A postcard a day - Friday 13 September 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies,

This is going to be a short post as I have no internet and have to write this on my mobile. 

First off is my postcard:

It comes to me from Germany and it features lots of books.  Something that will always make me smile. Have you noticed that all of the books have titles to do with creative writing?

It was sent to me by the Schneider Family and they all signed it. The children put some fun stickers in the card and one of them is a turtle (And I love turtles):

The stamp is the normal German stamp with the cute baby mountain goats:

And again I got a little sticker.

Kate often posts images of sunsets but I’m never quick enough or miss it altogether. The other night my tv screen was red and it looked like there was a fire!

But it was a beautiful sunset. And I captured the tail end of it. 

That is all from me this week. Don’t forget to visit Annie at A Stitch In Time as she will have more smiles. 

I’ll try to find a few Internet funnies for you to hopefully brighten your day. 

Have a great weekend! 

Keep smiling!

Lisca

Apparently this is in Iceland. I would instinctive stop or slow down if I saw this pedestrian crossing!

This is me!

WOYWW - Wednesday 11 September 2024

 Hello lovely ladies,

Or should I say: 'Hello again'. Years ago I used to participate in WOYWW as I did a lot of crafting (Scrapbooking and card-making). Recently I have got my craft supplies out again and have started to make some Christmas cards. My craft room is now a guest suite so I'm crafting on the dinner table:

As I was watching/listening to the Proms I started to make a card.

Here is a close-up:

I suppose it's considered cheating as I'm working with a printed and pre-cut set  bought in the Netherlands when I was last there. So I'm gently easing myself into crafting again.

On the right you can see a set called Gordjuss, which came with a magazine if I remember well. (Obviously not Christmas cards but quite fun to do nevertheless.).

I'm looking forward to seeing what other people are doing,

Happy WOYWW,

Keep on crafting,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 10 September 2024 - T for pilots

 Hello lovely peeps,

Here we are again on Tuesday morning getting ready for the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. I have a postcard to show you before we get to the subject of drinks:

It comes to me from Poland and features Litomeríce, a small but beautiful historical town in southern Bohemia.

The population of Bohemia used to be German speaking, the so-called Sudeten Germans. 

And Wikipedia writes: After WWI, the Sudeten Germans found themselves living in the new country of Czechoslovakia. The Sudeten crisis of 1938 was provoked by the Pan-Germanist demands of Nazi Germany that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany, which happened after the later Munich Agreement. Part of the borderland was invaded and annexed by Poland. Afterwards, the formerly unrecognized Sudetenland became an administrative division of Germany. When Czechoslovakia was reconstituted after World War II, the Sudeten Germans were expelled and the region today is inhabited almost exclusively by Czech speakers.

I have also found out that the concentration camp Theresienstadt (Terezín) is only a few kilometres from Litomeríce. 

Encyclopedia Brittanica writes: Theresienstadt founded in 1780 and used from 1941 to 1945 by Nazi Germany as a walled ghetto, or concentration camp, and as a transit camp for western Jews en route to Auschwitz and other extermination camps.

In 1943 the Nazis sent to Theresienstadt some 500 Danish Jews who had not escaped to Sweden. While Europeans elsewhere often quickly lost interest in their deported Jewish fellow citizens, the Danes persisted in demanding that the Germans account for these Danish citizens and allow the Red Cross to visit the ghetto.

To dispel rumours about the extermination camps, the Nazis permitted the visit, but they arranged an elaborate hoax. They deported many camp residents to Auschwitz to minimize the appearance of overcrowding and erected fake stores and cafés to give the appearance of a life of comfort and ease. 

The Red Cross visited the Danish Jews—no more than two or three in a room—in freshly painted quarters. A children’s opera, Brundibar, was performed for the guests. The hoax succeeded so well that the Nazis made a propaganda film at Theresienstadt showing how well the Jews were living under the benevolent protection of the Third Reich. When the filming was finished, the Nazis deported most of the cast, including nearly all of the children, to Auschwitz. (all from encyclopedia Brittanica)

My father's brother (my uncle) had married my aunty Nelleke. She was Jewish, and she and her sister were sent to Theresienstadt as children, but survived (obviously), so my three cousins have visited Theresienstadt and I have seen many of their photos. It is a museum now.

