A Postcard A Day - Friday 14 January 2022 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies,

Here we are again on Friday. The week just flies by! Today we look back to see what made us smile this week. I will show you a postcard, because mail in my mailbox always makes me smile.

A lovely reproduction of a photo from 1907 "Girl reading a letter". It was sent to me by Natasja from the Netherlands. (I can't read the postmark so I don't know from where in the Netherlands.)

She sends me beautiful stamps with Queen Máxima on them. 

Queen Máxima is a very popular queen and she is not just a pretty face. She is some whizz kid in high finance and is very active internationally in her field.

This week has been good.  Let me show you my collages so you can see what we have been up to:

You can tell by the photos that we are still having nice weather, especially during the day, when the sun shines it's warm enough to sit outside.

Hubby went to the olive processing plant in the village (there are two actually). The harvest is in and there is a mountain of 'pips' which we buy to burn in our stove. We pay 3 or 2,50 euros a sack, depending on how big the sack is. They don't weigh the sacks, just eye-ball them.

I found a nest on a leaf of one of my plants (the plant has red leaves) and I was told it is the nest of the paper wasp. I have written about it on Tuesday

On Sunday we usually go to our little evangelical church in town. We are back to meeting in person (but strictly with masks). But in the evening Hubby plays guitar at an outreach gathering in an old dilapidated farm. The people that go there are ex- homeless or ex-druggies and often with psychiatric problems. One of the leaders is schizophrenic (very well controlled I must say. I've never known him to behave strangely) and he talks to people in the waiting room of the hospital and invites them to the meetings. I always make sure there is a nice cake. Our Dutch friend and his daughter are also involved. And the men love to see children (there are two or three).

When I walked to the gym the other day, I noticed that they were pulling down an appartement building next to the school. There were 8 apartments. They used to house teachers that lived far away. But nowadays all the teachers have cars and for the last 10 at least, the building has housed head offices of several charities. I have no idea what will be built in its place.

Tuesday the weather turned. There was mist hanging over the mountains in the morning, and it remained much colder the rest of the day. I made a hearty beef stew in my Instant Pot.

Our friends K & A came for coffee, but I forgot to take any pictures!

I like doing Future Learn courses (because they are free) and this time I'm doing a course that talks about the Qu'ran compared to the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) and the Christian Bible (New Testament) and it's organized by the University of Nottingham. I was also interested in a course about Japanese washi paper used in old books. But I can only cope with one course at a time. If you have never done a Future Learn course, check it out. The courses are free (although you don't get a qualification if you choose the free option).

In the evening I got a phone call from a courier that they were delivering  a large item. Yoohoo! It was my dishwasher! I had ordered one last week and I hadn't expected it so soon. There is no place for it in the kitchen, so we put it in the cave kitchen next door. That is not far to walk with the dishes. And I would only use it when we've had people over for a meal and I had mountains of dishes. 

When we were in Granada on the 3rd, we spent a bit of money . My mum had given us some Christmas money and because the microwave had blown up just before Christmas, we bought another one. It's an all singing and dancing one that has convection, grill and microwave. It got delivered on Wednesday. We also unpacked the new dishwasher. I haven't used it yet as I don't understand the instructions. I need to use Bluetooth (?). I have to find a manual in English. Hubby will install it tomorrow.

Thursday is a day I usually keep free and I try to spend the day in my craft room. There is a wood burner stove and a large window for much light. This Thursday I played Classic FM on the radio and I had a wonderful time 'playing' with my craft supplies (so-say tidying...) and I did a bit on my jigsaw puzzle and I started a recipe scrapbook. I got as far as the title page. Great fun. So dinner was: potato wedges in the oven and some sausages in the grill, and veg in the steamer. Easy peasy. On Thursdays I don't cook anything complicated.

That was my week. You can see it was not bad at all. In fact I feel very blessed that I have a play room and the supplies to play with. Also I am a lucky girl that we have been able to buy two luxury items like a dishwasher and a fancy microwave oven. And I am healthy enough at my age to be able to enjoy the gym three times a week.  I certainly count my blessings.

That's it from me my friends.

There will be some funnies of course. I think many will be cat related.

Take care all of you,

and Keep Smiling!

Hugs,

Lisca

"Shooters with short barrels and low muzzle velocity, please engage target at close range."

I had imagined the gate Of Heaven to be a tad grander...