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!