A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 25 August 2020 - T for sunsets, cactus flower and good books.

Hello lovely ladies! It's Tuesday again and time for the T-Party. I will share a drink with you as soon as I find one, but first I would like to share a beautiful postcard with you. It comes from S.Korea and was sent to me by Hanna.

It depicts the statue of the King Sejong.

Wikipedia writes about this statue:

Statue of King Sejong is located at the Sejongno, Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul, South Korea. It is dedicated to the 15th century Korean monarch, Sejong the Great, the fourth king of Joseon dynasty and one of Korea's most famous historical figures. The statue is considered one of Seoul's major landmarks. Unveiled in 2009, it has been called "South Korea's most iconic statue.

The stamp is beautiful. It's a flower that I recognize but it's name escapes me at the moment.

 Would you believe I have not a single photo with a drink in it! I have bought a new pan the week, and there, in the back ground is a citrus press/juicer. That is as close as it gets to a drink. Sorry.

I'm very happy with my new pan.

Here is my drink reference number two. Peeps who read my Friday blog, know that I like to include funnies. This one made me smile:

We've had a busy week with our Dutch visitors. On one of the last evenings I took them to a beauty spot to watch the sunset. It was beautiful. They took some photos of us for a change:

Hubby did a BBQ on one of the evenings at the pool.

We are in the middle of cucumber season, and as you can't freeze cucumbers, I often find a plastic bag full of cucumbers on the door. (Kindly left there by one of my neighbours).

I bought some essential oil this week. This is a very strong thyme (tomillo in Spanish), that is good for the lungs in aromatherapy and it is nice to put just one drop inside my mask.

I finished the book I was reading: Death at Eden's End. It is set in England in the Lake District.  I have been to the village in which it is set, so I can imagine what it looks like. Eden's End is the name of an old people's home where a 100 year old dies in suspect circumstances.  It is the first of a series and the detective is a nice guy with a female side kick (possible future romantic involvement?) and an ex whom he still loves.

I enjoyed it very much. It was an el cheapo from Amazon for my kindle.

I'm now reading this:

Ken Follett, need I say any more?

My cactus is flowering again! What a beauty!

On Sunday I quickly baked some muffins (with pieces of peach in them). By no means perfect, but they tasted nice.

Yesterday I went walking again with my friend. We go Monday and Friday morning.

I'd forgotten my own walking stick, so I improvised with this stick I found on the way.

And now I'm going to join Elizabeth and Bluebeard at the T-Party with my meagre drink reference. 

Happy T-Day all!

Take care,

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 21 August 2020 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies, Happy Friday!

It's time to look at what made us smile this week. I have had a lot to smile about.

As I mentioned last week, it was our 28th anniversary and we went out for a meal. Fish and chips is a rare commodity in our part of Spain, so when we heard of a local bar serving this treat , pre-orders only, we booked a table. We had a lovely time, but the fish was a disappointment. I think next time we feel the urge to have fish and chips, we will drive the extra 100 miles to get proper cod.

The Frida Kahlo image is a crocheted wall hanging. I featured it in my previous blog post (Tuesday).

My best friend's daughter married a Dutchman and they have moved back to Spain since the Covid situation. They have recently bought a local property, so they will stay here. His parents, who have been friends of ours now for many years, came for a two week holiday. They had rented a villa on the coast but that is right in the middle of the Covid area and they don't dare go there. So they are staying here in the village which we consider Covid safe, and we are helping to give them a memorable holiday. They are farmers who live and work on an isolated farm and they have traveled by car without stopping, and we consider the risk minimal, so we have decided not to social distance. There are 7 of them so it's a lot of fun.

Sunday was a quieter day (lots of washing up to do, which hubby helped me with) and we did our usual church online thing.

On Monday I usually go walking with my bestie, but this time our Dutch friend came too. The daughter of one of them has married the son of the other. I don't think there is an English word for that relationship. Perhaps 'co-mothers-in-law.' In Spain we have a word for that:  'consuegra'. 

Anny is always showing pictures of her children and grandchildren, so here is one of mine:

My son Costantino and my grandson Luciano. It will be my son's birthday next week. He will be 44.

On Tuesday we spent more time with the Dutch family, and we took them to our weekend cave house and also to a view point where we enjoyed a spectacular sunset.

On Wednesday hubby and I went out for lunch. and did our weekly shopping on the way back. I also stopped at an ironmonger where I had seen some heavy pans. They still had them and I bought a large pan. My old one had lost its non-stick coating, and this one is heavy cast aluminium, so I think I shall enjoy using this.

Yesterday we spent the day at the pool with the Dutch family. This time they provided the lunch and had even brought along the charcoal for the BBQ. We had a lovely time.

There are some funnies as per usual (at the end). 

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

Wishing everyone a very happy Friday and a great weekend,

Hugs ,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 18 August 2020 - T for hummingbirds, rats and Frida

Hello lovely ladies, here we are on Tuesday again. This week has flown by. And here we are again to join Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party. The 'ticket' to the party is a beverage (or reference to a beverage). 

I'm showing you a fake beverage: a sculpture of a yellow mug pouring something revolting. It's not coffee or tea, I'm sure. I've tried to find out where this sculpture is, but without success. 

Now for my postcard: 

                                  

Aren't they lovely hummingbirds! It comes from Canada and was  sent to me by Nadine. It is a work by Paul Windsor (Haisla,Heiltsuk) called 'Infinite Joy'. The Haisla, Heiltsuk refers to the native people he belongs to. "Hummingbirds offer joy and inspiration and are symbols of good news". Paul Windsor was born and raised in Kitimat, British Columbia, and currently resides in Vancouver. He began drawing as a young child, and is an ancestral designer who comes from a family of artists. Paul also has a large interest in music and a love for the planet. His paintings, typically on the mediums of paper and wood, frequently feature positive imagery depicting the natural world. Paul’s artistic motivation stems from a drive to bring people together from different generations from his culture.

The whale:

The stamp is beautiful:

This is an image of the year of the Rat. 

I must say that I quite like the Pig too. (That was 2019). In reality, 2020 is definitely a pig of a year (and it's not even over yet).

This past weekend hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. I managed to book a table at a restaurant that served fish and chips, a typical English dish we haven't had since last year. 

We had a lovely time but the fish was disappointing. It must have been panga or something. We sat in the main square of Baza, our nearest little town. 

Next to us was the museum and it had a crocheted face of Frida Kahlo.

We quickly got up from our seat and took these photos before our order arrived.

Here is some detail:

Lots of little squares. I didn't have time to read the info on the paper, but I assume it was crocheted by lots of women.

And a very colourful headdress.

We've had a busy week as there were visitors from Holland staying with my friend. I invited them all to a BBQ this weekend and we had a great time. Hubby was chef of course:

Today we have invited them to our cave house and yesterday I made a lasagna for ten people. Here I am rolling the pasta sheets.

Yesterday morning I went for a walk with my friend as per usual on a Monday morning. The Dutch lady came with us, and after the walk we stopped at the bar to drink some freshly squeezed orange juice.

Then on the way home, we stopped to get some kiwis for my friend.

I looked to see if there were any more photos on my phone, but no, this is pretty much it.

So lovely ladies, I wish you all a very happy T-Day!

Hugs,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 14 August 2020 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies,

Here we are again on Friday to share our smiles with Annie at A Stitch In Time and with Virginia at Rocking Your Week Friday, and with anyone who would like to join us with a positive outlook and a smile.

My week has been very good and full of smiles. We continue to enjoy life here in the sun. Although I must admit it is very hot. But that's normal for August. We limit going outside to early mornings and evenings.

On Friday morning I went for a walk with my best friend and afterwards stopped for a large freshly squeezed orange juice.

In the evening there was an exhibition of the photo exhibition. We (the photo club Afoca) had had some masks specially made with the Afoca logo on it. Needless to say that many winners were photoclub members.

The translation of the Spanish funny reads: 

"The masks from the Alpujarras have finally arrived. F...k the Chinese. Spanish product, maximum quality"

Saturday I made a cheesecake to take to the meeting on Sunday. 

 

On Sunday we follow two different online church services, and in the evening the photo exhibition came to an end and there was a string quartet playing popular music (like a Mama Mia medley and songs by Ed Sheeran). Then we had the prize giving. The lady behind the lectern is Maria, our mayoress, and the lady in the green dress is Loli, her assistant.

On Monday morning I went for a long walk again with my friend and we love to see all the lovely fruit growing. The quinces are coming on, but not ripe yet.

I went to the post office to collect a parcel. It was heavy. (I knew it would be and I should have come in the car) I had ordered a tortilla press. So in the evening, guess what we had for supper ....

Tuesday we woke up to a black sky and we expected a thunder storm. But it did not materialize.

Hubby cooked me a full English breakfast for lunch and I baked a large cake for our friends from Holland. 

That evening hubby and I had 'date night' at the pool again. Very nice indeed.

And although our Dutch friends had not yet been the full quarentine period, we couldn't wait and went to see them late Tuesday evening to bring the cake round. We sat outside and chatted and drank wine until gone 1 a.m.! 

The next day hubby and I went to our plot to harvest some veggies. The Padron peppers are ready. And we picked some figs with our neighbour as the tree is on the border between our plots.

Later that day we organized for our Dutch friends to come to the pool, and we had a lovely time.

I've been given some material and I bought some white material for lining and now I am sewing a face mask. But strangely enough my sewing machine would not sew the white material! I ended up with needle holes but no stitching. Then I tried with a heavier fabric and it worked fine. Then a lighter fabric, also worked fine. I even managed to sew through a piece of paper, but as soon as I put that white fabric under the needle, it wouldn't do it! 

It's crazy! I don't want to change the tension as I don't want to mess around with that. It is the perfect tension for most fabrics. (obviously not this white one). Annie might have some idea as she knows all about temperamental sewing machines.

That was my week. I hope yours was a good week too.

I will put some funnies at the end as per usual.

Have a lovely weekend,

Hugs,

Lisca

For those that don't recognise this plant: it is marihuana.