A Postcard A Day - Friday 24 January 2025 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely girls,

How has your week been? Lots of smiles to go round? Have there been clouds? Then there is always a silver lining.

I'm going to show you a postcard which will make you smile:

Yes, they are the 'naughty aunties' by Finnish illustrator Inge Löök. The card doesn't come from Finland though; it was posted in Germany and it has a normal, but pretty, floral stamp on it: 

And just for fun, the sender has added a colourful 'aunties' sticker:

My week has tripped along nicely (as my blog friend Virginia would say). I've done gym and Pilates and have gone for long walks, the longest one was yesterday when my friend Antonia and I walked for 6 km. At some point we saw a sign that said they were working on the 'Camino de Tia Antonia', (Auntie Antonia's way):

Of course she wanted to be photographed by the sign:

And he am I too, just for good measure:

I've this week booked a little holiday (next month). Resorts on the south coast of Spain are usually half empty out of season and because I'm over 65, I can go on a (possibly subsidized) holiday, full board, transport, 10 days for a ridiculously low price. So next month I will be going to Matalascañas in the Huelva province.

It's in the middle of the brown coastline.The climate is very mild so, although it won't be bikini weather, it will most certainly be short sleeve weather ideal for walks and sight-seeing.

That's it from me and I'll leave you with a photo of what gives me most smiles:

I'm going to check out my friends' smiles and head over to Annie at A Stitch In Time

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 21 January 2025 - T for Sibelius, coffee and cat

 Hello lovely peeps,

A Very good morning to you all. Here is my postcard for today:

It comes to me from Finland and it features Jean Sibelius' house, from the film "Jean Sibelius at Home" 1927 and the book of the same name (2010, 2015).

Wikipedia writes: Jean Sibelius, orig. Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, (born Dec. 8, 1865, Hämeenlinna, Fin.—died Sept. 20, 1957, Järvenpää), Finnish composer. He played violin and composed as a child, and later he studied composition with Karl Goldmark (1830–1915). After initially concentrating on chamber music, he rapidly developed into an orchestral composer. He became involved with the movement for national independence from Russia, and his nationalism resulted in works based on Finnish folklore, such as Kullervo (1892), the Karelia suite (1893), Legends from the Kalevala (1893), and Finlandia (1900). His major achievements were his seven symphonies (1899–1924), the Violin Concerto in D Minor (1903), and Tapiola (1926). His works, marked by a sweeping but melancholy Romanticism, achieved international popularity. He wrote nothing in his last 30 years.

The house is called Ainola, which means Aino's place. Aino being Sibelius' wife:

Aino Sibelius in 1922

Again from Wikipedia: From the time of their engagement, Aino and Sibelius had talked about getting a house of their own in the country, and had looked for a house near Lake Tuusula as early as 1898. When Sibelius's wealthy bachelor uncle died in July 1903, they bought about 2.5 acres (10,000 m²) of land in Järvenpää near Lake Tuusula, using Sibelius's share of his uncle's estate to pay the architect. Lars Sonck was chosen to design their house, which they called Ainola. The Sibelius family moved there in the autumn of 1904, having borrowed a substantial amount of money to buy the land and build the house.

The house has been a museum since 1974.

The stamps are pretty:

I like the odd-shaped 5 cents stamp.

Today we are celebrating T-Day by having a T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. We need a drink for that. Well, I'm bringing coffee. I make a cup of coffee as soon as I wake up. it needs to be a quickie so I use Nescafé ('Gold' is the only instant coffee I like):

But as soon as I come home from Pilates or the gym or whatever I was doing that morning, I will make proper coffee. 

I have two types of coffee:

I like the Colombia but it is not always easy to find as I live in a small rural village. I store my coffee in the fridge. Yes, weird, I know, but it is an old Italian habit that I haven't shaken.

I make my coffee in a French press:

This is a small one for one person. 

Then I heat milk up in the 'frother':

It comes out all frothy and fluffy like in a bar.

Enough about coffee. It's been cold here:

But at least the sun is shining:

Ronnie the cat is doing well. He still vomits occasionally, which annoys me no-end as he always does it at night, in the bed. (He sleeps on top of the bed at the bottom) He wakes me up in the middle of the night making gagging noises and then I have to throw him off the bed as quickly as I can or he'll vomit all over my duck-down duvet. (I've already had to have it dry cleaned once and that is expensive).

Apart from that he is an absolute darling:

That's all for now.

Happy T-Day all,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 17 January 2025 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely peeps,

It's Friday Smiles where we share the smiles and silver linings we have experienced this week. My week has been excellent. Lots of smiles, although I must confess I usually forget to take pictures. 

Let me start with my postcard for this Friday:

It comes of course from Bremen. In the right hand corner there is a small map of Germany where you can see where Bremen is on the map. 

Bremen is an interesting city. It is a Hanseatic city A centuries old trade agreement. Click on the link if you want to know more. In modern times it means (for me at least) that the car number plates of Bremen inhabitants have HB on them (Hansestadt Bremen). 

Bottom left you see some farm animals on top of each other. They are called the Town musicians of Bremen. It tells the story of four ageing domestic animals, who after a lifetime of hard work are neglected and mistreated by their former masters. Eventually, they decide to run away and become town musicians in the city of Bremen. Contrary to the story's title the characters never arrive in Bremen, as they succeed in tricking and scaring off a band of robbers, capturing their spoils, and moving into their house. Full story here.

The stamps on the card are very cute:

The large stamp shows baby raccoons. And the smaller stamp is clearly  labelled 'phlox'.

What have I been up to? 

I've been busy in the kitchen and this week I managed for the first time to make a traditional Spanish tortilla! I made it in the pan and successfully flipped it too. I got the thumbs up from my Spanish friends.

The local photoclub, of which I am a member, organised an exhibition in the little hermitage in the village:

Someone took my picture as I was looking at the photos:

Then the local priest came to officially 'open' the exhibition. Here he is (with blue scarf and leather jacket) with the photoclub members:

That is all from me. I have some funnies though for you at the end.

Enjoy your weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 14 January 2025 - T for books

Hello lovely girls,

Here we are again on Tuesday. And as per usual I have a postcard for you. 

A postcard with a great quote: Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. The quote is from Frederick Douglass. 

I admit I had never head of this man butI enjoy going to the Internet and looking things up, so <I found out the following (from Wikipedia):

Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He became the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century.

After escaping from slavery in Maryland in 1838, Douglass became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York and gained fame for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Accordingly, he was described by abolitionists in his time as a living counterexample to claims by supporters of slavery that enslaved people lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been enslaved. It was in response to this disbelief that Douglass wrote his first autobiography.

What an amazing man!

The card was sent to me by Amanda who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where air conditioning is essential (she tells me).

The stamp is my favourite orange gerbera.

Because the card is about an author, I thought I'd tell you what I have been reading lately. 

The whole month of December I was reading Tuberculosis, The Greatest Story Never Told:

It's by Frank Ryan and I found it very interesting. A fascinating book. Not only does it explore the history of the fight against tuberculosis, it brings the personalities that were instrumental in finding medications that killed the germ. This includes stories of incredible self-sacrifice and some ambition.

Then I read a book by Jeffrey Archer:

It was the first in a new series and this book introduces detective William Warwick:

William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father's dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London's Metropolitan Police Force.

After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard's arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she's terrified will come to light.

I found it a bit of a 'cosy' crime novel and I probably won't read any more in the series.

Now I'm reading a really nice book: Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia by Penelope Chetwode:

As its title indicates, it describes the solitary journey of a lady - the wife of John Betjeman, no less - on horseback around primitive Andalusia in 1963. The horse was equally middle-aged. I'm finding it utterly delightful. I know the area she travels through and life has changed so much in the last 60 years!

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm reading every opportunity I get, so I'll finish it soon. My friends have already bought it in Spanish and are also reading it.

My edition didn't have photos but I found a photo on the Internet of the writer on her horse.

Enough about books. Today is the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard so I'll share a drink with you.

It was my friend Patricia's birthday on Saturday and we went out for dinner that evening. We're drinking white wine, and the boys (her husband and their son) had beer.

That's it from me for today. 

Wishing you all a happy T-Day!

Hugs,

Lisca