Hello lovely girls! Is the sun shining for you? Or are there clouds on the horizon? Remember, every cloud has a silver lining.
Let me show you a fun postcard that landed in my mailbox the other day:
It was sent to me by Nadia, who lives in a small village in France. She tells me she is off sick at the moment for depression. She has to go back to work and is dreading it. She has to work another 14 years before she can retire and that is making her even more depressed.
Nadia I feel for you. I have been in the same situation, only I was much closer to retirement age fortunately.
The card is fun. It shows small children playing with water. On the back it says:"Why don't we stay as enthusiastic as small children?".
The stamp is one I have never seen:
It reads 'French inventions, le cinéma' and it comes from a series about French inventions. The WOPA, stamps and coins website writes:
On June 16, 2025, La Poste is issuing a collector's booklet of eight postage stamps on the theme of French inventions.
This booklet illustrates the theme of French inventions with eight inventions from among the hundreds listed in France. Whether they were precursors, pioneers, or patented inventors, these French geniuses made it possible for everyone today to have access to technologies or objects whose use has become commonplace:
The calculator: the Pascaline, by the famous polymath Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
The hot air balloon: an invention of the two brothers, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740-1810) and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier (1745-1799).
The folding umbrella: by Jean Marius, inventor of a "broken parasol-umbrella to be carried in one's pocket," protected by a patent signed by Louis XIV.
The Sewing Machine: by Barthélémy Thimonnier (1793-1857).
Cinema: The animated film industry owes much to Etienne Jules Marey (1830-1904), a physician and physiologist. Working on the locomotion of humans and animals, he took rapid-fire snapshots on a single gelatin-bromide-coated glass plate using his camera gun, creating chronophotography.
Radio: The principle of electrical transmission between two distant points was invented by physicist Édouard Branly (1844-1940).
The soundtrack: Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville (1817-1879), a typographer, invented a system that allowed acoustic vibrations to be engraved on lampblack-coated paper—in other words, the graphic trace of a sound. Forgotten in favor of Edison, this pioneer's voice was finally heard in 2008 (singing "Au clair de la lune") thanks to researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the U.S.A. His voice can be heard at http://www.firstsounds.org/sounds/1860-Scott-Au-Clair-de-la-Lune.mp3
The digital code: we owe it to Robert Carrière (1931-2007), an electronics engineer, inspired by a Popeye cartoon.
What has been happening here in Spain?
Well I continue to go to Pilates twice a week and do aquagym in the local swimming pool also twice a week in the evening. I have friends to lunch once a week and I go out with other friends over the weekend. That's my routine, and in summer it is so hot here that I stay in with the blinds down and the windows shut, not to let any hot air into the house.
I remember the hot summer of 1976 (in Europe) as my son was born in August of that year and it was the hottest I remember ever in the Netherlands.
It's nothing compared to this.
I had my nails done a few days ago:
We had a scare a few days ago when a farmer, who was working the land, accidentally hit (and damaged) a gas pipe.
The situacion was soon under control but gas supply had to be cut off in several towns. We don't have gas (only bottled gas) so I didn't notice it until I saw it on the news.
My lemon tree is doing well:
About six or seven mini lemons growing nicely.
And to finish off, a picture of Ronnie:
I had to take him to the vets this week as he wasn't well and the vet concluded he had an allergic reaction to something. So he's on steroids and I have to make sure I use cleaning products without bleach in it.
Time will tell....(he already seems much better).
I have put some funnies at the end.
Enjoy your weekend,
Keep smiling!
Lisca
17 comments:
I have at least 11 more years to retirement, but really my last jobs and colleagues were so much fun it didn´t feel like work!
I so hope they can take me back soon!... Interesting stamp. And the umbreally, I had no idea.
Well, I have to tell "my" electronics engineer (aka Ingo) about the digital code! Bet spinach it´ll be this weekend ;-)
Love your orange-nail! When my grew steady Ingo put "jewlry" on it. Those days are gone. They grow and break.
Sweet Ronnie! Hope he is well soon again.
Yes Hertz. Big in Australia and you know: Keep a distance!
Hihi Rock Bottom! Hups on Kermit ;-)
Have a great Friday!
That is an unusual postcard, Lisca, and the image of the happy children was the direct opposite of what the sender was feeling based on what Nadia wrote. It is interesting to read how much a person shares in such a small writing space and you will never know if she is feeling better in time. The list of inventions and discoveries was quite news to me. Hope that Ronnie is feeling better. Your orange nail is lovely. The funnies gave me a smile this morning.
I remember waiting for and longing for retirement.
Ha ha, I have several "scrub tops" that I wear because they are cooler and more comfortable than many shirts.
I have to laugh about the broken parasol-umbrella. Perhaps that is why umbrellas are so prone to breaking - it is in the original patent!
I like being retired. I loved my job, but retirement is a lot better. That heat chart looks scary how hot it is everywhere. This week we've had some beautiful cooler weather at my house. I even went for a long walk yesterday it was so nice out. Your nails look lovely. I like the orange. They are perfect for the nice weather. I hope it cools off soon, but of course, there's still August to get through. Have a super weekend, and thanks for tell me a little bit about Rotterdam Harbor. The tugs and ships coming in and out are quite interesting and I bet there's a lot more action in Rotterdam than here in New Hampshire. hugs-Erika
I love your manicure! And thanks for all those funny memes!
Your nails look fierce. Happy FFO!
Nice happy children on your card this week. I hopethe sender finds some of her joy again soon. Those final years before retirement can be hard work.
I remember the heat wave of '76. It was my son's 5th birthday and we took a gang of little boys to a nearby park. We took food in a wheely shopping trolly but all they wanted was gallons of squash. At least they weren't all into fizzy pop in those days.
The fires all over Europe are getting really bad. It must be so hard for all the emergency workers trying to control them.
Thanks for visiting my blog as well as my craft one. Kate x
Lovely post
It's really lovely that Nadia sent you a card even in her state of depression. That's a hard one and sometimes difficult to come out of. I hope she gets better soon. The card is beautiful of the kids playing in the water. My siblings and I did the same. The stamp is amazing. I love the colors. I had no idea about all of the inventions. The umbrella is the one that caught my attention. LOL We are having a very cold summer. Your nails look fabulous! Ohhh and your lemons they are really growing. Ronnie looks like, "Really mom, another photo" he is very handsome. I love the funnies too. Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a lovely weekend.
OH I forgot to answer your question about me and archery. Yes, I was an avid bow hunter. Only traditional bows, not compound. Check it out here https://beadwright.blogspot.com/2026/07/friday-face-off-ffo-71726.html Thanks for asking.
The card you received is beautiful, but I'm sorry about Nadia being depressed and dreading going back to work. I can relate to that. Only rather late in life I found the work I truly enjoy (teaching) and I still do it occasionally in my retirement. 14 years sound like an awful lot and almost unsurmountable when you don't like your work and have to deal with depression. I really hope she will feel better soon.
We're hearing about the fires in Spain and France, it is awful. I always dread wildfire season. It doesn't get any better with climate change, but it seems we humans are not able to change our ways. So far we have been very lucky with a rather moderate summer that only had a few hot days. I hope it stays like that.
...weather sunny or cloudy make it a special day, they are numbered you know!
Hi Lisca, sorry I'm late been getting ready for my class at the Craft club tomorrow. Love the nails mine are not as good as yours and I have all on just getting them to grow to any length at all. Love the stamps too. It's scary all these fires that are going on at the moment as if things aren't bad enough for lotss of people. Hope Rponnie is okay now and thanks for the funnies too. Have a good weekend. Hugs Angela xXx
I am so sorry. I thought I left a comment last night, but I don't see it.
What a fun postcard. Too bad Nadia is depressed. I hope she finds some joy in her job once she returns to work. I always say "find a job you like and you'll never work a day in your life."
I loved reading about the umbrella and the sewing machine. Is that also a bicycle? Lots of inventions on those stamps.
2025 may have been bad, but 2026 has proven to be even hotter.
I'm impressed with your lemon tree and that you live in a climate where the tree will overwinter outside.
I've been watching the fires in Spain and France on TV. Really scary. I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg. Speaking of heat, today it was 106 F (41.1 C) with a heat index of 113 F (45 C).
Loved the funnies. Enjoyed the NHS worker and her unicorn socks.
Happy belated Friday Smiles and FFO.
I remember '76 - trying to write exam papers with sweat running down the cartridge pen! Latest 2000-2025 Met office reports (UK) tell us we've had hotter summers & wetter winters than records began... But 1976 hasn't yet been beaten for drought! Hoping Roneo recovers well. Keren xx
Catching up on posts and had a feeling I'd missed a Friday post from you. My Mum always mentioned how hot the summer of 1976 was, so the comparison was interesting, but the UK looked about the same on both maps. Your nails look fab. The gas pipe incident looked scary, I'm glad they got it sorted. Lemons on your lemon tree how fantastic and I'm glad Ronnie has got something to perk him up if he's been under the weather.
Hugs
I love the hertz joke. Haven't laughed that hard for awhile. I continued laughing for so long that my husband unplugged the vacuum while I was doing some carpet cleaning to ask me what I was giggling about. Thanks for sharing.
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