Woman in a Fur Hat

Outgoing postcard US-3224039 to Belarus was sent on February 8,2015 and had expired since. The card shows an oil on canvas Woman in a Fur Hat, circa 1915, by Gretchen Woodman Rogers (1881 - 1967), an American painter associated with the Boston School.

The painting was said to be reminiscent of Girl with a Pearl Earring, circa 1665, by Johannes Vermeer. By referring to the Dutch artist’s most mesmerizing painting in her image of a contemporary woman, "Rogers links past and present, projecting an exquisite and timeless impression of strength and confidence."

The postcard was purchased at the gift shop of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art during the annual Bellagio Museum Day in 2014, when the exhibition “Painting Women: Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” was on display.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston

Postcard US-3230012 from Boston was a shaped card showing Faneuil Hall Marketplace near the waterfront and today's Government Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1743, it has been served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since. Because its significance in history as the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, it is known as "the Cradle of Liberty." Faneuil Hall was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960. One of those famous stops on the Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is part of Boston National Historical Park that was added to National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade made history today as two LGBT groups marched for the first time after decades of opposition. In 1995, the parade organizers took its battle to exclude LGBT groups to the U.S. Supreme Court and won on First Amendment grounds. Boston’s mayors had boycotted the event since. With an inclusive parade this year, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and other political leaders such as first-term U.S. Representative Seth Moulton took part.

Boston broken another record today after receiving 2.9-inch snow by Sunday evening. A seasonal total of 108.6 inches so far, it has broken Boston’s old record of 107.6 inches since the winter of 1995-96. The buildup of previous snow on side streets even caused the organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, billed as the second largest in the U.S. in terms of spectators, to shorten the route.

Run #StripAtNight

Outgoing postcard US-3091393 to China features Meb Keflezighi, the 2014 Boston Marathon Winner, on the address side; and a image of Rock 'n' Roll Marathon runners under stencils of big-letter "MEB" in the front. Meb, 39, was the first American to win the Boston Marathon in 31 years. He runs the 2014 Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon as a pacer.

Ben Bruce from Flagstaff, Arizona won the 2014 Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Men's Marathon with a finish time of 2:27:22. Cathy Cullen from Winnipeg ruled the women's side as she was leading the next runner more than nine minutes; she completed the race in 2:56:57.

Run thru wedding ceremony during the races at Monte Carlo on November 16, 2014.

I got my personal longest walking record today, equivalent to a half marathon.

Also, I reached the three thousand mile marker yesterday since I got a Fitbit Ultra tracker two years ago. That's the distance of walking across the entire United States from coast to coast. 

Fenway Park, Boston

Postcard US-2752817 from Oxford, MA shows the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest Major League Baseball (MLB) ballpark, and has been the home of the Boston Red Sox MLB team since it opened on April 20, 1912. Due to the age and constrained location, it is the fourth smallest by seating capacity, second smallest by total capacity, and one of seven that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators among the all MLB baseball parks.

Fenway has hosted ten World Series, as early as in its 1912 inaugural season and as recent as in 2013 World Series. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 2012.

Beers Over Equality

St. Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday that celebrates the death date of the most commonly-recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick on March 17. While the festivals are underway this Sunday, Guinness became the third beer company to withdraw sponsorship of a major St. Patrick's Day parade in the U.S. because the organizers banned LGBT groups from openly participating in the parades.

Earlier, according to Boston.com, Boston Beer Company, which manufactures Sam Adams, announced on March 14 to pull out today's parade in Boston after South End restaurant Club Cafe said that it would no longer serve Sam Adams due to the brewer's sponsorship with the parade. Boston's Irish-American Mayor Martin Walsh skipped his city's St. Patrick's Day parade after failing to broke a deal with organizers to allow a group of gay and lesbian activists to march openly.

In New York City, Heineken ended its relationship with the 250-year old parade for the same reason; and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will not be marching in the parade on Monday, March 17 to protest the exclusionary policies, becoming the first mayor in decades to break the tradition.