The Postcards Cafe

Shame on my for neglecting my blog. I like to post weekly but life happens.

My friends Kim and Dennis returned from Kauai, Hawaii, from a much needed vacation and they were so taken with the island they could not stop talking about it and reading about it. They vowed to return. I'll give them a year or two but I bet they will be back. From their descriptions, Kauai sounds like the Garden of Eden, complete with wild food on the vine and the kind of warm temperatures riding moist ocean currents most Alaskan's only dream about.

My friends sent me a beautiful wood postcard (see my blog post here) from the island but waited until Christmas to give me this card which any self-respecting postcard collector would die for. This is so much like Kim and Dennis always giving what is most valuable. Thanks guys.

The Postcards Cafe specializes in seafood and gourmet natural cuisine. The postcard image is from a painting signed by Lauren Paskal, 1996. The cafe's contact information is P.O. Box 778 Hanalei, Hawaii 96714. Phone 808-826-1191.

Oh, say can you see...

This card of Fort McHenry was one of two cards sent recently by Stephen from Baltimore, Maryland. This was the fort the British bombarded for 25 hours on September 13, 1814, during the War of 1812. Had they passed and landed in Baltimore Harbor we Americans might be a part of the U.K. This is also the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "Defense of Fort McHenry. The poem would later be set to music, eventually retitled the Star-Spangled Banner and designated our national anthem in 1931. The site today is a national monument and an historic shrine under the authority of the National Park Service.

The Music of Madonna and Child

I have always had a fondness for Madonna and Child images. This antique greeting postcard with an embossed image shows mother Mary, a rather mature infant Jesus and a couple of ministering angels. A heavenly host of infant voices adds a choral dimension. On closer look it seems the child is singing, perhaps symbolizing the music of the spheres or the Word of God. The entire group is perched on a cloud. This could represent the scene is a fulfillment of God's will -- "on earth as it is in heaven."

This card was post dated December 22, 1908. It was sent to a "Mrs. M T Arnold" in Mount Clemens, Michigan, from "Eletha."