Tuesday 9 June 2020

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 9 June 2020 - T for streetcars, sacks and broom


Hello lovely ladies,
Here we are again, joining Elizabeth and Bluebeard for the T-Party. I have a drink, which I will show you a bit further down. 

First I'd like to show you two postcards. The first comes from Russia and shows Emperor Nicholas II. He is a fine looking young man, who came to a sticky end. 
Wikipedia writes: Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov (18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918), was the last Emperor of All Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign the Russian Empire fell from one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. He was reviled by Soviet historians as a weak and incompetent leader whose decisions led to military defeats and the deaths of millions of his subjects. By contrast Anglo-Russian historian Nikolai Tolstoy, leader of the International Monarchist League, said in 2012, "There were many bad things about the Czar's regime, but he inherited an autocracy and his acts are now being seen in perspective and in comparison to the terrible crimes committed by the Soviets." 

The stamps are beautiful. In particular the large one 
on the right

It was issued on September 05, 2014, in a series of World Cultural Heritage of Russia - It is the Church of the Ascension of Christ in Kolomenskoye,  the exceptional Ascension church (1532), built in white stone to commemorate the long-awaited birth of an heir to the throne, the future Ivan the Terrible. Being the first stone church of tent-like variety, the uncanonical "White Column" (as it is sometimes referred to) marked a stunning break from the Byzantine tradition.


Kolomenskoye  is a former royal estate situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of MoscowRussia, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). The 390 hectare scenic area overlooks the steep banks of the Moskva River. It became a part of Moscow in the 1960s.

My second card comes from the USA. It was sent to me by Ernesto, who lives close to San Francisco.

I love the old posters. This one is an original poster by Lantern Press. (No date given).

My mum celebrated her 96th birthday on the 5th. There are still travel restrictions so neither my sister nor I have been able to visit her. But we spoke on the phone (no she doesn't 'Zoom'. Her eyesight is too bad to be able to find it on her computer). One of my cousins was visiting her when I phoned and took a picture as I was talking to her. 

Note her large talking wrist watch (as she is practically blind).

Last week we went to a place in our village that sells hessian sacks. (The big heaps are almonds)
 They are old coffee beans sacks from Ivory coast and Colombia. 
They look new but they must have been used at some stage as these raw beans fell out of one of them.

A few days later hubby and I went to a friend's farm to collect horse manure (dried). It was a question of digging it up with a spade from the paddock. 
Then we went to his carpentry workshop to fill some sacks with saw dust, which is going to be used as mulch.
 We collected three sacks of manure and five of saw dust.

The broom in in full flower. Yellow everywhere you look. I looks very bright. 
This plant is called broom for obvious reasons: they used to make brooms with the dried bush. It is better visible on the next photo.

 In the USA it is an imported species and as such very invasive. So if you live in the USA and see these shrubs, it means bad news, as they are difficult to get rid of.

Yesterday, I have been able to source a large picture frame. One of the large Chinese hypermarkets has opened again. And voilá, I have been able to frame one of my jigsaw puzzles. Needless to say I am very pleased. I would like to buy one frame a month (funds permitting) as I have many jigsaws ready.


Now for my T-Party qualifier: It's a 'tea' called Noches Magicas, which means Magic Nights. 


 Ingredients: Redbush, green anise, camomile, Penny Royal mint, Rosemary, Rose Petals, Liquorice and Ginger.
We bought it at our local Lidl supermarket and we like it a lot. So yesterday we went to buy more, but they had sold out already. I should have bought more at the time!

That's it folks. Wishing you all a very happy T-Day.
Hugs,
Lisca

17 comments:

  1. No broom in my neck of the woods, not yet at least. I like how you make mulch. I bet it works well and fertilizes to. And happy belated birthday to your mom also. She looks wonderful. Hope you have a great T day. Hugs-Erika

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  2. Isn't it amazing what coffee beans look like before they are roasted. The roasting gives all the various flavors to the beans.

    Like Erika, I have no broom. I think it grows further west of here, but at least not in big cities.

    Yes, I've definitely heard of Nicholas II. He kept Germans out of Russia before WWI and, with the help of his cousin, King George V of the UK, he helped England during the war. He lost Manchuria to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War I wrote about as part of how Japan decided to invade the Hawaiian Islands when they did in WWII. May seem far fetched, but I showed the relevance. I think he was an unlucky person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I like that postcard.

    OH, those streetcars are amazing. Really lovely, indeed.

    I never thought of using sawdust in mulch. I always have sawdust, but not bags and bags of it (grin). Years ago when they still sold it, I bought two truck loads of zoo-manoo to amend the soil in my front flower bed. It had been rock hard and packed before that, where nothing grew.

