A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 29 October 2024 - T for Sleeping Beauty, tapas and Kitten

 Hello lovely ladies,

I have a lovely postcard for you today. And as it's Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party today, I will also share some photos of Saturday evening when I went out for a drink with some friends.

But first,  my card, which comes from Germany:

It's a painting by John Collier (1850-1934) called Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty)

On a website 'The Hopkins Collection' I found the following info: John Maler Collier (1850-1934) was a leading English artist, and an author. He painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style, and was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation. He regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy and also at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, of which he became vice-president.

This remarkable picture is eloquent testimony to the survival of Pre-Raphaelite values well into the twentieth century. Dating from as late as 1921, it treats the famous fairy story of 'Sleeping Beauty' that had been told many times in European literature. Collier's interpretation is not so much an illustration of a text as an evocation of mood, an attempt to mirror a certain frame of mind on the part of the viewer. His almost exact contemporary John William Waterhouse, another artist much influenced at the outset by Alma-Tadema, pursued this course for many years, as, in a different mode, did the younger John Byam Shaw and others of his generation. But The Sleeping Beauty is in a class of its own, representing a particularly happy resolution of sentiment and form.

The stamps are awesome. I love the Freddy Mercury stamp

What has been happening here in Spain? The weather has suddenly turned, temperatures plummeted and the rains came. On Thursday (I had my washing out to dry) it started to rain heavily and I didn't get my washing in on time. That weather continued on Friday. I went to archery in the pouring rain.

I would have liked to go out on Friday evening as there was the tapa festival going on in the village. But the weather was so foul that I couldn't get anyone to come out with me. 

Then on Saturday (still raining) we did Intercambio, (the Spanish-English chat group) and after that a few of us went out for a drink.

My drink was a Tinto de Verano, a mixture of red wine and lemonade, a popular drink. The tapa was utterly delicious and consisted of meat and pistacio (a local crop) with a pistacio sauce. 

The little green wafer was also made with pistacios (don't ask me how) and it was edible.

Another bar, another tapa. Again my drink is Tinto de Verano.

Here they had placed four tapas on one plate instead of individual plates. I didn't like this one so much. But the sweet potato chips were delicious.

I don't suppose I can't let you go without some kitty photos:

Frankie likes to sit on my legs or on my lap when I sit down in the evening to watch tv.

And often she falls asleep.

Of course we play a lot. Anything that dangles is very exciting for Frankie.

We have lots of fun.

I'm just remembering it's nearly Halloween (It's not celebrated much here. I think the children dress up in school or something) but I found this:

That's it from me today. 

Happy T-Day all!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 25 October 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps,

I have another fun postcard for you that will make you smile:

Although it is not acknowledged on the card, I'm sure this is by the artist Banksy. Banksy started making art in Bristol in the 1990s, around the same time as I came to live there. So Banksy art was something that for me epitomises Bristol. In the early days a lot of his art was removed by the council who considered it grafitti. But now they realise Banksy is really famous and it brings in the visitors.

The card was sent to me by Ashley who lives in Indianapolis. She is a writer and working on book number 4.

The stamp is the orange gerbera:

It is my favorite flower.

I hope you have all had a lot to smile about. I certainly have had lots of fun and cuddles with my kitten Frankie:

I'm continuing to enjoy my archery. Last Friday they brought a target in the shape of an vulture:

Over the weekend I've been on a long (organized) walk:

The weather was perfect. Sunny but not overly hot. (I'm wearing a jumper because it was early in the morning and still quite cool.)

This week we have had some spectacular sunsets. Here is one:

I made a banana cake which turned out perfect (big smile), but a couple of weeks ago I made something that wasn't such a success. I didn't laugh but it might make you smile though:

It was supposed to be a custard tart but the liquid all seeped out the bottom of the tin. I had lined it with grease proof paper, thinking that would prevent it from leaking. But that didn't work as you can see.

That is all from me this Friday. Let's go and join Annie at A Stitch In Time for some more smiles.

Have a great weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 22 October - T for doors, cats and coffee

 Hello lovely peeps,

Are you all ready to join the T-Party? Yes, It's that time again.

Before I show you my drink, I would like to share my postcard with you. In this case I have two postcards for you.

This is the first one:

It shows a door of a house in Sylt, an island in the North Sea close to the Danish border:

I have featured Sylt before as I get cards from Sylt often. It is a popular holiday destination.

Here is the second one:

This is another door on the island of Sylt. As you can see by the writing above the door, it is a bar. Translated it would be Black Bar.

And the stamps are lovely too:

Here is a stamp promoting Sylt as a holiday destination.

This one looks like a Christmas stamp (But it was last year's).

What's going on with me? 

I am enjoying my kitten Frankie.

I have ordered some cat toys online and then we can have proper play sessions. 

In the meantime a cork and anything dangling on a string is great fun, as are my pens. I can't find any pen or pencil as they are probably all under the sofa (which is too heavy for me to move)

My lovely friend Janet brought me this 'bed' and Frankie loves it. It looks very comfortable. Must find out if they do adult versions of this...

Sunday I went walking near Jayena. The route was 13 km but I'm still coughing and not feeling up to a strenuous walk/climb. So my friend Antonia and I opted for the shorter one, supposedly 7 km but we did 9 in the end. The village seen in the photo is Jayena.

There were many flowers and flowering bushes. This little beauty looks a bit like a crocus with straight petals. I don't know what it's called (Erika?)

There were really many of these flowers all over the forest floor. (Where there was a little clearing).

As you can see autumn really hasn't set in yet although the night time temperatures are lower now. We can usually wear short sleeves in a sunny day until after NewYear.

None of my photos feature a drink. And because I'd like to join Elizabeth and Bluebeard at Altered Book Lover, I'll show you some coffee funnies:

Happy T-Day all, 

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 18 October 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls, 

How are you all? Have you had much to smile about this week? Of course you have! I have too.

My smiles are mostly cat-shaped...

But first let me show you a postcard that I received recently

No prizes for guessing it comes from Finland. It is a fun travel poster from the series 'Come To Finland'. It was sent to me by Marita who was looking forward to the christening of her 5th grandchild.

The stamp is gorgeous (as are most Finnish stamps):

"Fireworks bursting in the sky were chosen as the subject of the international no-value indicator stamp,” says illustrator Nina Kuuwho designed the stamps.

Those are not my only smiles for this week. As you can imagine my little kitty called Frankie is giving me plenty of smiles:

Here is my friend Kim with Frankie:

My friend Janet visited yesterday and brought a lovely little 'bed' and Frankie immediately loved it and has used it ever since:

That's enough of kitty. The other thing that made me smile this week was seeing this poster:

It means that next weekend we have a tapas and cocktail festival in our  village. The idea is that you visit all of the participating bars over the weekend and  rate their  tapas and cocktails on a form that you're given. The bar with the most votes wins. It does mean that they will all try to outdo each other so it should be a good weekend to go out. I will let you know (with photos) how I get on.

That is all from me today. I will go and link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time and I will see you all there!

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca

Here are some funnies for you to smile about: