Hello lovely girls!
I have a lovely postcard for you today, with some gorgeous stamps. Further along I will show you some photos of a bring-and-share lunch we had at a friend's pool house. I will also talk about three books that I read this summer. And at the end there will be some funnies.
I will also try to find drinks for the T-Party and faces for the Face-Off.
But first the postcard:
It comes from China and it was sent (through Postcrossing) by Jiahiang. He writes (in Spanish) that what you see on the card is a traditional Chinese paper cutting and it represents fishing and hunting by early human beings.
The stamps are impressive:
The first stamp, "Century-Old Bank of China," features the historic former Bank of China building at 3 Hankou Road, Shanghai, built during the Republic of China era.
The left side of the design incorporates the original 1912 announcement of the Bank of China's establishment, while the right side features an early Nanjing banknote issued by the Bank of China, tracing the origins of the bank and commemorating its century-long financial legacy, representing the beginnings of modern Chinese finance.
It was issued in 2012 commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Bank of China.
The building still exists:
This stamp from 2008 celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Shennongjia consists of a group of mountains and hills in the western part of Hubei Province and between the Yangtze River and the Hanshui River. Shennongjia is famous for its high mountains.
I couldn't find info on the stamp on the left, but I'm pretty sure I recognise the
Located in Hunan Province, over 3,000 towering quartzite sandstone pillars rise through the mist. This dramatic landscape inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains in the movie Avatar.
Now for some drinks to join Elizabeth and Bluebeard for T for Tuesday (and a few faces):
The food was excellent as you can see on the above photo.
I had lots of different things on my plate. I had already started eating when I remembered to take a picture.
Now for my books. Earlier this year I read The Frozen River:
It's a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who investigates a shocking murder that unhinges her small community.
It is set in Maine in 1789 and the protagonist is a midwife. Oh I loved this plucky woman! She is intelligent and wise but the villagers don't see her like that. She is 'just a woman'. She boldly gives her opinion about the dead body that was found in the frozen river. I also loved her sweet relationship with her husband. Although the book is based on a real diary, the story around it is imagined as the real diary only mentions the births and deaths. It gives an interesting insight about how people lived in that era.
I gave it 5 stars (couldn't put it down).
The next book is another Robert Goddard thriller.
It is set in 1923 and the protagonist is a rather flawed character who 20 years earlier betrayed the love of his life and has regretted that ever since. When he reads in a newspaper article that she is being held on suspicion of murder, he decides he needs to help her and the story/mystery unfolds. Like other Robert Goddard books there are so many plot twists and turns. I listened to this as an audio book and I was listening to it everywhere. I went shopping with earphones in! Unputdownable!
Needless to say I loved it and gave it 5 stars.
Next up is The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson:
The blurb reads: Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of the Square of Sevens. Shortly before he dies, her father entrusts Red’s care to a gentleman scholar, along with a document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens technique.
That sounded quite exciting and just the sort of book I like. Add to that, that it's set in Bath (I used to live just outside Bath and know it well) so I though I would love it.
The plot was convoluted and had too many characters to keep track of and remember who was related to whom. It was confusing and I was bored with it. It was 20 hours of audio and it felt never ending. I didn't finish it but searched online just to know how the story ended.
2 stars.
If you've made it this far you will be rewarded with some funnies at the end.
Have a great weekend,
Lisca
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