A Postcard A Day - Friday 27 November 2020 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely ladies! It's Friday again! Time for a postcard and some smiles.

Here is my postcard. I received it yesterday from the Netherlands:

It's from Desiree, who writes that they had organized a meeting of Postcrossers in the town of Winterswijk in September, but that Corona prevented this. But they still had all the cards that they had printed especially. 

The cards are great. It features what they call the Mondrian cow. The artist Piet Mondrian spent 20 years of his life in the little town of Winterswijk, in the east of the Netherlands.

I'm sure you all know (and recognize) his work. Here is an example:

Here is a little bit about Mondrian:

The great innovator of modern art, Pieter Cornelius Mondriaan, was born in Amersfoort in 1872. He later adopted a simpler spelling, becoming known as Piet Mondrian.

At the age of eight, his family moved to the rural town of Winterswijk , where he learned the basics of drawing and painting from his uncle and his father, who was the principal of the local school. The family encouraged creativity and the young artist never stopped experimenting with his own artistic style. After earning a teaching degree, he pursued his passion at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. He spent 20 years working as an artist in the city.

In 1912 Mondrian moved to Paris, where he was inspired by cubist artists such as Picasso and Braque. He returned to the Netherlands during World War I and continued to develop his own artistic style. Mondrian liked to write about the theory behind his works and found the perfect platform to do this in De Stijl, an arts magazine founded in 1917 by Theo van Doesburg that also included contributions by Bart van der Leck and Vilmos Huszár.

In 1912 Mondrian moved to Paris, where he was inspired by cubist artists such as Picasso and Braque. He returned to the Netherlands during World War I and continued to develop his own artistic style.

Mondrian stayed in London for a short time, fleeing the threat of World War II, eventually settling in New York, where art collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim were receptive to him. His last work, 'Victory Boogie Woogie', remained unfinished when he died of pneumonia in 1944. Still, it is one of his most famous works and can be seen today in the Kunstmuseum in The Hague.

The former Mondrian home in Winterswijk has also been turned into a fascinating museum called Villa Mondrian . It is worth taking the opportunity to follow in his footsteps, see where he learned to paint, understand his early influences, and admire the landscapes that inspired his early works.

So that is why Winterswijk is associated with Piet Mondrian. Now you know.

My week has been good, in spite of the fact that all the restrictions and confinements have been extended until the 10th of December. 

My sister and her hubby have flown back to the UK and of course they have to go into quarantine for two weeks. They are usually very active and play golf a lot, so they have bought a cross trainer. Friends bring them groceries and sometimes meals.  

On Saturday I went for my usual walk with my friend. We did a very long walk and I clocked 16.500 steps. 

In the afternoon, we had the prize giving of the photo club, which had to be held outside. Only a few people attended (gatherings not allowed). 

On Sunday we celebrated our wedding anniversary and we opened a bottle of bubbly.

Monday was a day for errands and I baked another yummy cake.

On Tuesday I walked through the market, but only went to the butcher's. I cooked a lovely meal in my Instant Pot: Cajun Pork and Beans . It was delicious! Here is the link if you want to have a look: Slimming Eats.

On Wednesday I cooked another nice meal: Butternut squash mac & cheese. I had some butternut squashes in the pantry and I wanted to start using them. The recipe called for kale, which is non-existent here, so I used broccoli. Again, here is the link: Sally's Baking Addiction.

The weather forecast is not good, and sure enough, yesterday it started to rain and it was  a pretty dreary day. I had quite a bit of shopping to do as our friends are coming round tonight (Friday). Normally I walk to the shops, but this time hubby offered to help.

I found a little sticker on the apple I was eating: Todo saldra bien (All will be well).

And that is my message really. There will come an end to this, and it will be OK in the end.

So lets look at life from the bright side. There are some funnies at the end as usual. I apologise if there are some that you have seen before. I often forget to delete them when I have shown you them.

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca