A postcard a Day -- 30 Sept 2015 T for Tuesday

Good Morning Good Tuesday!

And welcome to the T for Tuesday people. It’s T for Walnuts here in Spain. We’re going nuts here. Last week we went away for a few days to a camp site nearby and on one of our walks we saw many walnut trees, dropping their harvest.

We picked many and came home with a bag full!

I love walnuts in cakes and muffins (coffee and walnut...yummmm).

Now I have to show you something drink related...

This is at my friends' house. When we come she always makes a special little pot of tea for my husband who is British. Out comes the 'teapot-sitting-on-a-cup' and the box of English tea. Isn't that kind! The rest of us drink ordinary herbal stuff, like this:

I think this is called 'Hierba Louisa'. It's usually freshly picked.

I also have a drink related postcard:

I don't need to tell you where this one is from. It's from Finland and it was one of the first cards I received when I joined Postcrossing. It makes me thirsty just to look at it. (But not for beer! Certainly not in the morning!).

I'll go and put the kettle on and make myself a brew.

Have a great Tuesday all of you!

Blessings

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Monday 28 Sept 2015 Map Monday Saskatchewan

Good Morning! Good Monday!

Have you all had a good weekend? I hope so. We have been entertaining our daughter and grandson, who have come over from England for 5 days. They have specifically come over to see the lunar eclipse and the ‘blood’ moon through our telescope. The weather forecast was not good, so they (my husband too) have travelled to a mountain top which is higher than 2000m hoping that they will be above the clouds. They haven’t come back as I write this. So I’ll let you know….

Now for my card: it’s Monday so I have a map card to show you.

It is the map of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, sent to me by Krista. 

I don’t know much about Saskatchewan other than that it is land locked and sits in the ‘middle’ of Canada. 

I did google it though and I found out that their national flower is the lily (Lilium Philadelphicum) and that the province had been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups (Nowadays called ‘first nations’). 

It was first explored by Europeans in 1690 and settled in 1774. It has prairie land in the south and rocks, forests and lakes in the north. The capital is Regina but the largest city is Saskatoon.

Now for the stamps:

The small stamp on the left shows HM Queen Elizabeth, as she still officially reigns over Canada.(Please someone correct me if I’m wrong in this). The large stamp on the right celebrates 200 years since the birth of Sir John A Macdonald. He was the first president of Canada and originally came from Scotland.

Krista (who sent me the card back in March) tells me she is a crafter too and she has decorated the card with washi tapes, a cup cake and two turtle stickers (I love turtles). So thank you Krista. I like it very much.

That's it from me today. See you tomorrow when I link up with 'T for Tuesday'.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Sunday 27 September 2015 Moscow sunset and a fur cap

Good Morning! Good Sunday!

I have a beautiful card to show you today. It is from Moscow:

Sunset over the Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, sent to me by Natalia. Natalia actually lives in Moscow and tells me it is a beautiful, modern city with a rich history. I can well believe that. I personally have never been to Moscow. But one day I might...

The stamps on the card are equally beautiful. The one on the right is from 2006 and celebrates the 200th Anniversary of Museums of Moscow Kremlin - This shows the Cap of Monomakh (XIII-XIV Cent.)

The stamp on the left shows the symbol of Moscow: St George the Victorious. This stamp was issued in 2009.

That is it for today.
Have a lovely day and I will see you tomorrow, God willing.

Blessings.

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Saturday 26 Sept 2015

Good Morning! Good Saturday!

This says: Happy weekend!

My card for today comes from Germany and goes into my collection of doors and windows:

I do like it as it is rustic but there are flowers in a window box. Who would live in a house like that? I am really curious...

This is the stamp:

The flower is a Kugelprimel. Translated that is a Drumstick Primrose, or in Latin Primula denticulata.

That is my bit for today. Have a great weekend and see you tomorrow.

Blessings,
Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 25 Sept 2015 Friday Smiles

Hello Friday Smilers! 

Has there been something to smile about this week? I'm sure there was if you think about it. In fact there will have been many smiley moments. I hope to read about all your smiles at A Stitch in Time. 

I'm smiling because tonight we will be driving to Malaga Airport to pick up one daughter and one grandson! He is ten years old (or will be soon, this is his birthday treat) and we have some fun things planned.

My card for today is this one:

Two little munchkins from Finland. Aren't they gorgeous? It was sent to me by Juha, who lives with his wife and two dogs in a small village in Finland (2300 inhabitants).

This is the stamp. That too is gorgeous. It looks like a flower fairy, but i have not been able to find out more info about this stamp.

