A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 29 January 2019 - T for almonds, far east and lush

Good morning! Here is a cup of coffee for you and... a piece of cake! How are you all?

I've had a good week. The weather has been sunny and that always perks me up. Also my mailbox has been happy, i.e. I have received some cards.

Here is the first one , which came from Indonesia. It has Chinese characters on it and I have no idea what it says. I tried Google translate (with the camera) but to no avail. 

The stamp is very interesting. It celebrates the 2018 annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank group. That was held in October 2018 in Nusa Dua on Bali.  They discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance.

I've not been able to find out whsat the statue is.

The second card comes from Taiwan, from someone who calls herself Grace (I find a lot of Taiwanese have English sounding names). The picture on the card is called 'Applying make-up' 1936 by Chen Chin, 1907-1998. Gouache on silk 212 x 185 cm.

Grace writes that she has just finished a book called The Guest Cat by Japanese writer Takashi Hiraide, and liked it very much. Has anyone read it? (I haven't but it sounds nice). The 'blurb' goes like this:

 A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife — the days have more light and color. The novel brims with new small joys and many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens….

At this point our cat has opened his eyes and wants to say hello to you all:

I'm getting distracted... Oh yes, the stamp! That is beautiful. I can see two pigs in this design and no doubt it is all about the Chinese year of the pig.

This week (as every week ) we went to our little bolt hole in the country side. Some of you have seen photos of it but then again, some have not. This is an image of our rank seen from the other side of the (dry) riverbed. Our house is the one on the left. If you enlarge it you might see that the houses are built into the embankment.

 

Here is a better view. We have built a large terrace on the top. (the view from there is spectacular)

The houses to the right of us are uninhabited except the furthest one. An elderly chap lives there with his son and daughter in law. The council have placed a street light for his benefit (solar powered) as he is partially sighted.

Here is my hubby sorting out some wood and loading it in the trailer to take home. The door in the embankment on the left is our storage. It is someone else's property but they let us use it.

This is the view. It is very difficult to see, but the little bit of white in the distance (in the middle) is the snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains (where the ski resort is). With the naked eye it is easier to see.

The stove we have here is a dual fuel burner. One side uses wood and the other side almond shells. At the moment we are using the almond shells. 

I scoop shells in the hopper,

and off it goes. Of course I have to top it up regularly.

Saturday we had friends from church over for a meeting and I did a little buffet. Great, then I will have some beverages for Elizabeth's T-Party at Altered Book Lover. This is sliced roast pork and I managed to find chimichurri, an oily dressing. The red one is very 'hot' and the other one is mild. Does anyone use that?

And what do you know? I forgot to take any other pictures. No drinks or otherwise. Sorry Elizabeth, the image at the start of this post will have to do for my beverage...

A parcel arrived today of a product that I had ordered. It is a shampoo bar made by a company called Lush. I had heard a lot about these, and this particular type seems to be beneficial for people who have had chemo therapy and have been left with very fine, unmanageable hair. (like me). I'm going to use it tomorrow morning and I'll let you know how I got on.

Time to say Goodbye and untill next Tuesday!
Have a good week,
Hugs,
Lisca