Saturday, August 30, 2008

From Delaware

This card came in today's mail.
It is from Lisa, a registered nurse in
Wilmington, Delaware.
It reminds me of the quotation:
"Water, water, everywhere
And all the board did shrink.
Water, water, everywhere
And not a drop to drink!!
Thank you, Lisa, for the nice card!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Card from Naarden

The stamps on Liz's envelope are interesting. Of course, the text is
in Dutch, and says 'Denk groen doe groen',
which, although I do not speak Dutch, I think means,
'Think green, act green'.
One stamp shows a big truck with 'Roetfilter" (red filter?) written on the side,
and the exhaust turning into flowers.
Another stamp shows a green cow with 'BIO' on its side and
an electric plug for a tail.
I'm sure they are environmental stamps, don't you think?
This card shows the beautiful town hall in Naarden,
the Netherlands.
Naarden turned 650 years old in the year 2000.
That means it was established in 1350!
The two side views are the marriage chamber (at top) and the
entrance to the town hall (at bottom).
Liz Kramer sent me the card and she sent it in an envelope so she
would have more room to write on the card!
She enjoys Postcrossing although, as a working woman,
she does not have mujch time for private correspondence.
Naarden is her hometown.
Thank you, Liz, for the lovely card and
'beste wensen' to you too!

Markku sends greetings from Finland



Markku sent me greetings from his hometown,
Kouvola, Finland.
The pretty card has four beautiful views of his home country.
He put a pretty little stamp on the card.,
It shows several odd-shaped balloons and one
with a smiling face on it.
Markku, I love the card and the stamp!
Thank you very much!

Card from Ulla

This is the unusual stamp that was on Ulla's card.
It looks like a moth, or what I've always called a candlebug,
but I have never seen one this color.
The text calls it 'Arctia Caja'.

This pretty card is a painting of two children sitting in a hammock.
It was sent to me by Ulla who lives in
Harjavalta, Finland.
I think she must have made it herself,
because she says she likes to make cards and do crafts.
Thank you, Ulla, for the nice card!

Inge Look again!

This is the Moomin stamp Tehri used.
Tehri added this little Moomin sticker

Oh! I love these cards!
This time the two old ladies are hitchhiking. As Tehri says,
"I would love to know what destination they have
written on their paper!"
And, is that an old Cadillac coming around the bend?
Thank you so much Tehri, for brightening my day
with this card!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

WOW! Jackpot!

I really hit the jackpot today. I received
seven postcards in the mail.
Then I had one that I had sent to Boston registered!
Shakaland:
left: Zulu chief; top: Zulu woman;
bottom: Nganga training

Namaqualand, Cape Town, Lion, Johannesburg, Blyde Canyon


Rondavel Viewpoint, Blyde River Canyon

Mpumalanga Province - South Africa
Land of splendour, Mpumalanga offers vistas and villages,
waterfalls and wagontrails, to fascinate the traveler. Johannesburg, - Gauteng - South Africa
Largest city in the Republic and the thriving centre
of the gold-fields of the Witwatersrand.
Look at this!


I dearly love this postcard and the stamp that brought it to me.
Hilkka sent me the postcard from Finland and she told me that the stamp
is a picture of her 12-year-old son! He is such a handsome lad
and I think it is so neat that his mother had the stamp made!
This is an official postcard swap but, unfortunately, Hilkka did not put
the ID number on the card. However, she did send her
complete address, so I can write to her and get the number to register it.
Hilkka also said she would like to be a penpal, which I love!
Thank you, Hilkka, for such a nice card and stamp!

This is the first of seven postcards I received today.
The lighthouse in this picture is Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia,
and it was sent to me by Alison in a private swap.
Lighthouse-hugger that I am, I LOVE this picture!
Thanks so much, Alison!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Lithuanian Flag

Isn't this a beautiful picture of the Lithuanian flag?
This postcard of the beautiful Lithuanian flag was sent to me
by Audrone, who lives in Kaunas, Lithuania.
(I love flags!)
She tells me that the colors of the flag represent
"light, hope, and fire, as it says on the card. It's been 20 years
since we broke away from U.S.S.R. And we are happy about it!"
We are happy for you too!
Thank you, Audrone, for such a beautiful and patriotic card!

My Penpal, Sinikka, and Her Family

This is my penpal in Vaasa, Finland.
Her name is Sinikka Jokesi.
She is on the left in the picture. Next to her is daughter-in-law, Oili,
son, Aamo, daughter Hillevi, and son-in-law, Harri.
I am so glad to meet your family, Sinikka!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Card from Lapland!

What a nice surprise--a card from Lapland!
This card was sent to me by Irma who lives in a small
village near the Arctic Circle.
It is called Oulu.
Irma is a 65-year-old lady who teaches
hearing-impaired children.
I love this card because it has a beautiful picture of the Northern Lights and
a map showing where Oulu is.
I also like the people in their native costumes and the reindeer.
Thank you very, very much, Irma.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Look! Another Inge Look Card!


How nice! Terhi Rantala sent me another
Inge Look card with the two laughing old ladies!
This time, they are picking mushrooms,
Tehri said, 'Even with only one mushroom found, they're
having a great time!
And a bonus too: Terhi put a Moomin stamp on the card!
Many, many thanks, Terhi!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

la revue blanche

This is my first art card and it came from Pavan
in England. It is an 1894 poster painted
by Pierre Bonnard
and it hangs in
The New Art Gallery, Walsall, where
Pavan lives.
Thank you, Pavan!

Latisha's cards from Boston

In addition to the ad card below,
Latisha sent me two cards from Boston
in a private exchange.
The first picture below is of Harvard University and shows
several scenes from the campus.
The second picture is of the Boston skyline and it looks
like it was taken from Boston Harbor.
Thank you, Latisha!



Poetry Book

This is an ad card from poetess Latisha.
It tells about her book, Words of a Poetriot,
which she self-published.
It is now available on Amazon.com.

My Creations


The two postcards above are ones that I made for my friend,
the poetess Latisha and her daughter.
Latisha's card is on the bottom. Her birthday is
August 28th. Her daughter, Kytara, has her 2nd
birthday on August 24th and her card is on top.
Happy Birthday, Latisha and Kytara!

Monday, August 18, 2008

From my Finnish penpal, Sinikka


This card came today from my penpal, Sinikka, who
lives in Vaasa. The picture is of her city and she said the large
building on the left is a Lutheran church. It is a medium-sized city
with about 58,000 residents.
Thank you, Sinikka, for the pretty card!
She also put a Moomin stamp on the card so I'm putting
it on my blog too!
It has the little hippo creature hopping over a brook on the stones
and he is being followed by dragonflies.

Budapest, Hungary


This beautiful castle is the Vajdahunyad castle
in Budapest, Hungary.
The picture must have been taken in the Springtime because
there are tulips blooming and a flowering tree.
It was sent to me by Postcrosser Andrea. She says she lives in a pleasant
district of the capital city, Budapest, with her husband, her
two month old baby boy, and her mother-in-law.
Thank you, Andrea, for the picture of the Hungarian castle!
I found another picture online of the castle in the snow.



Saturday, August 16, 2008

An Inge Look Card

Terhi Rantala, from Finland, sent me this funny card.
The two old ladies are packing their belongings on an old truck,
and laughing as they tie things down. I notice they also
have a bottle of wine and two glasses on the truck too, but
they are not tied down. I guess that will be for the
celebration when everything is packed!
I dearly love this card!
Thank you, Terhi, for such a wonderful card!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Russia to Deustchland to Texas

This pretty card came from Veronika.
Veronika is from Siberia in Russia, but she has been
living in Germany for two years.
Today I learned, thanks to Veronika, that the bicycle
was invented in Karlsruhe. I didn't know that, but I did know
that the baby carriage was invented in Ulm.
Thank you, Veronika, for the nice card and the history lesson!

My First Moomin

I received my very first Moomin card today!
It came from Janne in Lisalmi, Finland. He is a member
of the Fire Brigade in his hometown.
I love the Moomin cards!
Thank you very, very much, Janne (Neva).

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Heidi's Card

This pretty sunset card came from Heidi
in Suomi, which is the Finnish name for Finland.
I love the sunset colors,
and the cloudberries match them so well!
Thanks, Heidi, for the nice card!

Monday, August 11, 2008

The Stamps

And here are the beautiful Australian stamps.
Thank you, Beverley, for the wonderful gift I received today!

Three More Postcards




These are the other three postcards sent by Beverley.


Surprise in the Mail

Although the postman did not bring me any mail today,
I received a Postcrossing message from user Jokesi in Vaasa, Finland.
She asked me if I would like to be penpals with her.
I immediately wrote back that I would love to be her penpal.
I hope to get a letter written to her very soon.
Then, my daughter, who is user Cinnamon1, called me
and said that she got two envelopes in the mail from her
Postcrossing friend, Beverley, in Busselton, Australia,
and one of them was for ME!
When I opened it, I found four lovely postcards from Australia,
and also, 35 beautiful Australian stamps!
The first of the postcards is shown above.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Blueberry Hill

I LOVE this card!
It was sent to me by Mary Ellen Bertram,
who lives in Belleville, Illinois.
Blueberry Hill is a pub & restaurant that is decorated with all
kinds of memorabilia.
Mary Ellen says it's like stepping into the 1950's!
Thank you, Mary Ellen!

Rutalahti

Oskulii, a 13-year-old boy from Finland,
sent me this lovely view of a Finnish
waterfall in Rutalahti, Finland.
I love the colored trees--the picture must have been
taken in Autumn, my favorite season!
Thnak you very much, Oskulii!



Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Malaysia

I received a picture of a magnificent building
in Malaysia this morning.
Hanis sent me the picture of the Sultan Abdul Samad building.
She said it is a favourite of hers.
I can see why it is!
It has a center clock tower that is 412 meters high, and it
is flanked by two copper-domed towers.
Thanks so much, Hanis!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Sam's Postcard

Well, the postman went by and I didn't get a postcard today....
BUT....
Sam got one!
Today, August 2nd, is his birthday and he
got a birthday postcard in the mail!
Happy Birthday, Sam!

Friday, August 1, 2008

A Dutch Card

This postcard also came from the Netherlands.
It is from Manuela, who is German but lives in the Netherlands
because she is married to a Dutch man.
I really like the postcard, Manuela. Thanks!

Torn, but Nice!

I received this pretty postcard from Anke
in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, it was torn in half
before it reached me,
but I still like the little squirrel statuette
holding his pinecone.
Thank you, Anke!

Empress Hotel in Vancouver, BC

Pattie, from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
sent me this picture of the beautiful Empress Hotel which was
built in 1908.
Pattie said she has lived in Victoria all her life
and loves it there because it is pretty the year round.
I would love to see your beautiful city, Pattie! Thank you!