A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 21 July 2020 - T for black & white, a lake and some food

Hello lovely girls. It's Tuesday again! How that week flies!
It's time for the T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard. Please join us with a beverage of your choice.

I would like to show you a postcard I received this week. It is a black and white photograph entitled: Neith with Tumbleweed, Paradise Cove 1986. It is by photographer Herb Ritts.

Wikipedia says: Herbert "Herb" Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black and white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture, which emphasized the human shape.

Born in Los Angeles, to a Jewish family,^[2] Ritts began his career working in the family furniture business. His father, Herb Ritts Sr., was a businessman, while his mother, Shirley Ritts, was an interior designer. He moved to the East Coast to attend Bard College in New York, where he majored in economics and art history, graduating in 1975.^[1]

Later, while living in Los Angeles, he became interested in photography when he and friend Richard Gere, then an aspiring actor, decided to shoot some photographs in front of an old jacked up Buick.^[1] The picture gained Ritts some coverage and he began to be more serious about photography. He photographed Brooke Shields for the cover of the October 12, 1981 edition of Elle and he photographed Olivia Newton-John for her Physical album in 1981. Five years later he replicated that cover pose with Madonna for her 1986 release True Blue.

Ritts was openly gay.

The stamps are beautiful.

 

The large 'Forever' stamp is a Post Office mural.

“Kiowas Moving Camp” (1936)
Anadarko, Oklahoma

One of the Kiowa Six, a group of 20th-century Native-American artists hailing from Oklahoma, Stephen Mopope (1899–1974) designed a multi-part mural depicting Plains Indian life. Mopope and Kiowa Six artists James Auchiah (1906–1974) and Spencer Asah (ca. 1906–1954) painted 16 murals with tempera paint directly to the plaster walls in the lobby, including “Kiowas Moving Camp.” They can be seen at the Anadarko Post Office in Oklahoma.

Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873. The designation came from the Nadarko Native Americans, a branch of the Caddo, and the "A" was added by clerical error.^[7]

In 1871, the Wichita Agency was reestablished on the north bank of the Washita River after being destroyed in the American Civil War. The Wichita Agency administered the affairs of the Wichita, Caddo and other tribes. In 1878, the Kiowa-Comanche Agency at Fort Sill was consolidated with the Wichita Agency.

In 1901, the federal government allotted the lands of the Kiowa, Comanche and Arapaho Reservations, and opened the surplus land to white settlement. On August 6, 1901, an auction was held for homesteads and town lots. Around 5,000 people were living in "Rag Town" on the east edge of Anadarko awaiting the auction. Although 20,000 people were present for auction day, Anadarko's population dwindled to 2,190 in 1907.^[7]

Agriculture has been the principal driver of the local economy, since the Washita Valley has been good for crops and livestock. The second pillar of the local economy has been Native American affairs.

I'm sure Elizabeth knows all about this, but for me as a European this is all very interesting and I hope that others have found it interesting too.

Now a bit more about me (us). Last week we went to our weekend home to check it out and do some cleaning.

Hubby focused on the outside and I cleaned the kitchen, including this old thing:

It's my old Kitchen Aid. The 'head' is fixed and that makes it awkward to get the paddle out. But it is a splendid machine and still works a treat.

In the evening we watched a DVD and had a glass of Baileys. 

The next day we went to our favorite restaurant, which has re-opened, to have a meal:

I had a char grilled chicken breast and hubby had his ham, egg and chips (not on the menu but made especially for him). My drink is a Radler (beer with lemon).

After our meal we drove to the nearby Negratín reservoir, to see what the water level was.

It was just below normal (the white bit).

The colour of the lake is actually turquoise and it's very beautiful.

Sorry, my finger got in the way.

The hill behind hubby is called Jabalcon. My header photo was taken from the top of Jabalcon by a friend called Edu.

Yes, we have to wear masks even there.

Lastly, when we were home again, it was time to open our first kombucha bottle. I asked hubby to carefully open it, in case it would explode everywhere. (Excuse naked upper body. It was very hot )

I had done a second fermentation with raspberries. (I had tried nine different fruits and flavorings, but raspberry is our favorite).

And it was absolutely delicious!!

That is it from me today. I wish everyone a very happy T-Day!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 17 July 2020 - Friday Smiles

Hello lovely ladies,

It is Friday once again. The weeks just fly by. 

How are you all? I am fine and have had lots to smile about. My postcards have started to arrive again. 

This map of Switzerland arrived recently, sent to me by Lily, who lives in Fribourg. 

 The stamps are beautiful. The one on the right is from a series on wild animals and features marmots. The building on the left is the railway station of Fleurier.

Here is a photo of the station in winter.

What have I been up to this week?
Friday was a busy day, but I still managed to go out for a drink with my hubby.

 We had a glut of apricots from our neighbour and I made a cheesecake with apricots. (It was very nice).

 On Sunday the weather was cloudy and 'close'. There was thunder and eventually it rained a bit.

 On Monday we went shopping and I didn't feel like cooking so we stopped at a restaurant and had the Menu del Día, which is a three course meal which only costs 10 euros. 

 On Tuesday we went to stay in our 'weekend home', and we went out for a drink. Later that evening we saw a film (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

 The next morning there was some work to do as we hadn't been there since the beginning of March.

And yesterday I spent the morning deadheading my hanging baskets and window boxes.

That were the highlights of my week. As usual I have some funnies at the end. Some puns this time. And a well known song by Meatloaf. 

I'm going to link up with Annie at A Stitch In Time and with Virginia at Rocking Your  Week Friday. 

Have a lovely weekend all, and a good week ahead.

Hugs,
Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 14 July 2020 - T for light house, bridge and fire

Hello lovely ladies,

Ready for the T-Party? Come and join Elizabeth and Bleubeard, our hosts, with a beverage. I'm having a coffee:

It should have been champagne as we are celebrating 7 years T for Tuesday! Thank you so much Elizabeth for hosting this wonderful T-fest!

I have received a few postcards again. This one is from the Netherlands. It is the light house at Marken. The name of the lighthouse is (translated) The Horse Of Marken.

 Wikipedia says: The Paard van Marken (English: Horse of Marken) is a lighthouse on the Dutch peninsula Marken, on the IJsselmeer. It was built in 1839 by J. Valk. A primitive lighthouse had been on the location since the early 18th century; the current lighthouse has been a listed building (Rijksmonument) since 1970.

Here is a map to give you an idea where Marken is:

The place used to be an island but it was linked to the mainland by a fixed dike. Since the Middle Ages, Marken has lost about a third of its total area. In the eastern part of the island, underwater, there are still remains of a medieval cloister that was razed by the waves.

The Marken houses are built on artificial mounds raised largely during the 15th century. This type of construction allowed the inhabitants to be safe from frequent floods. When most of the island's rugged terrain was occupied by houses, construction began on wooden stilt houses, a move that allowed water to pass under the houses without causing problems. When the fixed dike was built and the water was drained, the wooden stilt houses were no longer useful, so they were gradually abandoned.

Marken is still an agglomeration of typical wooden houses. The island, converted into a peninsula in 1957, is considered part of the national heritage and has official protection. Marken is a renowned tourist center, famous for its already mentioned wooden houses and for the use of the typical Dutch costume.

None of the photos are mine. I have snaffled them all from the Internet. Also the info is from Wikipedia.

The stamp on the card is really nice. It features the Flying Scotsman train.

This (steam) train ran from London in England to Edinburgh in Scotland. In total 534 km.

 So, what has been happening here? It has been very hot and dry. The bush fires have started again, and there were a few small ones quite close to here. 

I did not take these pictures, but some friends of mine did. The helicopter is lifting water out of the local lake (Reservoir), to drop onto the fire.

 I still go walking with my friend twice a week. Here are some photos from last week's walks. 
The iron Bridge is just outside the village. There used to be a railway line, which was discontinued in the sixties. But this old bridge is still there. I took this picture:

 On December 16, 1894 the Baza, Caniles and Hijate stations were open to rail traffic. This 135 km section belonged to the projected line from Granada to Lorca, and built by The Great Southern of Spain Railway Company Limited. Along the route there were bridges such as the well-known Iron Bridge or Lata de Caniles, a unique work of engineering and application of new materials, now abandoned.

Apparently it was designed by the studio of Gustav Eiffel.
The track where the railway used to be is now a walking path called the Greenway. (Via Verde). The factory you can just about see in the distance, is the old sugar factory (now disused). The train line was important for the factory in its hayday. When the importation of sugar cane from Cuba was no longer possible, the sugar factories had to close.

In the photo below, we are on our way back to Caniles. You can see the village in the distance. 

 We passed the sheep farm on the way back.

 And we saw some interesting flowers. I have no idea what this is...

You can tell by the angle that the bush/tree was taller than me. It has some interesting pods.

Yesterday hubby had to go to the optician and we also needed to do our weekly shop in town. We eat our main meal in the day, but I didn't feel like cooking, so we went out for lunch. My first course was gazpacho, a cold soup typical of this region. 

Then I had pork fillet char grilled with chips. Very simple but tasty. Our drinks were Radler (lager beer with lemon juice).

We were wearing masks (now compulsory here), but thankfully we are allowed to take them off while eating!

That's it from me today. 

Happy T-Day to all,

Blessings,

Lisca

PS, I have not added my asterix this time, as I still have not made my ATC (although I planned to do one). Elizabeth asked to have one ready and I have had plenty of warning. It somehow never happened, so I'm sorry, No ATC from me....