A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 23 June 2026 - T for a singing man and travels

 

Hello lovely peeps,

Are you thirsty? Good, I will feature a drink later on but first let me show you my postcard for today:

The postcard comes to me from the USA and features a sculpture: 'The Singing Man' by Ernst Barlach.

Wikipedia writes:

Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the conflict made him change his position, and he is mostly known for his sculptures protesting against it. This created many conflicts during the rise of the Nazi Party, when most of his works were confiscated as degenerate art. Stylistically, his literary and artistic work would fall between the categories of twentieth-century Realism and Expressionism.

Below a self portrait from 1928:

The Avenger (1914):

The Magdeburger Ehrenmal  (Magdeburg commemorative sculpture) (1929), which created a large controversy about Barlach's anti-war position (Magdeburg Cathedral).

The stamp is a USA forever stamp:

Now back to Spain and a glimpse into my life here.

I've been to Madrid for a few days as I needed to renew my passport. My friend Antonia came with me just for the fun of it. Madrid is very easy to get around as it has an extensive underground (Metro) network.

Our lodgings were near a major train station, so lots of bars and restaurants nearby. 

The first evening I had octopus. My white wine is visible and that will be my 'ticket' to the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth.

To renew my passport I had to go to the consulate attached to the Dutch embassy. It is situated in the iconic Torre Espacio (Space Tower):

The embassy is on the 36th floor and as you can imagine, the views were spectacular:

That days' lunch had paella for starters:

That evening we went to the Puerta del Sol square to see a singer we know (and follow) from the Internet. It was nice to meet her in person.

Her name is Maritza Barreñada and she is a Christian missionary. Her mission field is downtown Madrid. She's quite a character. 

Here is a link (if it works)

Then on Friday we traveled back home again on the bus. We had a quick lunch at the bus station as the bus left at 14:30

I had Gazpacho, (a cold liquid soup), grilled chicken and a glass of white wine. Hey, another drink for the T-Party!

The journey did not go to plan but I will write about that on Friday Smiles.

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

A Postcard A day - Friday 19 June 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

Here we are again looking back on our week and remembering the smiles and the silver linings. But before I tell you about my week, let me show you a postcard:

This postcard makes me smile. As most of you know, I love turtles and tortoises.

The postcard, as you can see, comes from South Carolina in the USA. It was sent to me by Ella, who lives in North Charleston, 40 minutes from the beach.

The stamp is the Christmas Forever stamp with the red poinsettia. 

There is another stamp (or sticker?) on the card and I have no idea if it means anything...

Perhaps it's just a bit of fun!

What have I been doing? Well, Sunday is church of course. Here is a photo of me taken outside the church building:

I had asked someone to take my picture so I could show my sister the pants I had bought at the mall in Lorca (see Tuesday's blog post).

Then on Monday I went to the gym:

We do a sort of Pilates with a group of older ladies. In stead of a mat, we all have a chair to either sit on or keep beside us for balance when we are standing up (which is most of the time).

On Wednesday, together with my friend Antonia, I got on the bus to Madrid.  We left at 8 and arrived in Madrid at 3pm. That was a long bus trip.

Through HomeExchange we have a studio flat near the main railway station, so, very central.

I’m writing this on my tablet and I don’t seem to be able to add any photos, so watch this space.

The reason for this trip is the renewal of my passport for which I need to go to the Dutch embassy. My appointment was today (Thursday) at 13:00 hrs. 

When you are reading this, I will be on the bus back home.

Of course I have some funnies for you at the end.

Enjoy your weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 16 June 2026 - T for an old friend, a ginger cat and a birthday

Hello lovely peeps. There has been lots going on this week, and yes, I did remember to take some photos this week. But more of that later. Let me show you my postcard:

My friend Maggie sent it to me from one of her travels. This time she is in the Sultanate of Oman.

This is the resort she was staying in:

Here is a photo I found on the Internet:

For those who can't remember where Oman is:

She sent the card in an envelope, which I can't find at this very moment, so no stamps to show you.

I've never been to Oman, but friends who have been tell me it is very interesting.

Wikipedia writes this:

Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world, and has been continuously ruled by the Al Bu Said dynasty since 1744. Beginning in the 17th century, Oman became a regional power with an empire that competed with the Portuguese Empire and British Empire for influence in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to what later became Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, Oman came under the influence of the British Empire while de jure remaining sovereign.

And if you want to read more click on this link.

OK, what has been happening in my little corner of the world? My friend Antonia had a birthday, which she celebrated on Sunday. 

There was food (photo above)

and a birthday cake:

And candles to blow:

On Saturday I met up with my friend Paula (from the UK), who was visiting family in Murcia. That was rather too far to travel for me so we decided to meet half way in a shopping mall outside Lorca. It was just over an hour's drive from here, so I met her (and Paula's husband and his niece and her husband) and we all had a coffee and a catch up.

I had never been to that mall and I enjoyed discovering new shops and even buying a few things.

We had lunch there too as the mall was quite big and had a special 'food section' upstairs with several places to choose from.

I had a large Cesar salad, which is always a safe option as I don't like fast food. My drink is an alcohol free beer (I was driving), but only the top of the bottle is visible.

I got back home at 5 pm and found the village in fiesta mode. It was celebrating Saint Antony of Padua.  There were activities for children in the park:

And apart from the religious procession, there was a drummer band:

Now something else....can you figure out what you are looking at here in my window box?

I'll give you a different view:

It's Ronnie having a snooze.

And after a big yawn, he poses:

While I was out there, I noticed one of my cacti is about to flower:

The flower will only be there for one day so I hope I see it before I go to Madrid on Wednesday.

I also spotted some mini lemons on my lemon tree:

That's it from me today. I'm linking up with Elizabeth and Bluebeard for the T-Party. There are several drink references in my blogpost today.

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

 

A Postcard A day - Friday 12 May 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

Have you had a good week? I will tell you about mine after I show you this funny postcard I received a while ago:

It comes to me from Petra who lives in Bremerhaven, northern Germany. She writes that she is a pediatric nurse. 

The stamp is the standard German stamp for a postcard in Europe:

My week has been better than last week. I have spent time with my friends and I've been to church, to Pilates and have been to town to do the shopping. During all of this I forgot to take pictures.

I had my nails done again. This time a turquoisy colour with metallic detail called 'cat's eyes'.

And on Wednesday my friends, who always come to me to have lunch, invited me to have pizza in their garden. They have a fancy pizza oven and they are both good cooks. 

We had two pizzas between the three of us. The first one (photo above) was a plain cheese pizza and was a bit mis-shapen. It tasted wonderful!

But the second one, with all the toppings, was perfect!

Pizza dough that takes 24 hours to prove, then a bit of topping.

Popped into a preheated oven, it only takes a minute!

I had to drive, so I couldn't have wine. I had a non-alcoholic beer and my friend did not have wine either out of sympathy for me, which I think is the sigh of true friendship.

Here is another true friend:

The one and only Ronnie!

Of course I have some funnies for you at the end. 

Have a great weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca