A Podtcard A Day - Tuesday 10 June 2025 - T for Belarus, pastries and a handsome cat

 Hello lovely girls,

I have another postcard to share with you with some really lovely stamps:

This is a special postcard called a Maxi-card. It means that it has a stamp on the front of the card that is the same (or similar) to the postcard picture. They are issued through the philately department of the postal service of a country just like they issue First Covers and suchlike things. 

This card comes from Belarus.

 It shows a cold soup, which is nice on hot days. It is Belarusian cuisine. I can spot beetroot so it might be a type of borscht.

It was sent to me by a married couple called Natasha and Sasha. They told me the temperature (5th of April) was just 1 degree C (33F). 

They have used some really spectacular stamps:

This stamp is from a series dedicated to Brest. Brest is in the west of the country near the border with Poland.

More stamps. The top right stamp features the Resurrection church in Brest, and is from the same series as the previous stamp.

I was surprised to read it is a relatively new church.

The Resurrection Church (Svyato-Voskresenskaya Cathedral) in Brest, Belarus, is a large Orthodox cathedral built in 1995 to commemorate Victory Day in World War II. It's the largest religious building in Brest and one of the largest in Belarus, able to hold 5,000 people on two levels. The domes are decorated with gold leaf, a tradition in Orthodox architecture. 

The bird in the bottom stamp is falco columbarius:

In English this is a merlin. 

From a website called 'All about Birds' I got this information:

Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities.

The left stamp is a Christmas stamp.

What have I been doing with myself? Nothing spectacular. I had my hair cut on Thursday (sorry, forgot to take a picture) and I was too early for my appointment, so I popped into a coffee shop and had coffee with a pastry:

As this is T for Tuesday, I'm going to join Elizabeth and Bluebeard with this drink.

The saying on the wall translates as:

'A good cup of coffee helps those who get up early'.

There were lots of nice cakes and pastries to choose from, and since I hadn't had breakfast (naughty girl!), I was sorely tempted.

My friend and neighbour Søren (he's Danish) took this shot this evening from his terrace. It's a lovely sunset through the clouds. My house is on the right, the white building seen from the side on. From this angle you can see it is over four floors. All the windows are at the front to take advantage of the views.

And just to finish here are some photos of Ronnie:

He's lying behind me on the sofa.

The reflection of the tv gives this pic a strange hue.

He's yawning, and so am I. It's late so I will stop here.

Happy T-Day all!

Lisca