A Postcard a Day - Friday 29 Jan 2016 Peace doves, olive pips and Friday Smiles

Good morning! Happy Friday!
I'm sitting by the woodburner, enjoying the view, and thinking what sort of week we have had....
But first my postcard for today:

It was sent to me from Brazil, Sao Paolo. It's a black and white photo by the famous Soviet photographer Vladimir Lagrange (1939). The photo is entitled:'Peace Doves, 1962'. There had been an exhibition in Brazil by this photographer. See more of his work here.

At Virginia's blog Rocking your world Friday I usually tell about all the positive things that have happened in the week. What did I do this week? Lots of nice things....Saturday I spent mainly baking. I did orange muffins, double choc muffins and a coconut cake. (Sorry, forgot to take pictures)
There is an international group of evangelists/missionaries visiting our church. Eleven, mostly young people. On Sunday morning we went to see their performance (they did dance, mime, sketches, songs and gave testimonies) in the local cinema. Then they all had lunch at my friends' house here in the village. We arrived after lunch and brought the above mentioned cake and muffins, which went down well.

On Monday we went to buy olive pips. They are what is left over after the olives are pressed to get olive oil.

 We use it for fuel. It gets mixed with the almond shells and burnt in the stove.

It's not expensive (about 10 eurocents a kilo) so we buy it by the trailer load. More pictures this coming Tuesday.

On Wednesday my Flow magazine arrived in the post. It is my favorite magazine, wit lots of art, articles and photos as well as things to cut out or draw. 

I managed to get a telephone number for someone to teach me lacemaking. I do lacemaking but it's difficult to learn from a book. I definitely need a teacher. Watch this space.

I'm going to link up with Annie at A Stitch in Time for Friday Smiles. So here is my smiley:

I do feel sorry for the folks in parts of the world where it has been snowing heavily, but this car did make me smile.

That's it from me today.
Have a good week and a fun weekend if you can,
Blessings,
Lisca

WOYWW 347 - hearts and a cushion and a crib in a pill box

Good morning! I've been away over the holiday period (and longer) but now we're back home and things are more or less back to normal.

I have even started crafting again. Here is my desk:

I'm making cards. The one you can see on my desk I have copied from Carol Norby at stampincarol.blogspot.com. This is my version close-up:

The sentiment hasn't been added yet.

I have opened a few Christmas presents that were waiting for me when we came back. Here is a lovely cushion from my step-daughter. 

 I really love it. And it is also comfortable as it fits snugly in the small of my back.

And this is the teeniest nativity scene I have ever seen. My cousin sent it. The box it is in would normally be used for a ring, it's that small. Isn't it gorgeous?

That is it from me today. I'm linking up with Mrs Dunnit at Stamping Ground for Whats on Your Workdesk Wednesday, and later on today I will be doing some visits to see what you are all up to.

Have a good week,

Blessings,

Lisca 

A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 26 January 2016 - T for sadness and sunshine

Good morning, Happy Tuesday!

I am normally a very happy and content person, but today I am a bit more pensive. It would have been my dad's birthday today had he still be alive. He died in 2011.

He had Alzheimers, and we used to take him on 'nostagia trips' where we would show him familiar things  like this boat trip.
My dad was a wonderful man, and a great dad. I was 'daddy's girl' and I still miss him...

This illustration was made by Portuguese artist Fathina Ramos (who now lives in Belgium). "The image depicts saudade, the one Portuguese word for which there is simply no translation. It is a feeling, or more like an ache, of missing something so much it empties you inside. An emptiness that can only be filled by beautiful memories".

Now for something sunnier.... like the weather. It is still un-seasonally warm and sunny here. Yes, this is southern Spain, but in January it is normally much colder. We are eating on the terrace every day.

There I am with my last bottle of Portuguese wine (vinho verde) so I think we must plan a trip to Portugal to stock up...
With a glass in my hand I qualify for joining in with the T for Tuesday gang, (see below for the link) although Elizabeth will stick to water.

Last but not least a colourful postcard:

It was sent to me by Ross from Liverpool in the UK. It shows a wide variety of souvenirs depicting the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.  I chose this card because it has some drinking mugs in the picture which of course tie in with Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T for Tuesday. Please join us with anything drink related at Altered booklover.

I have just read Elizabeth's blog and there is a toy soldier in the restaurant. Doesn't he look a bit like this?

Have a great Tuesday,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 22 Jan 2016 - Friday Smiles

Hi everybody, Happy Friday!

We're back in Spain after having spent time in Holland and Denmark. It's great to travel, but also good to be back home and sleeping in my own bed.

So how has my week been...Well, the temperatures have gone down and it is quite cold even in Spain. 10 to 15 degrees C in the day and in single figures at night. The house needed warming up, so we have bought a dual fuel stove for the newbuild. 