When I say I had lots to smile about.... my husband and I have been away in our campervan. We stayed local as we live in such a beautiful area. Here are some photos:

DH overlooking the reservoir (which is quite low at the end of the summer).

A little bridge we had just walked across.

All of a sudden we spotted some deer in front of us. They stood still, as did we and we looked at each other for a minute or so, then they ran off. Wow!

Now for some 'internet' fun:
Notice left on the back gate: "Parcel left under the table in the garden"!

Have a good week everyone and... keep smiling!

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Thursday 24 Sept 2015, indoor market, Rotterdam

Hello and Good Morning to all of you!

Here is another of my postcards. This time it is a card I received this week from my home country and from my home town: Rotterdam. It was sent to me by a'German Wanderer' called Marco. He asks me if I have seen Rotterdam's latest  architectural sight? And he sends me a card of the new indoor/covered market. 

No, I have not seen that yet. People that have, say it is very beautiful. There are apartments above and to the sides and the ceiling is very spectacular. I hope to see it this December as I hope to spend Christmas with my mother in Rotterdam.

And this is the stamp:

I really like this card, so thank you Marco!

Have a good day and see you tomorrow!

Blessings,
Lisca

WOYWW 329 Happy mail and village bakery

Hi Peeps, It's Wednesday again! Comes round so fast! Today I can look over everyone's shoulder and look at their desk to see what the are up to (or not). The lovely Julia hosts this blog hop and here you can read all about it.

Now I'll let you look over my shoulder and look at the scene on my desk. 

This was late last night, as this morning there is nothing. I've packed my stuff as we are going to spend more than a week at 'home'. (not here on the building site). DD plus one grandson are coming to stay. So fun days ahead. The photo, blue bubble and Kraft paper are a lay out I'm making of said daughter and grandson.

Below is the happy mail I received from the USA.

A blog friend called Krisha wanted to get rid of some small stamps and didn't mind sending them across the 'pond'. Wow! She sent me about 26! plus a few die cuts and cardboard shapes. How cool is that! That is so kind of her. They are all small, perfect for ATCs and perhaps card making. I'm thrilled as I don't have many stamps. 

I've packed most things I need for the coming week. All I need to do now is pop round to the baker and get some bread. 
I took some photos earlier in the week as I always include some pictures of 'life in Spain'.

This is baker Pilar's daughter (can't remember her name) putting my bread in the bag. The basket in the foreground is the typical woven basket (locally made) they use here for everything. Mostly they are round and made from some sort of plant stalk.

I also asked for a square of pizza as DH likes that as a snack. There is a banner on the shelf saying that Pilar makes the best donuts in the world!

I tore myself away from all those lovely smells and took a picture of the outside. The power cable is hanging loose as they are working on the building next door. 'Pan' means 'bread'. And 'dulces' are 'sweet things'. Silnia is the name of the shop.

Lastly a photo I found on a FB page advertising cave houses for rent in our area. It is a beautiful photo and it is where I live. I never tire of this!

If you want to see what a cave house looks like, have a look at the photos. Here is the link to the Facebook page. 

That's it for today. Have a good week and see you soon.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 22 Sept 2015, T-for-Tuesday, T for camping

Hi Folks,

Hope you all had a good week. My husband and I have been away for a few days in our campervan. We stayed local as we live in such a beautiful area. The weather here is still quite warm, but below 30 degrees C which means we can go for walks. 

 There is so much to see. We found these little crocus like flowers growing straight from the ground! No stem!. I have no idea what they are, but they're very pretty.

On this walk I'd forgotten my hat and it was very hot that day. So I found a scarf to wear. Here I'm looking at these red berries in the tree.

Every day after our walk we would be tired, hot and thirsty. We would treat ourselves to a cold glass of lager. 

Of course we have beers in our fridge in the campervan but the campsite restaurant keeps the beer glasses in the freezer and they also have wifi which makes drinking out extra attractive.

This is where I would do my blogging. See those two little dishes on the table? Those are the tapas which (in our province of Granada they are free) you get with every drink you order. This is 'salmorejo', a sort of gazpacho (cold soup) with 'bits' in it.

Now, I'd better show you my postcard of today before I get too carried away:

I got this from Holland (of course with a clog). He's quite a hunk. On the back of the card is the info about said hunk: he is Rick Rio from Brazil. The photographer is Lutz van Dijk.
Adrie from Wedervoort sent me this card and she also put some gorgeous stamps on it.

The one on the left coal mines in the south of the netherlands (no longer working).

The middle one is about Constantijn Huygens. Commemorating 300 years since his death in 1687.

Sir Constantijn Huygens, was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens. (Wikipedia)

 But this is the image that will qualify me for T for Tuesday: A stamp with a cup of coffee. The Dutch do like their cup of coffee.

