A Postcard A Day - Friday 15 Dec 2017 - Friday Smiles

Hello smiley ladies,


I'm sorry I have been AWOL the last two Fridays. I have been ill and I suppose I didn't have much to smile about. I'm better now, taking it easy. Forcing myself to take it easy, that is easier said than done.


The glazier came yesterday to fit a last Little window in the new flat downstairs, and he also fitted a glass pane in the shower. We also asked him tomake a windbreak for the BBQ on the terrace. So when he had done that, hubby said he was going to take the windbreak down until the summer. I protested as i had already seen that it made a fantastic suntrap in Winter.

This is the first smile. There I am, sat in the sun, Reading a book. Hubby took the photo without me knowing through the window.


Yesterday also was hubby's birthday, so we had a lovely time opening cards and presents over a cup of coffee that morning.

Here he has just received a bag to put his shaving gear in. A present from some of his grandchildren. Looking Sharp it says. He didn't feel he looked that Sharp as he is in his work overalls.


We've had a bit of snow too, but just in the mountains. Here it fell as snow. But I always like the look of the hills with White on them.
Here you can see the snow. It's a badly focussed photo. Sorry.

Now for some postcards:

A famous face from the 1960s. Yes, it's Jacqueline and Caroline Kennedy photographed at Hyannis Port (Mass) in 1960.
The stamps are also very nice:

As you can see, the card is date-stamped 28 Nov, and I only got it this week. The stamp on the right is about the painter Andrew Wyeth. Do look him up as you will be pleasantly surprised. I like his work.


This card is from Germany:

The lady that sent it is called Ute and lives in a place called Velzen. This is a picture of their railway station building, which has been re-designed by an Austrian artist called Hundertwasser. It's quite unusual isn't it.
Here are the stamps:

A lovely sunset and a beautiful flower.
Now for a few funnies before I go:

 The caption reads: I will start studying at 11:00.

The caption on thislast one is: 'Mature? That's what fruit does.'


That is it from me this Friday. Have you some smiles to share. Please join me at Annie's A Stitch In Time.


Hugs,
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday12 Dec 2017 - T for Christmas cookies, card making, turtles and a tummy bug (Yuk)

Hello lovely people,
It's going to be a quickie today as I am still ill. I have had the mother of all tummy bugs for on and off two weeks. I'm not eating and I'm dehydrated and fed up! I have got pills which do help but I still can't eat much without feeling nauseous. Yuk.


I am sitting at my desk utterly exhausted but I will carry on and finish this post.
Here is my postcard which arrived this morning (I'm writing this late Monday night):

Yes, they are Christmas cookies. In German Weihnachtsplätzchen. Aren't they pretty? The sender of this card, called Lisa, writes that she has just spent the afternoon making a batch with her friend.
The stamp is beautiful too:

I love old trees. If only they could talk....


Ill though I was, I had to make some Christmas cards. I always send my sister one and for the first time I made a pop-up card. She doesn't usually read my blog so I can safely show you:

I had found some matching/coordinating papers and cards from an old Anna Griffin kit, but I had never done the pop-up bit. It turned out well I think:

There are three Christmas birthdays in our family, hence the birthday cards. People whos birthday falls on Christmas don't get many birthday cards, so I make a point of sending one:

Of course today is T-Day, so I will link up with Elizabeth and Bleubeard at Altered Book Lover. To do that I need something drink related. Lets see what i can find...


I love turtles and have a Pinterest turtle page. Here are a few images of turtle tea pots:

This one and the next are a bit similar:

This one has matching cups:

These majolica ones are nice too:

They are made by Minton if I am not mistaken.

And this is a cutie:

My favorite is the very first one. Which one do you like best?

That's it from me today.

Happy T-Day all of you,

Hugs,

Lisca



A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 5 Dec 2017 - T for cacao, Venice and frost

Hello folks,

Here we are on a Tuesday again. It's T for Tuesday and I am visiting Elizabeth and Bleubeard with a blog post that has a drink in it. The drink will be featured later on but first things first: postcards...

I received a postcard from Venice. Now I have visited Italy for most of my adult life and have even worked and lived in Italy for 15  years. But... I have never been to Venice! So when I received a card from Venice I was well pleased. I must admit it didn't look like what I expected Venice to look like, but there is a large lagoon outside Venice and I thought this pictured the lagoon.

Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Venice, Florida in the USA! I had to laugh at myself.

The stamp was in a nautical theme too. 

Sunday at church, my friend Roxanne brought some stuff in to show people:

She comes from Equador in South America. What she is showing us is a bag of cacao beans. She has a plantation over there that her brother manages for her. He came over to visit and brought some produce.
This is the huge pod that the beans come out of:

This thing is about 20 cm long. (You can see the bag of beans next to it for comparison). She told me that they cut the pod open and remove the beans, then 

those beans get spread out on the floor and sun dried. 

When dried, they get ground into powder and what you have then is in essence chocolate.

She gave me a piece to taste as she knows I like pure, bitter chocolate. It tasted lovely. A bit rougher than the stuff you buy in the shops of course, but 'sweeter' than I thought it would be, and also softer. I could easily break off a piece to eat. 

It was really interesting to see . Next Sunday she will bring in the large pod again and split it for us to see the inside. So I will have my camera ready this time (these photos were taken on my phone which does not have a good camera, sorry).

The weather here has suddenly changed. It has become winter. Last week we were still able to sit and socialize outside:

I'm not in the picture as I took the photo but hubby is the one with the hat.

Behind the swing is a little hill called Jabalcon, which is the local focal point. Most people can see Jabalcon from their house. Where we live we can only have internet if we have a visual with Jabalcon as that is where the aerial repeaters (or whatever they are called in English) are.

Anyway, all of a sudden we have fost at night and the day temperatures have plummeted.

My friend Loli took this picture of the olive trees in the morning after we had had the frost. Isn't it beautiful? 

Now I mustn't forget the drink to qualify for the T-Party. 

Here it is (and of course it is a glass of wine). I should have photographed my mug of hot cocoa last night but I forgot...

That is it from me today. I wish you all a happy T-Day and a good week ahead.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 1 Dec 2017 Friday Smiles

Hi everybody,


It's not going to be a long blog today as I am recovering from a 24 hr tummy bug. It was pretty awful, nuthing to smile about so we won't mention it again.


What did make me smile was the card I received today:

It is a scene by Thomas Kinkade. The reason I was so thrilled to receive this card was that the writer is only 6 years old! Usually the people that send me cards via Postcrossing are adults or sometimes teenagers but very rarely children. So I was super pleased with a handwritten card. This is what she writes:

I am impressed with her neat handwriting. I find children nowadays don't write very well at all. This is an exception.
The stamps are awesome:

There are a lot of things that the US is known for: Tiffany lamps, Navajo jewelry (my personal favorite), chippendale furniture and American clocks. Of course there is the stars and stripes flag and (especially for me as I love them) a tortoise. It made my day!


I will leave you with a few cat funnies:

Have a great week everyone,
Hugs,
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 28 Nov 2017 - T for kitchen

Hello peeps, it is Tuesday again and time for our T-party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. Please do join us with a blogpost that features a drink in it somewhere.

My drink will appear a bit further on, but first I would like to show you my postcards. This one I received from Germany last week:

It's about the traditional dress of people living in Rügen, an island off the coast of Eastern Gemany in the Baltic sea. Rügen is known for it's beautiful beaches and White cliffs. I love these clothes. The couple in the middle might be a wedding couple. I also like the fact that there are small children too. In those days they dressed children as mini adults. (not practical).

The stamps on the card were nice too:

Lovely flowers.

This stamp is also in the vein of traditional costume. This time about the national dress of Bavaria (You know, lederhosen etc) The writing says: 125 years First Bavarian mountain dress association) I'm sure our German speakers will correct me if I am wrong.

The second card also comes from Germany:

The castle (yes, it is real) looks like a fairytale castle out of Disney. I think it's beautiful.

Again the stamp is lovely but it gets a bit hidden under the overbearing date stamp.

 What have I been doing this week? I have spent a lot of time at my computer and not just using it. I have been doing small maintenance jobs. One of the fans was making a lot of noise and when I opened the side I saw it had a lot of dust on it.

The white fan on the left was OK but the black fan was very dusty. The fan is black so all the grey bits are dust. This fan is important as it cools the motherboard.

 I had a can of compressed air to blow the dust off. That's all I dare do as I have no technical knowledge of computers (I wish I had)

Hubby has been busy in the ground floor flat. The back door is in and most of the tiles laid. 

The carpenter came yesterday to put up the carcasses of the kitchen units. It's only a small flat and the kitchen is a small corner of the living area. But I think it will be functional. 

 I must now really order my cooker as I can't have the granite put on until the stove is in place.

And this is the qualifier! I mean, this photo has a drink in it. The carpenter's assistent didn't want his beer and left the can on the worktop. Yes, I know, it is minute, but believe me, that is a can of lager beer.

And finally I will leave you with a few animal sculptures:

Happy T-Day all! Have a good week and keep smiling,
Hugs,
Lisca