Hello lovely ladies!
How are you all? It's not usual for me to complain about the weather but it is unseasonably cold and wet and dreary, cloudy etc. Not very nice. I've had to get my heavier clothes out again after two months of wearing short sleeves and summer gear.
My postcard for today comes from Finland and it features a lady in traditional dress grinding coffee. The card also reads: 'rub and smell the aroma of the coffee'.
It didn't actually smell anymore.
I remember my mum had one of these grinders. I would sometimes be allowed to grind it, and as I sat with that wooden grinder between my legs, it was hard work for my little arms.
The stamp is blurry but has a coffee pot in it (as far as I can tell) so that also is an entry to the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard.
º º
What has been happening her? Well, the weather is atrocious! It's cold and cloudy and it rains a lot.
It wasn't too bad on Saturday. It was dry in the morning. I spotted a vulture flying over our valley:
Can you see it? Just left of the pole.
Saturday afternoon some friends and I went to Balax, a neighbouring village, that was celebrating St Isidore.
He (St Isidore) was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore's supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers, and his feast day is celebrated on May 15th. (He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622).
There was a large paella of course:
It was free to all who came. We all got given a tray of rice with a chunk of bread and a wedge of lemon.
Very nice it was. Usually the women of the village would do the paella but here they had outside caterers:
It began to rain not long after we finished our paella, so we didn't stay long. Here are my friends enjoying the paella and a drink:
As today is T for Tuesday, hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard, I have hereby showed you my 'ticket' to the T-Party.
The other day I was asked if I was willing to participate in a project about rural women and be interviewed in front of a camera. I said yes (of course) and it was very interesting. My main worry was my limited language skills, but I needn't have worried. The lady that conducted the interview was very nice and put me at ease. And it all went very well.
Here she is with the camera man:
She is actually beckoning to me to come and have my photo taken too. So here I am:
The lady on the left is Pilar. The president of the women's association in our village. We have 300 women in the association. That is quite a lot I think in such a small place.
My friends from England have arrived. The weather is so cold that I have had to lend them clothes. But we managed to get out for a little stroll through the village before it started to rain.
The succulent in the park is flowering (don't know what it's called):
Here is a better picture:
Then we noticed the palm tree next to it also had fruit hanging in it:
I don't know if they are dates...
And this is the weather an hour after we got back:
We have been praying for rain so it is really a very good thing, but it is sad it coincides with my friends coming to visit. (In England the sun is shining!)
That is all from me today. I must go back to my visitors.
Happy T-Day all,
Hugs,
Lisca
14 comments:
It seems like lots of people are having cooler weather this month. Our weather has been nice but not as warm as it often is. I remember my grandmother had one of those coffee grinders too. And her husband/my grandfather came from Finland so your postcard reminds me of them. I hope you have fun with your friends, so warmer weather and a happy T day too. hugs-Erika
we are having much cooler weather here too-which is ok by me but we sadly have missed all the rain that is the area.
You have been keeping busy, we still have two of those vintage coffee grinders, the food looks so delicious. Glad your friends came for a visit even though the weather is not very nice Happy T hugs Kathy
Wow - i would love to go have some of that paella. What a wonderful treat. Lovely post, Lisca, looks like a fun week. Enjoy your friends! Tell us more about your project - so interesting! Happy T-day and hugz
Lisca I agree the weather has been awful, last night we had thunder , lightning and torrential rain, sorry for your friends, our neighbours have friends over from England too!
I love seeing those giant paella’s with the big stirring utensils.
Enjoy your friends visit, Jan S
LOVE your postcard. I am just SO lucky to have three electric grinders. My arms wouldn't take one of those old grinders. Lovely postage stamp, too. Very appropriate.
I remember Kate (at Friday Smiles) talking about St. Isidro who was the saint of farmers and fishermen. Glad your town celebrated, too. Nicely done on the paella.
Your friends look very happy. Could it be all the beer they were consuming (grin)? Looks like great food and drink.
So glad your friends came to visit. That is a Yucca plant you were inquiring about. I know because I had them in Missouri. Sadly, I brought some with me to Wichita and they died. It's amazing how about 150 miles south of here there is such a different gardening zone and climate.
I look forward to learning more about your TV venture and project. That is a LOT of women for a small town. Most places have trouble getting members.
Thanks for sharing your lovely postcard and stamp, the festival, your friends and their drinks, and your TV project with us for T this Tuesday, dear friend.
One of the things I love to do as a kid was to stand next to the big grinder at the store that ground their own coffee. I love the smell of coffee but not the taste. What a huge paella! I bet it was delicious. Nice that the event was catered so all the ladies didn't have to spend the time cooking. I hope your weather warms up and stops raining while your friends visit. Happy T Day
You have so many wonderful friends and adventures, Lisca. I love hearing about all of it. I still want to try Paella since reading about it first on your blog. One of these days I will get around to finding a recipe and buying the ingredients.
So fun that you were interviewed! I hope that you still had fun with your friends despite the weather. We need rain as well!
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Doesn't the rain always show up just when you don't want it? It looks like you have managed to have a couple of good outings in any case. I enjoyed the Finnish postcard, my paternal ancestors were Finnish,
I still have a coffee grinder like that (it's from my mom) and it came in very handy during a power outage a couple years ago. I also still have a "manual" filter and with the help of our camping cooker we didn't have to miss our coffee. Have a good week, Lisca.
That is one huge paella. It looks like a happy event. How lovely that you were asked to be interviewed. Sorry that your English friends are having bad weather while we are enjoying sun at last here! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx
Hi Lisca! I hope you are well, despite these intense rainy days. It has also rained a lot around here and we are happy because the truth is that we need rain very much.
I remember seeing a coffee grinder like the one on the postcard, it belonged to my grandmother, now I don't know who might have it.
What a good paella they made for the San Isidro festival! I imagine you had a nice T-day with your friends. You will tell us more when your interview about rural women comes out. Great to see a pretty photograph of you.
I wish you a lovely Friday and weekend,
Big hugs, Caty
Dear Lisca, the cold weather is really stupid when friends come to visit... (But maybe they brought the British climate with them 😉... Sorry, bad joke!) It was cold and wet here in Austria for a long time, too (almost the throughout April and May with brief exceptions) after a very dry winter - but in the meantime we are finally warm like spring.
My husband and I love paella, we would have loved to have been there, too.
I like your nostalgic postcard. I also had an old coffee grinder - but it probably didn't come with us in 2002 when we moved from Vienna to our house "in the country". (We always say, if we can't find something: "This and that was probably in the moving box that didn't arrive...")
Have a good time!
All the best 🌱🌿🌱 and belated happy T-Day, Traude
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All these photos are beautiful and lovely. The postcard is interesting and good to see traditional dress from Finland. I like how they prepared and served Paella. Sounds like all these are wonderful moments.
Happy belated T-day and a lovely week!
I really love this card from Finland. So much going on in your life. I love all the photos. Have a great day today.
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