Postcrossing Favorites for July

Here are my favorite postcards received this month via Postcrossing.com:

From China

From The Netherlands

(See http://myturntodayyourstomorrow-cheryl.blogspot.com/2010/07/postcrossing.html for details about Postcrossing.com.)

The Giant Forest

Last week, I visited Kelly and Angel in California. We decided to drive into the Sequoia National Forest, home of the world's largest trees. The forest begins about two hours east of Fresno, so our round trip was easily made in a day.

The narrow, winding road rises sharply from about 1,300 feet above sea level to 14,494 feet at the uppermost point. [Click on map to enlarge it.]

We ascended first to the Moro Rock area, where we followed a trail to the river.

The river was crystal clear and fed from underground springs...

...which surfaced occasionally to provide fresh drinking water.

Kelly strikes a manly pose on a rock overlooking the river.

This is the underhang of "Hospital Rock, where we found evidence of ancient campfires and some dubious petroglyphs depicting people attempting to gain access to medical care, only to be turned away because of pre-existing conditions.

This large, flat rock overlooking the river was full of smooth holes (3 to 8 inches deep), where ancient pharmacists apparently ground powders and dispensed potions--but only to those with full drug coverage.

By this time, I was feeling a little depressed over the deplorable condition of primitive health care systems (so unlike our modern one), that I lay down for a while on this lichen-covered therapy couch.

Then, it was time to get back in the car and follow the winding road to the next stop. On the way up, we were treated to some spectacular panoramas.

Speaking of spectacular panoramas, I tried to snap a picture of some shirtless road construction workers, but my arm was jostled when we hit a pothole, and this chubby one in a florescent vest is all I managed to shoot.

At last, we arrived at the Giant Forest and walked among the towering Sequoias!

Later, I was told that the literal translation of "Sequoia" is "old big-ass tree." However, I can't vouch for the accuracy of this statement.

At the overlook of the General Sherman (the world's largest tree), we watched a small boy carefully position himself in the center of concentric rings of inlaid stone. He then stood perfectly still, like a human sundial, in such suspended animation that I half expected the mothership to suddenly beam him up.

All in all, a beautiful day!  Check it out next time you're in California.

Postcrossing.com

Recently, I joined a website called "Postcrossing." This site exists to do just what the name implies: provide a way for individuals (not businesses) to exchange postcards with other people around the world. It costs nothing to join, although if you want to donate to the upkeep of the site, you may.


Because I have a large postcard collection just sitting in a file box, I thought this was a good way to use those postcards up before I croak and my daughters have to give them away or throw them out.


The steps to setting up a Postcrossing profile and registering are simple, and you immediately receive five addresses to get you started. Once your first postcard arrives at its destination and the recipient logs it into the website, you can get another address, and the process continues. For every postcard you send, your address is given to another member of Postcrossing, who then reads your profile and sends a postcard to you.

Randomness is one of the best aspects of Postcrossing. My first postcards went to Russia, China, The Netherlands, Croatia, and Germany. After about a week, I received my first postcard, from a Chinese student who was living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Once you receive a Postcrossing member's address, you may read her/his profile. This gives you an idea of the person's interests and preferences for the type of postcard she/he would like to receive.

I derive a lot of pleasure from choosing a postcard that I hope will please the recipient. For example, I sent this postcard to a woman who has two small dogs on whom she dotes.

This month, Postcrossing turned five years old. Here's a message from the site:

"On 14th July 2005, the Postcrossing project started its first steps in spreading smiles through postcards. It was a small project done for the love of sending and receiving postcards from all over the world, and the hope was that there would be more people sharing the same love and interest for snail mail. Fast forward 5 years and this same project is now responsible for over 4.5 million postcards connecting about 200 countries. It binds together people from different cultures of all ages and genders, with different political and even religious beliefs. Few other hobbies can claim to have achieved the same results, and we are quite proud of this!
Throughout these years, Postcrossing has gone through several milestones, thanks to the work of a team of volunteers as well as the precious support of its members who helped it reach what it is now. 

Postcrossing is sending out a bold message to the world today: postcards are not something from the past. In fact, we feel like we are starting a postcard revolution and proving that no technology will ever replace the intimacy of a handwritten postcard. Thank you everyone who made this possible. Let's make the next five years even greater!"

To join Postcrossing, go to: http://www.postcrossing.com

Fourth of July Party

Our Independence Day celebration was a success! Friends, neighbors, and family members joined us on the front porch for an evening of fun and food (and quite a bit of beer).



[Click on images to enlarge them.]

Guests were invited to come in costume as their favorite signer of the Declaration of Independence or to otherwise represent someone from the revolutionary period. Here is Naomi as John Dickinson.

Ruth came as her ancestor, Judge Samuel Chase...

...and Connie represented her ancestor, Roger Sherman.

Donna brought a wealth of information about the Declaration signers, including her ancestors, Robert Treat Paine and Oliver Wolcott....

...which she shared with Joanie, who represented Julia Stockton, wife of Declaration signer Benjamin Rush.

Thomas Jefferson is sometimes credited with inventing macaroni and cheese, but it actually was just a favorite dish of his which he first sampled in France.

We served three versions of Jeffersonian Mac & Cheese, as well as John Adams' favorite drink, hard cider, and plenty of Samuel Adams' beer. Guests brought a variety of delicious potluck dishes to share. Gail and Dale brought the patriotic fruit pizza pictured at top of this blog post.

Ruth and Rob examine the properties of cheese.

Naomi baked a large Liberty Bell brownie...

...and Michelle arrived just in time to get one of the last pieces.

Babies and dogs joined the celebration, too.

Proclaim Liberty!