A Postcard A Day - Friday 12 January 2024 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely peeps,

How are you all? I heard the weather in northern Europe is getting colder. We've had a few raindrops and some cloudy days but most days the temperature is still in double figures.

I have a nice card to show you. It makes me cold just to look at it! It comes to me from Thuringia in Germany. 

It is a beautiful black and white photograph of

Die Drachenschlucht, meaning the dragon gorge. Dragon Gorge is three kilometres long and just 68 cm wide at its narrowest point. It is particularly popular with hikers during the hot summer months as due to the rock formations that are very steeply sloping in places, temperatures are always lower here than they are in the surrounding area.

The stamps are spectacular (literally) as one of them features Iron Man.

It’s rare for Deutsche Post to dedicate a stamp to a trademarked character, owned by a foreign company at that, with that company’s name prominently placed. But on July 7 2022, they did just that. According to the press release (German), the Spider-Man stamp is part of a new superhero series in which two stamps per year are going to be released, each with a different character.

Well they went on to release Iron Man as we know and also Captain Marvel:

And also Black Panther:

Having lived most of my adult life without a television, and not really a fan of comics, I don't know these characters. Although I have seen the film Batman. Quite 'dark' with Jack Nickolson.

Interesting.

So much for my card and stamps. Here on the home front there is not much to report. 

On Friday I took my car for its yearly vehicle inspection called ITV. (In England it's called MOT). There is a dedicated ITV building in every town and they are all exactly the same. This is the Baza one (where I went):

They send me an email when it's due and give me a possible date. I can accept or choose a different date. I accepted as it suited me. Upon arrival I punch my car registration in a machine in reception, then I go back outside and keep my eye on a large screen until my number plate appears.

I drive in and at the beginning of my 'lane' there is a guy who will guide me through the process. They are very patient, especially with ladies. they check the emissions, the brakes, the lights. I slowly move from station to station. At one particular station I have to get out of the car and the technician gets in to check safety belts and goodness knows what else.

This is not my car. At some point I have to stop over a hole in the ground. The technician leaves a walkie-talkie in my car and disappears below. he tells me what to do, accelerate, then brake. Meanwhile he is inspecting the nether regions of the car. At the end of the lane I have to wait a couple of minutes and then he appears with my pass paper and a new sticker. I'm legal again for another year! Big smile for Friday Smiles!

On Saturday I went to David's birthday (see Tuesday blog). On Sunday I went to church and in the afternoon and early evening I had several visitors. My friend Isa came to see me with her husband and little daughter. I still had her birthday present because she had a birthday before Christmas but I was in bed with a bad cold so I didn't go. Her present was still here though so they came to collect it. I forgot to take any pictures.

Later a good friend of ours who works in France and only comes home a couple of times a year, came to say hello. I was so pleased and a bit overwhelmed, that I again forgot to take pictures.

Really the rest of the week has been ticking away nicely (as Virginia would say). I'm reading my book Atlas, a Christmas present from one of my children: (well, it was a gift voucher that enabled me to buy it, as one can't send presents from the UK):

It is the last book in the Seven Sistes series by Lucinda Riley. Lucinda unfortunately died before this could be finished but her son had enough material from his mum to write this last part. Has anyone else read this series?

Talking about presents, when I cleared away the Christmas decorations this week, I found one more present hiding behind the tree. It was a present my daughter Tracey had given me way back in October when I was there:

a beautiful, hand painted piece of curved glass. I'll try and photograph it with back lighting:

 It now sits on the tv unit in my lounge. It's gorgeous.

That are my smiles for this week. I'm going to Join Annie at A Stitch In Time. Won't you join me.

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca