A Postcard A Day - Friday 29 November 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls, here we are at the end of the week to count our blessings and share our smiles.

I've had lots of smiles this week, but I will start with a postcard, which arrived a few months ago but I have saved it for a more appropriate time:

I think it's time for mulled wine, don't you? I am already drinking the ready-made Glühwein from Lidl, but tomorrow (I'm writing this on Thursday) I will go to a town called Albox, which some people call 'Britville' as there are a lot of Brits living there. They sell a lot of British products, so I'm sure I'll pick up some mulled wine sachets, so I can make my own.

The stamps are amazing:

The one on the right features the so-called 'Raven penny'. 

Wikipedia writes:

Anlaf Guthfrithson was a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty and King of Dublin from 934 to 941. He succeeded his father, Gofraid ua Ímair, who was also briefly king of York in 927 following the death of his kinsman Sitric Cáech, but was expelled in the same year by king Æthelstan of England.

During the short reign of Anlaf Guthfrithsson the Raven Penny was minted by Aethelferd between 939-941. The inscription on the Raven Penny mentions among other things “King Anlaf”.

The left stamp features Luke Howard, the 'Namer of Clouds'.

Wikipedia writes:

Luke Howard FRS (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed in an 1802 presentation to the Askesian Society. Because of this, Howard is referred to as "The Godfather of Clouds", the "namer of the clouds", and the "father of meteorology".

In 2018, Tottenham Hotspur FC club, located near his house in Bruce Grove, named viewing areas in honour of his cloud names at the top of its east and west stands of its new stadium. These, with panoramic views of the pitch and across London, were named 'Stratus East' and 'Stratus West' in recognition of Howard's classifications of cloud formations.

English Heritage Blue plaque – 7 Bruce Grove, Tottenham, London

The card was sent to me by Sylwia from Horsham in West Sussex. She has added several stickers to the back of the card, of which this is one:

What else can I tell you... I smile every day as I am so happy where I live. On my walk to the gym I come past orange trees, and they have fruit in them at the moment:

The council is trimming and pruning the trees in the Paseo, the little park behind my house:

It's a bit of a mess at the mo.

My cactus is flowering! Another smile:

My little kitten Frankie is not well at all. In fact she has deteriorated so much that I doubt she will survive. Here is a photo taken on Tuesday when she could still walk and jump:

I was preparing fish pie and she could smell the fish in the dish but I had covered it with my steamer pan so she couldn't get to it.

She is presenting with neurological symptoms and I have an early appointment with the vet tomorrow morning. Sadly it's not looking good.

That is all from me today. 

And as per usual there will be some funnies below.

Enjoy your weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 26 November 2024 - T for Shakespeare and sore legs

Good morning lovely peeps, How are you all. I'm a bit tired at the moment (Monday) as I exerted myself a bit yesterday. More about that later. Let's look at my postcard:

It didn't look that interesting at first glance, but I liked it the more I learnt about it. It's a sculpture called Midsummer Play, and is created by artists Charles Vess and David Spence. It stands on Main Street in Abingdon  (Virginia) at the corner of Porterfield Square.

The info on the back of the card reads: "Midsummer Play, based on Titania the fairy queen from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, was created by artists Charles Vess and David Spence and dedicated in 2009 at the entrance to Porterfield Square across from the historic Barter Theatre."

The sculpture was inspired by this beautiful illustration by Charles Vess:

The card's sender was Jim. He writes that he lives in the  mountainous North Carolina and that they had recently visited the theatre and had seen a play.

I found a photo of the sculpture online:

And another one:

And here is a close-up:

Below is  David Spence at work:

And Charles Vess:

I was rather puzzled as Jim lives in North Carolina, the theatre is in Virginia and the card was postmarked Greenville, which is in South Carolina. But a glance at the map tells me that it's all not that far from one another.

The stamps are gorgeous. 

My favorite is the turtle (I love turtles and tortoises). The turtle on the stamp is the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), which is critically endangered

From the WWO website:

Hawksbills are named for their narrow, pointed beak. They also have a distinctive pattern of overlapping scales on their shells that form a serrated-look on the edges. These colored and patterned shells make them highly-valuable and commonly sold as "tortoiseshell" in markets.

Hawksbills are found mainly throughout the world's tropical oceans, predominantly in coral reefs. They feed mainly on sponges by using their narrow pointed beaks to extract them from crevices on the reef, but also eat sea anemones and jellyfish. Sea turtles are the living representatives of a group of reptiles that has existed on Earth and travelled our seas for the last 100 million years. They are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems and help maintain the health of coral reefs and sea grass beds.

The stamp above that there is a stamp saying 'Thank You' to the Healthcare Community.

And then there is a series of gorgeous flowers. 

One-cent Fringed Tulip: Featuring one purple fringed tulip.
Two-cent Daffodils: Featuring two yellow daffodil blossoms.
Three-cent Peonies: Featuring three red peonies.
Five-cent Red Tulips: Featuring five red tulip blossoms.
10-cent Poppies and Coneflowers: Featuring an array of 10 blossoms — six white poppies and four purple coneflowers — and a touch of greenery.

You might have noticed that each stamp features the same number of flowers as its cent value.

Now, let me tell you about my walk yesterday:

Just around our village and it was supposed to be 13 km but it turned out just over 15km. 

I was exhausted at the end.

The whole group posing in the village of Valcabra:

Organized walks are always accompanied by a civil protection team (the guys in uniform seen above).

The morning temperature was 9 degrees C and later it was 20, so the layers gradually came off.

But today is Bluebeard and Elizabeth's T-Party so let me find you a drink:

This was last week when we stopped for a beer (my friend and I) after an afternoon walk.

My kitten Frankie is still not well. Still has the flu/cold. So I have made another appointment with the vet but couldn't get an appointment until tomorrow early evening. 

Like most cats, she loves boxes.

That is all from me today.

Happy T-Day to all,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 22 November 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls. Today is Friday again and time to count our blessings and remember the smiles of the past week. I always start with a postcard, as a postcard in my mailbox is always worth a smile:

The text translates as: "Peace of mind, cheerfulness and contentment are the foundations of all happiness, health and long life." (Quote by C.W.Hufeland)

It was sent by somebody in Germany called Kristin. 

The stamp is 'wacky':

Wacken Open Air is a heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1989 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are represented and hosted. Wikipedia

Last Friday I was on my way to the Costa del Sol for a fun weekend of worship and teaching at the yearly women's conference of Next Church in Fuengirola.

They had sold many more tickets than last year and their usual venue in Fuengirola wasn't going to be big enough, so they changed the venue to La Cala de Mijas. We hadn't yet booked our accomodation so it wasn't a problem for us.

I went with my friend Antonia and another lady from Granada who we picked up on the way.

Our ground floor apartment is seen here on the right. It was beautiful and clean and had absolutely everything. And the beach was at the end of the street (where you see the palm tree).

I managed to meet up with my sister, who lives in the next village. She had visitors so we couldn't stay at her's, but she managed to 'escape' and we went for lunch. The parking was difficult in this resort but we found one space....right next to my car. (The grey car is mine and the yellow one is my sister's).

Of course we went for a walk along the boardwalk, which was paved in places. The weather was excellent. Not too cold or too hot.

I had to have a picture taken with this bronze donkey as I have a friend who keeps donkeys.

That is all from me today folks. I'll go and link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time for some more smiles.

Of course there will be a few funnies at the end. But for now I'll say: Have a lovely weekend and until next time.

Hugs,

Lisca

Nobody knows what this sign means....