(see Tuesdays's blog). My DH has been working very hard knocking holes in the wall and connecting chimney pipes. It is working. And the wood burner stove has been scrubbed and painted 

(see also Tuesday's blog) and today is also working. I have the kettle on the top boiling the water so I can have a cup of tea without having to go to the kitchen next door.  Now isn't that something to smile about! In the photo the stove is standing on two blocks. That's too high. It's now on only one block. 

My Christmas cards are still hanging up. (I like to keep them for a while) but really I needed to tidy up my desk area (behind the sofa).
When I was putting stuff away, I came across an envelope with scrapbook stuff in it. I must have started a lay-out, got all the bits together, but then never made the page. So I finished the lay-out. No, it's not finished-finished. It needs a bit more and I want to add quite a bit of journaling as it was 1953 or 54. But I'm pleased I am scrapping again as I haven't done a lay-out for many months.

Now for my postcards. I have been away so there were 11 postcards in my mailbox when we went to the other house (where my mail arrives). 

This one made me smile. It came from Germany.

The scene looks like it could be in Italy in the 50s or 60s, with youngsters dancing rock 'n roll.

The stamp is this one:

It celebrates 100 years of the dam in The Möhne Reservoir—or Moehne Reservoir—is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund, Germany. Wikipedia

My funny for this week has to do with smiles. I'll be linking up with Annie at A stitch in time. Please join us and tell us what has made you smile today.

I'm also linking up with Virginia for Rocking your World Friday later on. 

Have a good week and keep smiling!

Blessings,

Lisca

WOYWW - 20 Jan 2016 stencils

Hi folks,
This is a quickie as I have recently come back from holiday and there are a million and one things to do. I just wanted to show you my 'haul' from being away. The few things I have been able to squeeze into my suitcase.

There are some stencils, some decoupage to make cards, and special paper I think to transfer images on textiles.

My intentions for this new year are that I am going to make ATCs and will have to start making more cards as I seem to be needing them more these days. And of course (like most others) I want to lose a bit of weight and soon we will be going on a detox/healthy eating diet. For me that involves: no sugar, no alcohol (!), less fat, no caffeine and no wheat. 
When we got home there was a Xmas present in the post. It contained (amongst other things) this:

I absolutely love dark chilli chocolate! It's difficult to find, so friends and family sometimes send me some. The diet has been postponed! This is too nice! I have to eat this first, a little square at a time, then I can start thinking about a diet.

I'm linking in with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday at Julie's Stamping Ground. Why don't you join us?

That is it from me this morning,
Have a great week,
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 19 Jan 2016 - T for Denmark

Good morning! Happy Tuesday!

We're back from our travels. Actually we flew back on Tuesday so no blog from me that day.

I will show you two more photos of Denmark a little later on but now I'd like to show you what we bought at the market on Sunday morning. There is an English market in our nearby town of Baza. That is a second hand market the English call a 'car-boot sale'. The Brits introduced it to the Spaniards and now it is a popular Sunday feature. We go to church on Sunday, but we needed a few things for the new flat so we got up early and went to the market first. We got what we needed (some pokers for the fire) and then saw this:

I fell in love with it and it will find a place in my new kitchen. From L to R they read: pepper, bicarbonate, saffron, paprika, fish (stock), salt, meat (stock), olive oil, flour, sugar, rice, lentils. It will be useful as i use all these things in cooking, although I wouldn't put broth or stock in the jars.

We are in the process of getting stoves sorted out for the new flat as it is cold without any heating. This little black beauty is called a 'parlour stove'. It is made of cast iron and we have had it a few years without using it much. It got a bit rusty, so my DH cleaned it up and spray-painted it black with special heat resistant paint. It will be installed in my new craft room as soon as DH makes the chimney.

This is the dual burner we have bought this week for the living area. The bit on the left burns almond shells and/or pellets or olive pips mixed with almond shells. The part on the right is the woodburner. We can choose depending on what fuel we have at hand. Wood can be expensive, but at times we have a neighbour or a friend who sells some wood. Usually we use the almond burner. I'm pleased as punch as they say.

Now for the last Denmark photos:

This is the back of my head and our Danish friends when we had lunch at a nice restaurant. A well known Danish dish Smørrebrød, an open sandwich with all sorts of meats and fish on dark rye bread.Yummy!

This is me trying to get onto Hand Christian Andersen's lap! (in Copenhagen)

One of the old houses in Copenhagen.
And now, because I'm going to link with Elizabeth and Bluebeard at Altered booklover for T for Tuesday, I'm going to show you a postcard which I have written and I will post tomorrow. It goes to a girl in Italy who likes coffee cups.

That's it from me this, 
Happy Tuesday,
Have a great week,
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Sunday 17 Jan 2016 - White Church

Good Morning, and Good Sunday!

We have just returned from a three week visit to first the Netherlands and then Denmark. I have been posting photos on this blog and as today is Sunday I will feature a church.

