A Postcard A Day - Friday 2 January 2026 - Friday Smiles and Second on the 2nd

 Hello lovely girls, Happy New Year to all!

I've had a lovely few days, full of smiles. I have HomeExchange visitors from the UK staying in my upstairs flat and they are a lovely couple.

I had made a beetroot potato salad, like I do every year:

I get on very well with the English couple and have invited them to celebrate New Year's Eve with me. That was very nice.

This post is going to double as Second on the second, and after that I will post some funnies.

The following post is from January 2015:

Happy New year everyone!

This is the potato salad I make every New Year’s Eve. (The pink colour is due to the beetroot.) We had it at midnight with a glass of champagne.

 It’s Wednesday so that means we bloghop from one desk to the next (See Julia’s blog if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

I’m sure we’ve all got hopes and expectations for the new year, even resolutions and targets. My promise to myself is that I’m going to have a go at mixed media! I’m taking the plunge and I’m going to get messy. 

I’ve joined The Original Documented Life Project™ and here on my desk is the start of my first art journal page, which is drying. The theme for January is: How to face a blank page, and the art challenge this week is: use book paper.

My whole desk looks like this:

I’m doing a scrapbook page for the CSI challenge which is due in a couple of days.

Spot the out of place item.... 

baby bottle teats. Someone (I can’t find who it was... sorry...) had written about using baby bottle teats to cap glue bottles so that they don’t dry out. I watched a video too and it looked like a brilliant idea, so I went out to buy said teats. (see photo) But I got a shock when I saw the price! 7.50 Euros! That’s more than the glue! So I won’t do that again (and I’m too shy to take them back, besides it’s half an hour’s drive into town).

Yesterday was Three Kings (Los Reyes) festival here in Spain. Important for the children as that’s when they get their presents.  Wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. Popular legend have us believe it were three kings although this is not biblical. There are usually  parades with ‘kings’ throwing sweets to the children in the streets. In the bigger towns the parades are really spectacular, but here in our village it is all a bit more modest....

That’s it for today folks, thanks for visiting. I’ll try and visit as many as I can over the course of the week.

Lisca

And now for some funnies:

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 30 December 2025 - T for cats and Christmas

 Hello lovely peeps. Have you all had a peaceful Christmas? I will briefly tell you about mine but first I'd like to show you my postcard for today:

It is a sweet little boy and a cooked turkey. It could be Christmas, or it could be Thanksgiving. But I care to think it is Christmas as I spy some holly and berries.

The card comes to me from Siegburg in Germany.

The stamps are colourful:

The top one is froim the series: Occasions for writing. Here are two from that series:

The top one is entitled: Einladung (Invitation) and the second one Im Gedenken (In Remembrance).

The stamp with the train commemorates the 20th anniversary of German reunification. The edition references the song: "Sonderzug Pankow" or 'Special Train to Pankow'. 

The website berlin.museum-digital writes:

This song (3.01 minute long) by rock singer Udo Lindenberg, released as a single in 1983. It is based on the melody of the 1941 American classic "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The lyrics are addressed directly to the then Chairman of the State Council, Erich Honecker. Lindenberg accuses him of being a rocker at heart and secretly listening to West German radio. 

The reference to the Berlin district of Pankow in the title stems from the fact that Schönhausen Palace, located there, served as the residence of the President of the GDR from 1949 to 1960 and subsequently, until 1964, as the seat of the State Council. Until their joint relocation to the prestigious housing estate in Wandlitz, many members of the GDR government and high ranking officials from other agencies also lived in the nearby Majakowskiring. For many years, the East Berlin district of Pankow was synonymous in the West with the "Pankow Regime".

Today I'll be joining the T-Party again, hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. For that I need a drink, so here is my drink:

I think that was my meal on Christmas Eve, pork shank with roast potatoes and veg. The drink is a nice rosé.

My Christmas was very quiet. No photos as I was on my own, but I had a nice meal (turkey) and watched the church service on tv (from Bradford cathedral). I opened presents that my sister had bought me. I had videocalls with several people including my son in Italy. The weather was absolutely awful, so I didn't go out either.

I had some fake candles (No real candles when there's a cat around).

And Ronnie of course had to sniff them out.

Nooo Ronnie, don't play with them!

Oh alright then, I'll just sniff.

If I'm not allowed to play with them, then

I don't really want to pose. Bye bye.

Happy New Year to all,

Lisca (and Ronnie the cat)

 

A Postcard A Day - Friday 26 December 2025 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps, Happy Boxing Day to you!

I have lots of smiles for you today, beginning with a lovely postcard:

It was a postcard sent by my friends Maggie and Alister when you were staying in Colmar. It of course is a beautiful alter piece by Nicolas de Haguenau and his workshop.

 

The info on the back of the card reads this:

The French info on the card reads:

Issenheim Altarpiece, circa 1512-1516.

Saint Augustine and Guy de Guers, Saint Anthony, two offering bearers, Saint Jerome, Christ the Saviour, and twelve apostles.

Polychrome wood (linden) sculptures.

What an amazing work of art! All out of wood!

The stamp is also a work of art. I can't find any information about it on the Internet I'm afraid. And I don't recognise this painting (if that is what it is).

Enough of that. I still owe you he remaining photo of my Córdoba trip (see Tuesday):

This was a beautiful nativity scene at the Cajasol building:

The above gate is the Puerta del Puente. 

It wasn't very big. Everything was really miniture, like dolls houses.

They are existing streets in historic Cordoba.

Above is Mother Mary with the Christchild and the street is called Calleja de las Flores.

People that know Cordoba will recognise these streets.

These steps are called the Cuesta del Bailío.

They even had a miniture of the creator of the Nativity Scene:

How was your Christmas? My Christmas was wonderful. 

On Christmas Eve I invited my friend Dian to have mulled wine and mince pies and we put the world to right as they say.

On Christmas Day I was on my own and could get up when I wanted, wear what I wanted and eat what and when I wanted. 

My sister had left me some presents which I opened while having coffee. I did quite a lot of messaging on my phone and my son videocalled me from Italy. I cooked a turkey dinner and watched some tv. 

I'll leave it at that and find you some Christmas funnies to smile at.

 Happy Boxing Day,

Lisca