A Postcard A Day - Friday 16 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

We're well into January now and things are going back to normal. I love holidays but it's so nice to get back to my own routine. I'm back in the gym and back doing Pilates.

Let me show you a postcard:

As you can see, it's from Tyrol in Austria.

Tyrol was separated into a northern and southern part in 1919, after WWI. North and East Tyrol was assigned to the Republic of Austria, which was invaded by the Wehrmacht in 1938. South Tyrol (the green bit on the map) became part of Italy and is still today.

I don't have to tell you how beautiful Tyrol is, as you only have to look at Violetta's blog to appreciate that.

When I was a young mum living in Italy, I used to travel up to Austrian Tyrol every year and meet with my parents (traveling down from the Netherlands) and my sister (flying in from the UK) for a skiing holiday. My son learnt to ski as a toddler. We were jealous about how fast he learned (no sticks needed). My parents and I usually went cross country skiing, called Langlauf. Because we all speak German, our first teacher was Austrian and he was 84 years old. A great guy. (and quite a character) I shall never forget him. 

Later I also learnt downhill skiing.  Lovely memories.

The stamp on the card looks like this:

Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Viburnaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, and European black elderberry. Wikipedia

So much for my postcard. What's been happening here in Spain? Well I have made my first loaf of sourdough bread!

Above is what it looked like before going in the oven.

My visitors (HomeExchange) had given me a sourdough starter, and after feeding it for a few days, I made this loaf. I used stone ground wheat flour with some rye flour too.

And below is how it came out:

I'm 'dead chuffed', to use an English expression.

Would you like to see some photos of my cat Ronnie?

He is sitting next to me on the arm of my armchair.

He's a handsome boy.

And if you're not smiling now, the following funnies will get you giggling.

Have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 13 January 2026 - T for Andalusia, white wine and tapa

 Hello lovely peeps,

I forgot to photograph a postcard and as I can't photograph them at night under the lamp (too much glare), I am showing a card that I have sent rather than received, as it was already on my computer:

It's a fun map of my region Andalucia. If you look closely, you'll be able to distinguish 8 provinces: Huelva, Sevilla, Cádiz, Málaga, Córdoba, Jaen, Granada, Almería.

Google writes: Andalusia is a large autonomous region of hills, rivers and farmland bordering Spain’s southern coast. It was under Moorish rule from the 8th-15th centuries, a legacy that shows in its architecture, including such landmarks as the Alcázar castle in Seville, the capital city, as well as Córdoba’s Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral and Granada’s Alhambra palace. ― Google Capital: Seville Area: 87,597 km² .

I live in the Granada province which is a large stretched out province. I live under the feet of the flamenco dancer on the map, near the border with Almería. Granada is known (apart from the Alhambra) for its Sierra Nevada mountains and ski resort. The southern most ski pistes in Europe.

My week has been pretty uneventful. I have started my usual activities again, like Pilates twice a week and Gym, also twice a week. I've also had a haircut:

We've also started Intercambio (Spanish/English conversation group) again. But for one reason or another (there is some flu etc going round) only Jayne and I turned up. So I suggested to Jayne we go out for a drink:

Jayne had to drive so she had a non-alcoholic beer and I had my white wine. Of course we got a free 'tapa', a little snack, with our drink:

It was a slice of bread with a few slices of cured ham and some olives. It was really nice ham. 

As today is the T-Party, hosted by Elizabeth and Bluebeard, this glass of wine can be my 'ticket' to the party.

That is all from me today. Short and sweet as they say.

Happy T-Day all,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Friday 9 January 2026 - Friday Smiles

 

Hello lovely ladies,

Happy Friday to you! I hope to make you smile today. I have some funnies lined up and my postcard might make you smile too:

It comes to me from France and is entitled: Défilé de maillots de bain (bathing costume show). It made me smile. There is no information or date about this photo but I guess it dates from just before WWII. The costumes are all knitted! They did not have the synthetic materials we have now. I like the fact that the models look like 'real women'. I mean, they are not anorexic or extremely skinny like today's models. They look like a nice bunch of girls having fun! Each bathing suit has the same logo, so it might be a show of a particular make of bathing suit. Who knows...

The stamp is interesting:

On the side it reads: Pavillon France Expo 2025 Osaka.

Maria-Christina Florian writes:

French architecture studio Coldefy and Italian architecture practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati have completed the 'Theatre of Life,' the project selected as France's national pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025, and welcomes visitors until 13 October. 

The pavilion welcomes both natural and artificial habitats, aiming to illustrate how design can connect human and non-human worlds while showcasing France's contribution to culture and the natural environment. In the exhibition, the visitors are invited to explore France's multiple ecosystems and rediscover a connection to nature.

What has been happening here in my Spanish village? Nothing much. We have had such terrible weather that the Three Kings parade and festivities were mostly cancelled and the 3 Kings had to 'hold court' in the sports hall.

Here is our mayoress welcoming the 'Kings'. It is the most important celebration for the children as the 'Kings' bring presents. (Spanish children don't get Christmas presents, the get Kings presents.)

Above a photo of the town hall with decorations, which are now in the process of being taken down.

The rains have finally stopped and I have been able to wash sheets (and dry them) as the sun has come out. Yesterday I did three washing machine loads back to back and it's all dry!

With all the bad weather, I have been reading a lot. At the moment I am reading:

It's about the art of story telling.

In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent. 

The Sealwoman's Gift is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. 

Sally Magnussen is not only a writer, she is a Scottish TV presenter. Her father, Magnus Magnussen, was born in Iceland. He also was a well known Scottish TV presenter and writer. He died in 2007.

That is all from me now. I will leave you with some funnies.

Enjoy your weekend,

Lisca

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 6 January 2026 - T for blob architecture,

 Hello lovely peeps, 

Happy New Year to all of you at the T-Party! I have the first postcard for 2026 for you:

It looks like a giant sort of slug! The card comes from Austria, from the town of Graz to be precise. The building is the Kunsthaus. Wikipedia writes:

The Kunsthaus Graz, Grazer Kunsthaus, or Graz Art Museum was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2003 and has since become an architectural landmark in Graz, Austria. Its exhibition program specializes in contemporary art from the 1960s onwards.^[1] The museum doesn't translate its name to English but uses its German name in all its English communications.

This is what it looks like at night:

Wikipedia writes: Kunsthaus Graz was designed by Colin Fournier and Sir Peter Cook.

the Kunsthaus's design sought to be a deliberately provocative, innovate museum design by offering a less "institutional" approach to organising exhibition spaces and employs new materials and manufacturing techniques.

The other side looks like this:

Again, according to Wikipedia: The building is an example of blob architecture and has a skin made from iridescent blue acrylic panels, which also double as photovoltaic panels. Owing to its shape and its contrast to its surroundings, it is known as the "Friendly Alien".

The stamp is big and pretty:

The stamp celebrates Austria as a music country and features a cello.

What have I been doing? Nothing much. The weather has been absolutely awful so I haven't been out much.

I wrote about New Year's Eve on Friday. On Friday night I was invited to dinner by David, my former lodger and his parents. 

As today I'm joining the T-Party, it's good that i am holding my usual white wine. (And somebody else's drink is also in the picture).

One of the dishes we ordered (to share) was fried broad beans. The small inside part of the broad bean:

It was surprisingly tasty.

Then on Saturday we did Intercambio again and I photographed  one of the ladies who attends with her (visiting) son:

They posed by a Christmas lighting feature in front of the town hall.

What else have I done? I finished my jigsaw puzzle:

It is really nice one of a book shop. I enjoyed doing it.

That is all today from me. Wishing you all a happy T-Day,

Keep smiling,

Lisca