wear No Evil by Greta Egan (library) Very interesting book about paying attention to where and how the clothes you wear are being created. This book hit home after the uniform fiasco we are having at American Airlines. And actually because I do purchase the majority of my wardrobe from consignment and resale stores, I feel that I am already doing a great job at this....also recycling by donating or reselling the clothes that I no longer wear!!
Flight of the Gin Fizz by Henry Kisor (library). I absolutely loved this book about a deaf pilot who re enacts a 1911 coast to coast flight in his Cessna 150.  The obstacles he overcomes just to get his pilots license and the things he has to do to make this journey are amazing.  I really enjoyed this and I might have to buy it now so I can read it again!
Die Trying by Lee Child (audiobook) while driving in the car, I always like a book that I have read before because I don't have to pay too much attention to it, I can still concentrate on driving! LOL
Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it's Luster by Dana Thomas (library) really enjoyed this one about how Luxury Goods are now not so much....when everyone can buy a Dior pair of sunglasses or a Chanel knock-off. The history of luxury goods and duty-free shopping etc was really interesting to me.
Mr Monk Goes to Hawaii by Lee Goldberg a novelization of the Monk TV show. I really enjoyed the TV show and the books are just as much fun. There are several titles in this series.
Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson This is a children's book from Finland. Tove Jansson and the Moomin are like national treasures there! I had no idea when I first visited Helsinki, but they are very popular characters and there is even a theme park in Naantali, Finland. So I have been telling myself that I need to read one of the books. The Moomin have all kinds of crazy adventures and are worried that a comet is going to hit the earth.
Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton (library) this series is coming to an end and I am still enjoying it....twice in this book there were instances where things were sort of expected or I just saw them coming....I mean how many times do you have to see Vultures circling in the air and not think that a dead body is going to show up??? But all in all, I enjoyed it!





To Be Read:
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Storybook Travels by Colleen Dunn Bates and Susan Latempa
Boon Island by Andrew Vietze and Stephen Erickson
Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn by Jan Whitaker

2017 Monday's Postcard: New Orleans

These New Orleans postcards are all from the 1980's

2017 Monday's Postcard: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale, FL during the 1970's and early 1980's

2017 Monday's Postcard: Peaks of Otter

Two postcards from Peaks of Otter, VA  one from 1966 and one from 1983

2017 Monday's Postcard: Sweden

Postcards from Sweden

Huge Thank You to my cousin Holly for sending me a box of family postcards last year. I have been highlighting them all year and they have been wonderful!! I especially love Sweden and was thrilled to see these postcards from one of my favorite countries!!

2017 Reading List October

                                        Laurits Anderson Ring (Danish)  At Breakfast, 1898


The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (library) True story of how the women who painted luminescent watch dials were poisoned by the radium. Despite the companies claiming that radium exposure was safe for years and years. I recommend it. Especially in this day and age when we are bombarded by chemicals everywhere.
The Mystery of the Tolling Bell by Carolyn Keene reading in anticipation of a Nancy Drew convention in Maine. And Nancy Drew experts will realize that I actually read this book twice because I have to read the Original Text AND the Revised text versions of the book.
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery: Tour of Danger by Carolyn Keene more reading for the convention, but I do not recommend the Super Mysteries. In fact, I am writing reviews about them talking about how bad they are!!
Cairns by David B. Williams (library) I was just hiking with my cousins and we saw some cairns along the trail and started talking about them. So I wanted to learn more.
Off the Cliff by Becky Aikman (library) about the making of Thelma and Louise and how it shook up Hollywood. Very good, highly recommend
 If you go through the Seattle Airport, there is a kiosk that tells you that you can download a book for free (from the King County Library), so I have always been intrigued by this and today, I stopped and downloaded an audiobook to listen to during my flight to go to the Nancy Drew convention. It was awesome!! So if you are ever at SeaTac, look for this kiosk at the beginning of C concourse across from the Alaska Airlines lounge.  And the book I downloaded was:
The Purple Diaries by Joseph Egan (audiobook) It is about a Hollywood scandal from the 1930's involving Mary Astor and child custody. I really enjoyed it.
The History of America in Thirty-six Postage Stamps by Christopher West (library) exactly what it says, he takes 36 postage stamps and tracks them through American History and the history of the postal service also. I really enjoyed it and recommend highly. He also has a book about British History too, which is now on my TBR list.
What She Ate by Laura Shapiro (library) I really liked this one. She examines the lives of some famous women by concentrating on what they ate, meals, food descriptions in their memoirs and their writings etc. I was fascinated!! Because food means so much to me. If you are someone who is always posting pictures of your meals on facebook....you might want to read this one.
Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen (library) another fun "Her Royal Spyness" mystery, I really read these to see what is happening with Georgie, the mystery is secondary.
Never Turn Your Back by Margaret Scherf  Nancy Drew ghostwriter Margaret Scherf also wrote many adult mysteries and this is one of them.
Back Spin by Harlen Corben (audiobook) One of his Myron Boitar mysteries, a professional golfer has his son kidnapped.
Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed (library) Dystopian world much like 'The Handmaid's Tale" ....something creepy is going on with the women and how they are controlled by the men. I really enjoyed it, it is the author's first book.
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin (library) currently a movie that is out now, I really enjoyed the book , have not seen the movie yet. Survival story of a plane crash in the Rockies between Salt Lake City and Denver.





To be read:
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Killer Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
Midnight Line by Lee Child
Deep Freeze by John Sandford
To Be Where You Are by Jan Karon

2017 Monday's Postcard: Legends of the Sea

      I am sure that you can guess that these postcards were also sent from Florida over the years.

2017 Monday's Postcard: Charlotte, NC

These postcards are all from 1959 and are of Charlotte, NC. My uncle Frank was in NC on business and sent these postcards back to his family in New Jersey where they lived at the time.

2017 Monday's Postcard: Hong Kong

Both of these postcards were sent by my father during the 1970's on a visit to Hong Kong. It was so much fun to read these postcards after all these years.

2017 Monday's Postcard: Columbus Ships Quin-centennial

These postcards are from the 1992 Columbus Ships Quin-centennial. Very cool I think

We were very lucky last fall to stumble into Baiona, Spain and see a replica of the Pinta on display there ON Columbus Day! Hard to believe that they took these ships across the Atlantic Ocean!!

2017 Monday's Postcard: Poconos

The DeVries used to spend a lot of time vacationing in the Poconos, so we have lots of postcards!!!