A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 24 June 2025 - T for cathedral, heat and bunny rabbits

 Hello lovely girls, How are you all? 

Here we are again meeting at the T-party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth. I have drinks to share with you but first I'd like to share my postcard. It comes from Germany:

It shows the old town hall in Erkelenz, which is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany (near the Dutch border). It is a medium-sized town (over 44,000 inhabitants)

In Wikipedia I found this info: Despite the town having more than 1,000 years of history and tradition, in 2006 the eastern part of the borough was cleared to make way for the Garzweiler II brown coal pit operated by RWE Power. This is planned to be in operation until 2045. Over five thousand people from ten villages have had to be resettled as a result. (Read more about this here)

I love that rabbit stamp. It's from a series of Haustiere (domestic animals, pets). I couldn't find a photo of the whole series but here is another one:

And there's a beautiful dog too:

I've been quite busy. Friday I went to Granada to visit my new friend Sally, whom I met during my senior holiday earlier this year. She lives right in the old center of town on the 5th floor (with beautiful views over the city). I mentioned that I had never visited the cathedral, so that is where we went.

It's huge. Wikipedia writes:  The Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Incarnation, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Granada, Spain. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Granada. Like many other cathedrals in Andalusia, it was built on top of the city's main mosque after the reconquest of Granada.

Granada's cathedral has a rectangular base due to its five naves that completely cover the cross. All of the five naves are staggered in height, the central one being the largest. At the foot of the cathedral there are two towers. The left one, called the tower of San Miguel, acts as a buttress which replaced the planned tower on that side.

I absolutely loved the organs. I thought there were 4 organs:

There are two, as you can see. When I walked to the other side, it seemed there were two more but it is part of the same organ, only the back side:

From the website Granada Cristiana I found this: It should be noted that the acoustics of the church act as a magnificent sounding board for the instruments and, moreover, it is not possible to use them simultaneously in repertoire works for double organ due to their different elements of harmonisation, tuning, timbre and style.

Nevertheless, for the celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 1894, given that the organs were in the same tuning, the mass was celebrated with the orchestra accompanied by the 2 organs.

Below is my friend Sally 

There are some enormous doors:

Below is a carriage/float (I don't know what these things are called) used in a procession (I think the previous day):

Another large door. I posed in front of it just to show you the size of it!

One last photo before you get fed up:

Now, I mustn't forget to show you my drink.

Sally and I had lunch in a restaurant called La Cueva:

We sat at the back, on the right up the steps:

Our first course was aubergines (egg plant) with molasses:

You can see a glass of beer there on the table (It was 0/0% as I was driving).

One more photo before I finish:

Oh, and did I mention it was hot?

41 Degrees C is near 106 degrees F!

That's it lovely ladies,

I'm off!

Happy T-Day to all,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 20 June 2025 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely ladies, 

How are you all this Friday?

I have a postcard for you that hopefully makes you smile:

It made me smile. Amazing how with a few simple lines the artist creates a funny bird. I like it very much. It comes to me from Germany.

The stamp is nice too:

It's the paper castle from a series of images on the theme of letters and paper.

I've had a busy week. But as usual, I keep forgetting to take pictures. Yesterday I had my hair cut.

I went to Chaning (Yes, that's her name) in the nearby town.

The picture of the pretty lady in the window is see-through from the inside but not from the outside. (Very clever)

I'd been to Pilates but I was too early for my hair appointment. There was no

 point in driving back home for just an hour so I visited the municipal museum.

It's mainly an archeological museum. Although the facade is modern,  it's housed in two historic 16th-century buildings,  the Alderman’s house, the jail, and the Town Hall itself. 

The museum showcases the history and archaeology of Baza and its surrounding area, from prehistory to the modern age. 

Quoting the brochure: The museum features eight permanent exhibition rooms covering over 1,000 square meters, displaying artifacts from various periods like Iberian, Roman, Visigothic, and Medieval. 

In one of the side rooms I found a medieval time piece/clock

 from the local church:

Because it was back-lit, It's not very clear.

This is better. Fascinating.

Then I walked back towards the hairdresser and had a coffee in the cafe next door.

I'm writing this on Thursday evening. Meanwhile with one eye following the tennis at Queens. Two Spanish players  (Alcaraz and Munar). It has gone on for ages. They must be so tired...

That is all from me today. I hope life gives you something to smile about. 

I'm going to join Annie at A Stitch In Time. And of course I will put some funnies at the end.

Have a lovely weekend,

Lisca

A Postcards A Day - Tuesday 17 June 2025 - T for shells, cats and coffee

Hello lovely peeps,

How are you all? I'm fine, although it's hot and because it's unusually cloudy, it feels really muggie. I stay home a lot apart from going to Pilates four times a week.

Let me show you my postcard first of all:

It's all about sea shells. The sender doesn't give her/his name but it was posted in Florida. 

I'm not going to go through all of the shells in the picture. Most are well known. 

The only one that I had never heard of is the Paper Fig. The paper fig shell, scientifically known as Ficus ficus, is a species of sea snail, belonging to the family Ficidae, according to Wikipedia. 

It is also commonly called the Atlantic Figsnail or Common Fig Shell. These shells are known for their thin, pear-shaped appearance and are found from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, with a preference for warmer waters, according to Mitchells Publications. 

I wouldn't have thought that a sponge is a shell, as they are 'spongy'. Apparently there are a few calcareous sponges, but the one in the picture seems to be a soft one.

The stamp is a very colourful one. It's a US Forever stamp issued in 2024 to commemorate the beauty of autumn in the United States.

It pictures a photograph by nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941-2021).

USPS writes:
Special design details: Rokach was known for using what he dubbed the “Rokach effect,” to give his photographs an impressionistic quality. This sometimes adds interesting and unusual colors to the landscape shown.

The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut.

About the Autumn Colors set: Includes 10 different designs featuring photographs by nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941-2021). Each photograph was taken at a different location across the United States, a perfect way to emphasize the nationwide beauty of autumn.

 So what have I been up to then? I've had a visit from Ronnie's previous owner. She is my friend Antonia's sister who doesn't live locally but had come to house-sit while Antonia was visiting her daughter and grandchild.

I'm not sure Ronnie recognised his former mamma, but he was quite happy to be cuddled.

I bought an old car last year to travel to my plot of land, but I've decided to get rid of it. A local guy wants it for spares, as he has the same car. He came round yesterday and wants to buy it:

Of course having sat there all winter, it wouldn't start. Here we are jump-starting it.

On Saturday evening I went for a drink with my friends after Intercambio and I came home to this:

Ronnie the cat had vomited all over the sofa! Poor Ronnie! And also poor me as I spent the next hour trying to clean it with special foam I have for that sort of thing. It's now practically gone, but it was not a nice surprise. I'm feeding Ronnie plain home cooked chicken for a few days and see how he goes.

Here he is sleeping:

He seems to be fine now.

Here is a rare photo of my other cat. 

It's my outdoor cat, who in winter resides in the unfurnished part of my cave house. She's very timid and doesn't like to be touched although we have had her from kitten. Her name is Scallywag, (name dating from the time we thought she was male).

Today being Tuesday, of course it's T for Tuesday, hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth. All I need is a drink. So here is my summer drink:

Iced coffee. I had this brought over from the UK especially as I can't get it here.

My friend Maggie and her hubby are visiting Italy and they sent me this photo from Termoli:

A shop called La Lisca! That's funny! Unfortunately I happen to know that 'la lisca' means 'the fishbone'!

On that note, I'll leave you.

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca