A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 31 January 2023 - T for Turtles, hot chocolate

 Hello lovely ladies! How is life treating you?

Life is treating me very well because look what I received not long ago:

This is what people call a Maxi card. It has the stamp on the front and the stamp is usually the same or at least associated with the subject on the card.

Australia has a lot. Wikipedia tells me this:

In philately a maximum card (also known as a maxi-card, or maxicard) is a postcard with a postage stamp placed on the picture side of the card where the stamp and card match or are in maximum concordance (similarity). The cancellation or postmark is usually related to the image on the front of the card and the stamp.

Not every country issues maximum cards (e.g. USA did very few) and some who do (e.g.. Germany) have only a limited number of releases every year whereas others issue maximum cards for every stamp (e.g. Australia).

And of course I love turtles so this person called Peter really made me happy. Peter lives in Australia and writes that he is retired but works in aboriginal communities as a trainer. His hobby is a garden filled with wild parrots. Wow, that sounds interesting.

Now we are on the subject of turtles, I have received another turtle card:

Sea turtles hatching on Ogasawara Island (which is a UNESCO World Heritage site).

The Bonin or Ogasawara Islands  are a Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands located around 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) SSE of Tokyo and 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi) northwest of Guam.The group as a whole has a total area of 84 square kilometers (32 sq mi) but only two of the islands are permanently inhabited, Chichijima and Hahajima. Together, their population was 2560 as of 2021. Administratively, Tokyo's Ogasawara Subprefecture includes the Volcano Islands and the Self-Defense Force post on Iwo Jima. The seat of government is Chichijima.

Because of the Bonins' isolation, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes. It has been called "the Galápagos of the Orient" and was named a natural World Heritage Site in 2011. When first reached during the early modern period, the islands were entirely uninhabited, the source of the name "Bonin". Subsequent research has found evidence of some prehistoric habitation by Micronesians. Upon their repeated rediscoveries, the islands were largely ignored by the Spanish, Dutch, and isolationist Japanese until finally being claimed by a passing British captain in 1827. American, European, and Hawaiian colonists arrived from the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1830. Subsequently, Meiji Japan successfully colonized and reclaimed the islands in 1875 but the original multicultural community continued up to World War II, when most islanders were forcibly relocated to Honshu. Following Japan's defeat, the US Navy occupied the island, bulldozing existing Japanese homes and restricting resettlement until full control of the Bonins was returned to Japan in 1968. Ethnically, the island is now majority Japanese but remains unusually diverse, including a local creole known as Bonin English. Improved transportation has made agriculture more profitable and developed tourism, but the development required for an airport remains a contentious local issue.

The stamps are beautiful:

There are a variety of animals, although I think the first one on the left is a fun postman. The stamp in the middle reads 2021 International Letter Writing Week.

 International Letter Writing Week takes place every year during the second full week of January, and it encourages us all to pick up a pen and paper and write to someone. This year, it has taken place place from January 8 to 14. It’s perhaps no surprise that letter writing and handwriting are soon becoming lost talents in our increasingly high-tech society. Text, instant messages, and email are fantastic for their ease, convenience, and speed. But nothing beats the thrill of receiving a letter or a handwritten greeting card in the mail.

The above information comes from a fun website called NationalToday. Have a look, it's fun.
At National Today, our goal is to gather all the special holidays and moments from around the world — the occasions that bring people together — and help everyone celebrate with special events, helpful tips, discounts, deals, and plenty of fun.
What kind of days do we commemorate? All of them! We have classic American holidays, like the 4th of July and Halloween; important global holidays like Boxing Day and World Refugee Day; and can’t-be-missed quirky occasions, like Respect Your Cat Day and National Junk Food Day.

So today being T for Tuesday, and having read NationalToday,  I can tell you that today it is National Hot Chocolate Day:

And this is how the Spanish eat/drink their hot chocolate. The chocolate is much thicker and we dip churros in it. It is a wonderful breakfast on special days (in winter).

Which leads me to the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. The above photo qualifies me to join. But I myself have also been entertaining. The first time since the death of my husband, in fact the first time in a long time. We had a monthly gathering of English speaking Christians at my house this time (It's a social with a Bible study). So I had tidied the room, lit the fire:

I prepared the table and I had made a quiche and cheese and onion pasties (under the napkins in the photo):

I really enjoyed the company of friends:

If you look closely there is a can of tonic water and on the table above. And also a can of beer on another table.

The table looked like this once all the food was on it:

One of my friends had brought a chicken dish and my Mexican friend had made empanadas. A slither of my quiche can be seen  on the right and the pasties are at the top of the photo next to the bottle of wine. (Another qualifier for the T-Party).

This will have to be it. I have gone on long enough. I hope you didn't get bored.

Happy T-Day,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca