A UNESCO World Heritage Site

This is a picture of the Unesco World Heritage Site

in Yorkshire, England. It is the ruins of

a monastic abbey called Fountains Abbey,

and it is situated in the valley of the River Skell.

Rachel sent me this very nice card and she said

the abbey is near her home.

Thank you, Rachel, for your beautiful card

and for letting me get to know a little about

Fountains Abbey.

A Birthday Card for Me!

Just look at the beautiful birthday card

that came in the mail!

This beauty was made by my penpal, Sinikka,

who lives in Vaasa, Finland. She is so clever

with her hands! She stitched the violets and

than made the card.

And it's my favorite color--PURPLE!

Thank you, Sinikka, for such a nice card!

Second Card from Portugal

Jose sent me my second card from Portugal.

It is from Romantic Lisbon, and Jose

says it shows the old part of the town.

It is a really nice card and I like it very much!

Thank you, Jose!

The stamp on Jose's card

also shows a trolley on it.

I like the stamp too!

A wintry Road in Finland

Although I have driven down some

snowy country roads before, I don't think

I have ever driven down one like this!

It's beautiful!

The card came to me from Inka, who lives in Oulainen.

She says that it has been very cold there. The morning

that she mailed the card, it was -25 C!

Thank you, Inka, for sharing your beautiful winter

with me.

The stamp that brought Inka's card

also had a beautiful winter scene

on it.

Pietarsaari Jakobstad, Finland

This pretty city view of Pietarsaari Jakobstad

was sent to me by Carina, who has lived

here for only a week! She says it is a beautiful

part of Finland. I think so too, Carina,

and thank you very much for the card!

This is the stamp that
brought Carina's card to me.
It shows General G. M. Armfelt
who was a Swedish general.
He later became governor-general
of Finland.

Late Afternoon in Seattle

Isn't this a beautiful picture of Seattle with its

Space Needle and the snow on the mountain

in the distance? This card was sent to me by my

penpal, Deanna DeBruyne, who lives in

Maple Valley, Washington. She also sent me

a nice long letter with the card. Thank you,

Deanna, for the card and letter, and I will

answer soon.

An English Beach from Der Schweiz

Although this card shows a beach in

Dorset, England, it comes to me from

Jacqueline in Switzerland.

She also chose a card that shows the water

because I love it.

Thank you, Jacqueline, for the

lovely beach card. I would really like

to go beachcombing here!

These two stamps, showing Amax Imperator

(dragonfly), and Rosalia Alpina (beetle)

were on my card from Jacqueline. There

were three of each of the above stamps.

They are really beautiful!

First Card from Russia

I received my first card from Russia today.

This card comes from Libelo, who says

she chose it because I like the water.

She also said that she visited Alaska this

summer and is in love with that place!

She said that Denali was awesome.

Thank you, Libelo, for the nice card and I

agree that Alaska is a wonderful place.

I lived there three years.

This little pink deer was on Libelo's

postcard.

These are the stamps that brought

Libelo's card. The two at left show the

Russian bear. The one below shows

some city buildings.

First Card from Portugal

I received this card t0day from Carlos

who lives in Portugal. He said he thought

it would make me laugh! And it did!!!

I think Senor Burro should remember that

smoking is not good for you.

I won't comment on his 'dream'!

I like the stamps on Carlos card too. The first

one has a horsedrawn trolley that says

something about 'American' but the postmark

covered the rest. The second is a Portuguese

Olympic stamp.

Thank you, Carlos, for the card, and the laugh,

and the stamps!

A Heart in Estonia

This beautiful blue heart-shaped lake is in the

birthplace of sender Marion--Viljandi, Estonia.

She said the city is smaller than the city of Tallinn,

but it is still one of the biggest in Estonia!

I think this is very neat--I have never seen

a heart-shaped lake!

Thank you so much, Marion, for introducing

me to Viljandi and its beautiful lake!

These are the two Estonian stamps that brought

Marion's card to me. The first looks like

some kind of raptor, possibly a falcon, and

the second is a dove of peace.

In the Adirondacks

How is this for water in its 'natural habitat'?

This pretty card came from Vernsey, who said

that he went camping in the Adirondacks last

fall and they visited this gorge. He said it

was awesome--and I believe it! I would love

to see this gorge and waterfall!

Thank you, Vernsey, for the beautiful card!

A Gift from Sisko

What a nice surprise I received in the mail

from Sisko, who lives in Ypaja, Finland.

She sent me the metal plaque show above.

The peony is beautiful! I hung it on the wall

by my computer!

Sisko also sent a letter and some pictures of

herself and her family and the family dogs.

I really enjoyed them, Sisko! Dogs Rule!

Thank you so very much!

From the Philippines

This is a really beautiful mapcard of the

Philippines. It was sent to me by Arlene,

who lives in Cavite City, which is on Manila Bay.

It lies to the southwest of Manila. I like all

the views around the map of the Philippines.

Now I know where my penpal lives!

Thank you, Arlene, for the nice card!

Stamps, Stamps, Wonderful Stamps

I have received several envelopes

recently with some very nice stamps.

I decided to put them all in one post.

Danielle, an American lady who teaches in Japan,

sent me a note and some 'squished pennies'

in an envelope with thes awesome stamps.

One of the squished pennies had an image

of 'Hello Kitty' on it and one of the stamps

does too! Really neat!

These bird stamps came from my

newest penpal, Arlene, from the Philippines.

The top two stamps show a white-collared

kingfisher and a white-throated kingfisher.

The two at the bottom show the

short-eared owl. Nice stamps!

These stamps were on a package I received

from Sisko in Finland. I think Finland has

some of the most beautiful and unusual

stamps I've seen. I was really intrigued by

the two on the upper right, because they

are 'shaped' stamps rather than rectangular.

One of them shows a castle and the other

looks like dancers. Of course, there were also

the beautiful flower stamps.

And these stamps? Why, they are from the

U.S.A. The 5-cent stamp shows American

toleware. The other celebrates the

lunar (Chinese) new year. However, it is not

this year's 'Year of the Ox'. It is for the

'Year of the Ram'.

Since I joined Postcrossing, I have been amazed

at all the beautiful stamps that have

brought my postcards from the four corners

of the earth! I love them all!

Another Kaj Stenvall Card

When I first looked at this card, I did not

see it as a Kaj Stenvall card. I only saw a lavatory

with a water tap. On my second look, I recognized

the Stenvall duck!

This great card comes to me from Heli in Finland.

Thank you, Heli, for such an intriguing card.

I love it!

Chicago and Costa Rica

This card came to me from Jane, who lives

just outside of Chicago. Do you think it is an aerial

view of Chicago? Guess again! It is a model train

replica of downtown Chicago in the Museum of

Science and Industry. This museum was part of

the 1893 Columbian Exposition, according to Jane.

Thank you, Jane, for such an interesting card!

And this card comes from Kat, who lives in Florida.

She says, 'Here is some water in its "natural habitat"

from my recent trip to Costa Rica. I'm also a big

fan of waterfalls.'

(I had written in my profile that I liked water

in its 'natural habitat'!)

I really like this card with its waterfalls.

Thank you, Kat, for the beautiful

Costa Rican card!

From Christchurch, New Zealand

This is the first card I have received

from New Zealand!

It came from Amanda, who lives in Christchurch.

She says they have mountains on one side

of their region and the sea on the other.

She also says the summer is great, the winter

not so great!

It is a beautiful card! I like the two scenes

showing Christchurch both at night and in

the daytime.

Thank you, Amanda, for the nice card from

New Zealand!

This is the New Zealand stamp that brought

Amanda's card. It shows the Cape Brett

lighthouse in the northern part

of the country.

Handmade Card from Lena

I received this beautiful handmade card

from Lena, who lives in Haarlem, Holland.

It is a birthday congratulations card and

she made it with a 'beach' theme, although

she says that it is not 'beach weather' in

Holland right now!

That's alright, Lena--I love the card, no matter

what the weather! Thank you very much. The card

is lovely and I appreciate the fact that you

took the time to make it for me!

All these pretty Holland stamps were

on the envelope to Lena's card.

Halle an der Saale

This card comes to me from Steffi in Germany.

Halle an der Saale is in the eastern part

of Deutschland. It is the birthplace of

Georg Freidrich Handel. The city has a great

musical heritage, as well as other historic

interests. I love the half-timbered house

in the lower left corner!

Thank you, Steffi, for sending me such

a wonderful card. I love Germany!!!

This pretty flower stamp came

with Steffi's card attached!

The flower is Traenendes Herz,

or 'bleeding heart'.

The Dunes from Isle Foehr

I received another card from Silke in Germany.

This is a picture of the dunes on Foehr Island

in the Northern Sea. Silke says it is a 4 - 5 hour

drive from her home, but she tries to go there once

a year. She takes her little beagle, Ronja, and she

likes to run on the beach like a little puppy--but she

is nine years old!

Thank you, Silke, for such a nice card. I would

like to run on the beach like a puppy too!

These two nice

stamps were

on Silke's card.

The first is

Klosterinsel

Reichenau,

a UNESCO

World Heritage site.

The second is the Brandenburg gate.

Washington in Winter--How Beautiful!

Elaine, who lives in Bremerton, Washington,

said 'thank you' with this beautiful card

of her home state. I love the snow scene--we

do not get snow in San Antonio!

Thank you, Elaine, for sharing your beautiful

state with me!

Another Nice Lighthouse Card!

Maarit, who lives in Finland, sent me

this beautiful lighthouse painting.

She said she found this card in her collection

and hoped I would like it.

I really do like the card, Maarit!

Thank you very much!

This pretty rose stamp
brought Maarit's card
to San Antonio.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

I received this card from Shannon. It is the Old

Mackinac Point lighthouse in Mackinaw City,

Michigan, where Lake Michigan meets Lake

Huron. I have visited this lighthouse and

it is a great lighthouse!

Thank you, Shannon, for the nice card!

(Many people are confused about the pronunciation

of this lighthouse and the city, because one is

spelled with a 'c' and the other with a 'w'. The

fact is, they are both pronounced exactly the same!

In English, it is pronounced with the 'w' sound.)

Happy, Happy Birthday!

I had a great birthday this year, with

many wishes from family and friends.

Below are some of the cards I received.

I also had a 'FaceBook' birthday greeting

from my Postcrossing friend, Nopi, who

lives in Greece. There is another greeting

card (further down the blog) from

Postcrossing friend, Ulla.

Since my birthday and Brenda's birthday

are only two weeks apart, we

celebrated together this year:

all the family that is in San Antonio came

over and we had a pizza party. Granddaughter

Becky made an Italian cream cake that

was 'out-of-this-world' delicious!

It was a wonderful birthday!

John & Laurie's card.
Inside message.

This one is from Brennie & Charlie.

(The picture is a hologram, and the little

dog dances!)

Inside message.

From Becky, Caleb, & Jaycee
Inside message

Jaycee's 'signature!