A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 3 February 2026 - T for peacock angel, parcels and a rainbow

 Hello lovely girls, 

I'm back online! Yes, I have had no Internet since Sunday, but it came back on Wednesday (I'm writing this on Monday).

My postcard comes from Germany. It features a bookshop and a bicycle leaning against the window. It looks very Dutch I must admit. Could be Amsterdam...

But the stamps are very much German:

The stamp with the elephant who apparently is called Benjamin Blümchen (meaning: little flower), a somewhat clumsy elephant. It was issued in 2022.

Since 1977, 150 episodes of the children's radio drama series "Benjamin Blümchen" have been produced. Over the decades, 67 million audio recordings of the stories about the talking, somewhat clumsy elephant and his human friend, the boy Otto, have been sold.
"Benjamin Blümchen" is a creation of author Elfie Donnelly. An animated version began in 1987. The first film, a combination of live-action and computer animation, was released in 2019.

I found some interesting information about the peacock stamp.

Sematv.net writes about the Angel Peacock stamp:

In a significant milestone for the Yazidi community, the Yazidi symbol, known as the Tawusi Melek , has been officially recognized by the German postal system. As of January 1, 2025, the symbol will appear on postage stamps used for mail delivery across the country. This decision marks an important step in acknowledging the Yazidi faith and culture in Germany. Previously, the Yazidi post office in Wesel had already started using the symbol, and now this practice has been extended nationwide. According to official German data, the Yazidi population in the country reached 260,000 in 2023. However, Yazidi community leaders estimate the current number to be over 300,000, reflecting the growing presence of Yazidis in Germany.

AI gives this description of Yazidis:

The Yazidis are a distinct Kurdish ethnoreligious group indigenous to Northern Iraq, with a significant diaspora in Europe, particularly Germany. They have a unique, ancient faith. They are monotheists who believe in one God who created the world, entrusting it to seven angels, the leader of which is Tawûsî Melek (the Peacock Angel). They do not believe in a devil. Their faith is syncretic, blending elements of Zoroastrianism, Sufism, Christianity, and Judaism.

Apart from the postage stamps, the sender also put a cute sticker of three bears (a panda, a brown bear and a koala bear).

So what have I been up to? I've not been too well. I suffer from SAD syndrome, which means that a lack of (sun)light or natural light causes me to get depressed. The weather has been so awful, with rain and storms. The howling wind kept me awake at night and that didn't help. 

This is how I felt:

I've been here before and I know that going for a walk every day, and keeping up the excercises is crucial. Also socialising would take my mind off the tooth ache that I had (on to of everything else). I had to wait for a week to get an appointment with my dentist which is today (Tuesday).

Last week we went out for a drink after Intercambio (language practice):

We've had many internet outages, so much so that I have decided to get Starlink Internet:

Because of the storm and rain, it hasn't been possible to install it yet, but my friend Andy is going to have a go today (Tuesday).

On Friday we had our last session of the make-up course. Just a small group of ladies that want to learn how to apply make up. We had fun for six consecutive Fridays. And this last Friday we all went out for a drink:

There are plenty of drinks on the table to be able to join the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth.

I had a parcel delivered the other day:

Inside was a pretty box:

Ronnie loved the empty box of course:

But inside the pretty box was my belated Christmas present (because my parcel went missing and had to be re-sent) from my friends in the Netherlands:

It had two bottles of French wine and three jars of paté. Thank you A & I!

The weather has been really bad with regular red and amber warnings. But we have had a bit of sunshine too and there were rainbows as there was still rain in the air:

Sorry I didn't have much interesting to say today.

But I'm wishing everyone a happoy T-Day,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 30 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

I'm back online! Yes, I have had no Internet since Sunday, but today (I'm writing this on Wednesday just in case the Internet goes off again due to the storm) we're back online.

I'll start as per usual with my postcard:

A lovely postcard to remind me of my home country. It was sent to me by Chantal who is also a nurse.

The stamp is a fun one with a lighthouse on it.

It comes from a series of stamps called 'Echt Hollands' (Truly Dutch). From a stamp website: The Echt Hollands 5 x Internationaal stamps: the herring, the vase with tulips, the lighthouse, the carrier pigeon and the coffee pot with mug.

What's been happening here in southern Spain? The weather is atrocious! Storm and rain for days on end. Not at all what we're used too. I’m having a hard time. The storm is blowing everything away on the  terrace. The furniture on my little patio is wet through as the tarpaulin constantly blows away even though I’ve put heavy things on it ( two stepladders). 

I don’t sleep because of all the whistling and howling.  We do cold and we do snow sometimes, but this is very uncharacteristic. I have Internet now but as from Sunday until this morning there was no Internet (and as such: no TV).  I’ve bought a Starlink but no one is going onto the roof in this weather to install it. 

We also had powercuts which make me nervous. My pellet stove uses electricity to function and I have a gas heater, but that is upstairs in the guest flat. It is too heavy to carry down the stairs. Luckily the poiwer has come back on and I have been able to light my stove.

No TV so I've been knitting socks. This one is nearly finished.

I also have a sourdough starter in the fridge and yesterday I made these rolls:

And I've been reading a book with Ronnie, my cat, on my lap:

I'm reading this:

A historic fantasy set in Spain's Golden Age. I am enjoying it immensely.  I read it in the day as it is a bit spooky. It was recommended by Mae (Blog: Mae's Foodblog) a little while back.

I'm still reading Sally Magnussen's The Sealwoman's Gift, about Icelanders taken from Iceland to Algiers by marauding Saracens. It's about the tradition of story telling and I read that at night. 

That is all from me. I will leave you with some funnies at the end.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca

Update on Friday morning: The Internet has come and gone again, but I got my phone hotspot to work finally so I can send this. Bye! 

A Postcard A Day- Tuesday 27 January 2026 - T for No Internet

 Hello lovely girls, 

I’m struggling to write this on my phone as there is no internet since yesterday. Probably due to the atrocious weather we’ve been experiencing. 

 No postcard today as I don’t know how to add photos. Also I should be able to use my phone as a hotspot. well that worked for two minutes and then stopped.So this is all from me this morning  

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

A Postcard AA Day - Friday 23 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies, here I am again with my highlights and smiles of the week. 

My biggest smile is always the arrival of a postcard, especially when it is one that really makes me chuckle. This one landed in my postbox all the way from Finland:

This made me chuckle indeed. There is no acknowledgement of photographer but it looks like a scene of the US (looking at the uniforms) from the 1940s. The lady is doing a sobriety test called the 'walk-and-turn' test. To perform the test, you will take nine heel-to-toe steps forward on an real or imaginary line, pivot, and take nine steps back. At all times, you will keep your arms to the side, watch your feet and count the steps aloud.

The card was signed by 10 Postcrossing members at a meet-up in Seinäjoki, which is located in the western interior of the country, 178 kilometres (111 miles) north of Tampere. The population of Seinäjoki is approximately 67,000.

The stamp is colourful:

It's a stamp from 2005 from a series called 'toys'.

What has been happening here in Spain. Well, I suppose we have all heard about the awful train crash near Córdoba. Many people died. We have had three days of nationwise mourning, with flags hung half-mast:

It's not really something to smile about but I felt I wanted to mention this sad thing.

Here in Caniles we have celebrated our patron saint San Sebastián.

The Granada tourist website writes: One of the most celebrated saints in this province is Saint Sebastian, the young Roman soldier whom his executioners riddled with arrows until he was reduced to a kind of hedgehog. Such popularity is undoubtedly a consequence of the fervor shown for him by Don Juan of Austria during the campaign against the Moorish uprising of Aben-Humeya. But although many towns celebrate him, none surpasses Caniles in originality.

Caniles maintains, as the main attraction of its festivities, the tradition of the "Theft of the Saint" during the procession. Several groups try to seize the processional cross that leads the parade, carried by one of the "thieves" from the previous year. When someone manages to get hold of the cross, it is said that they have stolen the saint, making their group the victor of the contest. Those who win, in addition to carrying the cross until the end of the procession, must also cover the expenses of the following year's festivities.

I must tell you immediately, that I was not in the crowd. It's a rather rowdy affair. I watched it through a live stream on my laptop. But there are several days of festivities, and the day itself (the 20th) is a local holiday.

That day, as I was walking home from visiting a friend, I heard drums:

And near the band I spotted three men with enormous heads:

I've been told they represent the catholic kings at the time of the re-conquest. I have no idea what that was all about, but it was on the 20th. It might have been something to do with San Sebastián.

What else is new? I have bought some new walking boots which I am now walking-in at home. That is really funny as I am in PJs but wearing my new boots. Haha.

That is it from me today. Of course I will leave you with some funnies at the end.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca