A Postcard A day - Friday 26 June 2026 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely peeps, 

I hope you have had a good week. If not, please take a moment to find the silver lining behind those dark clouds. My week has not been good for various reasons, but I still have lots to be thankful about.

As you know, I like receiving mail and I had to smile when this card arrived:

Because it is so hot here, the sight of of snow made me smile. The card comes from the Czeck Republic and was sent by Darina, who has two daughters (a 2 yr old and a 2 month old). They also have a dog, a retriever.  They live in Prague.

The writing under the image translates (according to Mr Google):

"Fight your vices, keep peace with your fellow men and let each new year make you a better man" Benjamin Franklin.

What has made me smile this week? 

Ronnie 'helping' me empty my suitcase.

But before I got to unpacking my suitcase, I had to get home from Madrid. Me and my friend traveled by bus (about a 6 hour journey). We got to the Madrid bus station and had lunch there:

We got on the bus at 14:30. It was a very comfortable and modern double decker bus:

I was happily reading my book when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later the bus pulled in at a motorway service station. One of the tires had a problem. So we all got off and we waited in the restaurant. I confess to have had several beers as it was very hot and we were thristy. My friend ordered some cheese as the area is famous for its Manchego cheese:

The roadside assistance crew arrived:

Took the broken tire away:

Then put another one on:

But with the nearly three hour delay, we missed our connection in Granada. The last bus had gone and my friend phoned her husband who was willing to collect us (a three hour round trip). Problem being that Granada now has emissions restrictions in place. That meant that he could not come into Granada with his (older) car. One of their children came to the rescue, picked us up and transported us to a pre-arranged place outside of town and we were homeward bound. I got home just before midnight!

Quite an adventure! 

Remember my cactus that was going to flower? (16th June)

Well They did indeed:

Of course after one day they look like this:

Everyone here is football (soccer) crazy. The World championships are being held in Canada. 

The Dutch national colour is orange, so there are a lot of Dutch supporters in Canada according to the press photos I found online.

I don't follow the games. I'm not interested but I do like to know that my country (Netherlands) is doing well. And Spain too of course as that is my adoptive country. 

I was going out with my girl friends on Saturday night when the Netherlands played Sweden. Before leaving the house I saw that the Dutch king and queen were watching the game in Canada:

The Dutch won comfortably! Hurray!

Here I am with my friends waiting for our food:

There was a tv in the corner of the restaurant, so I kept looking at the score. That is how I know the Netherlands won.

That is all from me today, apart from the funnies at the end.

Enjoy your weekend,

Keep smiling,

Lisca

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