A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 22 July 2025 - T for baptistry, coffee makers and a hippopotamus

 Hello lovely girls,

How are you all? Enjoying the summer? Some of you , I know, are not having summer weather, snd some are having too much heat and sun. I'm in the last category.

I received a postcard from another sunny country, Italy:

It shows the Baptistry of the John the Baptist church in Parma (In Italian: San Giovanni Battista). 

The postcard has an octagonal shape as the building also has an octagonal shape. Wikipedia writes about the Baptistry: The Baptistery of Parma features a cycle of sculptures representing twelve months of the year. The sculptures are attributed to Benedetto Antelami, a renowned sculptor active in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, and his workshop.

 
These sculptures, along with two seasons (Winter and Spring), are located in the first loggia on the east side of the interior. 

They depict the typical agricultural tasks associated with each month, showcasing a blend of religious and secular themes. 

These are (from left to right): February, January and December.

Above from left to right: August, July and June.

From left to right: May, April and March.

And lastly from left to right: November, October and September

There is some info on the back of the card:

The stamp is the normal Italian Europe stamp:

What have I been up to? I have my son and his wife and son staying with me. It is unbearibly hot and it's difficult to know what to do.

We had a lovey time at my sister's. I had asked my son to bring his own coffee maker as they love their Italian espresso. But what a disappointment to discover that my sister has an induction hob and their little coffee maker doesn't work on that. So I quickly went on Amazon and ordered a plate to use:

It worked a treat.

One evening we went for a beach walk and ended up in a chiringuito (beach bar):

It was called the Hippopotamos Bar. There we are, all sat in a row.

I'm on the right with the black dress.

This will be my drink reference for Elisabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party. I think it is my sister's rum & coke.

At the moment we are in Malaga, a large city on the south coast of pain. we have booked a hotel near the airport as my son and family are flying back on Wednesday morning early. their flight is at 7 and they have to check in at 5!

So I'll love you and leave you, as the saying goes. I'm going to link with Elizabeth and Bluebeard to join the T-Party.

Happy T-Day,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 18 July 2025 - Friday Smiles

 Hi everybody! 

I have been smiling all week as I have been in the company of my son from Italy and his wife and son. I don't see them very often and now I am seeing them twice in one year. (I have been to Italy for the communion of my grandson, so I was with them then).

But first the customary postcard:

I don't know what it represents. I suppose it's just a pretty composition. It comes from China and was sent by Hugo who works in Xiamen, a seaside island city in SE Fuijan.

Wikipedia writes: Xiamen, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait.

It looks very nice, I must say.

The stamps are interesting:

I don't know what Beethoven is doing on a Chinese stamp.  Let's look that up....

This is a stamp from a series Foreign Musicians issued on the 25b July 2010. There is Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart:

They issued these to coincide with  the World of Music Education Conference. 

And I have also found something about the 'peacock'. It's part of a Rare Bird series:

They issued these stamps in 1997 together with Sweden:

There was an image rubber-stamped on the card:

"Ignorantia juris neminem excusat" is a Latin legal maxim that translates to "ignorance of the law excuses no one". This principle means that a person cannot avoid legal consequences for violating a law by claiming they were unaware of its existence. In essence, everyone is presumed to know the laws of the land in which they reside. 

In don't know why that stamp is there. Is Hugo a lawyer?

What have I been up to? I have joined my son and family in Marbella. My sister lives in Marbella and has a nice house with a pool. As it is very hot here, the pool is wonderful. It was so hot, even I went in the water (I don't usually get wet)

There was a skateboard park in Marbella (near the bus station) and my grandson is quite good at that sort of thing so we took him there. It's huge. (6600 square meters)

Here he is just about to jump down a very steep slope (on his skateboard). His mother was 'having kittens' as they say. She doesn't usually watch him do this kind of thing.

One day we went to Puerto Banus to watch how the other half lives., (It's a place near Marbella where there is a harbour with huge yachts and posh cars). My grandson (and his daddy) wanted to see the Lamborghinis and Porsches etc. I'll spare you the photos of cars and yachts.

There was one 4x4 car that had a fun sticker on it:

We got to Puerto Banus by boat:

We were sailing agains the wind and every time there was a wave, we got wet and we squealed. That was fun. (On the down side: I got sunburnt).

One day my son and family went off on their own to visit Gibraltar (I wasn't interested in going there):

As they were only two and a half people going, my sister was kind enough to lend them her two-seater car, which they loved!

On the last day we visited a Van Gogh immersive exhibition in Estepona, a bit further west along the coast.

We were allowed to take pictures:

It was amazing! I had seen a similar thing last year in Madrid. The staff offered to take a picture of us in the lobby before going in:

My sister on the right, me with the black dress.

Here is another image:

Have you had any smiles this week? Please join us with yours at Annie at A Stitch In Time.

That is all from me today. There will be some funnies at the end.

In the meantime I wish you all a lovely weekend,

Lisca

Be careful how you place your ceiling lamps:

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 15 July 2025 - T for archangel, mango and palm trees

Hello lovely ladies! How are you this Tuesday?

Let me show you this postcard that my friend Maggie sent me from Italy:

She is travelling with her husband through southern Italy.

Wiipedia writes: The Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel (Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo) is a Roman Catholic shrine on Mount Gargano, Italy, part of the commune of Monte Sant'Angelo, in the province of Foggia, northern Apulia. It has the dignity of a minor basilica.

It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael and has been an important site of pilgrimage since the early Middle Ages. The historic site and its environs are protected by the Parco Nazionale del Gargano.

In 2011, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy: Places of Power (568-774 A.D.).

The stamp is the usual Italian European stamp which I have already featured a few times.

I am staying at my sister's at the moment. My son and his family have come over from Italy and as my sister lives near the airport, she picked them up last week and I traveled down on Friday to join them. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll all drive back to my house.

As today is T for Tuesday, I need to share a drink, so lets get those drinks out:

These are all the close family I have: my son and my sister. I love them very much.

Lets not forget my grandson!

It's hot here in Andalusia:

(I live just outside Baza), and I've heard this morning (Monday morning), that there has been an earthquake in Granada. Not a big one because the epicentre was in north Africa, but could be felt in southern Spain.

Today is T for Tuesday and I need to show you a drink. Well above are two drinks my sister and my son are holding.

How about this one, breakfast yesterday morning:

From left to right: my sister, my grandson, my daughter in law and my son.

I found two mango trees in the garden. Each has just one mango on it.

This one is for Elizabeth. She likes palm trees.

Want more? You've seen this one before as it is in the garden:

But I like the lighting at night.

That is all for now. My friend tells me that my cat Ronnie is missing me a lot and has been hiding in a box without eating or drinking. Now he is dehydrated and she will take him to the vet today. And we will go home tomorrow, so he should be alright then.

That is all for today ladies,

Happy T-Day to all,

Lisca