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

A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 16 Feb 2016 T for little disaster, a bit of snow and some money

Hi all of you at the Tuesday gang,
I'm just a little late! I will explain: We have a weekend cavehouse about 30 miles from here where we escape to every week for a couple of days as I don't want my DH to work himself to death. We went there last night and found there was no power. DH tried everything to no avail. Then by the light of the torch we found a little note shoved under the door, written in Spanish officialdom speak, saying there had been an electrical 'incident' and I should phone the number given. It was dated 5 days before and we have two freezers in the house which I had recently topped up with all sorts of goodies. Arghh!
So we spent last night cleaning the freezers, and dumped all the contents in large containers and went home. This morning, we disposed of most of the contents. The meat that wasn't smelly I cooked this morning and it will go to my neighbours three dogs. They will have a feast. Then a trip to the rubbish bin (we live on a cliff face, in the cave house neighbourhood and the big lorry of the refuse collectors can't come down our small streets, so we have to walk to the village and dispose of it in public containers. Not a problem. I take a small bag every time I go shopping.)
I have no photos of this whole affair and I am still waiting for the electrician to call me back.  I'll keep you posted.

But i do have a photo of my daily postcard: here it is

I received it recently from Turkey. It shows Safranbolu in the snow. My Turkish fellow Postcrosser writes:"These buildings built and painted with traditional ways, and because of that, they're inUNESCO World Heritage list". Safranbolu is two and a half hours drive north of Ankara, and has an altitude similar to ours. Like us, they also get cold winters. The houses traditionally are made of wood. I have seen them myself as I traveled all over Turkey in 1971. It is a most beautiful country with the kindest people I have met in all my travels. 

Yes we have had a bit of snow too. It has melted now but the hills and mountains are still covered. This is the view from my studio where i am sitting now:

I love my craft room. It has huge windows and at the moment the sun is shining in. I still have the stove lit of course as outside temperatures are around freezing point. 

To be able to link in with Elizabeth and her T for Tuesday  I have taken a picture of my teapot on the stove. It has Magic Moments in it (a apple, cinnamon and rooibos infusion). Vely nice...

What's with the money you say? Well, when we flew to the Netherlands in December our flight was delayed. I applied for compensation through Flightright (or the Spanish site) and got compensation. They take commission, but after commission I had 560 Eur in my hands! Here it is, I've just been to the bank to get it! For those who live or travel in Europe, I can highly recommend this company. It was as easy as filling in a few details online, the whole process took a few weeks. They are very efficient.

That is it for this week. 

Wishing you all a great T-day,

Blessings,

Lisca
   

A Postcard a Day - Friday 29 Jan 2016 Peace doves, olive pips and Friday Smiles

Good morning! Happy Friday!
I'm sitting by the woodburner, enjoying the view, and thinking what sort of week we have had....
But first my postcard for today:

It was sent to me from Brazil, Sao Paolo. It's a black and white photo by the famous Soviet photographer Vladimir Lagrange (1939). The photo is entitled:'Peace Doves, 1962'. There had been an exhibition in Brazil by this photographer. See more of his work here.

At Virginia's blog Rocking your world Friday I usually tell about all the positive things that have happened in the week. What did I do this week? Lots of nice things....Saturday I spent mainly baking. I did orange muffins, double choc muffins and a coconut cake. (Sorry, forgot to take pictures)
There is an international group of evangelists/missionaries visiting our church. Eleven, mostly young people. On Sunday morning we went to see their performance (they did dance, mime, sketches, songs and gave testimonies) in the local cinema. Then they all had lunch at my friends' house here in the village. We arrived after lunch and brought the above mentioned cake and muffins, which went down well.

On Monday we went to buy olive pips. They are what is left over after the olives are pressed to get olive oil.

 We use it for fuel. It gets mixed with the almond shells and burnt in the stove.

It's not expensive (about 10 eurocents a kilo) so we buy it by the trailer load. More pictures this coming Tuesday.

On Wednesday my Flow magazine arrived in the post. It is my favorite magazine, wit lots of art, articles and photos as well as things to cut out or draw. 

I managed to get a telephone number for someone to teach me lacemaking. I do lacemaking but it's difficult to learn from a book. I definitely need a teacher. Watch this space.

I'm going to link up with Annie at A Stitch in Time for Friday Smiles. So here is my smiley:

I do feel sorry for the folks in parts of the world where it has been snowing heavily, but this car did make me smile.

That's it from me today.
Have a good week and a fun weekend if you can,
Blessings,
Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 15 Jan 2016 Friday Smiles

  Hello friends,

We're back in Spain! What a fantastic  time we have had in Denmark! Our week has been great.
Saturday (still in Denmark) our friends took us to see the white cliffs of Denmark (Yes, they have them too). It was a lovely sunny frosty day.

There were steps down to the beach but there were so many and there was much snow, so we chickened out!

The nearby town is Stege and we had lunch in a restaurant of a well known Danish chef called David.

I had to pose with the wooden soldier in the restaurant. (The Danish royal family has guards with bearskin hats just like the British).
On Sunday we went to Copenhagen and saw the guards for real:

We also saw the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote the fairy tales.

We visited the part of Copenhagen which is an anarchistic city in a city: Christiania

We were not allowed to take pictures in the village

as they freely sell hashish, and that is still illegal.

Our last day in Denmark our friends had planned a drive along several castles and palaces in the area.  But a very thick fog descended on us and we couldn't see any of them from the road. Only this one.

This one is called Vallo castle and it used to house aristocratic virgins.

I'm sorry its so foggy and the photos have not  come out very well. There is no setting on the camera to compensate for fog, lol!
On the way back we stopped at the bakery:

We bought some bread and some of the famous Danish pastries!

It's a little out of focus...(I was so excited!)
As you can see I have had the most fantastic week! I'm linking up with Virginia at Rocking your World Friday.

That is all from me this morning. I'm trying to link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time for Friday Smiles so here is my smiley photo:

Happy Friday,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Friday 8 January 2016- Friday smiles from Denmark

Hello everyone, greetings from Denmark.

Today is Friday and I'm joining in with Friday Smiles and Rocking your World where we look back over the week and remember all the things that made us smile.
My husband and I have been staying with my 92 yr old mother in the Netherlands. We have had a lovely week, where we have met old friends, cooked nice things for my mum. We also bought a slow cooker and a mini oven for her and taught her to use it.
I have no photos as I have no access to a  computer. I'm writing this on a tablet without a usb port or sd slot and I don't know how to get the photos from my camera onto my tablet. (I know, I'm such a luddite)

 We are now staying in Denmark, 60 km south of Kopenhagen. The people we are staying with are our neighbours in Spain. Their house in Spain is a holiday home and here in rural Denmark is where they live the rest of the year. As you can see it has been snowing! A bit different to the climate we are used to in southern Spain! I have taken this picture through the window looking at the stables.

Here is my DH with our Danish friend. I am sharing this with you as it so good to see our friends again and we are so exited to be in Denmark for the first time.
Our friends cooked a typical Danish winter meal tonight called skipperlabskovs. It has potatoes and slow cooked beef and onions.

It tasted lovely and we had dark beer with it.
we are enjoying our holiday immensely in spite of the fact that it is not the best time of year.

I don't have a funny thing to share apart from this one. If you live with someone who snores, it might not actually be funny. (Apologies to snorers)

 I wrote a blog last Friday with lovely photos of Holland, but havent been able to link. So if you want to have a look, scroll down the side bar...

Have a good week,
and I apologise in advance that I might not be able to comment much as we will be out most of the day.
Blessings,
lisca

A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 15 Dec 2015 - T for snow, sledges and a lovely lunch

Good Morning! Hello Tuesday people! I'm linking in with Elizabeth for T for Tuesday. Please join in with anything you want to share as long as it has something drink related in it.

My postcard for today is a replica old postcard:

I got it from the Netherlands some time ago. I like those old black and white cards. I'm trying to guess from which era this card is.... 1920s? (I'm looking at the boots).. Any suggestions? It certainly is from a time when girls did not wear trousers. For that reason I think that this card in its time was quite saucy.

The stamps are brilliant! Have a look at these:

The picture is from a famous children's book called Ot en Sien. The above rhyme is also from the book. The stamp reads: 39 + 19 euro cent. The 39 is the price of the stamp and the 19 goes to a children's charity. The cups on the stamps I reckon qualify me for T for Tuesday!

The run up to Christmas is always a busy time with lots of things on the social calendar. A few days ago we had to take our campervan to be serviced an hour and a half drive down the road. I knew that one of my blog friends lives near there, so I suggested we meet up. I'm sure many bloggers meet up, but I live in the middle of no-where in rural Spain, so the chances are not good. So it was a very special occasion to meet Kate (mamapez) and her husband. They took us for a tour around the area and we had a lovely lunch together. Here is a photo:

I'm the lady in pink! 

Here is a close-up of the first course (prawn cocktail) on the table:

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the meal, but you can believe me when I say the meal was excellent!

That's it from me this Tuesday. Have a good Tuesday and a good week,

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a Day - Saturday 12 Sept 2015 snow for a change

Good morning! Good Saturday!

Hope you are having a good day.

Translated this says: Hello, let today be a good day for you and let God's favor go with you!

My postcard for today has some snow in it. It has been so hot and stuffy here, just looking at snow makes me feel cooler!

 This is from Russia. I have no idea what the writing says. The sender (Tatiana) writes: Hello from Yaroslavl. After much Googling I found out that Yaroslavl is a city, and the image is  A pavillion (early 19th century) on the banks of the Volga River.

The stamp on the left is celebrating the 300th Anniversary of the Sea Infantry of Russia. The right hand stamp is from the Kremlin series and shows the Ryazan Kremlin.

That's it from me today,

Have a good Saturday,

And see you tomorrow!

Blessings,

Lisca

A Postcard a day -23 July 2015 A bit of ice during this hot summer

Hi folks, 
I'm back from my mini hols. Just three days at the beach to relax and do absolutely nothing but read or drink or do a puzzle. Go for a swim or go out for dinner... It was lovely but sooo hot!

So the card I decided to show you to day has ice in it! 

It comes from Russia and was sent by Natalya in Moscow. I have no information about the ship... is it an icebreaker? I'd love to know. It looks like it has an office block planted on it...

Natalya mentions that she is a reading addict and especially likes Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

The stamps are lovely as you can see. And again I can't read Russian so I don't know which church and church bells these are. The other one is a character called Zaya the doe hare, a mascot of the Sochi winter Olympic games.

Well, this has suitably cooled me down...

See y'all tomorrow!

Lisca

Italy, a cute baby and lots of snow!

Trip to Italy with nothing but snow!

We’ve just come back from an exciting week in Italy. We went to see our little grandson, who is now 4 months old. He was being baptised so we travelled there for the occasion.

It was a long journey: a long bus ride from Baza to Malaga (4 hours), then a two and a half hour flight to Rome. From Rome another 3 hour bus ride to Chieti, only it took us 5 hours because of the snow. It was snowing heavily and the bus almost didn’t make it, but they have special tires and with much delay we finally arrived at midnight. My son came to pick us up in a 4x4. That was another arduous journey and we made it to the outskirts of town from where we had to walk (with suitcases) through the snow to the house as the streets were not accessible.

 Here is a photo of me looking out of the window of the house we were staying in, and another snow photo. I know that my Canadian friends will laugh at this but we live in sunny Spain and are not used to this amount of snow.

Meeting my grandson was a delight! He is a cheeky chappie, all smiles.

I had bought a nice outfit for the baptism with high heeled shoes, but what I eventually wore were a jumper, trousers and boots (because of the snow).

The baptism was on the 8^th of March, which also is International Women’s Day. The restaurant where we went for dinner after church, had vases of mimosa on every table. Mimosa being (in Italy at least) the symbol of women’s day. I remember always buying a twig of mimosa for my girl friends on that day.

Thanks for visiting my page,

See you soon and God bless!

Lisca

PS You’ll make my day by commenting something or sending me some love

WOYWW 301 babies and snow in Italy

Here a quick post  from Italy. I've  come  to see my 4 month old grandson. Isn't  he gorgeous!

I dont know how to use my tablet. And this photo and one seentence has taken me more than an hour.

There is no desk to show, only mountains of snow.

M

See you all next week

Lisca