A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 20 December 2022 - T for Konotop and a cave house

 Hello lovely ladies,

It's nearly Christmas. I'll be getting on a plane in a few days to celebrate with my mum in Holland. The shops are laden with goodies and even I (we don't do presents) have got a few gifts in my suitcase. 

I can't help thinking of the people in the Ukraine. My postcard today comes from Ukraine:

The card was sent by Inna, who lives in a small town called Konotop. She writes: "I like reading, traveling and I collect porcelain dolls, but...Russian army invaded in to Ukraine. We need support of the whole civilized world now so much."

The stamps are impressive:

The Order of Danylo Halytsky (Ukrainian: Орден Данила Галицького) is an award of Ukraine. The Order was instituted on February 20, 2003, by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to honour the military men of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations created in compliance with the laws of Ukraine, as well as public servants for significant personal contribution in building of Ukraine, thorough and faultless service to the Ukrainian people.

Danylo Romanovych is one of the greatest and most famous rulers of the ancient Ukrainian state Kievan Rus. He was an excellent strategist, diplomat, military leader and great state builder and together with his brother, Prince Vasylko, succeeded to keep the state, coping with the Mongol invasion and defending it against the attacks of the western neighbors. King Danylo created a state that extended from the present territory of Poland to Kyiv and the Black Sea coast.

More info on this amazing king (that I had never heard of) here

The card was sent to me by Inna who lives in the small town of Konotop:

Some photos of Konotop:

Counterclockwise (from upper right): Shukhiv Tower, Myr Cinema, Ascension Cathedral, Konotop City Council Building, Monument of Horse, Konotop railway station and tram.

Wikipedia writes:

On February 25, 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city was reported to be under siege by Russian forces on their way to Kyiv. Ukraine later stated that it had lost control of the city. The mayor Artem Seminikhin stated on 2 March that Russian troops who had entered the city had warned him that they would destroy the city if the residents resisted them. An agreement was reached under which Russian forces accepted not to change the city's government or deploy troops, in return for which the residents would not attack them. On 3 April, Ukrainian MP Olexander Kachura stated on Twitter that all Russian forces had left Konotop Raion. On 4 April 2022 Sumy Oblast's Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.

The card was posted on the 29th of June 22.

Now for a bit of fun: I was invited to dinner with friends the other day. The hostess and her husband are English so she cooked an English dish (pork casserole with dumplings) and managed to obtain some crackers to make it christmassy.

Of course we had to explain the concept of crackers to the Spaniards, and the fact that they were supposed to don the 'hat' and read out the lame joke out loud.

Our friends live in a cave house and their kitchen is gorgeous!

Of course Blogger put my photos in the wrong order, but here we are pulling the crackers:

Today is T-Day and I need a drink to qualify. Well, I think I spot a can of beer on the table.

Another photo of the lovely kitchen:

That is it from me today. 

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a 2023 in health and peace.

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 16 December 2022 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies,

I can't believe that I haven't done a Friday blog for so long! I do apologize. I hope you have been able to read my Tuesday blog posts and will know that my dear Graham died peacefully on November the 29th. And it's been a busy few days.

But let me show you my postcard for today:

It comes to me from Germany and I like it because I imagine it is Graham sending me lots of love.

The stamps are pretty. I like the origami bird (a crane I assume).

Today we share our smiles and happy moments of our week with Annie at A Stitch In Time. Although it has been a very sad time, I have had plenty to smile about.

After the funeral (Saturday the 3rd) I had a friend come over from Bristol to stay with me those first days on my own.  That was great. We went grocery shopping as I slowly got myself organized, and we were at Lidls, where I saw this Chrismassy track suit/lounge suit. I loved it but then decided I'd better not start spending money as I had a lot of bills. My friend bought it for me as a Christmas present! Isn't that nice!

While she was here I treated her to some yummy fish and just going to the fish monger in the village was quite a treat for her.

Before she was due to fly home again, we were invited at our friends' house (David and Patricia) for some pizza.

 So you see I have had a lot to smile about.

Another big smile was a visit to the post office when a large parcel had arrived:

It was my new suitcase! I have bought a Ryanair compatible suitcase and also a carry-on bag which Ryanair allows, as it fits under the seat. This one also has straps so I can carry it as a rucksack.

I'm pretty pleased and all poised to go to the Netherlands to spend Christmas with my mum.

Next week I'm going together with a friend to the hairdresser in Baza to have my hair cut short. When her husband picks us up, we will go out for lunch somewhere as I will catch the bus to Malaga later that afternoon. I'll be staying with my sister in Marbella and then fly to the Netherlands after a few days. Most of you know that my mother still lives on her own. She is 98 years old and I'm so glad I can spend the holidays with her.

