A Postcard A Day - Friday 7 January 2022 - Friday smiles

Hello lovely ladies,

Happy New Year to those I didn't see on Tuesday. I'm certainly a bit more optimistic than last year at this time. Having a medical background, I knew last year that Corona would not leave us alone in 2021, but hopefully it is burning itself out a bit, and lets hope things will improve for all of us. Corona will still not go away, but at least most people will have been vaccinated or will have been immunized by having gone through the Omicron thing.

My postcard for today are the Finnish Naughty Aunties by Inge Löök . They always make me smile.

It was sent to me by Christiane, who lives in Falkenzee near Berlin.

The stamp features the Tinsdal Lighthouse:

A lot of lighthouses are still active, and this one, near Hamburg, is no exception.

The Tinsdal lighthouse stands strong near the Elbe on the Wittenberg heath. It is part of a range of leading lights to help skippers navigating the Elbe keep their course. At a fire height of 56 meters, the Tinsdal lighthouse, with its red-white steel lattice tower, is visible for 19 nautical miles (around 35 kilometres). 

When the Tinsdal lighthouse was put into operation on 1 January, 1900, it was operated with a kerosene wick lamp. In 1927, it was switched to a liquid gas incandescent light and the old belt light was replaced by two headlight lenses. After being connected to the local power grid in 1966 and equipped with a backup generator, the fire at Tinsdal no longer required constant care from a lighthouse keeper. Since 1979 the tower has been completely remote- controlled. 

I have a friend (we've lost touch now) who was a lighthouse keeper on Jersey. He worked the lighthouse and he and his wife lived in the adjoining house. I have visited them there a few times. He lost his job when the lighthouse was automated. I don't even know if it has been decommissioned since. 

Well, what have we been up to? Here are my collages for this week:

New Year's Eve was very quiet, just the two of us. So I made some mulled wine and we ate my special beetroot potato salad:

The weather is still very mild and warm enough to sit outside (only in the day when the sun shines. at night it gets quite cold).

I wash on weekends now that electricity is cheaper on weekends, so Sunday I did some more.

Monday was a busy day. We traveled to Granada, the capital of our province, as hubby needed a PET scan. We found the clinic easily and there was a car park nearby. Big smile. The procedure went smoothly and we didn't have to wait or queue up. That done we got in the car again and drove to the center of town where there is a large department store. For us living in a small village, it is a treat to go shopping in a department store, but also very overwhelming. I had a list of things to hunt for, like OXO storage jars. El Corte Inglés is the only store that sells them in Spain and we indeed found them. (and bought four). We also bought a microwave combi oven.  (mine had died) I like one that has convection, grill and microwave all in one appliance, but I hadn't been able to find any. Now I have. And it will be delivered for free (They have their stock in a warehouse, not in the shop). Another big smile for the delivery as we live 120 km from the shop.

On the way back we stopped at a roadside restaurant to have something to eat. We sat outside and enjoyed the views of the Sierra Nevada from the other side. (We can see them from where we live too)

Nothing much happened on Tuesday, but I received some great photos of my grandson in Italy. Another big smile.

Wednesday is the day all local children have been waiting for: Three Kings. (Los Reyes in Spanish). This is a big thing here. It's like Christmas. This is the day children get their presents. The shops have Kings in their displays and there were three thrones in the park waiting for the three dignitaries. There was a large parade that afternoon and lots of activities for the children. We didn't go but here is a photo I got from the website:

Thursday was the actual Epiphany, and it is a public holiday here. So I went to see my friend for a prayer session and then cooked a very nice roast dinner. I even had a glass of wine.

 Our Dutch friend came by (they live near and when they go out for a walk, they often pop in). His daughter is 4 years old and it is good that she can practice her Dutch with someone else than her daddy. But then she switches just as easy to English when speaking to my husband. (Her first language is Spanish). I wish I could learn languages as fast as a 4 yr old!

Of course I also have some funnies for you this week. Most of them are cat-related.

Now it is time to go and visit Annie at A Stitch In Time  and show us what made you smile this week.

Wishing you all a very lovely weekend, and keep smiling!

Hugs,

Lisca

I love this mural:

This is a cake my friend Nathalie made. The little silver balls look like ball bearings. There is a funny story about a cake with these silver balls. Here is the link to the video that tells the story: 

I hope you can understand it as this lady speaks with a  Devonshire accent and there are no subtitles.

I want you all singing out loud to this one!

The following needs a translation: "Do you want to try a new game? You have to acquire riches and battle against the forces of evil while you advance in a strange and mysterious world." 

"Yes dad, that would be brilliant!"

This one is for Angela, who sometimes finds painted pebbles. Aren't these gorgeous?