A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 28 February 2023 - T for photos, Andalucia and a busy life

•  Hello lovely ladies,
• How wonderful to see you all again at the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. I have some drink related images ready for you a bit further on when I tell you what I have been doing this past week. (And that always involves eating and drinking and will be photo heavy). I will also show you one of my postcards and as today is Andalucia Day, I will tell you a little about this country I live in. 
• But first the postcard:

It is not a postcard I received, but a postcard I picked up at the opening of an exhibition I went to on Thursday. It was a photographic exhibition of photos by Juan J. Marquez, who was in our photoclub. 

I'm writing 'was' because he unexpectedly died of a heart attack  in December. Very sad. The exhibition showed images he photographed in Granada city and the title Urbanitas translates roughly as 'urbanites'. 

The exhibition is being held in a historic building in old Granada called Corrala de Santiago. I have showed you photos of it before.

It was evening when I went there but I will show some photos taken in daylight.

(Photo from the internet)

(Another photo from the internet). But the next one is mine

This is the beautiful old floor of the inner patio.

The exhibition was in a side room of the building, but this is where we came in and where the official part of the opening was being held.

Now on to something else. Today is a national holiday here in southern Spain. It's Andalucia Day. Widely celebrated all over Andalucia, which is an independent region of Spain with its own government.  Andalucia is quite large.

In size it is the size of Hungary, or Austria. For our American friends it would be the size of Maine or Indiana. Or slightly bigger than South Carolina.

The flag of Andalucia:

The Andalusia Day is celebrated in 28 February and commemorates the 28 February 1980 referendum on the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, in which the Andalusian electorate voted for the statute that made Andalusia an autonomous community of Spain.

With over eight million inhabitants, Andalucia is the largest autonomous community in terms of population and the second-largest in area. The Andalucian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality within Spain.

So what has my week been like? On Tuesday my friends Kim and Andy came and as promised I made cheese and onion pasties. (Recipe here)

And I baked an apple cake:

In the evening me and my friend Antonia went to a talk and taste about lambs meat. I have featured that on my Friday blog, but here is one photo of me with  Antonia and her daughter plus friend:

On Thursday me and Kim had a hair appointment in Baza. We took some before and after photos. 

Before:

And after a good tidy-up (and cut):

After that we met up with Andy who had done the shopping in the meantime and we went for a drink and a tapa:

I had an alcohol-free beer as I like the taste and the bread rolls were the tapas that came free with the drink.

I think these beers will be my qualifier for the T-Party.

When we got back home, my neighbour Serafin was sat outside weaving baskets out of esparto grass. 

This will be a basket to collect eggs in, he told me.

I love it that these old crafts are still being practiced.

On Friday my friend Dian and I went to Baza to look at furniture. I want to buy a new sofa. 

It's going to look a bit like this. 

I can choose the material and the colour. I haven't ordered yet. I have rearranged the furniture in my living room as a mock up to the new situation. If I like it, I will order next week.

On Saturday there was a fellowship lunch (bring and share) at David and Patricia's for the English speaking Christians in our area. There was so much lovely food. 

I made a cheese cake. It's not visible on the table as the sweet things were on another table.

We had a lovely time and after lunch there was a Bible study. I really enjoyed myself.

On Sunday I went to church. One of the children had a birthday and had brought a cake to share (we are a very small congregation). No children in the photo as I haven't had the chance to ask the parents' permission.

The writing on the wall reads: "Jesús dijo: Yo soy el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida". In English that is: Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14 verse 6).

On Monday Patricia came to my house to help me move furniture for the mock up to see how it would look if the sofa was on the opposite side.

and then we went to town to look at the sofa I had looked at when I was with Dian and she discussed with the sales lady how we could shorten it as it was just that little bit too long for my small living area. Afterwards we went for coffee and breakfast.

That was my week. I won't mention the weather as it has been cold with a bit of wet snow, but I feel really  blessed to have lots of lovely friends. 

Wishing you all a happy T-Day,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca

How was your week?

A Postcard A Day - Friday 24 February 2023 Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies,

Another week has passed and we are getting slowly a bit closer to spring. (at least in my hemisphere). I can't wait. The weather has been so bad and dreary, I'm really longing for the sun!

My postcard for today comes from the USA and it is a water colour of a pomegranate. 

It doesn't have the name of the artist on it but the copywrite is by Samin Nosrat

Samin Nosrat born November 7, 1979 in San Diego, is an American chef, TV host, food writer and podcaster.

She is the author of the James Beard Award–winning, New York Times Bestselling cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat:

and host of a Netflix docu-series of the same name. From 2017–2021, she was a food columnist for The New York Times Magazine. Nosrat is also the co-host of the podcast Home Cooking

A fact about the pomegranate is that in Spanish it is called a granada. Of course I live in the Granada province and our province and capital city were named after this fruit which is very common here. It grows on trees and there are many pomegranate trees here.

The stamp is the poinsettia, bearing in mind that the card was posted before Christmas.

What have I been up to?

My week has been good with lots going on. My weekend is always filled with friends popping in and Intercambio meeting on Saturday. Then church on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon I went for a walk with my friend Antonia:

Monday I went to the gym again. It really is hard work getting up early on a cold morning, but once I'm at the gym I really enjoy it.

Tuesday is market day. I bought avocados  and other vegetables. I heard about shortages in the UK but there are no shortages here. 

On Tuesday my friends Kim and Andy come and I made them cheat Gregg's cheese and onion pasties (and some prawns as a side dish).

Andy brought his car battery charger as our 4x4 car that we only used off road, to get to our plot, had a flat battery. Of course I hadn't used it since Graham died and Andy connected the battery to the charger. It charged until yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. The battery is in place and the car starts again. Phew!

In the evening I had a church housegroup meeting via Zoom.

Wednesday is the day the cleaning lady comes, so I have been working with her. She helped me strip and re-make the bed so I had a nice clean bed. Wednesday was also the first sunny day in a month! So I washed the bedding and it dried that same afternoon. 

In the afternoon I had a dental appointment. The last treatment. Hurray! Later in the afternoon my friend and I went to a demonstration and presentation of regional lambs meat.

The chef was cooking stuff as he talked. 

The presentation was being held in a local bar, 5 min walk from my house.

We also got to taste all the little things he cooked. It was really delicious. In the photo above you can see me on the left next to my friend Antonia and next to her is her daughter with a friend.

The lady on the left, who was sitting next to me in the above photo, is Maria Pilar, our mayoress. Yes we have a glamorous mayor.

Below are some of the dishes:

That is it from me today. Of course I will try to find some funnies for you and put them at the end.

Please join me in visiting Annie at A Stitch In Time for more smiles.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day / Tuesday 21 February 2023 / T for maps, carousel horses and a bridge

 Hello lovely ladies,

Today we are joining the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth. Will you join too? All you need is a beverage or a drink reference. You will see my drink a bit further down.

But first my postcard:

 A lovely map card, wouldn't you say? I have visited Toronto in the early seventies. I was catching a flight back home from there so it was just for one day and the next day I did an excursion to see Niagara falls. Then I went home. To be honest, I don't remember much about it. (Although of course I do remember Niagara Falls).

The stamps are gorgeous, and they are the reason I featured this card today.

You can see there is a stamp with a carousel horse. I know Elizabeth loves those so here you are Elizabeth! Especially for you!

It's the Roseneath Carousel and here is a little history of the carousel, and here a less than 2 minute video that shows the carousel working. A family had rented the carousel for one hour as a birthday treat for a family member. It shows the Wörlitzer organ too. 

Above you can see the horse featured on the stamp (on the right).

Aren't they beautiful?

So beautifully restored.

The stamp series also has other carousel horses:

Other stamps announced in the Canada Post collection include:

• C.W. Parker Carousel No. 119 (Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby, B.C.): Built in 1912 and now fully restored, the carousel features 36 jumping horses, four stationary horses, a chariot and music provided by a 1925 Wurlitzer band organ.
• Bowness Carousel (Heritage Park Historical Village, Calgary): Built by Herschell-Spillman Co. in 1904, it is a rare three-row track machine, where the horses’ rocking motion comes from eccentric drive wheels under the platform.
• Lakeside Park Carousel (Lakeside Park, St. Catharines, Ont.): Built by Kremer’s Carousel Works circa 1903, the large carousel boasts 68 animals and four chariots in four rows. It still costs only a nickel to ride. The carousel was referenced in rock band Rush’s Lakeside Park song.
• Le Galopant (La Ronde, Montreal — former Expo 67 site): Built around 1885 in Belgium, it was originally a travelling carousel powered by steam. It made its first Canadian appearance at Expo 67.

The stamp on the right is the Canadian Pacific stamp I wrote about in my blog of the 27th of January 2023 . The calla flower stamp is very beautiful. I have a calla but on my plant the flowers are white. I've also just found out that the whole plant is very toxic.

I just found another map card of Canada. 

The cities are not marked on there but I can show you where Toronto is:

So, what have I been up to? Not much because the weather is still very dreary and cloudy and cold. I have had the stove on every day. 

I have been doing a lot of paperwork and finally something seems to be moving and my financial situation is a bit better now. There is something coming in now (I was living on my savings). One of my pensions has sent me back payments! Hurray!

I have done a little baking. Nothing spectacular, just some cookies:

And the other day the prawns were on special offer so I treated myself:

I had it with rice and asparagus and a nice glass of white wine. And of course this is my qualifier for the T-Party.

I've been enjoying my tv. I continue to watch The Crown. Currently watching series 4. I've also started watching His Dark Materials. I have read the books and so far I am enjoying the series. I have only watched the first episode. 

On Sundays of course I enjoy watching the church services (I watch two different ones):

As you can see I watch from my bed. I'm planning to buy a tv for the living room too in the near future.

On Sunday afternoon my friend Antonia wanted to go for a walk. (I'm always ready for a walk) So she picked me up and we drove to the Via Verde, which is a disused railway that the council have turned into a walkway.  

We walked four kilometres and then turned round and walked back. On our way we passed the old Iron Bridge, built by Eiffel (of Eiffel tower fame):

My friend took the picture and asked me to hold her dog so that he wouldn't fall through the beams.

THE IRON BRIDGE OF CANILES.

On December 16, 1894 the stations of Baza, Caniles and Hijate were open to railway traffic. This 135km stretch belonged to the projected line from Granada to Lorca, and was built by The Great Southern of Spain Railway Company Limited. Along the journey there were bridges such as the well-known Iron Bridge or Caniles Bridge, a unique work of engineering and application of new materials, today abandoned.

Here a photo of the bridge in its heyday:

Yesterday I went to the gym (I still go three times a week) and I also had my last dental treatment. Now everything is in order. Every little cavity filled and I should be ok for a good while. Phew! Nowadays you don't feel a thing, but I still find going to the dentist unpleasant. So I'm glad.

Unimpressive surgery (the green sign reads: Clinica Dental), but a very nice dentist and I'm glad we have one here in the village within walking distance.

That is all from me this Tuesday. (and I do recommend the carousel video and I hope it will play on your device).

I wish you all a very happy T-Day,

Keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca