Of Snow and Stones

Michigan is an odd-shaped state. It is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior) and its name is derived from a Native America word, mishigama, that means "large water." Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline in all of the US. I also learned from Rhonda that Michigan currently has way too much snow. I know how that feels!

The drawn image in the lower left is the state stone, Petoskey. It is a odd looking stone, indeed.

Lessons? Who Needs Lessons! I'll Teach You.

June Lake is in the east central part of California, in the Inyo National Forest. This view looks to be a lovely summer day as Anna notes the mountains in the background are prone to avalanche and there isn't much snow to be seen. But, in the winter there is lots of snow.

Anna's boyfriend was convinced he could teach Anna to snowboard and cross-country ski at June Lake. Perhaps he could have if Anna hadn't been recovering from a shoulder injury (it is impossible to pull yourself up after a snowboarding fall without using your shoulders). Cross-country skiing resulted in a blizzard of tears. However, snow-shoeing did work out well, so all was not lost.

Anna also notes that there is one bar and a small market open in the winter. I bet that after a day of frustration, she paid whatever that one bar wanted for a drink, and whatever that small market wanted for a tube of liniment cream!

I learned to ski about 30 years ago, and it was not pretty. No lessons ... right on the chairlift to the top of the "small" mountain and pointed downhill. I wanted to take those skis off and walk after 10 minutes, but that would have been too embarrassing. I used words I'm sure I had never used before, or since. But, I did learn to ski that weekend.

My youngest daughter got married over New Year's weekend this year, on a mountain in Maine, on skis. It was her wish since childhood to get married on skis. It was a wonderful wedding. The picture is my daughter and son-in-law skiing off after the wedding.

Hints of Pine With a Slightly Smoky Bouquet

Julie lives in Kansas now, but grew up near Napa Valley, California, where this vineyard soaks up just the right combination of rain, soil and sunshine.

On her 21st birthday, Julie celebrated by heading up to Napa Valley. Instead of staying in one of the many lovely hotels that cater to the vineyard touring folk, Julie and company decided to camp. Camping does not leave one nearly as fresh and clean smelling as a nice hot shower with plenty of soap, so when they all trooped into the lovely wineries with all their camping gear, there were probably some curious stares and raised eyebrows. Julie writes it was all great fun, though, and she has very fond memories of the trip.

I love to sip a glass of wine in the evening, always a red. I don't have a refined palate, though, so I am happy with a fairly cheap ($14 or so) bottle of wine. I sort of suspect that all the sniffing, swirling and slurping is a bit overwrought. Or maybe I am just justifying not buying the expensive wines.

Oxford in Two Worlds

A few years ago I read a fantasy series, written for children, but also very much an adult read, called His Dark Materials. The setting is partly in an alternate Oxford, an Oxford not the Oxford featured on this mapcard, but quite similar. The author, Phillip Pullman, is an Oxford alumni, so it is not surprising he set part of the story there. The story is a complicated mix of fantasy and history, with all sorts of detail and twists. I enjoyed it very much, although the movie adaptation left me cold.

Su writes that the real Oxford is quite lovely, though often quite crowded with tourists and students. Early morning is best, which is usually my favorite time to visit popular sites. I can roam and explore, and by the time the crowds show up, I'm browsing the shops for postcards and ready to move on to something less popular.

Happy Adventure

Happy Adventure is the name of this delightful place in Newfoundland, Canada. It got its name because it was the hiding place for an 18th century sailing ship running from pirates.This explanation is what is written on the back of the card. I've read  a few different suggestions for the origin of the name online (one does include a pirate, but it was the pirate's ship that was named Happy Adventure and the town took its name from that). As is so often the case, memory blurs fact until memories become many facts.

Glenn adopted this card and mentions a few more unusually named Canadian towns; Little Heart's Ease, Come By Chance, Leading Tickles, Jerry's Nose and Joe Batt's Arm. We do have Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania, which is pretty odd, but I think living in Jerry's Nose would be quite ... uncomfortable.

Rambling Walls

Sintra is in the Libson region of Portugal. It is UNESCO World Heritage because of its 19th century Romantic architecture. Featured on the postcard is a section of Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors), which is considerably older than much of the surrounding architecture.

Mim visited Sintra many years ago, and, not speaking Portuguese, she relied a bit on French, which young people still studied in school. Somehow Mim managed to communicate and has very fond memories of the region.

Seeing the postcard brought the memories back for Mim. It's like that with images ... it only takes one image to bring us back many years. When my small family gathers, we often pull out boxes of old photographs and spend an entire evening remembering people and places and events. I used to say we should organize all the photos into albums, but I think I'm rather glad we never did. It is more fun to pull out a handful of photos, where any one photo may be anywhere from 70 to 5 years apart from the the next.

Invisibility Equals Death

Juli adopted the below postcard and notes that she knows a breast cancer survivor. I think lots of us do, which is good because not too long ago we would only have been able to say we knew people who died from breast cancer. And it isn't just women. Men get breast cancer, too.

Breast cancer rates have dropped since this card was published about 10 years ago, but it doesn't look like we are very close to a cure.