All exciting stuff!

That is it from me today. 

Of course there will be some funnies at the end.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 13 December 2022 - T for promises

 Hello lovely ladies, I'm back again to join the T-Party, hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard.  It's all a bit strange but friends are making sure I'm not on my own a lot. Let me show you my postcard for today and then I'll tell you what I've been up to.

The card comes to me from Germany. The translation reads: "God fulfills not all our desires, but all his promises."

The stamp is the Pied Piper of Hamlin.

The legend dates back to the Middle Ages, the earliest references describing a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, who was a rat catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizens refuse to pay for this service as promised, he retaliates by using his instrument's magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore and has appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, and Robert Browning, among others.

There are many contradictory theories about the Pied Piper. Some suggest he was a symbol of hope to the people of Hamelin, which had been attacked by plague; he drove the rats from Hamelin, saving the people from the epidemic.

I've had a very good week. A friend from the UK asked me if I would like some company, and she hopped on a flight last week and spent 6 days with me. She was a tonic! 

One of the things we did was put up some modest decorations. Some tinsel on the glass cabinet and the window sill of a high window. But that window sill is above the sofa and doesn't get dusted very often! So we had to get the feather duster out.

We went shopping one day and I bought a red throw for the sofa, and to match with my two cute little doggies.

And of course the photo of Graham and me got the tinsel treatment:

The weather was bad (for Spanish standards):

We had a lot of rain (much needed) but it was combined with gale force winds. Nasty.

But my English friend was determined she was going to sit outside, come rain or shine:

So because of the weather we didn't go anywhere. We stayed mostly at home and cooked nice things. One day we cooked rabbit:

Cooked it in my dutch oven.

As this is T-Day, I should show you a drink. My glass of wine is not really visible in the above photo, so I'll do another one.

This time it is a cup of herbal tea with my scrambled egg on toast breakfast:

Lastly I want to show you a photo of our cat who lives in the shed and on the top terrace:

She's very shy, but doesn't run away anymore when I come up to feed her. We call her Scallywag (This name dates from the time she was a naughty kitten).

That is it from me today. I apologize for not visiting and commenting so much these days. Thank you for your patience. I promise in the new year I will get myself in some sort of routine and will visit as many of you as I can.

This is an image from Bologna (Italy)

Happy T-Day,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 6 December 2022 - T for sadness

 Hello lovely ladies,

T is for sadness today as I am sad to tell you that my dear hubby died peacefully on the evening of the 29th of November. 

So my postcard today is a bit reflective. I received it in August and it comes from Canada.

The stamp is small but beautiful. It shows the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, N.S. 

Here is a better photo:

Graham's daughter Tracey had arrived on Monday afternoon, when I was at the end of my tether. I hadn't slept in days. So she kept vigil that night and I could have some hours sleep. She also sang for her dad, although he was unconscious at that stage.

 Then on Tuesday evening I sent her to bed, saying that I would stay awake. Graham died ten minutes after she went to bed.

So, I've had a strange and busy few days. His two sons got onto flights and came as well. In Spain the funeral is usually the day after, but we had insurance so that we could extend that to 5 days, to give people from abroad the opportunity to arrive. We had the funeral and cremation on Saturday. 

Tracey is a singer so she and some of our friends would provide the music for the funeral. Here they are practicing at our house:

The funeral was lovely. I had organized translators, so everyone could understand what was being said. Many people wanted to speak. I decided to speak first, in case it all got too much, at least I would have done my bit.

Graham wanted me to play "It's a Beautiful Day" by Freddy Mercury (Queen). So I played the first few lines of that song and explained why it was a 'beautiful day'. (As Christians we believe that our soul has eternal life, so he will live on in whatever it is that people call heaven).

Tracey, hubby's daughter led the worship. In the photo you can also see his son Phil sat on a box. That box is a cajon, which a drum. (Phil is a drummer).

My sister took this picture of me looking at all the flowers:

The crematorium is a modern building, but we had a little hiccough. The bishop wouldn't let us use the chapel for the service because we are not catholic. So we held the service in the foyer which was really light and beautiful. It was full of sofas. Look at this little video:

In Italy I was used to people visiting when someone dies, so the first thing I did on Wednesday morning was bake a cake:

And then... nobody came! Obviously it is not the custom here.

Today is T-Day and I need to show you a drink.

I had cauliflower pasta cheese the other day:

T-Day is hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. All you need is an image of a drink (hot or cold) or a drink reference. Here is another drink. (Same wine, but I think that was the last glass of the bottle).

Portuguese Vinho Verde. I had it with some grilled swordfish:

That's it from me.

Happy T-Day,

Hugs,

Lisca