A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 22 October 2019 - T for a castle and a cross

Hello lovely people,

I have a sneaky feeling this is going to be a long and photo-filled blog post today. There is just so much I'd like to share with you! I have interesting postcards, beautiful stamps and photos from our walk/climb to the castle in Jaen. 

First off is a postcard I received from China. It was sent by Kirilenko, who is a geology student. She says the card shows a recipe of  "shrimp ravioli". 

I think we call them ' shrimp won-tons'. 

The stamps are beautiful. On the left is the 2016 Expo and the two on the right are from the series of Chines filial piety. Now that is a mouth full and I had no idea what that was:

Filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of many stories. It  is central to Confucian role ethics.

In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect and support; display courtesy; to ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; display sorrow for their sickness and death; to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.

The second card comes from Singapore and pictures the ball room at the old Raffles hotel.

Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel in Singapore. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. 

 It still exists today and has been refurbished this year:
The hotel reopened its doors today (Aug 1, 2019) after a two-year revamp, which saw the 132-year-old grand dame given a fresh coat of paint and new white marble flooring in its interior. The air-conditioning system also underwent an upgrade.
The last restoration done to the hotel was from 1989 to 1991. 

 And this is what the ball room looks like today.

The stamps are lovely. On the right is the Christmas log and on the left is a man sitting at a table. (No idea what that is all about)

Now, lets have a look at my photos from the walk up to the cross. (see last week).

So, we finally made it all the way to the top, and we found a beautiful castle, which was open to the public. This kind chappie sold us our tickets (1.50 Eur each) and then came out of his booth and explained a few things to us and showed us which way to go first. His English was not very good, so I translated for the other two couples that were there too.

There were several rooms to visit and each had exhibits and/or video presentations about the history. 

 This was the ceiling of one of the rooms.

 The cross that we had seen from below is behind the furthest tower.

 Here we can see it. Fortunately there was a path to the cross.

 And the views were spectacular!

 We actually made it all the way to the cross, but some other people were there at the same time as us, and the platform is only small, so I couldn't take any pictures without capturing the other people as well.

 The path back from the cross took us along the side of the castle.

 Lovely little walkways (in the shade).

That was our day in Jaen.

And as it is T-Day today, I need a qualifier to join the T-Party, hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth. So here I am last Sunday, after church, having a coffee and a Baileys. As you can see, the temperatures here have dropped a bit too and I'm wearing a cardigan.

Well done if you have made it this far. I really appreciate it.

Have a very happy T-Day all!

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 18 October 2019 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely peeps,

Here we are again at the end of the week counting our blessings. There is always lots to smile about when you think about it and this week is no exception.

A postcard in my mailbox always makes me smile. Here is one I received recently from China. On the 22nd of September, a group of Chines Postcrossers held a meet-up (their 8th meet-up) in Beijing. I was one of the lucky ones to get a card.

 23 People signed the card with a signature, a name or a funny little stamp.  The postage stamps are beautiful.

The second card comes from my sister. She went on a short holiday to St Ives in Cornwall and sent me a card. 

 St Ives is very special to our family. My dad's English friend from his scouting days died just after the war. The boy's mother invited my dad to come to England and this lady, having just lost her son, took to my dad and a life-long friendship ensued. We have spent all our childhood summers in St Ives. Of course there were hardly any tourists in the 50s, just artists and locals.We also learnt to speak English there as children. St Ives has changed a lot, but my sister wanted to go back and see our old haunts. 

The stamp is interesting. It features HMS Dreadnought built in 1906.
 The HMS Dreadnought was a Royal Navy battleship that revolutionised naval power. Dreadnought's name, and the class of battleships named after her, means "a fearless person". 

This week is still very warm and sunny. Although the temperatures drop in the evening, during the day we are still in short sleeves. 
This week we both walked to our piece of land near our house. It is about ten minutes walk down a dirt track. Hubby had pruned some of the olive trees earlier in the year, and we were delighted to see there are olives on the trees! 

I think we must have more than thirty neglected olive trees, so hubby has his work cut out to do them all.

Our neighbours had given us lots of apples, more than we could eat. So what do you do? Bake an apple pie. Well being Dutch, I made a traditional 'appeltaart'.

 It turned out perfectly and there isn't much left as you can see.

I'll scan the recipe for anyone interested in making it.

And of course I will put some funnies at the end too.

I have never used the 'cup' measurements and I am not sure they equate. So please use the grams or ounces.

Now I'm off to link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time and with Virginia at Rocking your World Friday.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca

 'When nurses bake cookies...'

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 15 October 2019 - T for swans, Aretha and city walls.

Hello lovely people, It's Tuesday again and time to join Elizabeth and Bleubeard's T-Party over at Altered Book Lover.

My first postcard is from Finland. It was sent by a person called Masa. He/she writes:" This card represents a traditional Finnish way to wash mats and clothes on a beach of a lake, using a soap made from pine tree."

 The stamps are gorgeous. The famous swan stamp was designed by the high profile Finnish illustrator and designer Klaus Haapaniemi.

London-based  Haapaniemi is considered one of the most significant illustrators and designers of the younger generation. His work with a number of high profile, international brands includes accessories, fashion, prints and advertising campaigns.

The other stamp features Long Tailed ducks (clangula hyemalis) and this stamp wasdesigned by the Finnish graphic designer Erik Bruun. He is 93 and still designing! Hats off!

The second card comes from the USA. Most of you will recognise Aretha Franklin.  She was one of my favorite singers in the 70s. Aretha was a native of Detroit in Michigan. She died last year. The city of Detroit  held a week-long funeral for her. This according to Joan, who wrote the card.

 This stamp has a story too. It features the Flathead River in Montana.

The Flathead River will be featured in a stamp series. Two Montana rivers are among a dozen marking 50 years since the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The federal law protects rivers that flow without man-made alterations through natural landscapes.

Now, what have we been up to? We have been to Madrid and Jaen. I will show you some photos of Jaen first.

We were in an airbnb and had breakfast in this cafe (we sat inside).

 Hubby had a toasted baguette with tomato, serrano ham and cheese. Looks good doesn't it. Oh yes, and a coffee. 

 And of course that coffee is my qualifier for the T-Party.

 The beer barrels were stored in glass cabinets, just next to where we were sitting. Very unusual.

It being Monday, all the museums and attractions were closed. We looked out of the window and saw this:

So we decided to go for a walk and try to get up to that cross! We walked and found a path. Then half way up we found the city wall.

And there was a nice view over the city from there.

 We saw trees with this feature. Would that be some sort of parasite growth?  It's not a nest. I have no idea really. Erika might know. 

Here is a close-up:

We had a lovely walk. And yes, we did get to the cross on the top, but that will be for next time.

That is it from me today. 

Happy T-Day,

Hugs,

Lisca