That's it for today. A rather long spiel, so if you made it until here: well done and thank you for visiting.

I'll be here again tomorrow with WOYWW.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Monday 21 September 2015 Indonesia

Good Morning! Good Monday! 

Today is MapMonday.
I love postcards with maps on them (I love maps full stop!).

This is a card I received from Andrea in Indonesia.

It seems to me the colored parts could be provinces. Anyway, it is very pretty.

Andrea is an anesthetist and works in the public hospital of Pare in Java. She is 36 years old and has two small daughters. (I have always known Andrea to be a boy's name in Italy but in England it is used as a girls' name and apparently in Indonesia too.)

The stamps are all stuck on top of each other because of the lack of space.

 They look like they represent the Indonesian postal system.

There you have it, my postcard for today. Tomorrow I'll be back and link up with 'T for Tuesday'.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Sunday 20 September 2015 Speyer Cathedral and the origin of the word 'Protestant'

Good morning friends, It's Sunday again. 

I've had my breakfast (scrambled egg on toast, a Sunday treat) and in an hour we'll be heading to church.

I'm showing you a postcard from Germany, which was one of the first Postcrossing cards I received five years ago.

It shows the Romanesque Speyer Cathedral. It was sent to me by  Georg in Neustadt. He knew I liked UNESCO World heritage Sites and this cathedral is a world heritage site.

Georg also gives me some interesting info on the cathedral and the city of Spyer.

The last paragraph explains where the word 'Protestant' comes from. Interesting.... I didn't know that.

The stamp features Johannes Calvin.

Johannes (John) Calvin (1509-1564)was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism.

Here are two quotes by Calvin:

"However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts."

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."

That's it from me today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you tomorrow with MondayMap.

Blessings,

Lisca



  

A Postcard a Day - Saturday 19 Sept 2015 La Reunion and Red Cross stamp

Good Morning! Good Saturday!
I hope you are having a good weekend. 

Here is my postcard for today:

It was sent by Jean-Mimi from Lyon in France.

The picture is of Ile de la Reunion in the Indian Ocean, a French island. It reads: 'Sunset over the Piton des Neiges (3070m)'.

It lies east of Madagaskar. (see map)

(Map copied from Wikipedia)

The island is an overseas department of France and as such also one of the 27 regions of France. It has about 845000 inhabitants and it is 63 km (39 m) long and 45 km (28m) wide. (Info: Wikipedia)

In July 2015, a flaperon from a Boeing 777 aircraft washed up on the shore of the island. The piece of debris was initially confirmed by Malaysian authorities to be part of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which disappeared in March 2014. (also from Wikipedia)

Jean-Mimi has put loads of fun stickers on the card and a special stamp:

I've not been able to find any info about the stamp. It looks like a Red Cross field hospital. And it says 'Lettre verte' which is the second tariff of the French postal system. It is a little cheaper (only a few cents I believe) and it takes a little longer (surface mail in stead of airmail). There is an even cheaper tariff which takes longer still, but I have no idea what means of transport that would use...

That's it for today. I wish everyone a very fine weekend and see you'all tomorrow.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 18 Sept 2015 Friday Smiles

Good Morning! Good 'Friday Smiles',

I found this doing the rounds on Facebook. I can't contribute this to anyone really.But it made me smile.

Well, my week has not been so rough at all, in fact we are in our campervan on a lovely camp site. I will go to the restaurant later to post this.

My postcard for today comes sent to me from Taiwan. As you can see the photo does not look Chinese at all... in fact it is French.

It reads: Paris 1969, Elliott Erwitt Snaps.

It was sent to me by Ying-Ying. She has made little drawings on the back of the card and put fun stickers on it.

She writes "One of  my friends that I swap postcards with once said that black&white photos are like a reticent old man (or in this case an old lady), quietly telling his or her story".

The stamps are great too:

I recognise the plant on the right hand stamp as Rosemary. The middle stamp looks like a child playing with puppets and the left one is a building, but what it is I don't know. 
I'm sorry if I haven't researched the stamps. (Will do better next time).

That's it from me today.

Tomorrow there will be another postcard for you to see and read about. Postcrossing really is an interesting hobby.

Blessings,

Lisca

PS I had a message from Ying-Ying. She writes:

Thanks a lot for the blog you've written for my card TW-1063496. About the building stamp: it's the National Palace Museum of Taipei, one the most popular tourism spots here, exhibiting numerous traditional artworks (one of the most famous artworks is the "jadeite cabbage with insects", a cabbage sculpture carved out of a lump of jade).

Have a nice day :-)

Ying-Ying”