A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 21 April 2026 - T for castle, violets and an al fresco lunch

 Hello lovely girls,

Here I am again with a postcard, a stamp and a drink.

This is a postcard I received from Switzerland. It depicts a castle in a place called Aesch, near Basel.

Aesch is a village and a municipality in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland. Almost all of its area is located on the left, western bank of the Birs and is a suburb of Basel. The Neolithic gravesite in the Gmeiniwald is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Wikipedia

The building you see is Aesch Castle. Wikipedia writes: The castle was built in 1605/06 by the Blarer of Wartensee family. This family was originally from St. Gallen and had become wealthy from the linen trade.

At the time of the French Revolution a hospital was set up in the castle.

Finally, in 1851 the castle was bought from the family by the municipality of Aesch and rebuilt. Two classrooms and two teachers' houses were added. It was renovated in 1900 by Rudolf Sandreuter, who moved the main entrance to the village side and added gothic revival and an additional half-round tower. Starting in 1909 it was used as a school and community center. Since the renovation of 1958/59, which restored its original condition, the municipal administration has occupied the castle.

The stamp is large and pretty:

It shows Mount Rigi.

The Rigi is a mountain massif of the Alps, located in Central Switzerland. The whole massif is almost entirely surrounded by the water of three different bodies of water: Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz. Wikipedia

Here is another photo (from the Internet):

The stamp is part of a series about Swiss tourism.

Top left is the Jet d'Eau, top right The Matterhorn. Bottom left: Mount Rigi and bottom right the Landwasser Viaduct.

 These four national attractions are being honored by the Swiss Post through a philatelic collection specifically dedicated to Swiss tourist symbols.

Geneva-based illustrator Morgan Loyer has been selected to create this philatelic collection dedicated to national attractions.

What have I been up to? This weekend I had lunch with my English speaking friends at the house of David and Patricia. They live a bit further down and as such have the same view as I have.

Because today is T for Tuesday, I am showing you a photo with the drinks on the table. I had water that day as I am trying to lose a little bit of weight before my holiday. Although I won't be wearing a bathing suit (May will be too cold for that) I do want to look 'good'.

I have bought some artificial flowers for my patio, but this little lot I have put in a vase on my coffee table so I can enjoy them from close by. These are violets and I'll put them in pots outside when I come back from my holiday.

Not long now until I'm going to make my rail trip. The organiser has been in touch to ask me about my mobility. Apparently last year someone failed to inform the organisers that they used a wheel chair. I told him not to worry as I was very fit . He was able to tell me that I have got a room to myself. The price for a single room was almost twice the price so I chose to share. The man told me there was nobody to share with so I can have a room on my own. Hurray!

That is all from me today,

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 17 April 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps,

Gosh time is flying, Friday has arrived! I have a postcard to share with you and I will tell you what I have been doing this week and show you what made me smile. Then at the end I have some funnies for you.

My card today comes from Prague:

Wikipedia writes:

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Located on the Vltava River, the city has a population of about 1.4 million, making it the twelfth-largest city in the European Union. Its metropolitan area is home to approximately 2.3 million people.

The image on the postcard  shows the old town square and the Tyn church.

The Church of the Mother of God before Týn, or Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. Wikipedia.

I've never been to Prague, but it's on my list of places I'd like to go. Apparently it's always packed with tourists and that is what is putting my off really. I would love to see that 'dancing building':

And the astronomical clock:

Or the powder Tower:

The stamp is pretty:

It shows the Infant Jesus of Prague.

Through AI I got the following info:

The Infant Jesus of Prague is a 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the Child Jesus holding a globus cruciger of Spanish origin, now located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic. The original statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague was created as a royal wedding gift from a Spanish Princess to her Austrian royal cousin.

 It is renowned worldwide for reported miracles, particularly regarding health, family protection, and financial needs, and is often dressed in10 different robes annually.

    What has been going on in my household? I have been buying artificial flowers to put in my (super hot) patio. Real plants just die with the heat. So this is a bit of an experiment.

Below are my real tulips. I bought those last week so they are nearly going over, but look, I've put some (fake)mimosa among the stems and it looks really nice:

Outside I have begun to put some of the plastic flowers out:

They are fun to look at. I'm happy with how it looks.

A few streets away from my house I spotted this tree in bloom:

I have no idea what it is but it's pretty.

What else has been happening. Oh yes, my dishwasher had broken down and finally I've had someone look at it:

It's in my pantry, so not much room for manouvering. But he mananged to get it out, and manhandle it to just outside the front door:

And here it sits, waiting for the repairman to bring round his van. Bye bye dishwasher. I hope you can come back soon.

That is all from me today. 

I will leave you with some funnies at the end.

I wish you all a great weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 14 April 2026 - T for

 Hello lovely girls,

I have an unusual postcard for you today. It's from Kyrgystan:

The postcard features people drinking tea in a yurt.

Wikipedia says:

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, formerly known as Kirghizia, is a landlocked country in the eastern regions of Central Asia, lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast.

Well of course I had no idea where that country is so I looked it up on the map:

Closer in:

I would call it 'Far-away-ystan'!

Apparently a very beautiful country:

Photos found on the Internet.

Some people live in yurts:

The postcard features people drinking tea in a yurt.

The postcard was posted in Russia, so has Russian postage stamps:

Anyway, I thought drinking tea in Kyrgystan was a good 'ticket' to Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party.

Talking about drinking tea.... a few days ago my friend Dian brought me a packet of cannoli, an Italian treat:

(Excuse the bag clip)  It was Italian Week in a local supermarket. These cannoli were filled with pistachio creme. Yumm! Very nice with a cup of tea.

My weekend was uneventful as the weather has turned again and we have had thunder storms and strong winds and lots of rain. I haven't been anywhere apart from Saturday night. 

Normally I would host Intercambio, but nobody fancied leaving the home fires, so my friend Eva and her husband suggested we just go for a drink. Which we did. Next to the bar, there were lovely climbing plants hanging from the first floor balcony. 

I think the purple one is Wisteria. I don't know about the yellow one. Gorgeous or what! Spring is here!

That is all for now,

Happy T-Day all!

Lisca

 

A Postcard A Day - Friday 10 April 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps,

I have another interesting postcard for you. This one has a recipe:

Although this recipe is Austrian, the card comes to me from Germany, from a guy named Uwe. He bought the card on a weekend away with his wife in Vienna.

I have an Internet recipe which is easier to follow. Find it here.

The stamps are the German 'paper world' stamps:

They are all mail related. On the left a water lily made out of envelopes, in the middle a message in a bottle. On the right, the plane's vapor trail is made of envelopes.

Here spring has arrived. The weather has been generally sunny and warm. My lemon tree is budding, and one of my cacti is starting to flower:

I've bought some tulips again, my favorite flowers:

I'll leave you with a photo of Ronnie sleeping in a most awkward position:

That's all from me today (apart from some funnies at the end).

Enjoy the weekend and I hope you all have some better weather.

Lisca