A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 31 March 2026 - T for Montana, a boxer and a car inspection

 Hello lovely peeps,

The last day of March! How time flies! 

I have a black & white postcard for you today:

It's right up my street as I have a thing about railways.

It comes from Helena in Montana. On the back of the card is this information:

And on the Internet I found this:

The town went wild as the first long-awaited locomotive steamed into Helena on June 13, 1883. The momentous arrival of the Northern Pacific linked Montana to national markets and assured Helena a permanency not previously realized. 

I have tried to find a picture on the Internet of what this location looks like now. This is what I came up with

This building has two storeys, so it could be the part at the back of the building on the postcard. (I don't know)

AI comes up with this information: The Helena Railroad Depot Historic District in Montana is a preserved commercial area featuring early 20th-century architecture, anchored by a 1903 depot designed by Reed and Stem. Located along Railroad Avenue, it features historic frame buildings, trolley tracks embedded in brick pavement, and Beattie Park (1930). The district reflects Helena's boomtown era and transportation history.

So the red building in the Internet photo is a depot built in 1903. Not the depot on the postcard...

The stamps are really special:

Top left there is a stamp with Cassius Clay (Or Mohammed Ali as he was later known)

The USPS writes: The U.S. Postal Service honors Muhammad Ali, known as “The Greatest,” with two stamps. Ali once said, “I should be a postage stamp, because that's the only way I'll ever get licked.” Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, KY, Ali was known across the globe as a champion in and beyond the boxing ring. He was a champion in the ring and for humanity causes.

Top right there is a stamp with a bare tree and a mail carrier. USPS writes:

Issued to celebrate a major U.S. Postal Service anniversary, 250 Years of Delivering is an illustrated pane of 20 interconnected stamps representing the ubiquitous presence of USPS throughout the years — and the vital role the postal system has played in connecting Americans since 1775.

The meticulous artwork shows a bird’s-eye view of a bustling town. Each individual stamp is a frame of sequential art, telling the story of a mail carrier’s journey as she walks her daily route. Laid out in four rows of five stamps, the story progresses through a year’s four seasons, from top-left to bottom-right.

What have I been doing this week? 

I had to take my car in for the annual technical inspection (called ITV in Spain). There are special stations to have your car tested. Every town has one and they are all exactly the same. In the photo I hasd finished he drive-through process and was waiting for the attendant to give my my sticker, so I got out of the car and took a photo.

The rest of the week was quite uneventful and on Saturday I met with the Intercambio group. We practice English and Spanish through conversations and we talk about all sorts of things. I think on Saturday we talked about Easter traditions in different countries.

Afterwards we went to a restaurant for a drink:

As it is T for Tuesday today, I am showing you some drinks. Mine is a white wine (as per usual) And there are some beer bottles and a Fanta bottle on the table too. With every drink we get a free tapa. In this case it was half a baked potato each with a large dollop of aioli.

The next morning, Sunday morning, I went to church and discovered I was an hour late! I had completely forgotten that the clocks went forward that weekend. Silly me. 

That is all from me today,

Happy T-Day,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 27 March 2026 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely girls, Here am I on Friday! Have you all had a good week?

I got a nice postcard this week. It comes from the Netherlands as you might have guessed:

It just brings back memories from my childhood. It was sent to me by Chantal who lives in the province of Utrecht. (i.e. not in Holland).

The stamp is a normal Dutch stamp with a lighthouse.

 Let me tell you what I have been up to. On Monday morning I took my car to the body shop to have some scratches repaired and repainted. So on Tuesday, when I go to Pilates in town, I had to go by bus. This was the first time I had used a local bus and I enquired what time it went. It appeared there was only one bus into town at 8:30 and another one back at 11:45. That suited me fine. I even got a discount because I am a pensioner. 

I had purposely not had breakfast so I went to a well known coffee shop for my breakfast:

It is called Café Colombia and I had tomato and avocado on toast and a cappuccino and freshly squeezed orange juice.

I went to Pilates and then had some time to do some shopping. I bought a lovely Regatta rain jacket which I can use on my holiday in May.

When I was waiting for the bus back home, I saw this mural:

It certainly is Picasso inspired.

I've recently had a birthday and my friends gave me a jigsaw puzzle for my birthday. Well, I could not wait to start it and I did the outside border bit in one sitting and then this morning I sat out on the patio (in the sun) and got as far as this. Of course you don't know what it is supposed to be.... I'll tell you next time.

I will find you some funnies to smile about at the end.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

Lisca

 

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 24 March 2026 - T for Islamic art, and three birthdays

 Hello lovely peeps,

I'm writing this on Monday evening the 23rd. It's my birthday and I've spent a lovely day at my friends', but more about that later. 

My postcard today is one that I send out to other people, as it features the Alhambra in Granada:

The Alhambra is a large palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain. It is the only preserved Islamic palatine city, one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture, and one of the best-preserved palaces in the historic Islamic world.

I have visited it several times, as it's local, and it never ceases to amaze me, The craftmanship:

The gardens are beautiful:

And the views from the palace:

The famous Court of lions has been restored recently:

The courtyard floor is entirely of marble (as is the fountain). It's beautiful.

So, what have I been up to? Well, as I said it is my birthday today but I had a whole birthday weekend! I celebrated with my English speaking friends, who came to my house for a bring-and-share lunch and a Bible study.

One of them had brought a birthday cake (excuse my strange position. It looks like I was wringing my hands).

Then in the evening I went out for a drink with another set of friends but I forgot to take any pictures.

On Sunday I went to church and after the service we had a bring and share lunch. I had made a cake:

There was lots of food:

Considering we are only a small group of people.

Eventually I cut the cake:

And people sung Happy Birthday in Spanish.

That was Sunday. Then on Monday my friends Kim and Andy had invited me to their house for a BBQ, and they picked me up from home so I didn't have to drive and could have a drink.

So this glass of bubbly can be my 'ticket' to Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party. The banner reads: Feliz Cumpleaño and the hat is just for fun.

Lots of chicken thighs on a rotisserie thingy. It was very yummy and cooked to perfection. The weather was sunny but when dinner time came round, it got cloudy and cooler, so we ate inside.

I had a lovely day and felt very loved and very blessed.

That is all from me today,

Happy T-Day,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 20 March 2026 - Friday Smiles

Hello my lovelies, It's Friday and I will show you what I've been doing in the past week and what has made me smile. Of course a postcard is always the first thing in my blog:

It comes from Russia (St Petersburg) from Natalia. I love this card as I love books and reading. This would be me, surrounded by books! The stamps are the standard Russian stamps, but they are quite pretty I think.

I'm reading Precipice (Robert Harris) on my Kindle and I'm nearing the end. My audiobook that I have recently finished is Take No Farewell by Robert Goddard. 

Then I listened to The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr, about a surgeon in medieval times. He gets involved in a murder case and turns into a sleuth. I enjoyed it. 

I have also finished A Study in Scarlet, by sir Conan Doyle. It is the first Sherlock Holmes story where Watson joins him and they solve a mystery together. This one is partly set in the USA and the Mormons feature in it. It is narrated by Stephen Fry. I love his voice. It is such an 'English' voice, perfect for this book. 

 What have I been doing since last Friday? We had a fellowship lunch at a house near me.

I walked over with my contribution. It was a 'bring-and-share' meal. I had made meatballs.

As you can see below the table was full of nice things to eat.

The man who built this cave house is a Scottish carpenter and don't you just love that window! It's like a Hobbit house:

That's me rummaging in my bag. 

 The rest of the week has been uneventful. On Tuesday's blog you will have seen that I've had a haircut. Yesterday I've had a massage (I treat myself every now and then). I also had another dentist appointment, so I felt I deserved that massage. 

 Of course I will try to find some funnies to put at the end. 

 In the meantime I wish you all a lovely weekend, 

 Lisca