    Your mother looks beautiful, Lisca. So glad she is still able to get around, even if she is nearly blind. Wish her a happy belated birthday from the T Tuesday gang, please.

    Nice you got one of your puzzles framed. They make great art for the walls, too.

    Your Magic Nights tea sounds wonderful and looks so colorful, too. Thanks for sharing it, your postcards, your mother's birthday, your mulching work, and your puzzle with us for T this Tuesday.

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  3. Lovely postcards, San Francisco is my fave. Happy birthday to your mum, that's a grand age she has reached. Looks like a lot of hard work filling up those sacks, but I suppose it's necessary. The framed puzzle looks beautiful, great idea. Enjoy your tea, hope it gives ou good nights. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  4. Beautiful card with the streetcars.
    Respect, at 96 working on a computer, a happy belated one from here, too.
    Sadly I still don´t like coffee, but the tea looks yummy! Happy T-day!

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  5. Lovely postcards and stamps. Looks like you're keeping up with your gardening activities. I like the name of that tea, and the tin it came in. Happy T-Day!

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  6. Broom is beautiful in the south of France, where (I think) it is native. I love the little piece of history summarized here:
    "The Plantagenet kings used common broom (known as planta genista in Latin) as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II of England."

    Nice postcards!

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  7. Great postcards ~ Happy birthday to mum :) Enjoy your gardening!

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  8. I'm starting with your tea today- what a great name for tea- and it sounds delicious tasting too! Super postcard art and stamps. And happy birthday to your dear Mom- she looks great! Happy T day!

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  9. Oh this tea sounds wonderful and I love rooibos
    Loved the postcards and history of the first one-I always enjoy reading what you searched out for them
    Excellent organic matters for your garden!
    Do let us know how your muffins baked up. They might be a bit heavier since your flour is the whole almond-but they will still be delicious I think.
    just a note the link on T is not working
    Happy Birthday to your Mom she looks beautiful Happy T hugs Kathy

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  10. Happy belated birthday to your mum. I know you'll be glad when travel restrictions are lifted and you can see her in person. Those yellow flowers are so pretty! I've never seen that plant in person. That tea looks lovely. Happy T Tuesday!

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  11. Happy Birthday to your Mom Lisca, its a lovely photo to have, even though you couldn't be with her she would have enjoyed the chat you had over the phone.
    The post cards looked lovely and so did the stamps.
    Broom grows wild here as well, it does always look so pretty.
    Happy T day wishes, the blend you shared today sounds delicious.
    Stay safe.
    Yvonne xx

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  12. Fun and fascinating post cards and stamps,Lisca. I like the San Francisco vintage poster one too.

    That looks like back breaking yard work. The frame jigsaw puzzle is lovely.

    Happy T-Day! Hugs, Eileen xx

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  13. Such fabulous postcards! I love the vintage San Francisco tram one - beautiful 😀. Sending your mum Happy Birthday wishes! My dad has one of those watches too as he is certified blind, such a great idea. The tea looks so delicious, I'd love to share a cup with you today - Happy T Day! Take care! Hugs, Jo x

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  14. What a wonderful post. Happy birthday to your beautiful mom. Since I am vintage SF LOL. I love the old cards and posters too. Those sacks are awesome! Wish I could find something like that here. Nothing is free where I live not even sawdust. Your garden is lovey. Have a wonderful week.

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  15. Happy birthday to your mom! She makes me smile...reminds me a bit of my mom. Those burlap sacks are awesome. I was in search of some to cover buckets to make planters. Since I didn't find any, I came up with another plan.
    Happy T day!

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  16. Oh, what a bummer that that delicious looking tea was sold out. I am learning that if I like something, go back and get more right away before it is all gone, especially if the price is good.
    I love that photo of your Mom. How wonderful that she is 96! Hopefully, you will get to see her soon.
    I loved seeing the process of you and hubby getting the sacks and filling them with manure and spreading it in the garden. He has a lovely plot!
    The postcards and stamps are lovely, as usual. My mom was fascinated with royal families so I watched a lot of documentaries growing up on the Romanov family. I recently read and interesting take on Anastasia called, I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhorn. It is a fiction book but nevertheless I found it interesting.
    I never heard of the broom plant but that is so neat that one could just go outside and pick a broom off a bush. Minimal assembly required.
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  17. Love the postcards and the info about the church! Your Mum looks very good for her age! So sorry to hear about her eyesight failing! I didn't know that broom was so invasive - I love to see it! I smiled at the mention of horse manure - we lived in the country where horses passed our house regularly - we were often sent out with a bucket and shovel to get what they had left! The week has whizzed by so it is very belated T Day wishes from me, Chrisx

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