A Postcard A Day - Friday 10 April 2020 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely ladies!

Here we are on day 26 (for us here in Spain) of a strict lockdown. We are coping with it well, also because the weather is cooperating and it is not conducive to going out:

It's foggy, misty and dreary, and most days wet too. 
Luckily I am still receiving mail. And the postcard I received this week comes from Malaysia. It features Christ Church in Malacca. According to the blurb on the card Malacca was founded by Parameswara in 1396, who named his sultanate after the 'melaka' tree. Melaka has provided the stage on which the Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English played their roles in shaping history.

The card was sent to me by Annie, who stuck some really nice washi tape on the address side. And when I messaged her to thank her she sent me this message back:

Greetings from Malaysia.
We have also just entered our 4th week of total lockdown here (although the government refuses to use the term lockdown).
Sigh, hopefully everything will improve & we can get back to everyday life soon.
Take care, stay safe & healthy.

The stamp is very beautiful, as you can see. I had to use a strong magnifying glass to read what it reads: Jambatan Tamaparuli.

Tamparuli town is famous for its long hanging suspension bridge called Jambatan Tamparuli. The word Jambatan is from the Malay language, it means bridge.

Some interesting info about this bridge:

Tamparuli is famous for its Wednesday farmers market called Tamu for many decades. Local farmers and farmers from nearby districts come to Tamparuli to sell their handicrafts, fresh produce, fruits and vegetables etc. The Tamu is well known and attracts many people from all walks of life to visit the town.

The Jambatan Tamaparuli was built across the Tuaran River so that people can get to the town by foot safely. Locals can also use the Low Bridge to cross. 

The Low bridge was built for cars and lorries. There is no barrier on either side of the Low bridge, you walk along the edge of the Low bridge along with the moving cars and lorries passing by you. If you are not careful, you may fall in the river.

The Low bridge floods during monsoon seasons. The bridge basically disappears under the water and is no longer visible. It is too dangerous for cars to drive on it. People usually park their cars and use the Jambatan Tamparuli to cross the river to get to town during this time.

How's my week been? It's been a good week, productive in many ways. I do my gym every day and cook  and bake nice things.

We've been having horrible weather so i have had to dry my washing indoors (a rare occurrence in this country). I have baked bread, and a Dutch treat called 'gevulde speculaas', which is spekulaas with a filling of almond paste. (Mine looks a bit of a mess, but it is delicious)

Hubby loves it (so do I). Our little grandsons in the UK had been baking too and they sent me the picture you can see in the collage..

 Saturday saw more bread making, as this bacon and cheese bread was a success. Hubby worked on his plot and made a cubby hole to hide his tools (we have no shed as yet). And we had coffee with the speculaas. 

On Sunday we watched the church service online and we treated ourselves to a bottle of wine at dinner. The weather is still pants and the wood stove is lit most mornings.

Monday still dreary weather and I did dreary indoor jobs like sewing the crotch of hubby's work trousers. It's something my sewing machine can't handle, so armed with a good thimble, I got the job done. Hubby discovered our first fava bean!

On Tuesday I went shopping and our local veg lady had some dates in. I love fresh dates, so I bought a bag. And I started a jigsaw puzzle. It is a cartoon image of the map of Europe and it is quite funny.

On Wednesday morning very early (as in 3am) I tried to photograph the full moon, but the weather was too bad. I did a bit more on my jigsaw.

Yesterday I noticed that the cala plant has started to flower! I made more bread. White this time. In the afternoon, my d-i-l Filipa, who has a blog Gourmet mum, did a live cookalong with her two eldest boys. We ended up with oat and choc chip cookies. Very nice indeed.

That was my week. It was a good week and I hope you have had a good one too. I'm popping over to Annie at A Stitch in Time and Virginia at Rocking Your Week Friday to see how their week has been and what were their smiles.

To those who celebrate it: Happy Easter!

Have a lovely weekend:

Hugs,

Lisca

Of course there are some funnies at the end: