Newlywed Pictures

Aw, the wedding pictures. Embarking on a new life with your spouse. What could be more exciting? Little do they know what awaits them. A mortgage, crying babies, playing chauffeur, laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills. What? I don't make it sound like fun? Marriage is great, but Disney has made it look like there are never any challenges or things that make you want to pull your hair out. They never go on to say how Cinderella never sees her mice friends, she's too busy changing diapers and doing what she does best, cleaning! I shouldn't pick in Disney, I'm actually a huge Disney fan. Other movies and books are guilty of this too. Of course, these are the movies and books I want to read. Who wants to read about the hum drum of actual every day life? No thanks, I'm living it. Bring on the prince and the ride off into the sunset. And, if Cinderella plays her cards right she can get groceries delivered and hire a house cleaner! Now that would be a happily ever after.

Johannes Jorgensen

I wish this had a date on it. It is speaking of Mr. Jorgensen in the present tense so it must be before 1956, when he passed away. There's not a huge amount of information about this author. He was Danish and was born into a Lutheran faith family. He seemed to struggle with religion for some time before becoming a Catholic and writing biographies of Catholic Saints.
I think everyone struggles with or questions religion at some point in their lives. I should think many of us, throughout our entire life. Mr. Jorgensen seemed to come to peace with what he had learned and thought about. Hopefully, the rest of us will as well, if we haven't already.

Barcelona!

A newer postcard from Barcelona. I feel a little weird posting the newer stuff. I wouldn't want to have the actual people who sent this to feel violated. But, on the other hand, postcards can be read by every person it comes into contact with, postman for one, unlike a letter, hidden by an envelope. Still feeling weird, but posting anyway. I am such a rebel.
I have not been to Spain but it is on the list. The ever growing, gotta do before I die list. The postcard has a picture of Casa Batllo. The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (House of Bones). It's architecture is really cool. You really need to google it if you haven't seen it in person. It's decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles that starts out in orange colors and moves into greenish blues. The roof is arched and has been likened to the back of a dragon or a dinosaur. At the top there is a turret and a cross which some say represents the lance of Saint George, which has been plunged into the back of the dragon. All houses and buildings should have cool stories to go with them.

Andre Maurois and Edward VII

This clipping, dated December 17, 1934, is discussing a biography of Edward VII written by Andre Maurois. Edward was interesting enough. He was the son of Queen Victoria and Albert, the same couple the movie The Young Victoria is about. Edward does all the usual prince things and eventually becomes King in 1901. He apparently smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. Why did they keep track of this stuff? Marci drank 4 Diet Cokes a day and regularly ate Swedish Fish, only the red ones, and M&M's. There must be a daily dose of chocolate. There, now my own terrible habits are printed for my own posterity. They leave this kind of thing out of the history books so I think it's kind of fun to learn. Edward developed bronchitis toward the end of his life and was supposed to have commented about his horse winning a race for his last words.
Andre Maurois, his given name was Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog, was the author of Edwards biography that this article is speaking of. His pen name sounds a bit more exotic. He served as an interpreter in WWI for the French. During WWII he worked as The French Official Observer, whatever that is, and later wrote a book about these experiences. He died in 1967 and in buried in Paris. He had a few interesting quotes and this one was my favorite. "In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others."

Postcard from Obernburg, Germany

As far as I can tell this postcard is from 1989. Which is a little scary to me because when I first looked at it, I thought it would be from the 60's or 70's. It makes me feel old when things from 1989 look dated. The hotel gets great reviews on Tripadvisor. Does everyone check that site before booking a hotel? You should. I have booked hotels all over the US and in Europe based on pictures and reviews on Tripadvisor. Great site. I have to say, I have a soft spot for Germany. I have only been to Munich and then to see Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen, but I am anxious to see more. Munich was a mix of old meets modern. Loved the Rathaus-Glockenspiel and hitting theHofbrauhaus. I was there in May, so I didn't get the full experience of Oktoberfest, but the atmosphere was fun all the same. And Fussen, fell completely in love with this small town. Beautiful! Germany is definitely on my list of places to revisit. I still need to cruise the Rhine and see northern Germany. It might be time to start checking Tripadvisor again.

John Traugott and Laurence Sterne

This is an article that was published July 29, 1955. It appears to be a rather scathing review of a book written by John Traugott. Mr. Traugott was professor of English at UC Berkeley in California. I can't see who wrote the article, but they were pretty brutal. He says that most of the remarks by Mr. Traugott were "blurred and obscured by his besetting sin, bad writing." Yikes. Saying that to anyone is pretty bad, but to a professor of English! The author of this article had serious balls. What a terrible phrase, but it's the one that I keep thinking of, so there you go. I am not a writer, obviously, but I would love someone to find some mistakes in this article! I had to look up Laurence Sterne. For someone who has had multiple people dissecting his work, he was completely foreign to me. I googled, I Wikipedia'd, and still no sign of recognition. More proof I am in dire need of a better education.

The Backyard

These two pictures were found together in a book. The little boy, looking at the bird, is also seen sitting at the table on the far right. I have stared at that bird many times trying to figure out if it's real, and they managed an amazing shot, or more likely, it's a statue or a stuffed bird. I lean towards a stuffed bird, except the boy is looking rather awed by it which means he has never seen it before or it's actually a live bird. There's your topic. Discuss.
It's summer! Flowers are growing and little boys get to wear shorts. Although, there's a rule. You must wear long socks and only show your knees. Women must have lived in their aprons, so many pictures of aprons. The little boy on the left is adorable. He looks like he needs more sleep though, those bags under his eyes are intense. I am going to guess the 30's or 40's. Great pictures!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1979

A Christmas card! This looks like one of those cards you add your own picture to. I mean, this deer was probably in their backyard. I honestly had no idea that you could do this back in 1979, take one of your own pictures and turn it into a card. Maybe that is sad and pathetic to admit. I guess I just think of the 70's like they were a million years ago. And I was alive and kicking somewhere in the 70's! But I will never reveal how much of the 70's I was around for. Suffice it to say, I have pictures of my small self with some cool looking bell bottoms and a crocheted, multi-colored vest on, thanks mom! Ah, the 70's. They gave us killer music and clothes you wouldn't want to be caught dead in.

A Bank Note, 1949

I believe this is a bank note that someone received after depositing 2,000 kroner. The date is August 12, 1949. I have never been good at seeing a kroner, euro or any other foreign money and instantly do the exchange rate and know how much I'm actually spending on something. It's probably not going to kill me, and as long as I'm getting what I want, I'm sure it's worth it, right? $20 for gelato stracciatella in a cone? Completely worth it! But, I do have a better idea of what a kroner is. And not only because I do business with clients in Denmark, but because I have read 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' along with half the world. Great series. Fascinating, fast paced, and a little dark and twisted. You have been warned.

More Bookmarks!

These bookmarks are so much fun. I don't know about other people so much, but I often find the first thing sitting around to save my place in a book, random pieces of paper, a pen or pencil. I've even used a candy wrapper! Candy wrappers always seem to be handy. That's probably not a good thing. Anyway, I don't know how well you can see the first bookmark, it has the impression of a deer on it and says Calgary Canada. I am hoping it was gift to someone and mailed to someone in Denmark. If you live in Denmark, where the average high in the summer is a balmy 64 degrees, why in the world would you choose to vacation in Calgary? Not to dis Calgary, I have been there and it's beautiful, but if I lived somewhere cold, I'm thinking the beaches of Spain would be perfect! The next bookmark is also made of leather and says Danmark on it. Our last bookmark is handmade. That just gets me every time. I haven't the talent, nor the desire, to sit down and do crafty things. I'm glad someone else did though, very fun bookmark.

Tennyson

An article in English! Let me explain something first. When I receive books for Book Decor, I can get 6,000 to 9,000 books at a time. They do not come divided by language or age. I go through each book by hand to divide them by language and by group as I have designated them at Book Decor; Jewel Tone, Designer Mix, French, German, etc. Out of 6,000 books, I will find about 7 books that are actually in English. I am completely rotten and keep all the English language books for myself. For some reason last night, I was standing in front of my book shelf and pulled out a 1911 Poems of Tennyson. Lo and behold, out falls this article about Tennyson! I swear I have looked through this book before and found nothing. Loved that it had a picture, very Jane Austen looking. The article tells about some proof sheets for the 1856 edition of Tennyson's 'Maud' that includes pen-and-ink revisions by Tennyson. And a poem in Tennyson's writing on the title page of the book. This poem has not been found in any of his other writings. The article goes on the explain why this is likely an original by Tennyson. I thought is was lovely, so here it is.

Pleasure in false love
Blights while it charms,
Sorrow in true love
Heals where it harms.
False love maketh
Sane men sad.
True love helpeth
Even the mad.

I'm usually one that needs poetry explained to me, but this one I get. Lovely.

1946 Bergen, Germany

The year is 1946 and this is Bergen, Germany. It's beautiful, and it's nice to know people were traveling to Germany so close to the end of WWII. And, for once, the scene is not snowy. I do wish it were in color, I don't think black and white does this place justice. The name of the person who took this shot was a Enerett Eberh. B.. Oppi. After scouring the Internet for more information on the guy, all I came up with were more post cards with his name on them. Post card maker, picture taker, or artist, I will never know. Maybe it's not a person at all but a company name. Logging another mystery here on the blog. Looks like a nice place to visit though, in the summer.

The Couple

This is a great picture. It reminds me so much of my maternal grandparents. My grandfather was a total cue ball on top just like this fellow. And my grandmother was always wearing an apron, cooking or not. Unless she was dressed up to go out, then she would put on her best jewelry, and ditch the apron. She had a whole drawer full of costume jewelry that all of us granddaughters played dress-up with. She was always in a dress. I honestly can only remember my grandmother wearing a pair of pants a half a dozen times. She used to make chocolate chip cookies and keep them in the freezer in an old bread bag for when we would come over. What a great memory. And my grandfather, if he wasn't dressed up for church, he was usually wearing a pair of striped overalls and a smile. He had these huge hands and always insisted on shaking your hand and asking "How do, how do?"

If we could give this lady glasses and put the guy in striped overalls, well, I'd miss my grandparents even more. Great picture, great couple.