The stamp is amazing:

Wing Commander General František Peřina (born 8 April 1911, Morkůvky –died 6 May 2006, Prague) 

Wing Commander General František Peřina was a Czech fighter pilot, an ace during World War II with the French Armée de l'Air, who also served twice with Britain's Royal Air Force. Wikipedia

So much for my card and stamp. Let me tell you what I have been up to.

Not a lot to be honest. I am still without a car, so I can't go anywhere. I've had a lovely relaxing week at home. On Sunday, I was invited by my Danish friends to a paella meal.

We went to a cave restaurant near here called Cuevas Al Jatib:

It is also a hotel I think which has a spa. We sat outside (photo above). 

Our friends had their daughter and partner visiting (the daughter took the picture). That was the occasion. It was evening and the sun was low, but the temperature was ideal.

As a first course we had fried eggplant/aubergines with Miel de caña (melasses):

Very yummy, my favorite.

And this was the seafood paella. It also had some chicken bits in it as is the custom.

My plate and my glass of wine for the T-Party.

There we are. That was my news for this week. 

Please leave me some love so I know you've visited.

Happy T-Day all, 

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 6 September 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps, 

Here I am at the end of another week. I am going to show you a postcard that arrived recently and I would like to tell you about my week and then at the end I'll post some Internet funnies I have collected along the way. But first my postcard:

Of course these are the funny 'Aunties' created by Finnish Inge Löök. I love these characters and I have several in the series. This particular one is number 83 and shows the tree-hugging aunties having a picnic under a cherry blossom tree. Perhaps they are in a Japanese garden as I spot a bridge and a lantern. They have brought lots of rugs, cushions, and yummy things to eat and drink . Aren't they fun!

The card was sent to me by Marion from Germany, who tells me she will be having a holiday in September at Lake Garda. (That is now!) I hope you have a fabulous holiday Marion!

What have I been up to this past week? Nothing much as I still don't have my car back from the repair place.

On Saturday evening, after the Intercambio meeting, we went out for a drink and as per usual, and soon had several people round the table:

(I am standing up, second from the right).

On Sunday I went to church and had to ask someone to come and collect me, as the church meets in the nearby town of Baza, which really isn't within walking distance. That was no problem of course. One of the youngsters had a birthday, and we had a cake after the service:

Yes, he was 18 that day and is going to university this week. I remember him as a toddler. How time flies.

I regularly go out in my little Panda car to water the fruit trees on my plot.

That is all I can show you as the rest of the week I stayed in, pottered about, read a lot, watched tv. I watch Celebrity Race Across The World, and I also enjoyed the first part of a three part documentary about President Zelensky. What a guy! I also like watching Who Do You Think You Are which is tonight (Thursday, at least in the UK it is).

I will leave you now with some funnies I found on the Internet and I will link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time.

Have a great weekend and

Keep Smiling!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 3 September 2024 - T for Tuesday, beer and coffee

 

Hello lovely peeps,

Today I have a very rare postcard for you. It is a card from Albania.

It has ID number 1602, which means that only 1602 cards have been sent (through Postcrossing) from Albania. Compare that with Germany (14 million) or the US or Russia (both more than 10 million).

After more than 10 years of Postcrossing, this is the first card I have received from Albania.

Albania lies in eastern Europe on the Adriatic sea (within the Mediterranean sea) and bordering Greece in the south.

The flag of Albania is red

Wikipedia writes:

The Albanian flag depicts a silhouetted black double-headed eagle in the center of a red background. The red stands for bravery, strength, valour and bloodshed, while the Eagle – traditionally the symbol of Albanians– represents the sovereign state of Albania. The flag was established as the national flag of Albania when the country gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912.

The stamp:

It is a stamp from 2023 and is about 100 years establishment of diplomatic relations between Albania and Turkey (1923-2023).

The Albanian name for the country is Shqipëria. And I have no idea how that is pronounced.

Now over to my life and a drink to take part in the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth.

I took my car in to the repair garage at 8 in the morning one day this past week. At 8 it was too early for the supermarkets to open so I walked into town and sat down in a bar/restaurant for coffee. It is called Los Hermanos (the brothers). The food there is really good and there is often a queue for lunch. But at 8 in the morning there was no queue and I only wanted coffee.

There was a van parked outside:

It was filling up the beer pumps:

I sat outside sipping my coffee and watching it.

The tanks inside are impressive. I have featured them before on this blog as Graham and I used to come here often:

They are suspended above the bar.

This is my drink reference for the T-Party. In case it's not explicit enough, here is another one:

And on that note I will say goodbye,

Happy T-Day,

Lisca