A Postcard A Day - Friday 4 September 2020 - Friday Smiles

 

Good morning lovely ladies! It's Friday again (already. Doesn't the week fly by).

This Friday blog post is all about sharing smiles and about postcards of course.

First off is my postcard for today. It comes from Russia, from Moscow to be precise. It features three Russian beauties. They must be princesses as they look bored and spoilt . They are drinking a hot drink from a samovar, and eating snacks and fruit.

The postage stamp is a pretty classic, and the doggie stamp is not a postage stamp, but I think it's very cute

So what have the smiles been in my week?

Definitely my walks with my friend Antonia. We go walking every Friday and Monday morning. The last couple of weeks we have been going to the sierra, the hills that we see from our window.

This was the UK Bank Holiday weekend, and we should have been in the UK, camping with the family. Above you can see a photo with five of our grandchildren.

Saturday was a big day. We were invited to a small wedding. I had the honour of being 'stand-in' mum to Andres, who's parents couldn't be there.

It was a great wedding, and the food was lovely.

On Sunday hubby had to sort out the coffee grinder part of the coffee maker, which had become a bit clogged up. It's all working fine now.

Another walk on Monday:

The trees are magnificent. The Atlas Cedars (cedrus atlantica) are impressive. They have started to grow little cones.

The encinas (quercus ilex), below, are indigenous here. 

Quercus ilex, the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak, is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly. It is a member of the Cerris section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer.

They are protected now as so many were felled during both world wars. Again, they are quite majestic:

I love them. They dot the landscape, often just one or two. They are evergreen and grow quite old and large. I wish they could speak.

Locals from the village of Zarza de Montánchez in Caceres have always known and loved La Terrona , perhaps the oldest and biggest holm oak in Spain. It took a bolt of lightning to bring it to the attention of the outside world. The lightning split the tree in two and almost killed it. Biologists came to the rescue and discovered that the tree is perhaps the oldest and biggest holm oak in the country: it's 16.5m tall, with a girth of 7.8m and is 800 years old. The village's ex-mayor claims they used to be an even bigger one: La Governadora, but it was burnt after also being hit by lightning 27 years ago. Although the biologists may have saved the venerable old tree from a natural death, its newly-found fame has brought new dangers, as unscrupulous tourists are causing serious damage. The Spanish postal service paid tribute to the Terrona in February 2004.

Then on Tuesday hubby and I went to the sierra again, in the car, to collect pine cones to light the fire with. Also little pieces of wood that we use for kindling. We collected six large bags from different locations.

I found an old tin (that must have come out of the campervan as it is an English tin) and I decided I'd better open it and use it. But there was no ring pull! I haven't used a tin opener for years, so it was a bit fiddly. 

Our combi microwave decided to go on strike after we'd accidentally slammed its door a bit too hard. I found an electrician willing to have a look at it and he came on Wednesday.  He took the appliance away with him and I haven't heard anything yet. I must say, it is very awkward cooking without the back-up of my microwave/oven/grill. I use the combi settings quite a lot, especially for jacket potatoes. 

I have since ordered a new oven, and it has arrived yesterday. It has a steam option. Hmm, interesting.

That is it from me this week.Time to visit Annie at A Stitch In Time and Virginia at Rocking Your World Friday.

Of course I will finish with some funnies. (There is a doggie one for Angela)

Take care everyone,

Hugs,

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 Postacard a day - Friday 27 Nov 2015 - Friday Smiles

Good Morning! It's Friday! 

Caption translates: " You don't say....is it Friday already?"

And that means I can link up with Friday Smiles and 'Rocking Your World Friday'.

As my blog is primarily about postcards, here is my first postcard that i hope will make you smile:

 I recently bought '100 Postcards from our Past' in a box from English Heritage. This is one by John Gay from the late 1950s.
Although English Heritage is  best known for preserving England's historic sites and artifacts, English heritage is also custodian of an archive of more than twelve million documents and images that includes photographs of architecture and social history. 100 Postcards from our past from English heritage gathers together some of the archive's best black and white historic photographs from the late nineteenth century to the late 1960s.
Here is another one I like:

Again it is by John Gay and it is entitled: "A tractor being driven through the doorway at St Etheldreda's church in Hatfield', 1960.

So... what have I been doing this week? Last Sunday was our 23rd wedding anniversary (See previous blog for all the photos). My husband continues to build our apartment and has finished the bedroom which is going to be tiled tomorrow.

We are enjoying the company of our little (8 month old) kitten Precious and are teaching him to use the cat flap. Not much success so far. 

Wednesday the 25th of November was 'Stop violence against women' Day here in Spain (and perhaps internationally). In our village there was the annual demonstration through the village (with police escort).

We all carried a night light with the name written on it of a woman in Spain that had died through violence. In the park we all read out the name and placed our candle in the centre, after which we observed a minute's silence.That was very moving. 

We then gathered into one of the rooms of the town hall, where one lady read out two poems she had written as a victim of violence, and a painting by a local artist (my art teacher as it so happens) was revealed depicting a woman dying through violence. Not everybody's taste but it brought home the message.

The young lady that posed for the painting is here explaining why she accepted this posing job. Note all the night lights along the edge of the stage.

The talk (by a man) was about male domination and domestic violence through (recent) history reflected in popular songs (coplas). He had a very good voice and sung (a capella) all the examples he had collected. Brilliant!

Here in southern Spain this day is more about 'macho' violence than violence in general. Domestic violence is rife here and women are up in arms against it. I know domestic violence happens in other countries too, but here in Spain, finally the women have found their voice!

Finally a few funnies I have found on the internet:

 I'm sure there are quite a few knitters amongst you..

This one is quite cute don't you think?

Quickly, I'll tell you what I am reading: The Bees by Laline Paull. Has anyone read it? I am enjoying it immensely.

Gosh, I've gone on a bit. Lets call it a day.
have a great week

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a day - Friday 16 Oct 2015 Friday Smiles

Hi folks, good morning. Hello Friday Smilers!

My DH fancied liver and onions. I love liver & onions but am reluctant to cook it as the liver works as a filter to remove toxins from the body. Supermarket bought liver might contain goodness what sort of toxins.... But our butcher round the corner sells local meat and he slaughters on Wednesday so on Thursday the meat is very fresh. I asked for pork liver and I got a whole one! 

It's enormous and will feed us for four meals at least (I'm freezing most of it) with plenty left for our friend's dogs and a treat for our little kitty (Apparently it's not so good for cats so she can only have a little titbit once a week). Now what did that 2.5 kilo liver cost me? 1 (one)Euro!
Well our meal was lovely and we had it outside (yes, we still eat outside.... winter hasn't arrived here yet) with a cold beer in the blazing sun.

Now I don't think this qualifies for Friday Smiles as some people might not like liver and are pulling a face rather than smiling.

So what about this card then that I received two days ago from Russia.

This particular Russian, Aleksei and his family, wanted a 'Greetings from Spain' card (some people collect those). It is a series of cards from countries all over the world. They are made in Poland and I have ordered the Spanish cards obviously. Here it is:

We agreed to do an exchange. I sent this one and I got the colourful card above in return.
Aleksei put some really beautiful stamps on the card too:

The stamp on the left is the standard stamp for letters in Europe. The one on the right has a Penny Black on it (the rarest stamp) and it is too recent for me to find any info on it.
Aleksei lives with his family in Nizhny Novgorod, a city on the river Volga. Aleksei tells me that the FIFA World Cup (soccer) will be held in his city and that  construction of a new stadium and airport are in full swing.

Now if you haven't smiled yet, you will do it when you see this:

It appeared on Facebook. The translation goes: "It's in difficult times that you discover who your real friends are".

Have a relaxing weekend and a really good week with lots of smiles.

Blessings,

Lisca