Friday 27 May 2022

A Postcard A Day - Friday 27 May 2022 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies, It's Friday again (well, nearly, as I am typing this on Thursday evening). Time to think back on the happy moments, the smiles and the silver lining of the week. 

I always start with a postcard, because happy mail always makes me smile:

It comes to me from Russia, and was sent by a guy called Alexei. He is a doctor in the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology of Yekaterinburg (the 4th largest city in Russia).
The card depicts an illustration to the Russian folk tale of The Frog Princess.
This is what Wikipedia says of the story: (Are you all sitting comfortably?)

In the Russian versions of the story, Prince Ivan and his two older brothers shoot arrows in different directions to find brides. The other brothers' arrows land in the houses of the daughters of an aristocrat and a wealthy merchant, respectively. Ivan's arrow lands in the mouth of a frog in a swamp, who turns into a princess at night. The Frog Princess, named Vasilisa the Wise, is a beautiful, intelligent, friendly, skilled young woman, who was forced to spend 3 years in a frog's skin for disobeying Koschei. Her final test may be to dance at the king's banquet. The Frog Princess sheds her skin, and the prince then burns it, to her dismay. Had the prince been patient, the Frog Princess would have been freed but instead he loses her. He then sets out to find her again and meets with Baba Yaga, whom he impresses with his spirit, asking why she has not offered him hospitality. She tells him that Koschei is holding his bride captive and explains how to find the magic needle needed to rescue his bride. In another version, the prince's bride flies into Baba Yaga's hut as a bird. The prince catches her, she turns into a lizard, and he cannot hold on. Baba Yaga rebukes him and sends him to her sister, where he fails again. However, when he is sent to the third sister, he catches her and no transformations can break her free again.

In some versions of the story, the Frog Princess' transformation is a reward for her good nature. In one version, she is transformed by witches for their amusement. In yet another version, she is revealed to have been an enchanted princess all along.


We've had a good week, but nothing much has happened and I have very few collages:

I had ordered several things online and they all arrived at the same time. One of the things was a cast iron pan. I get all my orders delivered to the post office so I had to carry it all the way home, hence the Ikea bag.
I had also done an order at a Dutch/Scandinavian supermarket on the Costa Brava coast, that takes orders online. Particular biscuits that hubby likes (called Knappertjes) and coffee pads for my Senseo coffee machine. And, as you might have spotted, some Oxo cubes. I can't order those from England as I would have to pay too much import tax on them.



On Wednesday we drove to Granada (a two hour journey there) for a scan. The hospital phoned up the week before saying hubby needed to come in for a scan. They gave all the instructions about preparation and nil-by-mouth etc. But when we got there it turned out to be a mistake. The scan is not due until July! They apologised profusely. We did go and say hello to the nurses, and then went for a coffee in the sun. And on the way back we stopped at our favorite restaurant and had a meal. A nice day out was had. (I photographed the dollies in the gift section. My friend Paula, who is originally from the Caribbean, bought several of those dollies for children in her family, when she came to see me.)
We laughed about the booboo as mistakes do happen. Luckily it wasn't a serious thing. We traveled a few hundred km for nothing, but hey...

Thursday I went to have my bloods done and Friday morning I have my yearly mammogram. I also see the oncologist once a year, just to be sure. (I have been cancer free for ten years now).

Hubby is doing fine. He has even put on some weight, which is good news.

I have put some funnies and thinkies.  The poem about bees I also published last Tuesday.

That is it from me today. Have a lovely weekend.
Hugs,
Lisca


















9 comments:

  1. Hi Lisca, enjoyed your post-well I always enjoy reading your posts-hugs. bummer about the mistake driving in all that way-but what can one do really? I have been ordering allot of food items in this week-and thankfully for me free shipping. not sure how long that will last. our stores are still not stocked fully so I buy online allot more now.
    Happy Friday and weekend hugs Kathy

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  2. I had no idea what Oxo cubes were, so I looked on the internet. I guess Oxo is the brand name. We call them bullion cubes in the states.

    Glad Graham is gaining weight. I bet Kathy likes that cast iron pan.

    Your postcard is lovely and I enjoyed reading the story behind it. Some cute and clever funnies, too. Have a super Friday and a great weekend.

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  3. Quite a fairy tale.
    Ingo bought me a little book on the German version.
    The frog in this is the prince.

    Bummer with that trip to Granada, glad you made it a good experience anyways, and visited the nurses.

    Oh, can you share close ups of the olives in the making?
    Good your Hubby improves!

    The things I´m good at... yupp.
    Love that table! And Imagination is pretty clever. As Du Bois´s words. Pretty, fun/clever murals, too. And the scooter, LOL!
    Have a great weekend, hugs from here.

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  4. A nice colourful postcard with a story attatched. That is mail to make u smile.
    I bet that cast iron pan was heavy to carry home! it looks like a good one though.
    I buy a select few English food items from The British Corner Shop. They have a warehouse in the Netherlands so there is no extra import tax to pay (I guess it is included in their prices though). There postage is high unless you are placing a big order but I use them as the most reliable source of proper loose leaf tea which is my go-to drink at all times.
    That wasted journey was a probably something you could have done without, but you made it a nice outing anyway.
    I am glad to hear Graham is doing well. Kate x

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  5. Beautiful postcard and a great story too. Good job you didn't have anything else organised for that day but you're right mistakes do happen and sometimes it can't be helped. There are too few people trying to do too many jobs I think. The funnies are brilliant today. I think you could do with a little wheelies bag for fetching that heavy stuff from the post office. Have alovely weekend. Hugs, Angela xXx

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  6. you amaze me, and teach me. I'd be so mad and fuming at the wasted trip but you didn't let it stop you from enjoying the day.

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  7. It's a shame about the wasted journey but it sounds as though you made the best of it :-) Glad Graham is gaining weight ready for his op. Hope all goes well healthwise for yourself. Your funnies had me in stitches this week....so many sounded familiar :-)
    Hugs,
    Annie x

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  8. I always enjoy your blogs. Too bad about the scan appt mistake. Have a lovely weekend.

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  9. You sound like you've had a good week in spite of the mistaken hospital appointment, you even managed to turn that into a positive. I'm glad Graham is doing good at the moment, thinking of you both and keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Hope you've had a great weekend.

    Hugs

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