A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 12 July 2022 - T for beers, a folk tale and Mucha

 

Hello lovely ladies,

It's Tuesday again and this week has really flown by. Hubby is feeling a lot better and I have lots to smile about. Things are on the up. We went to Granada city this week for another scan, then there is one last scan (a TAC) on the 15th and then we hope to hear when the operation will be. Probably at the end of the month.

Another smile this week was this unexpected card from my cousin. She had written some encouraging words for us.

The card is a painting by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) and is entitled The Zodiac. She bought it when she was in the art museum of The Hague.

The stamp is very unusual. I hadn't seen this one:

Here is a better image (without cancellation):

It is the Lady of Stavoren (from a well known folk tale). 

The folk tale is written on the sheet of stamps and my cousin sent me that as well.

Here is a version in English: 

Now a village of just 1,000 inhabitants, Stavoren was once a wealthy port city in the Dutch province of Friesland but began to decline in the late Middle Ages after a sandbank formed outside the harbour, blocking ships from entering and exiting. Several stories have been told over the years to explain the forming of the sandbank, including the tale of the Lady of Stavoren.

The story, of which more than 27 versions are known, involves an exceedingly rich patrician merchant widow, who desired ever greater riches. She sent a captain of her merchant fleet out in search of the greatest treasure in the world. When he returned with wheat, declaring wheat to be "the most precious thing in the world," as it can feed the hungry, the widow, in her overweening pride and anger at his (as she perceived it) foolishness, let the wheat be thrown overboard into the harbour of Stavoren.

When she was cautioned against this wicked behaviour, being reminded of the fickleness of fate and (despite her wealth and power) of the delicateness of her station, in hubris she took a ring from her finger and cast it into the ocean, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring.

Soon afterwards, during a banquet thrown for her fellow Hanseatic merchant princes, she finds the ring inside a large fish served to her. As this event portended, she lost her wealth, living out her remaining years in destitution, begging for scraps of bread. In divine retribution the port had silted, and the wheat that had been cast overboard now grew in the resulting sandbank that closed the harbour and ruined the city.

A cautionary moral tale. I vaguely remember it from my childhood.

Stavoren is a small town in Friesland (In the north of the Netherlands).

The town of Stavoren has a statue of the widow:

Here is another picture of Stavoren (harbour and statue):

Stavoren is also known for the train derailment of 2010:

Read about it here if you are interested.

We are keeping a low profile these days, waiting for hubby's operation. Today (Monday) we had a telephone consultation booked with the specialist in Granada, but her secretary phoned this morning saying there was no point as she still doesn't have all the results of the various tests. The appointment has now been moved to the 21st of this month. And as there is a 7 day prep before surgery, we don't expect the operation to be before the 28th. Oh well. We keep waiting. 

The silver lining is that, all being well, we will be able to go to Portugal to see one of our sons, who will be holidaying there around that time. Our daughter-in-law has a Portuguese daddy and they have a large family villa on the south coast (Algarve). So that will be out little holiday. Let's hope hubby is well enough to drive all that way. (It's 650 km and will take at least six and a half hours if we drive non-stop, which we don't of course).

We haven't been anywhere, except last weekend to the lake for a baptism (see last Friday's blog). But i did have my photo taken:

To join Elizabeth and Bleubeard's T-Party, I need a drink. We haven't been out this week, so my drink this Tuesday is something I drink at home:

This is German Red of the Steam Brew brand that we buy at the Lidl supermarket. I like it very much. 

Now I know that Elizabeth likes stout. Let me see if I have some in the fridge. (I like stout too).

Yes, there is a can on the top shelf. By the way, you can tell I was a nurse. The habit of always turning the labels towards me is hard to shake.

Here is the stout for Elizabeth. Cheers!

But steady on Elizabeth, this stout is imperial, and so has a higher alcohol content. (In this case 7,5%).

I also spotted an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) in the fridge:

Again, it has this great design (That is why I bought it in the first place). I don't drink a lot of lager or pils, but I have tried this beer and I quite like this one. 

How is IPA different from beer?

IPAs (or Indian Pale Ale) are known for having a higher ABV than most other beer styles. The average ABV or IPA alcohol content is 6%. Although, some sub-styles may be lower (like Session IPAs) and some may be higher (such as Imperial IPAs).

The cans are bigger than usual and the alcohol content is higher, so this beer is strictly for home consumption.

Amongst the T ladies, Jo is the beer connaisseur. I'm sure she will have something to say. Sorry Jo, I wish I could come with you to some of those lovely small breweries that you go to that make unusual beers. But we only have access to supermarket beer here.

That is it from me today. I will bring out a toast to all of your health. Salud!

Happy T-Day,

Hugs,

Lisca