Liberty Bell in Allentown, PA (?)

This great card comes to me from Cathy, who lives

in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is a picture of a

replica of the Lierty Bell which is in the Zion United

Church of Christ in Allentown. The original Liberty

Bell was protected in this church from 1777 - 1778.

Thank you, Cathy, for a very interesting card!

Kari's Card From Norway

This is a beautiful card that I received from Kari,

a brand new Postcrosser from Norway. In the

sixteen months that I have been a Postcrosser,

this is only the third card I have received from

Norway. Kari says she loves to travel like I do!

Thank you, Kari, for the great card!

A Card With a Wonderful Message

Mary, from Stuttgart, Germany, sent me this

beautiful card with orchids. The message on the

front is from the Bible, and it translates:

'Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you.'

--1 Peter 5:7

Mary sends greetings from "Stutgart, a lovely city

in the Swabian part of Germany."

When we lived in Neu Ulm, Germany, we used to go

to Stuttgart. It was always a nice trip.

Thank you, Mary, for the beautiful card.

A Notecard From France

This beautiful blue card, with a white feather

floating near an edy of water, was sent to me by

Christel, lwho lives near Orleans, France.

The smal square in the lower right corner is a cutout.

When the card is opened, the feather shows on

the inside of the card. Christel is a newcomer to

Postcrosing. She says that she likes animals

and defends them ardently! She is also a

cros-stitch addict, embroidering some every day.

I love the card, Christel! Thank you very much.

From Canada

Billie Jean sent me this picture of the Fortress
of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. I understand that
they have re-enactments of life in the early
days of the Fortress, when France was trying
to make its place in the New World.
Billie Jean says that, when she was younger,
her schol always went on field trips to visit
this Fortress. It was one of her favorite places
for a field trip.
Thank you, Billie Jean, for the nice card!

One from Brazil and One from the Netherlands

Daniela, who lives in Brazil, sent me this picture

of some bottles of oil, extracted from different trees. She

said they are supposed to cure wounds and even some

diseases--or so people believe. They are Indian

traditions that are still with us! She said the one

in the center, Oleo de Copaiba, is for everything from

bad colds to small cuts on the skin!

I think I'll not try them!

Thank you, Daniela, for the very interesting card!

Merel, sent me this beautiful multiview card

from Goes, in the Netherlands. Merel is

studying photography at the Royal Art Academy.

She says it is hard, but she loves doing it. She

wants to make a career of this hobby.

Thank you, Merel, for the beautiful card! I love

the windmills and the fountain by the water's edge!

Two Cards From Penpals in Finland

This card comes to me from Ulla, who lives in

Harjavalta, Finland. She Makes these wonderful

Art Trading Cards, and they are so beautiful!

This is an Autumn card that Ulla sent, wishing

me a beautiful Autumn!

Thank you so very much, Ulla! I love it!

I also love the letter you included with the card!

This beautiful card was sent to me by Sinikka, who

lives in Vaasa, Finland. I love the long causeway

crossing the water from the park to the city on

the other side. It reminds me of the long curving

causeway linking South Padre Island to the

Texas coast. It was built with a curve so it could resist

hurricanes blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico.

I wonder if this one was built to resist storms too.

Thank you, Sinikka, for the lovely card and

your note on the back!

Cards from the Virginias

I received two great cards from the Virginias!

This card is an aerial view of Hampton, Virginia.

It is the home of Angie, who sent it to me.

Hampton is the oldest continuous English-speaking

community in America!

Thank you, Angie, for the great card!

This card comes to me from Earlene in West Virginia.

However, the picture shows a miniature railroad display

about 70 miles from her home. It is at the Great

Miniature Railroad & Village in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

You can see a miniature circus with the trains running

around the sides. I love miniature displays such as this!

Thank you, Earlene, for a very unique card!

A View of Lappland

This is a beautiful sunset picture of Lapland

in northern Finland. It was sent to me by

Postcrossing user Cute. She says that a friend

took her to Lapland and this picture was taken

there. It is, indeed, a beautiful place.

Thank you, Cute, for the nice postcard.

An Italian 'Fishing Machine'

Vince, who lives in Italy, sent me this picture of

'Il Trabobbo', an Italian 'fishing machine' I have

never heard of this before and do not know how

it works, but it is very interesting. The white area

at the end of the 'machine' is a bit of damage that

the card received in the mail. It sort of looks like

a distant lighthouse! Thank you, Vince, for the

very nice card!

Nice stamps, too!

Carlos Gardel, a Singer of Tango

Alejandro, who lives in Argentina, sent me this

beautiful card. It shows Carlos Gardel, a singer

of Tango, who is dressed as a Gaucho

(an Argentinian cowboy).

Thank you, Alejandro, for the wonderful card.

I love it because it is so different!

Lombard Bridge, Hamburg, Germany

This is a beautiful night view card, showing the

Lombard Bridge (Lombardbruecke) with the

city of Hamburg behind it. It comes to me from

Bianca. She tells me that,like me, she is an

Aquarius, her birthday being January 23--like

Richard Dean Anderson who plays MacGyver!~

Thank you, Bianca, for the great card!

A Poster Card From the U.K.

Kellie, who lives in England, sent me this

great reproduction of a World War II poster.

"Propaganda posters urged a wide range of economies.

Clothes were rationed in 1941 and all resources

directed to the war effort."

Kellie says she has lived in England all her life,

but she is also American--her Dad is from

Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is also very interested

in WWII and how people's lives were changed

by it.

I love the card, Kellie. It is so unique!

Thank you very much!

Two 'Thank You' Cards

The two cards and the stamps below are

'thank you' cards from two Postcrossing

friends.

This card is from Marina, who lives in Minsk, Belarus.

She says that this place is historic region and it

is called Trinity Suburb.

It is a lovely card! Thank you, Marina!

I also like the two animal stamps (below) that brought

the card to me!

This card came to me from Michelle, who lives in

Shanghai. It was mailed on October 1st, and Michelle

said it was the 60th anniversary of China.

Also, that it had been a happy day for her, with

pleasant weather.

Thank you, Michelle, for the beautiful card

and the very nice stamps (below).

A Poster From Ann

Ann, who lives in the southern part of France

part of the year, sent me this great poster card

from La Cote D'Azur. It says that the sun shines

all year in Cote D'Azur. Ann writes: 'I don't know

whether the Cote D'Azur really has sunshine all

the year but certainly it has been lovely this week.

It does have a wonderful climate so you can understand

why people flocked there. For me, my granddaughter is

the main attraction!'

I can understand that, because I know that my

great-granddaughter, Jaycee, is a main attraction

to me, wherever she is!

Thank you, Ann, for the great card--I love it!

Card From Tornio, Finland

Sansku, a Postcrossing user from Finland, sent

me this pretty card with ducks. Sansku lives in

the city of Tornio, which is in northern Finland

near the Swedish border.

Thank you for the great card, Sansku! I also love

the beautiful Finnish stamp (below) which you

put on the card.

Postcard from Samara

Nina, who lives in Samara, Russia, a city of the banks

of the Volga River, sends me this postcard from

her home city. The building in the picture is the

Academic Drama Theatre, and the architectural

style is called 'Moscow baroque'. The monument at

the top right is a statue of A. Pushkin, the famous

Russian poet and playwright. At the bottom right,

the monument is to Vasily Chapaev, a distinguished

military commander. He is shown in front of a band

of soldiers, urging them forward.

Thank you, Nina, for a very interesting card!

Minnesota and Ennepetal

My first card today comes from Dahli, who lives in

Minneapolis, Minnesota--'just a few miles north

of I-35!' The picture is from the Museum of Modern Art

in New York City. It shows a piece of 'art' by Vincent

Borelli, entitled Rosemary Jamison's Truck.

Dahli tells me that it is officially Fall there now,

and she is racing the clock to get her perennials in

the ground before it gets too cold. They just

purchased their home a month ago so she must hurry!

Thank you, Dahli, for the great card!

Above is the coat of arms of the city of Ennepetal.

This card comes to me from Niels, a law student at
the Ruhr University in Westphalen. He also works
part time at a gas station. Ennepetal is a small
town of 32,000 inhabitants and it is in a beautiful
valley, as seen on the card. Niels wrote about half
of the card in English and then finished it in
German. With the help of my handy-dandy
German/English dictionary, I was able to read
(and understand) it! Thank you, Niels, for the
beautiful introduction to your city!

OneDutch, One Finnish, One Lithuanian Card

In addition to the three private swaps below

(scroll down), I received these beautiful

European cards.

This card comes to me from Maaike, who lives

in the Netherlands. I love the little wooden

shoes on the card!

Thank you, Maaike, for the great card!

This card is from Laura, who lives in the middle part of

Finland. However, she says she has visited Lappland, and

hopes to someday live there. She really liked it there.

This card shows water rushing over rocks in a little

'tundra brook'. Thank you, Laura, for the great card!

Laura put the beautiful 'northern lights' stamp (below)

on her card.

Kristina, who lives in Vilnius, Lithuania, sent me this
beautiful card. She also wrote a beautifully poetic note
in her card, describing the winter, the changing seasons,
and the beautiful country where she lives. I loved
reading her note so much, because I could almost
'see' the things she was describing. She wrote, "I am
sending you my love of incomprehensibly deep forests,
little springs flowing somewhere in there, dark green
shades of grass and of white immense wastelands in
winter. This country is too little to be noticed in the
map but, believe me, it's as vast as Narnia."
Thank you, Kristina, for your card and your
beautiful writing!
The gorgeous stamp below brought Kristina's
card to me.

3 Private Swaps

Today's mail brought 3 privately exchanged cards.

This card came from Ann, in France. Isn't it a gorgeous

picture? I love the wavy wrapping around the

lighthouse! Ann lives part-time in France and

part-time in England. She tells me that her husband

worked 3 years in Paris, and when they returned to

England, they missed the way of life in France. So,

when he retired, they decided to have the best of

both worlds!

Thank you, Ann, for your beautiful card!

This is card #3 (of 6) in my Monday exchanges with Thea,

from Hoorn, Netherlands. I have already received all

the other cards, so this one must have been 'gotten lost'

on its way to Texas! 'Lighthouse Lover' that I am,

this is a perfect choice for me! Thank you, Thea, for

the beautiful card and the nice exchange we have

enjoyed!

This card comes to me from Bruce, in Las Vegas.

He said, 'Don't let the picture fool you; it's not

always the 4th of July here. It just feels that way!'

It's a beautiful card, Bruce, and I thank you for the

opportunity to swap cards with you. I really like

the 'really old' stamps that Bruce put on his card.

You can see them below. They are stamps from

the '50's and 60's. I think that's really neat.

I wonder where you get such old unused stamps.

3 Cards, 3 Continents: Netherlands, USA, Australia

Here are three beautiful cards I received from three

different continents:

The first card comes to me from The Netherlands,

on the European continent. It is

the sixth of six cards that Thea and I agreed to exchange.

This one is a packet of 'forget-me-not' seeds that came

in the form of a postcard. I LOVE it! I can hardly wait

to plant them. I have seen lots of pictures of

forget-me-nots, but I can't remember ever seeing

one 'au naturel'!

Thank you, Thea, for this six-week exchange of cards.

I have enjoyed it and hope we can do it again sometime.

The second of my inter-continental cards is from

my own continent--North America. Elena sent me

this beautiful card showing the Manhattan Bridge over

the East River, New York City. I have been a member

of Postcrossing for 15 months now, and this is the

first card I have received from New York City.

It is beautiful and I love it, Elena!

And the third continent in this series is Australia.

This wonderful card, sent to me by Shona, shows

many of the various landscapes and interesting

flora and fauna of that continent. It is beautiful

and I appreciate it very much, Shona! Thank you!

Card #5 From Thea (The Netherlands)

This is the fifth 'Monday' card I have received from

Thea. If you scroll down far enough, you will come

across all the others. Thea says, 'Where would we be

in this world if we had not learned how to write

(and ride a bike, for Dutchmen!)

You are so right, Thea!

Thank you for the wonderful card. I love the

concentration shown on the child's face as she

practices her writing!

Gruesse aus Langenfeld (Deutschland)

My new friend in Langenfeld is Annika. She tells me that

Langenfeld is a little town next to Cologne. Annika lives

in a section called Richrath, shown in the upper right

corner of the card. She says they have a water-ski place

there and it is very cool! Thank you, Annika, for

the beautiful card!

A Ukrainian Resort

Sasha, who is 16 years old and lives in the 'sunny city
of Odessa' in the Ukraine, sent me this great postcard.
It is a picture of the Black Sea in Crimea, a
Ukrainian resort. I think it is beautiful!
Thank you, Sasha, for sharing this beautiful view
of Crimea with me!

A Dutch Lighthouse in Marken

This black-and-white lighthouse is on the island of

Marken in the Netherlands. I am not surprised that

it is black-and-white. When we went to Marken, we

were amazed that every animal we saw--cats, dogs, cows,

chickens, geese, etc.--were all black-and-white!

This is a pretty little lighthouse. It was sent to me

by Marieke, who lives in The Hague. She says the

lighthouse almost looks like a real house!

Thank you, Marieke, for the pretty lighthouse card!

Groeten (greetings) from Holland

Sue, who lives in Rotterdam in the Netherlands,
sent this card to me. It shows many typical Dutch
things. Bicycles are a major form of transportation
in Holland (see upper right picture). The picture in
the upper left shows a motorcycle with Delft-style
painting on it! I have never seen one like that before!
Of course, the tulips and the pastries say 'Holland' too!
Thank you, Sue, for a taste of your country!

A Student's Project

These falling waters, rushing over the rocks and

cliffs, are on a card I received from Patrick,

a 15-year-old student in Germany. He says he

does Postcrossing with his private English tutor.

I think that must be a great way to learn about a

new language, as well as about other countries

and peoples.

Thank you, Patrick, for the nice card.

A Belarusian Card

This pretty buildingh with its Ionic columns is

the city hall in Svoboda (Freedom) Square,

Minsk, Belarus. It comes to me from Taras,

who lives in this capital city of Belarus.
He says he works as a media and motion

designer, and is fond of video-art, photography,

and graphic design.

Thank you, Taras, for the nice card!

These are the stamps that brought Taras' card.

Her First Postcrossing Card

This card, a Van Gogh painting, was sent to me

by Erica, who lives in Northborough, Massachusetts.

She said that this is the first Postcrossing card she has

sent and she is so excited. I can understand completely,

Erica. I have been postcrossing about 15 months and

I still get excited about it! Thank you so much for

the great art card!