A Postcard A Day - Friday 15 April 2016 - A Giggle a Day Keeps the Blues Away

Good Morning lovely friends,

You are visiting my page! Thank you, it means a lot to me.

Today is Friday (as if you didn't know) and today we think of all the smiles we have had this week.

My big smiles have come from the building work. We have nearly finished building a flat at the top of our house. We moved in after Easter. This is the view from the living room/kitchen:

Last weekend the railings were erected on the terrace. You can see them in the above photo. Next thing will be a sun shade. In the summer it is too hot to sit outside without shade. So next month my DH will erect a frame and put some 'green stuff' over it to keep the sun at bay.

On the right hand side I had a 'bar' made on top of the railing so we can put our drink there or even a plate when BBQ-ing.

There is a ventilation shaft that goes through all four floors of the building and ends here on the roof. We have bought a little 'house' to make it look a bit nicer as it is right next to the terrace:

The bit of building you are looking at here is the garage and the terrace by the garage. That is partly covered. 

Now for my card. This one arrived this week from Switzerland:

It was sent to me by René. It's an image from a time when flying was expensive and for many people just a dream.
The stamp is quite nice too:

75 Years Swiss Merchant Fleet. (I didn't know Switzerland had a merchant fleet, being a land-locked country).

Now let's see if I can find something funny for you to chuckle about:

I got this photo from my friend Anne. She goes to Glastonbury every year. She found this sign in a cafe on the High Street. (and has given me permission to show it you). 

How's my diet going? Not very well. I'm stuck on 61 kg, have been for two weeks. But hey, my flip flops stil fit!

I'm linking up with Annie at Friday Smiles. Do join us if you can and tell us what made you smile.
Later today I will also link up (if I don't forget... apparently I forgot last week) with Virginia  at Rocking Your World Friday.

Have a fab Friday all of you and don't for get to smile!
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 1 April 2016

Good Morning folks. It's the first of April, but I'm not going to play a joke on you. 

Instead let's share some smiles!

Lots of nice things happened this week. On Monday we took our campervan to a repair place on the coast where we were staying. Easter Monday is a normal working day here in Spain, so it was open. Our water pump was not doing its job and we had another one fitted. (No photos as water pumps and repair shops are boring).

We were back home on Tuesday and went to eat lunch at our usual restaurant.

The photo is an older one taken before I had my hair cut. But it's just to show you the inside of the restaurant. We chose to eat in the bar rather than the dining area.

Wednesday DH connected the water in my new kitchen and we prepared to move on Thursday. I unplugged the fridge, and on Thursday morning I moved the contents in two coolboxes and one of our younger neighbours came to help move yesterday. The fridge and sofa have been moved and yesterday I cooked my first meal in the new kitchen: roast chicken and roast potatoes with veg.

The new kitchen is operational. I am still in the process of allocating cupboard space to different things. DH hung up those Ikea bars and hooks. So handy. Here is another photo. I apologise for the bad quality.

Anyway, I am a very happy bunny!
Now for the postcard:

Pussycats! It's a watercolor by artist Alena Dergileva, a Moscow artist, who generally paints the streets of Moscow. The painting is called: "Old Zaraysk. Meeting". Zaraysk is a town 150 km from Moscow. It has some old buildings. 

This could well be the house on the painting....

The stamps are really beautiful:

I always try to find out more about the pretty stamps. The bottom one is from the series arts and crafts, but I don't know what it represents. The top one is from the series Culture of Russian People - National Head dress - Middle of XIX Century, Yaroslavl Province.

I will finish with a funny:

 Read it out loud and... laugh out loud! Got it!

Have a great week everyone, wishing you lots of smiles. I'm linking up with Annie at A Stitch in Time who leads our Friday Smiles. And then later I will link up with Virginia who does Rocking Your World Friday.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 25 March - Friday Smiles

Good Morning!

I am already smiling as we are on holiday in our campervan, staying on a camp site especially for campervans. The weather is great (sunny and warm) and I couldn't be happier.

We left on the day of my birthday, and the card so far received are these:

The one on the right is from Michelle,a blogger who was making lots of cards and asked if anyone would like a card. I immediately answered:"yes, please as I don't get many". So this arrived some days before my birthday in the post. Isn't that nice! Another smile!

Here is a card I received this week that made me smile:

It is my first ever card from Kazakstan. (Yes, I had to look it up on the map too. It is west of Mongolia, south of Siberia, and north of Afghanistan and Iran.
Does this card look like Kazakstan? No, in fact I recognize the buildings. They are canal houses in Amsterdam! That really made me smile!
Here are the stamps:

What a hoot! The person that sent it to me, Ann, knows I like images of windows and doors and that is why she chose this card.

The other thing that happened on my birthday, just before we left, is that they came to place the granite worktops in the kitchen.

I am super pleased and am smiling from ear to ear. I haven't had the opportunity to cook in my new kitchen, but as soon as we come back from holiday (monday), I shall be there, moving things up the stairs (52 steps!). 
Photos next week. 

This is a funny I found:

Have a lovely weekend all of you and see you again next week.
Blessings
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 18 March 2016 Friday Smiles

Good morning folks. It´s Friday today and as always the week has flown by. I have gathered many of the positive moments of this week and I mean to link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time and with Virginia at Rocking My World Friday .

This post is photo heavy as I have much to show you.
First my postcard of today:

It is a card by my favorite illustrator Inge Löök. The two mad old ladies always make me smile. Here they are youwling with the cats on the roof at full moon. They also seem to be sweeping gold coins from the roof. I'm not sure what that is about. There is a symbol of the Red Cross charity in the corner, so perhaps it has something to do with that. 

The caption reads Happy Easter in Finnish. It was sent to me by Anne who writes that it was -4.2 degrees Centigrade (on the first of March). She writes: "We have 2 cats and a dog. I´m always happy and positive thinking. I love my life! I wish all good for you. Terveisin, Anne". (Terveisin translates as 'regards')

The flat is coming on and DH has been putting up lamps.

These lamps I brought back from Holland a few years ago. They match the large center lamp in the living room. But that one is not hanging up yet as the chain is not long enough. I'll show it when it´s up.

These three lights are for the terrace.

And this bulkhead light too.

Here I am posing by the new lights (hardly visible against the busy back ground).
The thingamajigs in between the tiles are spacers. DH has just finished tiling the terrace. They will be removed tomorrow.

Another thing that made me smile this week is a pick-up truck load of firewood. There´s nothing more satisfying than knowing you have enough firewood to keep you warm in winter. 

Our stocks were low so we decided to get one more load. This is olive wood. We do not have central heating and every room has its stove. My craft room/living room has a wood burner and we still fire that up every day as I am a cold mortal.

 I have also treated myself to Photoshop PSCS6. It will be my 65th birthday on Wednesday and this is an early birthday present.  I´m having a go at digital scrapbooking. I´m doing a free online course with The Scrapaneers. It´s quite complicated as the course is with Photoshop Elements which is not exactly the same as PS. On top of that, my Photoshop program is in Spanish, so it´s taking me ages to figure out what to do. (Yes, I am taking notes).

Finally here are a few funny bar signs:

 Always read the small print!

And if you remember your chemistry...

That's it from me today. Sorry it has become quite along photo heavy post, so if you made it to down here I really appreciate that.

Have a good week,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 11 March 2016 Friday Smiles

Hi folks, sorry I am late to join this morning. So many things to do and not enough time. Sounds familiar?

My postcard for today comes from Germany. I only received it yesterday from Jasmin.

A beautiful Art Nouveau door from Darmstadt. I have since found out it is the door of the Hans Dieters house which was built by Olbrich in 1900. 
Here is a photo from the internet of that house:

Beautiful.

So what smiley news have I got other than the sun is shining here.... well, I have got a new computer!! Whoop whoop! It is a desktop this time with a huge screen (something I have always wanted). Here it is:

I am super pleased! I have spent all yesterday transferring stuff from one computer to the other and generally tidying up the files as I went along so my laptop has a bit more memory. The fan is broken or something and it heats up and then dies (my laptop) but the guy that sold me the new one is going to see if it can be repaired and then I will have a spare. One can never have enough computers hehe.

My other activities this week pale in comparison, but I continue to go the the gym, stick to my diet and lose weight. I treated myself to sushi the other day (OK from the supermarket, but it was nice). (the photo won´t upload... oh well, you all know what sushi looks like)

My DH continues to work in the new flat. He is painting doors, putting doorhandles and locks in (boy what are those things expensive!). Still waiting for the granite which will arrive next week.

I´ll leave it at that as it is getting late. The rest of the day I shall be busy trying to get my iTunes music transferred. Not an easy operation. I have tried it once yesterday, spent hours and then it didn´t happen. Hopefully today is another day and it will go smoothly.

Have a great week all of you. I´m linking up with Annie at A Stitch In Time and with Virginia at Rocking Your World Friday. See you there!

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 4 March - Friday Smiles

Good Morning Friday Smilers!

It reads: Happy Friday to you.

My postcard for today comes from Russia. To be precise from Nadya, who lives in Ekaterinburg.

It is an image of the German  figure Mecki and written underneath is: "He that seeks will find".

The stamps are interesting too:

The one on the right looks like it is featuring a blood donor session. The other ones are from the series of 'kremlins' or fortified castles. The bottom one is the Moscow Kremlin and the top one is Rostov.

My week has been very exciting as the flat is really taking shape. The kitchen is nearly finished. I was hoping the carpenter would finish today, but he has been making the drawers and putting up shelves and hiding the tube from the extractor fan. 

Most of the doors are in. Later on today he will come and finish and then I have to wait until the 15th when the granite worktop will be delivered. As you can see the little stepladder takes prime place there on the right. As I am 5 ft nothing I will need it for every wall cabinet! lol.

We had the kitchen made of the same wood as the ceiling so it matches. Now it's just waiting for the granite...

But still, I am smiling from ear to ear. Have you got anything to smile about? Then please share it at Annie's blog.

I found some funnies again for you:

I smiled when I read this.

And then this modern day parable (You might have come across this one already, but I want to share it with you in case you haven't):

Parable for today

An aeroplane was about to crash; there were five passengers on board but only four parachutes.

The first passenger Holly Madison said, "I have my own reality show and I am the smartest and prettiest woman at Playboy, so Americans don't want me to die." She took the first parachute and jumped out of the plane.

The second passenger John McCain said, "I'm a senator and a decorated war hero from an elite navy unit in the United States of America." He grabbed the second pack and jumped.

The third passenger, Donald Trump, said, "I am going to be the next president of the United States, I am the smartest man in our country and I will make America great again." So he grabbed the pack next to him and jumped out.

The fourth passenger, Billy Graham, said to the fifth passenger, a ten year old schoolgirl, "I have lived a full life and served my God the best I could. I will sacrifice my life and let you have the last parachute."

The little girl said, "That's okay, Mr Graham. There's a parachute left for you. The smartest man in America took my schoolbag."

I don't envy you guys in the States. Mr Trump comes across (here in Europe) as a bit of an idiot, hence the joke. Please don't be offended if you are one of his followers. I mean no harm.

That's it from me today. Happy Friday.

Have a fun weekend and a great week ahead.

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - 26 Feb 2016 - ice skating, battle of Waterloo, a crew cut and some funnies

Good Morning!

How has your week been? Lots of smiles? My week has been lovely. I'll tell you all about it. First off the postcard:

An ice skating scene from 1925! What fun! It comes to me from Belgium from someone called Filip. He uses a nice stamp too:

2015 was the 200 year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. (Waterloo being in Belgium). The image is of the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley.
Here is some info (from Wikipedia) on that if you are interested. If not please fast-forward to the next paragraph.

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wahlstatt .

Upon Napoleon's return to power in March 1815, many states that had opposed him formed the Seventh Coalition and began to mobilize armies. Wellington and Blücher's armies were cantoned close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack them in the hope of destroying them before they could join in a coordinated invasion of France with other members of the coalition. Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. According to Wellington, the battle was "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life". The defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French, and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile. Napoleon abdicated 4 days later, and on the 7 July coalition forces entered Paris.

 Our building work is progressing. The carpenter let me know that he will bring us the kitchen units on Monday or Tuesday. And the solar panel that my DH has erected is now working. Hurray! We have hot water in the bedroom toilet. The bathroom is not ready yet but will soon.

I have had my hair cut super short! 

I was fed up with having to blow dry my hair every time in a cold bathroom. 

The weather here is still very mild and sunny. (They say we are going to have snow this weekend... seeing is believing). But I spotted a few freesias that are flowering on my patio.

There are three: two red and a purple. Very nice surprise.

As usual I have collected a few funnies. I did quite like this one:

I am linking up with Annie at Friday Smiles and with Virginia at Rocking your World Friday. Please join us for the fun.

...One last one...

Have a great week, and keep smiling!

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 10 Feb 2016 Friday smile, postcard, blossom and ice

Good morning lovely people!

It's Friday again. Are you all feeling positive ? Are you all smiling? If you are not, please read on as I'm sure I can coax a little smile out of you.

My postcard today comes from Germany. It is a famous photo of the workmen with their lunch boxes apparently very high in the sky on a metal beam. 

 I get vertigo just looking at it!
The stamps are beautiful. I like it when people make an effort to find nice stamps.

The three flowers are from left to right: crocus, tagetes (marigold) and tulip. The other stamp is the city of Dresden, a view of the city and the river Elbe.

The weather has turned nasty here. All of a sudden it is cold. Last week we saw this:

Almond blossom.
Yesterday, after the frost we saw this:

It's not the same tree. This is an olive tree with ice on it. Luckily the harvest is over. I didn't take this picture, but it was taken not far from our house.

We have struggled to keep the two stoves going with the gales and we ended up buying new 'hats' for our chimney pipes, which did help. When there is a gale blowing we get a lot of smoke being driven into the house instead of out! Makes my eyes water. 

I have shared this already on Tuesday, but it is such positive news that I will mention it again: We have got compensation after our flight to Holland in December was delayed. A lot of money! After commission we got 569 Euros! So if anyone (in Europe) has had their flight delayed or has not been able to board due to overbooking, fill in the online form at flightright.com. They are very efficient and fast. Airlines have to compensate by law, and this company does the claim for you. All you have to do is fill out the details and wait. That is worth the commission I think. We are over the moon with the money. That paid for my new cooker, lol.

 I'm going to finish with a joke. Or did it really happen? Any woman who has been to the gynaecologist can imagine this situation. I wet myself when I read this:

I was due for an appointment with the gynaecologist later in the week. Early one morning, I received a call from the doctor’s office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 am. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45 am. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn’t have any time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn’t going to be able to make the full effort.

So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pyjamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.
I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I’m sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away.
I was a little surprised when the doctor said, “My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven’t we?” I didn’t respond.

After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal .. Some shopping, cleaning, cooking. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, “Mommy, where’s my washcloth?”

I told her to get another one from the cupboard.

She replied, “No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.”

Never going back to that doctor again……….. never..

(Linking up with Annie at A Stitch in Time for Friday Smiles)

Have a great week, you'all.

Blessings,

Lisca