A Postcard A day - Friday - 1 May 2026 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely peeps. Are you all ready for the weekend? I am, although I have nothing really exciting planned.

But first, let me show you a postcard. 

Unfortunately it is damaged, where it probably stuck to another piece of mail. We have had wet weather so that could be the reason.

The card depicts a painting by Giuseppe Falchetti (1843-1919) and is entitled Herbstprodukte (autumn produce) painted in 1881 on wood.

Wikipedia writes about him:

Giuseppe Falchetti was an Italian still life and landscape painter, particularly known for his vivid depictions of wine and grapes. Born in Turin, Italy on June 18, 1843 to a modest artisan family, Falchetti joined Giuseppe Camino’s studio at the age of 12. Though originally trained in landscape painting at Camino’s studio, after numerous visits to the Sabauda Gallery of Turin, Falchetti began to take an interest in the genre of still life, and was further influenced by the study of Flemish painting. Falchetti was respected by the noble families of Turin and was often commissioned for his wide-horizon landscapes populated by minute figures, as well as his still life paintings featuring bottles of wine, fruit, small game, and grapes. His proficiency at depicting this last subject led him to be commissioned by the Italian government to paint representations of the national viticulture in 1876. Falchetti died on November 6, 1918 in Turin, Italy.

The stamp is the run-of-the-mill German stamp with the paper castle. Even so it's quite pretty.

How was my week? It has rained a lot this week. This is good for the land but it makes the sky dull and grey. 

The village is preparing for the Festival of Crosses. 

The village is celebrating the May Crosses this week, where people decorate a large cross and surround it with traditional artifacts. The town hall has published which houses are open to view the crosses. And of course public places and some shops and restaurants have one too. I might go and see some this weekend and write a blog about it.

Yesterday I went to meet a Dutch lady who put a message out on Facebook, asking if there were other Dutch people in my village. I responded and we decided to meet. She is 83 and we got along fine. 

We'll meet again after I come back from holiday.

I'm slowly getting ready for my big trip. My friend Andy helped me get the right apps on my phone, like Airalo, a virtual sim card to be able to use my phone in lots of different countries,. We also checked if my Uber app was still patent.

My house sitters are on their way (already in Spain) and I prepared their room this afternoon and made up the bed although they are not coming until next week.

That's all from me this Friday. Of course I will show you some funnies at the end. 

Enjoy your weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 28 April 2026 - T for sailing, King's Day and a haircut

Hello lovely peeps, How are you all? 

I have another postcard for you:

Yes, It's a postcard although it looks like a book. It is the image of a real book by Peter Heaton.

Goodreads describes it as:

This is a book for beginners. It describes the technique of choosing, buying, fitting out, sailing and storing a yacht in detail and in plain language. In addition, there are shanties, salty stories, sea-lore, instructions on subjects ranging from forecasting weather to curing sea-sickness, and the whole is profusely illustrated with line drawings and photographs.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

The postcard was sent to me from the Netherlands. It was chosen probably because in my profile, I have written that I like reading and anything to do with books.

The stamp is the standards Dutch international stamp. 

It features a fresh herring, which people eat from a street stall with onions.

Soused herring is raw herring soaked in a mild preserving liquid. It can be raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or Dutch brined herring. As well as vinegar, the marinade might contain cider, wine or tea, sugar, herbs, spices, and chopped onion. Wikipedia

It's eaten like this:

Talking of Dutch, today (I'm writing this on Monday the 27th) the Dutch king's birthday is celebrated. 

It's a big thing in the Netherlands.

Every year the king and his family go to a different location to celebrate his birthday. This year it was Friesland in the North of the country.

This is king Willem Alexander and his wife queen Máxima and their three daughters, earlier today.

The Dutch turn out onto the streets, dressed in orange:

This is a photo from one of the news channels earlier today. I think I recognise this as being Amsterdam.

Great fun!

Now today is T for Tuesday and I need a drink reference. On Saturday, after our Intercambio language exchange, we went for a drink and there was an important bull fight on the tv. Although controversial, bull fighting is still very popular in Andalusia. This one was from the feria in Seville.

On the photo, a lot of bottles can be seen, as the tv is hung behind the bar. The head you can see is that of my friend Jim.

This evening I went to have my hair cut. My friend Kim came too. We always have appointments together so that I can translate should she need it. I took this photo while I was waiting outside for her. After A while I reckoned that she had already gone inside. (She had). There are two signs in the photo, one is for the hairdresser and the other for the dentist. They are in the same building.

I've just noticed a palm tree. This one is for Elizabeth, who loves palm trees.

Kim's hair is lovely:

This is my 'before' photo. 

And here is the 'after' picture.

I'm writing this on the sofa with Ronnie fast asleep and snoring beside me. Isn't he gorgeous.

The elephant print is my apron. I'm one of those people that always wears an apron in the house.

That's all for now folks.

Happy T-Day to all!

Lisca

 

A Postcard A day - Friday 24 April 2026 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely peeps, 

It's nearly weekend! For me 'weekend' means no work-outs as I do Pilates every day. I'm trying to eat healthily and don't snack or eat sweet things and abstain from alcohol. But on weekends I allow myself a glass (or two) of wine! Big smile!

So if we're talking about what made me smile this week, I must count wine as my biggest smile. Last weekend's activities were shown in Tuesday's blogpost. (In that photo I was drinking water, but I had wine in the evening. Sorry, no photo).

My postcard today features a conservatory:

It was sent to me by Erin in the USA. What you see is the West Conservatory at Longwood Gardens, a famous botanical garden in Philadelphia.

A tourist website writes this:

Longwood Gardens is one of the world’s premier horticultural display gardens.

Located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (about an hour outside of Philadelphia), Longwood Gardens showcases more than 10,000 species and varieties of plants spread out across more than 1,100 acres of gardens and elaborate horticultural displays.

This celebrated collection of indoor and outdoor gardens — over two-dozen in total — attracts visitors from around the globe to enjoy stunning botanical displays, fountain shows, glistening lakes, picturesque meadows and winding woodlands.

In 2024, Longwood Gardens expanded with Longwood Reimagined, a sweeping transformation of 17 acres of Longwood’s core conservatory area, creating several new attractions, a reimagined restaurant and a seamless connection between the lush gardens.

The horticultural haven also hosts hundreds of events annually, including gardening demonstrations, educational programs, children’s activities, concerts and musical theater.

The West Conservatory apparently is a new one. I found this information:

More like a floating crystal palace than a traditional conservatory, the brand-new West Conservatory is not a display garden like most of Longwood, but a Mediterranean-inspired landscape of water features and blooming perennials designed to grow over time.

The state-of-the-art conservatory is a living, breathing structure with geothermal heating and cooling, and computerized windows and vents that open and close in response to the seasons.

I like botanical gardens and this one, I'd love to visit.

The stamps are interesting too:

The two large ones in particular. The left of the two is marked Connecticut, and features a scene from the Appalachian Trail. I find that interesting as I am walking the Appalachian Trail virtually with Walking4fun.

On the left you can see where I'm at. In Virginia. I still have 2685 km to do. I input my steps every day, and the program shows me where I have walked with photos of the trail. It is fun to do. 

The right hand large stamp features a photo by Ansel Adams. 

USPS writes:

Experience the wonder of the American West through the lens of one of America’s most iconic photographers, Ansel Adams (1902-1984). This pane of 16 stamps features some of Adams’ most famous images in his signature “straight photography” style, an approach defined by its precision and directness.

The first row of stamps, left to right, features “Half Dome, Merced River, Winter, Yosemite National Park, California” (1938); “Oak Tree, Sunset City, Sierra Foothills, California” (1962); “Thundercloud, Ellery Lake, High Sierra, Sierra Nevada, California” (1934); and “Denali and Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska” (1947).

The second row, left to right, features “The Golden Gate and Bridge from Baker Beach, San Francisco, California” (c.1953); “Road and Fog, Del Monte Forest, Pebble Beach, California” (1964); “Rock and Grass, Moraine Lake, Sequoia National Park, California” (1936); and “Leaves, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington” (c.1942).

The third row, left to right, features “Monument Valley, Arizona” (1958); “Tetons and Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming” (1942); “Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park, California” (1940); and “Mirror Lake, Mount Watkins, Spring, Yosemite National Park, California” (1935).

The fourth row, left to right, features “Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado” (1951); “Aspens, Dawn, Autumn, Dolores River Canyon, Colorado” (1937); “Road After Rain, Northern California” (1960); and “Dunes, Oceano, California” (1963).

As evidenced by the striking images in this collection, Adams devoted much of his career to the advancement of photography as a fine art. Derry Noyes, an art director with USPS, designed the stamps using existing photographs.

So the stamp on my postcard shows 'Dunes, Oceano, California (1963). 

Beautiful photos!

Last month I showed you the jigsaw puzzle I was given for my birthday and I showed you the little bit I had done.

I will show you where I am now (Nearly finished):

The image is about Venice.There is a gondola, ice creams, wine, Merano glass, carnival masks and art of all types, as well as recognisable buildings.

Below is the complete picture from the box:

That is all my smiles for now. I'm going to put some funnies at the end as per usual.

Enjoy your weekend.

Lisca

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