A Postcard A Day - Friday 30 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

I'm back online! Yes, I have had no Internet since Sunday, but today (I'm writing this on Wednesday just in case the Internet goes off again due to the storm) we're back online.

I'll start as per usual with my postcard:

A lovely postcard to remind me of my home country. It was sent to me by Chantal who is also a nurse.

The stamp is a fun one with a lighthouse on it.

It comes from a series of stamps called 'Echt Hollands' (Truly Dutch). From a stamp website: The Echt Hollands 5 x Internationaal stamps: the herring, the vase with tulips, the lighthouse, the carrier pigeon and the coffee pot with mug.

What's been happening here in southern Spain? The weather is atrocious! Storm and rain for days on end. Not at all what we're used too. I’m having a hard time. The storm is blowing everything away on the  terrace. The furniture on my little patio is wet through as the tarpaulin constantly blows away even though I’ve put heavy things on it ( two stepladders). 

I don’t sleep because of all the whistling and howling.  We do cold and we do snow sometimes, but this is very uncharacteristic. I have Internet now but as from Sunday until this morning there was no Internet (and as such: no TV).  I’ve bought a Starlink but no one is going onto the roof in this weather to install it. 

We also had powercuts which make me nervous. My pellet stove uses electricity to function and I have a gas heater, but that is upstairs in the guest flat. It is too heavy to carry down the stairs. Luckily the poiwer has come back on and I have been able to light my stove.

No TV so I've been knitting socks. This one is nearly finished.

I also have a sourdough starter in the fridge and yesterday I made these rolls:

And I've been reading a book with Ronnie, my cat, on my lap:

I'm reading this:

A historic fantasy set in Spain's Golden Age. I am enjoying it immensely.  I read it in the day as it is a bit spooky. It was recommended by Mae (Blog: Mae's Foodblog) a little while back.

I'm still reading Sally Magnussen's The Sealwoman's Gift, about Icelanders taken from Iceland to Algiers by marauding Saracens. It's about the tradition of story telling and I read that at night. 

That is all from me. I will leave you with some funnies at the end.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca

Update on Friday morning: The Internet has come and gone again, but I got my phone hotspot to work finally so I can send this. Bye! 

A Postcard A Day- Tuesday 27 January 2026 - T for No Internet

 Hello lovely girls, 

I’m struggling to write this on my phone as there is no internet since yesterday. Probably due to the atrocious weather we’ve been experiencing. 

 No postcard today as I don’t know how to add photos. Also I should be able to use my phone as a hotspot. well that worked for two minutes and then stopped.So this is all from me this morning  

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

A Postcard AA Day - Friday 23 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies, here I am again with my highlights and smiles of the week. 

My biggest smile is always the arrival of a postcard, especially when it is one that really makes me chuckle. This one landed in my postbox all the way from Finland:

This made me chuckle indeed. There is no acknowledgement of photographer but it looks like a scene of the US (looking at the uniforms) from the 1940s. The lady is doing a sobriety test called the 'walk-and-turn' test. To perform the test, you will take nine heel-to-toe steps forward on an real or imaginary line, pivot, and take nine steps back. At all times, you will keep your arms to the side, watch your feet and count the steps aloud.

The card was signed by 10 Postcrossing members at a meet-up in Seinäjoki, which is located in the western interior of the country, 178 kilometres (111 miles) north of Tampere. The population of Seinäjoki is approximately 67,000.

The stamp is colourful:

It's a stamp from 2005 from a series called 'toys'.

What has been happening here in Spain. Well, I suppose we have all heard about the awful train crash near Córdoba. Many people died. We have had three days of nationwise mourning, with flags hung half-mast:

It's not really something to smile about but I felt I wanted to mention this sad thing.

Here in Caniles we have celebrated our patron saint San Sebastián.

The Granada tourist website writes: One of the most celebrated saints in this province is Saint Sebastian, the young Roman soldier whom his executioners riddled with arrows until he was reduced to a kind of hedgehog. Such popularity is undoubtedly a consequence of the fervor shown for him by Don Juan of Austria during the campaign against the Moorish uprising of Aben-Humeya. But although many towns celebrate him, none surpasses Caniles in originality.

Caniles maintains, as the main attraction of its festivities, the tradition of the "Theft of the Saint" during the procession. Several groups try to seize the processional cross that leads the parade, carried by one of the "thieves" from the previous year. When someone manages to get hold of the cross, it is said that they have stolen the saint, making their group the victor of the contest. Those who win, in addition to carrying the cross until the end of the procession, must also cover the expenses of the following year's festivities.

I must tell you immediately, that I was not in the crowd. It's a rather rowdy affair. I watched it through a live stream on my laptop. But there are several days of festivities, and the day itself (the 20th) is a local holiday.

That day, as I was walking home from visiting a friend, I heard drums:

And near the band I spotted three men with enormous heads:

I've been told they represent the catholic kings at the time of the re-conquest. I have no idea what that was all about, but it was on the 20th. It might have been something to do with San Sebastián.

What else is new? I have bought some new walking boots which I am now walking-in at home. That is really funny as I am in PJs but wearing my new boots. Haha.

That is it from me today. Of course I will leave you with some funnies at the end.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca

 

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 20 January 2026 - T for Paella and Siena

 Hello lovely girls,

Brrr, it's so cold here! Temperatures around freezing (Below zero at night and above zero in the day). I'm having to light my stove every day. I know a lot of you would be used to much colder, but for the south of Spain, this is cold.

I've been cooking nice things as I seem to be hungrier when it's cold. But that's for later. Let's look at my postcard first:

It comes from France, but it shows Siena, which is in Italy.

Wikipedia writes: Siena is a city in Tuscany, in Central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. With a population of 52,991, it is the 12th-largest city in the region as of 2025.

The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking centre until the 13th and 14th centuries. Siena is also home to the oldest bank in the world, the Monte dei Paschi, which has been operating continuously since 1472 (554 years ago).

 Several significant Mediaeval and Renaissance painters were born and worked in Siena, among them Duccio di Buoninsegna, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Sassetta, and influenced the course of Italian and European art. The University of Siena, originally called Studium Senese, was founded in 1240, making it one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world.

I don't think I've been to Siena while I lived in Italy, but I do remember watching the 'Palio' every year on TV.

The Palio di Siena known locally simply as Il Palio; (from Latin pallium) is a horse race held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. 

Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, represent ten of the seventeen contrade, or city wards, in a tradition dating back to the 17th century.

The stamp is interesting:

The stamp is French as the card was sent to me by Hélène from France. She had visited Siena during her holidays in Tuscany.

The French postal system called La Poste writes:

At La Poste, we deliver in TetrisTM mode. Thanks to optimized loading of our trucks, we can transport more parcels at a time and reduce the number of vehicles on the road. Our final score: 15,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided.

Well worth a stamp.

What have I been up to here in Spain?

Last Saturday there was a lunch and Bible study for English speakers. It was a 'bring-and-share' lunch. I made paella, the famous Valencian rice dish:

Here it is bubbling on my stove.

And this was the finished article. I had made it with seafood, but in most places it would be made with chicken or pork or even rabbit.

Other people had brought other dishes.

Today I will join the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard, so I will show you a few more photos as I need to show a drink.

Yes, a few glasses of wine are visible. On this occasion it was mulled wine actually.

Finally a photo with myself in it (second from left).

That is it, my friends.

A very happy T-Day to all,

Lisca