Nuremberg Postcard 1921

A picturesque image of Nuremberg Main Market Square sometime around 1921. The area has a rich history. Sadly, during WWII, much of the architecture was damaged or ruined completely. It still remains beautiful, however, and is on my list of places to see.

The fountain in the picture was referred to as Jewish Fountain or Neptune Fountain and was ordered to be removed by Hitler. He also went and changed the name of the square to Hitler Square or something, and named a street after himself there as well. Geez. Ego, people, right there. Huge, screaming, ego. To many of us, Nuremberg reminds us of WWII and the trials that went on there after the war, but my reading about this marvelous city has been remarkable and has taught me many things that I will leave you to find on your own. Just know it is well worth your time. I love learning about new places. Oh, I am needing a trip back to Germany! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful....

Doodle on an Envelope

In the last few years I have really learned to appreciate and love art. I can't create it myself, so I ooh and ah over other people's masterpieces. I love when I find other people's doodles on spare pieces of paper in my books. Then I get to play art interpreter extraordinaire!

Here goes. I see a man, he's reclining in bed, one foot on the floor. He's holding a bottle and has a spare, one should always have a spare. Here's the tricky part, I THINK the doodler was trying to portray the man's hand in a come hither kind of attitude, but.....well, hands are difficult to draw, or so I have read. The come hither might still work though. I mean he does have a bottle of something and the spare, who could resist that? Plus he's got the whole beard thing going on which is really in fashion right now. Sure, his bodies a shapeless blob, but none of us are perfect, right?

Winston and the Nazi

 As you can see, this is a newpaper clipping from April 1940. Good 'ol Winston is on puffing away on one side, and we have a cartoon with a Nazi soldier on the other. Winston, the man was a walking heart attack waiting to happen, overweight, smoking and drinking constantly, and I am pretty sure his job was on the stressful side. Haha.  This guy was the quite the character. If you haven't been to the Winston Churchill War Rooms in London, you are missing out. Highly recommended.

The translation is roughly, and I mean very roughly; Can I know? Hansi, your Wiener Child. Now, if anyone out there can make heads or tails of that, I will thank you. To me, and I excel at taking wild stabs in the dark, I think this Nazi wants to join the family. He has his suitcase and he means business. The look on the couples faces is priceless. So is this trying to say, look out world, we are moving in and taking over! 1940 was pretty early in the war, so maybe that is the case. 

Candy Wrapper Bookmark?

I do this ALL the time. It's a wonder I am not as big as a house all the sweets I consume. And having a little snack is so very easy to do when you are reading a book. And so bad to do! The same concept of eating when you watch TV, you don't pay attention to the amount of food, candy, junk, you actually consume, and next thing you know we are all having high blood pressure, diabetes, and our rotund bodies are no longer fitting properly in the seats at Disneyland! Whew, wow I got off on a tangent on that one, didn't I?

Needless to say, I often find myself reading and then the phone rings, or the doorbell, or I have to actually work or take care of the kids, so I look around and grab any piece of anything that will save my spot. Coupons, pencils, my phone, pretty much anything I can find. And, of course, candy wrappers.

Volumes of Good Wishes

Oh, these are the coolest things ever! Postcards in English and sent to and from somewhere in the US. They were both mailed in 1909, one in July and one in November. And they appear to be identical, but if you look at the back of them, they aren't exact.

First, the July card. "In town this forenoon, think I saw your brother, down St. What did you think of the festival sbt? eve. I enjoyed myself very much, was with such a lively crowd." Have you ever seen the word forenoon before? It  means the morning. I mean that makes sense, it's before noon, but why not say in the morning? Have we replaced that word with mid-morning? I wish there were more details about whatever festival he/she is referencing. Whom ever they were, they were in a hurry to get this thing off. No capitalization at the beginning, and those abbreviations. They even put the stamp on upside down.

The postcard mailed in November starts out "Dear Friend, why don't you send me a card. I sent you one a long time ago. I thought maybe you had changed your address and didn't get it." That's it. A scrawled name towards the top, Hannah, perhaps? If you look at the addresses to which these were mailed, wow, how did anyone find these people? Ida and Loyd, of course we know where they live, everyone knows Ida and Loyd.  I bet people at the post office could go back and explain these seemingly absent addresses.

The times have changed, very much in fact. But we are ultimately the same. Hey, I saw your brother. I enjoyed myself at the festival. Where are you and why haven't you written back? Although now, we would see you having a great time at the festival via Facebook or Instagram. And we can track old friends down far easier than ever before. Or start stalking them, haha.

 Every once in a while I find something that takes my breath away. These go into that category. Love, love, love them.

Leather and the Red

More bookmarks!! The leather one says Menette Regions Conference and the year 1983.  Menette translates into French as lever...after that, I am at a loss. The conference was held in Aalborg, Denmark. So, a French lever conference in Denmark?  Hahaha, for some reason I think I might be just a tad off here.

The red one looks a little older, I can't quite make out the words, but the flower design and words look like they were laid out with a glitter pen. How long have glitter pens been around? Do glitter pens actually exist? I am so not the crafty person. I'm always impressed to see people walk into a craft store, grab things I have no idea what are called, and turn all of those random things into a, a... whatever it is all you crafty people make.

Abide With Me

Abide With Me, what a beautiful song. There's no date, going on the condition of the paper, I would guess somewhere around the 1930's or 40's. The words above the verses say "the immortal anthem original with the original 8 verses." The man who wrote Abide With Me was Henry Francis Lyte. He was born in Scotland in 1793 and studied at Trinity College in Dublin. He took Anglican holy orders in 1815. He was also a hymn writer and a poet.

Abide With Me is his best known hymn, and according to a traditional story, Lyte wrote it a few hours after conducting the final service at his church, which was probably September 5, 1847. More likely the hymn was written in July or August of that year.  Lyte himself created for the hymn what his biographer has disparaged as "a dull tune." When Hymns Ancient and Modern was published in 1861, the editor, William H. Monk—whose three-year-old daughter had just died, composed his own tune, "Eventide," for Lyte's Poem.

A couple cool things about the song, it was said to be on the lips of Edith Cavell when she faced a German firing squad. It also has been sung at the The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup, finals since 1927. Pretty cool. 

This is one of my favorite hymns. It doesn't matter what you believe, or what you think about religion, this is a beautiful song.