Our Danish friends took us to the Lutheran church where they got married. It is in a small town/village of Herfølge , on the large island of Sealand, south of Copenhagen.

I apologize for the bad photos. I'm not a good photographer at the best of times, but it was really cold and my hands were stiff. The cold is also the reason why I didn't take anymore outdoor photos.
So here's a Wikipedia photo to see it a bit better.

The church called Herfølge Kirke, is built around 1180 with mainly chalk stone. The tower was built in the 13th century, but originally it was smaller and had a pyramid roof, but in the 16th century it got its present height.   

I have been told that almost every Danish church has a ship in it.... This one was hanging from the ceiling.

In Wikipedia I found this information:

The ship symbolises the Church. The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 8, verses 23-27) tells the story of Jesus calming a furious storm while on a boat with his disciples. As an analogy the Church can be seen as a crew sailing on a ship called Life, towards the Kingdom of God, with Jesus as the captain.

The main part of the church building, the nave, is called skibet ("the ship") in Danish. It is sailing eastwards, which is why the chancel of the church faces east while the church tower faces west and the church porch south in old church buildings.

The tradition of hanging a model ship in the church – a tradition that is known in most of Europe – caught on in Denmark after the Reformation. Often the ship models an existing ship and carries a name, e.g. Håbet ("the hope") or Danmark. Some model ships are gifts offered by seamen who have survived a shipwreck and want to show their thankfulness. Interestingly, the model ships usually have no lifeboats on board.

This is the altar. The painting depicts, I think, where baby Jesus was presented to the temple by his parents. They meet Simeon, who is the person holding the child in the painting.

This is the view down the isle, with the organ in the background.

This is the organ a bit closer up.

I'm going to link this blog with InSpired Sunday, which is an interesting meme featuring churches. Do have a look.

Have a good week all,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 15 Jan 2016 Friday Smiles

  Hello friends,

We're back in Spain! What a fantastic  time we have had in Denmark! Our week has been great.
Saturday (still in Denmark) our friends took us to see the white cliffs of Denmark (Yes, they have them too). It was a lovely sunny frosty day.

There were steps down to the beach but there were so many and there was much snow, so we chickened out!

The nearby town is Stege and we had lunch in a restaurant of a well known Danish chef called David.

I had to pose with the wooden soldier in the restaurant. (The Danish royal family has guards with bearskin hats just like the British).
On Sunday we went to Copenhagen and saw the guards for real:

We also saw the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote the fairy tales.

We visited the part of Copenhagen which is an anarchistic city in a city: Christiania

We were not allowed to take pictures in the village

as they freely sell hashish, and that is still illegal.

Our last day in Denmark our friends had planned a drive along several castles and palaces in the area.  But a very thick fog descended on us and we couldn't see any of them from the road. Only this one.

This one is called Vallo castle and it used to house aristocratic virgins.

I'm sorry its so foggy and the photos have not  come out very well. There is no setting on the camera to compensate for fog, lol!
On the way back we stopped at the bakery:

We bought some bread and some of the famous Danish pastries!

It's a little out of focus...(I was so excited!)
As you can see I have had the most fantastic week! I'm linking up with Virginia at Rocking your World Friday.

That is all from me this morning. I'm trying to link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time for Friday Smiles so here is my smiley photo:

Happy Friday,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 8 January 2016- Friday smiles from Denmark

Hello everyone, greetings from Denmark.

Today is Friday and I'm joining in with Friday Smiles and Rocking your World where we look back over the week and remember all the things that made us smile.
My husband and I have been staying with my 92 yr old mother in the Netherlands. We have had a lovely week, where we have met old friends, cooked nice things for my mum. We also bought a slow cooker and a mini oven for her and taught her to use it.
I have no photos as I have no access to a  computer. I'm writing this on a tablet without a usb port or sd slot and I don't know how to get the photos from my camera onto my tablet. (I know, I'm such a luddite)

 We are now staying in Denmark, 60 km south of Kopenhagen. The people we are staying with are our neighbours in Spain. Their house in Spain is a holiday home and here in rural Denmark is where they live the rest of the year. As you can see it has been snowing! A bit different to the climate we are used to in southern Spain! I have taken this picture through the window looking at the stables.

Here is my DH with our Danish friend. I am sharing this with you as it so good to see our friends again and we are so exited to be in Denmark for the first time.
Our friends cooked a typical Danish winter meal tonight called skipperlabskovs. It has potatoes and slow cooked beef and onions.

It tasted lovely and we had dark beer with it.
we are enjoying our holiday immensely in spite of the fact that it is not the best time of year.

I don't have a funny thing to share apart from this one. If you live with someone who snores, it might not actually be funny. (Apologies to snorers)

 I wrote a blog last Friday with lovely photos of Holland, but havent been able to link. So if you want to have a look, scroll down the side bar...

Have a good week,
and I apologise in advance that I might not be able to comment much as we will be out most of the day.
Blessings,
lisca