A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 4 February 2025 - T for grasses, stamps and beer

 Hello lovely girls,

I hope you are all well, and that it's not too cold where you are. We've had some chilly days but never below freezing, which would be considered mild in some places in the world.

Today's blog is rather photo-heavy, so just skip the bits you're not interested in.

Let me start by showing you my postcard for today:

This unusual card comes to me from the Netherlands. It shows different kinds of grasses. Very interesting as I know nothing about them.

This is the information on the back of the card:

I will show you some clearer images of the above plants. If this does not interest you, please just scroll past this.

Well, I suppose everyone knows what a common dandelion looks like:

Then there is False Oat-grass, which I knew but never knew it was called that:

Wikipedia writes: Outside of its native range (All over Europe including Iceland) it can be found elsewhere as an introduced species. It is found especially in prairies, at the side of roads and in uncultivated fields. The bulbous subspecies can be a weed of arable land. It is palatable grass for livestock and is used both as forage (pasture) and fodder (hay and silage).

Next one up is Cock's Foot (Dactylis glomerata)

Wikipedia writes:

Dactylis glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known as cock's-foot, also colloquially as orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its popularity for use with domestic cats).

Then there is Agrostis capillaris (Common Bent)

Agrostis capillaris, the common bent, is a  perennial in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial bent grows in moist grasslands and open meadows, and can also be found in agricultural areas, roadsides, and invading disturbed areas. The name Agrostis comes from the Greek word meaning forage plant, agros meaning "a field".

Below is an image of Stipa Gigantea (Golden oats):

Wikipedia writes:  Celtica gigantea, commonly called  golden-oats, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. 

Despite being renamed and placed within the genus Celtica, it is still widely referred to—both in horticultural literature and amongst gardeners—by its synonym, Stipa gigantea.

The last one is Ribworth Plantain (Plantago Lanceolata):

The species can live anywhere from very dry meadows to places similar to a rain forest, but it does best in open, disturbed areas. It is therefore common near roadsides where other plants cannot flourish; it grows tall if it can do so, but in frequently mowed areas it adopts a flat growth habit instead. Historically, the plant has thrived in areas where ungulates graze and turn up the earth with their hooves. 

Songbirds eat the seeds, and the leaves are eaten by rabbits.

The stamps on the card are really pretty. Top left there is a stamp entitled 'Let's Twist Again'. It's from a series called 'Senior People' issued in 2009 and it's about leisure activities of the elderly:

Let's Twist Again is about a radio program called Gouwe Ouwe (Golden Oldies) with music from the 60s.

The middle stamp is about the expansion of the European Union.

It was issued in 2004 and is about Malta.

The stamp top right comes from a series of Christmas stamps from 2002:

The last stamp is from 2005 

I've not been able to find out much about this stamp other than it's from a series called 'Buildings'.

So, what has been happening in my corner of Spain? Not much excitement really (which is not a bad thing). On Sunday my friend Antonia and I went on a long walk organized by the local town council. 

Quite a lot of people joined. There was a bus load of people plus those who came to the starting point in their own cars. 

The weather was gorgeous; not a cloud in the sky. Above you can see me from the back walking on a flat bit and talking to a friend.

It was wonderful to see the almond blossom!

As today is T-Day, I will show you a drink:

When we got off the coach, Antonia and I decided we deserved a beer after having walked 12 km. I'm having a 'Tostada' beer. 

(This is for Jo: A tostada is sparkling reddish, amber beer with a creamy head and aromas of coffee, cocoa and a pleasant hint of caramel. It is a full, weighty beer, rich in toasted flavours, combining a gentle sweetness balanced with herbal freshness. It is smooth with a subtle bitter aftertaste.) I know Jo knows a  lot about beer and no doubt she has tried this one.

Sorry this has been so long. Well done if you made it to the end.

I'm going to join the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. See you there!

Happy T-Day!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Sunday 2 February 2025 - Second in the 2nd

 Hello lovely girls,

Today I revisit a blog page I wrote on the 14th of February 2015. It's about a scrapbook page about my son in Italy, when he was younger. We didn't have a relationship back then as he was living with my ex. My ex died when my son was 16. My son's girlfriend lived round the corner and her family practically adopted him. 

In 2015 I was hoping to develop our relationship further He will be 50 in 2026 (next year, yikes!). He married the above-mentioned girlfriend and they have a son called Luciano who is now 10 years old. Our relationship is much better now and I get on very well with my daughter-in-law. 

My son visited me in Spain last summer with his family. In April I am booked to go and visit them all in Italy and attend Luciano's first communion.

Here is my 'Second on the 2nd', which I will link with Elizabeth and Bluebeard's blog.

In spite of my mojo still being on holiday, I made myself make a scrapbook page. I know from experience that I just have to start. At some point my mojo will come back when he sees I’m working without him!

Some of you have asked to see my new washi tape in action and there it is under the photo. Well, at least one of the tapes. I bought several (see previous blog). 

Olive green was in the palette of the CSI challenge that I like to do. (Colors, Stories and Inspiration. http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/

I tried to do ‘messy’ but the whole thing didn’t come together. Oh well... still waiting for Mr Mojo.

The photo was taken in 1989 when my son was living with his dad in Italy. He and his childminder spent a summer with me. I have many good memories from that summer.

The journaling reads:

“When I divorced your father I had to let go of you too. That was hard. A mother has to let go at some stage but you were 12 years old and that was difficult. In the summer of 1989 you came to visit me in Rotterdam with your former childminder Lilla. That was the last time I saw you until you were an adult twelve years later.”

My son is now 39 years old and we are gradually building our relationship again. He and his wife now have a baby boy, whom I hope to meet next month when we travel to Italy.

Thanks for visiting,

CU soon

Lisca 

A Postcard A Day - Friday 31 January 2025 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely peeps.

Here we are again to go over the past week and remember the smiles and count our blessings. My week has been very blessed, but let me show you my postcard for today:

No prizes for guessing where it comes from. Yes, you guessed it: Ukraine.

The text on the card translates: 'Greetings from Ukraine' and the title is simply 'Sunflowers'. Usually sunflowers make me smile, but this one just makes me sad...

The card is not signed and he/she writes: "From a country that wants peace. However I am forced to defend myself from an invasion called Russia, which hates and destroys my nation with all its heart."

It's heart breaking.

The stamps are pretty. The left one is the shield of the village of Koropetz. The other one I can't read properly because of the cancellation stamp.

Enough about the postcard, what has been happening here?

Last Friday I had my nails done (big smile) and over the weekend I went on a Photoshop course (See Tuesday's blog).

The weather has been really bad, heavy storms with high wind speeds. I had several sleepless nights because of the whistling and howling of the wind and things banging outside. I have two car ports and I was afraid the roof was blowing off the downstairs one. Later my neighbour (and good friend) Tam told me it nearly blew off and tomorrow he is going to fix it properly.

Then the other day the clouds lifted and I woke up to this:

A little bit of snow in the sierra, but not a lot. So I immediately put the washing machine to work as I hadn't been able to wash for nearly a week. On a nice day, washing dries in a couple of hours. That also made me smile.

This morning my friend Kim and I went to the nearby town for our hair appointment. I usually only just have a cut as I like the colour of my hair.

An awkward selfie, and a half smile but you get the gist...

Tomorrow (Friday) I'm going to Pilates and I'm having a massage straight after that. (Big smile to come). Then I'll treat myself to a lovely poke bowl from the nearby Japanese take-away. I'll try to remember to take a picture of my poke bowl so I can show you next week.

I have spent my evenings cuddled up with my cat Ronnie:

He usually lays stretched out over my legs but yesterday slept on my hands. He didn't wake up even though I got my phone out and took this shot.

I've been watching Silent Witness. I've also started (re)watching The Prisoner, the series from the 60s. I saw it at the time, and as a result of that my family visited Port Meirion which really is exactly as in the film. Only we saw the series in black and white at the time as we didn't have colour tv back thenI also love Flog it! and was deeply saddened by the death of Michael Baggott.

I'm collecting English language books so we can start an English section in the local library. Of an evening I sit in front of the TV and I register all the titles. I do it one bag at a time. I have done over 80 books and am now on bag number 7. Three more to go.

That is it from me today. I will add some funnies at the end as per usual.(And some words of wisdom)

Enjoy your weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca

67. (Haha, 67 was my cat walking over the keyboard)

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 28 January 2025 - T for Vermont and pink nails

 Hello lovely ladies,

It's Tuesday once again. The week has flown by and once again I'm going to join the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. But first let me show you my postcard:

And yes, it comes from the United States, but not from Vermont. It was sent by Pat who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She says Coca-cola was invented there. 

What strikes me about the map are the many English place names: St.Albans, Bristol, Richmond, Manchester, Rutland, Chester, Plymouth. These are all places in the UK I have actually been to. Montpellier is a part of Bristol (UK). 

There is some information about Vermont on the back of the card:

I also find this info interesting as I don't know much about the different states.

The stamp was the lovely orange daisy (I call it a gerbera):

Well, what has been happening here in Spain. Not much. It's January, and not much going on.

There is an awful storm raging t the moment. I have hardly slept a wink last night for all the whistling and howling. Horrible. Temperatures are mild. That is a blessing. I hope tonight the wind will be less, so I can sleep. 

I've been to the beautician together with my friend Kim to have my nails done:

And here is Kim:

I now have pink nails:

I'm longing for spring and bright colours.

The other thing I did was attend a course in Photoshop, organized by the local photo club.

Here I am on the right with a green jumper. I found it quite confusing. Having used Photoshop Elements when I did digital scrapbooking, I thought it would be easy, but it is very complicated. I have learnt something, not much, but something. Next time I'll learn more.

Of course this is the T-Party and I should share a drink with you. This is what I have in front of me: A drink called Aquarius, an isotonic drink.

What you see in the background on the TV is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.  I have been watching it this afternoon. Very moving. Heads of state and royalty from allover Europe and beyond.

That is it from me today.

Happy T-Day to all!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 24 January 2025 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely girls,

How has your week been? Lots of smiles to go round? Have there been clouds? Then there is always a silver lining.

I'm going to show you a postcard which will make you smile:

Yes, they are the 'naughty aunties' by Finnish illustrator Inge Löök. The card doesn't come from Finland though; it was posted in Germany and it has a normal, but pretty, floral stamp on it: 

And just for fun, the sender has added a colourful 'aunties' sticker:

My week has tripped along nicely (as my blog friend Virginia would say). I've done gym and Pilates and have gone for long walks, the longest one was yesterday when my friend Antonia and I walked for 6 km. At some point we saw a sign that said they were working on the 'Camino de Tia Antonia', (Auntie Antonia's way):

Of course she wanted to be photographed by the sign:

And he am I too, just for good measure:

I've this week booked a little holiday (next month). Resorts on the south coast of Spain are usually half empty out of season and because I'm over 65, I can go on a (possibly subsidized) holiday, full board, transport, 10 days for a ridiculously low price. So next month I will be going to Matalascañas in the Huelva province.

It's in the middle of the brown coastline.The climate is very mild so, although it won't be bikini weather, it will most certainly be short sleeve weather ideal for walks and sight-seeing.

That's it from me and I'll leave you with a photo of what gives me most smiles:

I'm going to check out my friends' smiles and head over to Annie at A Stitch In Time

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca