A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 19 March 2019 - T for a mail bear, a mail box and a pocket letter

Hello, Good Morning! It's Tuesday again and time for the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard at Altered Book Lover. Please join us and bring a beverage.

As most of you know, one of my hobbies is Postcrossing, a worldwide postcard swap. I like to show you the lovely cards that I receive, sometimes with their stamps because they can be very interesting.
This card comes from Germany but has a quote in Dutch from Anne Frank.

A young Jewish girl named Anne Frank (1929-1945), her parents and older sister moved to the Netherlands from Germany after Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came to power there in 1933 and made life increasingly difficult for Jews. In 1942, Frank and her family went into hiding in a secret apartment behind her father’s business in German-occupied Amsterdam. The Franks were discovered in 1944 and sent to concentration camps; only Anne’s father survived. Anne Frank’s diary of her family’s time in hiding, first published in 1947, has been translated into almost 70 languages and is one of the most widely read accounts of the Holocaust.

Translation:

The Westertoren church tower as Anne Frank saw it 

It is a great miracle that I have not given up all my expectations, because they seem absurd and impractical. Yet I hold on to them, despite everything, because I still believe in the inner goodness of mankind.                                                                                                                                                        I grew up with accounts about the occupation in the Netherlands during WW2. My auntie survived Theresienstadt concentration camp (she was only 12 when she was separated from her parents and sent there, but she survived and lived to write a book. She only died recently).
My maternal grandmother hid two Jewish lads in the attic and my mum, who was engaged but still unmarried then, had to walk them (one at a time) at night after curfew so that they could get some fresh air. If they met anyone in the dark streets, they would hide in a doorway and pretend to be a courting couple. Both young men survived, as did my family. 

The stamps are quite pretty too. The one on the left is a water lily and on the right you see  Dessau-Wörlitz.

The second postcard comes from Russia and features a Russian mailbox. Sent by Lena who lives in Samara on the banks of the Volga river.

The stamp is clearly about the World Championship soccer in 2018.

I've made (and sent) another pocket letter. Here it is without the transparent 'pocket'. The theme was 'Rainbow' and we had to use different colours. 

Then we all got assigned a partner. I had requested a partner in Europe as I didn't know how much the postage would be. My partner was Kat from Florida who lives in Malaga (Spain). This is what she sent me:

At the back she had also put some little thingies (as I did too) including a teabag of white tea, washi tape and some fun paper clips.

It all came in a large envelope in which she had added a load of other goodies. 

It felt like Christmas! She has received my pocket letter and was very happy. Phew, it was my first one, and I think I 'passed the grade' so to speak.

The best thing of all though was a hand written letter introducing herself. I was delighted with that personal touch and I will definitely hand write my letters in future.

I have been spending (wasting) time on Pinterest looking at mail art. I found a cute bear image which was down loadable and I printed it on Kraft paper. 

Here is the link to the website of Naomi who creates this lovely mail art. 
 https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=41eab41f2f99f1fd0a634154b&id=295d037a2e

One of my Postcrossing partners wanted their card in an envelope, so I printed one on kraft paper, cut it out and hey presto, a fun item of mail. The address is a post box, not a real address, so it doesn't matter that I publish it.

Lastly I have bought two new 'teas' at our local supermarket (called Lidl). They are called infusions as there is no tea in them.

The purple one has apple, hibiscus and orange peel, natural aromas, cinnamon stick.

And the red one: hibiscus flowers, dehydrated grapes, elderflower, and sour cherries

We are drinking them and they are very nice.

Lastly, just to put a smile on your face...

Have a great week,
Greetings from sunny Spain,
Lisca