Two Awesome Postcards

My most recent trip to my favorite antique store held a really interesting new selection of vintage postcards. Quickly, I snatched up several that caught my eye and had the hardest time narrowing down my handful. In the end I left with two.

This first one caught my eye because of the lovely colors and the warning message.

It reads:

I heard what made you so poor, was staying out nights. Was quite surprise[sic] for you never did. I did not get home from Machias – will Sunday night, had a fine time, so will answer your letter as soon as I can. Just hate to go to school again but suppose I will have to go. Got one of Jim’s pictures, those that he had taken down to Bar Harbor that day, did he send you one? So if you don’t want to be poor don’t stay out nights. (a – hum)

Aug. 22, 1910

LMR

To me the message has a rather cheeky feel to it. I have no idea who LMR is, but I have a feeling it's a schoolmate of Mr. Fremont Bragdon who happens to know a lot about what his buddy is doing up at the Belmont Hotel in Bar Harbor, Maine.

A quick Google search of the the Belmont Hotel brought up this postcard from 1910. Sadly the hotel burned down in 1947.

The second postcard that I bought mostly for the photograph on the front. I thought it was a sweet sentiment and the forest-y backdrop reminded me of home.

For some reason I've been having the hardest time making out the handwriting on the reverse side! I can't seem to work out a message that makes any sense. I'll keep working at it, but if anyone out feels like taking a crack at the handwriting, be my guest!!

December 31 - 2012

The last picture of my photo-a-day challenge for this month. It's bittersweet.

My prompt for today was "2012". I shot the sun as it went down on the last day of the year. I was lucky that the clouds were out of the way enough for me to be able to capture the orange glow.

As I look back on the past four weeks, I had a lot of fun. I think I met my goal of improvement, particularly in the use of light and exposure times. I also learned a lot more about my camera and am now able to use "manual" mode exclusively. I went over my fifty-frame limit a couple times, but I got back on track right away.

That being said, there are definitely thing I would do differently next time. For one, I would make sure to get them posted online on time so I don't have a huge backlog to catch up on. Trust me, I did take them on the right days, I just didn't ever load the memory card on to my computer. Haha. Also, I would try to plan ahead more so I wasn't left scrambling to get my shot at the last hour.

Thanks to those who followed my progress and I wish you all a happy new year.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, back to our regularly-scheduled programming.

December 30 - Silent

This was taken in the middle of the night with a fifteen second exposure. It was late, everyone had gone to bed, no cars were driving by, and the night was so quiet. It was taken at four o'clock in the morning; the glow of the sky is from the lights of the city in the distance. I never remember how close it really is until I see photos like this that remind me that it's really right there.

December 29 - Fuzzy

If you look closely, you can see that the roof of the dollhouse I built ages ago has grown rather dusty. Or, fuzzy, as I interpreted it. Haha.

December 28 - Inside

I spent today reorganizing my books and adding a new bookshelf since one of my older ones was beginning to look a bit unstable. I took all the books off it and discovered that the whole base had collapsed backwards and the whole structure leaned dangerously. The inside struck me as interesting and dangerous, so I used it for my prompt.

December 27 - Aftermath

Behold, the result of all the festivities over the past few days: plenty of dishes left to do. The parties are over, but the mess remains.

December 26 - Chocolate

"Chocolate."