From the Allgau

What a beautiful winter
greeting card I received
from Germany today!

Tobias sent me these beautiful winter

scenes from the Allgau area of

Germany. Tobias lives in Kempten,

which is near Ulm. He is 18 years old

and says he likes the small village he

lives in, but hopes, one day, to move to America.

I really love this card--it makes me 'homesick'

for Germany and, of course, we do not

see snow in San Antonio!

Thank you, Tobi, for the great card!

A Thailand Beach

I received this view of a beach in Thailand

from a guy called 'M'. He is 15 years old

and lives in Ayutthaya, Thailand, where

he is a high school student. He said this

shows the Andaman Sea in the south of

Thailand. It is a beautiful sea, M, and I

think it would be great for beachcoming!

Thank you very much for the card!

This beautiful Thai
stamp brought M's
card to me.
It looks like a river
winding its way through
the mist and trees.

A Sculpture from Vilnius (Lithuania)

Jolita, who lives in Vilnius,

says this is her favorite view in

Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The picture shows sculptures of

the Lithuanian Drama Theatre.

(Did you think it was real people too???)

I like the card very much, Jolita.

Thank you for sharing your favorite view with me!

This is an interesting

stamp that Jolita

put on her card.

It shows a suit of

armor from a

museum in Lithuania.

Handmade Art from Norway

This is my first card from Norway!

It came to me from Oda Susan, who is also the

artist who made it! She lives in Gjovik, Norway

and has lived there all of her 17 years.

However, she does travel a lot. And she loves

music and going to live concerts.

I'm sure that gave her the inspiration

for this card!

Thank you, Oda, for the beautiful handmade

card. I appreciate your artistic talents!

Oda also chose an

artictic stamp for

my card. This is a

painting by Irma

Salo-Jaeger, a

well-known

Norwegian artist.

Aura River, Turku, Finland

I received this picture of the beautiful Aura River

from Simo, who lives in Turku, Finland. He says

the big white sailing yacht is called 'Suomen Joutsen',

which translates to 'Swan of Finland'. You can also

see the tower of the Turku Cathedral on the top left.

When asked where you live, it is either 'this side',

meaning the same side as the Cathedral, or

'the other side' meaning the opposite.

Thank you, Simo, for the beautiful card. I know

I would love strolling along this beautiful river!

Simo also put a beautiful Finnish holograph stamp

on the card, but, unfortunately, my scanner

could not show the beauty of it--it blurred!

Breaking of the Ice (Finland)

I received this postcard from

Arien, Sami, and Aarni,

who live in Finland.

This picture shows the breaking of the ice

and, according to the three senders,

it is typical for the region they live in.

They say that, at the moment, there is a lot

of snow everywhere!

Thank you for the nice card.

The stamp that was on the card

shows President Martti Ahtisaari

of Finland, who won a Nobel Peace

Prize in 2008.

A Beautiful 'Happy Birthday' from Ulla!

What a nice surprise!

Ulla, who lives in Harjavalta, Finland,

made (yes, MADE!) this beautiful

birthday card for me! The roses are

3-D and look so real because they

stand out from the background of the card.

Ulla is a very talented artist and very

clever with her hands. I know this card

must have taken lots of time and patience,

and I dearly love it!

This shows the inside of my card.

Thank you, Ulla, for such a wonderful

birthday gift!

This pretty musical stamp

brought Ulla's card to me!

Mautern an der Donau

This is the beautiful blue Danube River as it is

flowing through Mautern in the Wachau region

of Austria. The bridge crosses the river and,

on the other side, there is a Benedictine Abbey.

My friend, Earney, lives in this beautiful place!

She said the Danube is a very romantic river,

especially at night when the lights are shining

on it. Thank you, Earney, for the beautiful

picture. Although my home is in Texas, the picture

makes me 'homesick' for this beautiful river!

The pretty stamp at the right

brought me this postcard. It

shows a flower called

'waldrebe'. It think it may

be a wood rose.

A Japanese Festival

I received a very nice postcard from Danielle

who lives in Japan. She is an American

teacher there. These two cute little stamps were

on the card.

Danielle's card looks like they are having

some kind of a festival. Several pairs of legs

are seen under the large canopy, which I think

is a dragon or a fish. Then there are dancers

with white wigs in the front of the canopy.

Thank you, Dani, for the nice card and the

stamp too!

This pretty Japanese stamp was on the

card I received from Danielle.

Two from the US of A

This postcard come from

a neighbor to the North:

Tiffany lives in Austin, Texas.

Even though Tiffany lives so near, she sent me

this beautiful card showing the Upper Falls at the

head of the gorge at Old Man's Cave in Ohio.

I love waterfalls and gorges, but I have never seen

this one.

Thank you, Tiffany, for showing me another beautiful

waterfall!

This card also came from the USA, but from

way up in the New England--Connecticut, to be exact.

Molly chose this unique postcard for me.

However, I'm not sure it would be called a postcard.

The picture is the back side of an envelope,

which is made of a letter that Molly wrote to me.

No matter what it is, I love it because it is

so different. Looks like these two characters are

enjoying tea and cakes, and maybe there's a little

flirting going on!!!

Thank you, Molly, for a great piece of mail!

Another Card from China

I received this nice view

of a very rocky mountain in China.

I have received several cards from China

recently.

The card was sent to me by a user

called Donglaiboy. He did not write a message

but put the greeting (below) on his card.

Don't you love his fish?

I do!

Thank you, Donglaiboy, for the nice card

and greeting!

A Postal Commemorative from China

I received this card today from Zhou who is

from the Republic of China.

The card commemorates the centennial

anniversary of the Beijing Post:

1897 - 1997

The truck shown in the picture is a postal

delivery truck that was put into use in 1985.

Thank you, Zhou, for the nice card!

The three stamps below were on the postcard.

Two of the stamps show beaches with seashells.

They are really beautiful--especially to a

beachcomber like me!

This stamp looks like a 'courtroom'

scene, with the presiding official

sitting behind a desk.

From Vilnius, Lithuania

Teva (or Leva, or ieva) sent me this

beautiful card with a Christmas tree in front

of one of the municipal buildings.

Unfortunately, when I went to register the card,

the ID number was wrong and I could not register it.

I have tried to find this Postcrossing user who

sent me the card by contacting Postcrossing

and by using a Google search--all without the

results I want.

If you are the sender, please contact me with the

right ID number and I will register the card.

I really llike this card because of the Christmas tree

being all lit up, and because of the lights in

the other trees too. I like the cars parked

in front and the little bit of snow that is on the ground.

Thank you, Dear Sender, for such a nice card.

These lovely bird stamps were on my card

from Vilnius. They look like game birds

to me, especially the one on the right.

The one on the left may be a shore bird,

possibly a snipe.

Two cards from Marika

This card, from Marika, who lives in Tampere,

Finland, shows the interior of the Cathedral

of Tampere. It looks HUGE! I would love to go

see the inside of this cathedral and I would love

to hear some music played on the gigantic

pipe organ!

Marika also sent me this lovely card that she
made for me. It has a 'travel' theme because
she knew I like traveling. I think it is really great
when someone takes the time and uses their
artistic talent to create such a unique card.
Thank you so very much, Marika!

The bicycle on the left above, was stamped on Marika's

envelope, and the Moomin stamp on the right above, brought

the cards from Finland to Texas.

A Card for a Beachcomber

This card comes from Jill in Australia, who says she

thought that "as a 'beachcomber'" I might like it.

She says she bought it at tha annual Art and Craft Fair,

where she went with her mother and 6-year-old

daughter, Joanna. Jill and Joanna rode on the

Steam Merry-Go-Round there.

Jill, this sounds like just the kind of outing I enjoy.

Wish I could go with you!

You were right about my liking this kind of card.

I am a beachcomber through and through and I love

all the rocks and stones in the picture. And that

one little shell in the sand looks like it is just waiting

to be picked up!

Thank you, Jill, for the lovely card!

This pretty Australian stamp shows the

Grose River Gorge in New South Wales.

Saguaros--No Match for Automobiles!

Whoops!

I wonder what the man from Oregon thought

when he came out and saw his car in this

situation!!!

Kikie send me this great card. She says that she

has lived all her 25 years in Arizona and thinks

it is the greatest place of all.

The blurb on the card says that the saguaro cactus

can weigh approximately 100 pounds per foot, and

the one in this picture weighed 10,000 pounds.

Thank you, Kikie, for this very unique card!

I thought I had seen just about all

USA stamps, but this one was new

to me. I really like it!

A Unique Card from Finland

Roosa, a 13-year-old girl from Finland,

chose this beautiful card for me. I like the way you

look through the clouds and sea the water

below, with a beautiful rainbow of color

separating the two.

Thank you, Roosa, for this beautiful and unique card.

I love it!

Roosa added this very pretty snowflake

stamp top her card.

Another Schoene Leuchtturm--Westerheversand

I received this great 'lighthouse at night' postcard

from Silke, who lives in the small German town of

Minden. She says that they visited Westerheversand on their

last holidays. She also says she likes spending her

holidays by the sea. That sounds like me, doesn't it???

Thank you, Silke, for sending

me this beautiful card.

I also love these

two German

stamps that

brought Lynette's

card!

Three Sisters from Australia

Lynette, who lives in Australia,

sent me this very interesting card. It shows

three rock columns that are called the Three Sisters,

and it is located in Katoomba, New South Wales.

Next to the picture is the legend of the three sisters.

The story tells of a witch doctor who had three daughters.

One day while the witch doctor was out searching for food for

his daughters, the girls unknowingly aroused the Bunyip, a creature

feared by all. When the witch doctor heard that the Bunyip was after

his daughters, he used his magic bone and turned them to stone,

planning to later turn them back to their former selves.

The Bunyip was angry and chased the witch doctor who, finding himself

trapped, turned himself into a Lyrebird and ran into a

small cave. Now everyone was safe, but the witch doctor

had dropped his magic bone. He searched for it, but,

when he could not find it, he could not turn them back.

This nice stamp (I believe the bird is a cassowary)

brought Lynette's card to me.

Thank you, Lynette, for a nice card and a good story!

"Leikkivia Poikia Rannalla"

Sari sent me this wonderful postcard of some boys

playing on the beach and sailing their little boats

in the water. Sari says it is one of Finland's most famous

paintings. The name of the painting is 'Leikkivia poikia rannalla',

which means 'Boys Playing on the Beach'. It was

painted by Albert Edelfelt in 1854. Sari says that Edelfelt

started his art career by painting historical topics, but

later changed to landscapes and people. He also

painted famous people and royalty.

Thank you, Sari, for the beautiful art card. I love it so much.

I like all kinds of paintings, but I am especially

fond of beaches and people enjoying them.

Cologne Cathedral

This card shows one of the portals

of Cologne's Gothic cathedral.

It was sent to me by Wyando. I had received

a postcard last year from Cologne

that showed the cathedral and the bridge.

This one gives a closer view. I like the card, Wyando.

Vielen dank!

A Card from a Swiss Miss

Doris is the Swiss Miss who sent me this beautiful

view of her home town in north-eastern Switzerland.

It is called St. Gallen and it is famous for the convent of

St. Gallen with its baroque cathedral and the convent

library and archives. It is also a Unesco world heritage site.

Even with this fame, Doris says that, personally, she loves

her town for its picturesque situation between

mountain range and lake.

I would love to see your beautiful hometown, Doris!

Thank you for showing me a part of your world.

It is really beautiful!

These beautiful Swiss stamps brought

Doris' card to me.

Thank you!

Milton Abbas

This jolly little snowman accompanied

a card from Mike, in Milton Abbas, Great Britain.


This beautiful little village is Milton Abbas. I love the
Norman-style church and the old houses.
As I told Mike, I would love to go strolling down
the road and past the church.
I understand there is also an abbey school in Milton Abbas.
Thank you, Mike, for a very nice card!