Great Britain

July 30, 2019

Emma sent this card to me and it was a bit of a puzzle.  There was a sticker on the front that says she didn't pay enough postage so it was sent by another service.  Now then, the slogan on the card is about frugality, so my question is...did she mean to sent it by a slow service or was it a happy accident?  I have no idea!

She wrote a short and friendly note on the back;
"Helen,
I hope that you are well!
I am a student in the UK. I live by the beach with my boyfriend & our 2 rabbits.

~Emma

This is the card with the sticker.

This is the card without the sticker

The offending stamp. Oops!

I think I like the postcard more with the sticker than without!  What about you?

Philippines - Food

July 19, 2019

This card came to me from -S- in the Philippines. She wrote a very friendly note on the back in all caps so it is a little hard to read.  I won't transcribe it in all caps though!

She wrote;

"Dear Helen,
Greetings from Manilla, Philippines. We went to Osaka last year and we love it. Specially, my kids. We love the culture, and food. I love Kyoto the most. Maybe one day, we can go to Tokyo side. My kids love the Japanese braised pork. It taste clean and easy to cook. Adobo is a Filipino version of braised pork. It taste better when you freeze it for more than 2 days. It's good with rice. But we love ramen more than rice. Have a nice day ahead. -S-"

I like recipe cards, but my only beef(!) with this one is that it doesn't have the method of cooking on it. Some cards put the ingredients on the front like this one, but the method on the back. There isn't any how to make it. Sigh. If I was motivated I could look it up I suppose. I did make a Chicken Adobo once or twice in my slow cooker and I really liked that!

I'm not sure why it shows as a pinkish card, it is the colour of cardboard, a light brown card.

China

July 8, 2019

This card came to me from China and has a short but enthusiastic message from the sender.

He wrote;
"Greetings from China. Do you like roller coaster? Do you like adventure and excitement. I've never been on it, so I bought this postcard from nanluoguxiang in Beijing.  Welcome to China.

Russian Federation - Books

July 8, 2019

This card was a bit of a deja vu experience as I had received one the month before with the same picture. The writing was different though. The person didn't write a very personalized message, it was more of a geography lesson....

She wrote;

"Hello!
Download the app and direct the phone to the poststamp: App Store, Google Play ⇒mARko....and surprise:) [I never did try this]
Ulyanovsk is the only place in Europe where two deep rivers: Volga and Swiyaga proceed parallel to each other at a distance of 2km in the opposite direction. Best wishes!"

A really lovely stamp.

United States

July 6, 2019

This card arrived (a long time ago!) from the US.  Thomas sent it with a friendly note on the back and some nice stamps.

He wrote;

"Hello, Helen!

Greetings from the Midwest U.S.A.! I was born & raised in K.C. MO. area. we have great B.B.Q. in K.C & a great football team!  I work in It field & like it alot. I would like to hear more about Japan.

Take care, Thomas."

I like the coffee pot stamp!

Germany

July 6, 2019
Elke sent this huge card to me from Germany. It's quite interesting! She wrote a short and friendly note on the back.

She wrote;

Hello Helen,

nice to meet you 😀

I live with my family in Chemnite, Saxony. My hometown was called Karl Marx Stach from 1953 to 1990.

I like to read in my free time. My favourite author is Clive Cussler. 

Enjoy your day!

Elke

The card has a stamped URL at the bottom. It's to a site for fantasy books. If you read German, or have a translation button, check it out!

This is a rather oversize card.  It is quite large!

German stamps are always quite interesting!  I like these ones.

United States - Art Card

July 5, 2019

Yufang sent this card to me from the US. She used great stamps on the back and wrote a chatty note about herself and movies that she loves on the back.  I love this kind of card!

She wrote;

Hello Helen!

Greetings from New York City (Brooklyn). USA! 

My name is Yufang, came from Taiwan 16 years ago. I love to read, play piano, and collect stamps. My favorite movies are "Scent of a Woman", "Amelie", and lots of good action movies.  I definitely love Daniel Craig's Bond movies! He actually lives about 10-minute walk from my house! :-) Hope all is well! Yufang

PS. You live in my dream country!

Woman reading in a Forest - Gyula Benczur

Look at these wonderful stamps!  Greta Garbo, Love and Celebrate! How wonderful.  I've never seen such a good example of the Garbo stamp before. I love it!

South Korea - Movie Card

July 3, 2019

Rucy sent this card from South Korea and wrote a very nice note on the back of it. I haven't seen the movie on the front of the card, but I hope to be able to see it one day.

She wrote;

Dear Helen

Hello~

I'm Rucy and I live in Goyang City, South Korea. The pronunciation of Goyang is similar to a cat. So my city's mascot is a cat.

I like ancient Egypt. So my favourite movie is The Mummy in 1999. I'm reading Don Quixote these day. Let me know if you have a book to recommend to me. Have a good summer time! =) 2019.06.24  

The stamps that Rucy used on her card are really lovely.  The one with the pig on it has cold leaf on it, the outline of the pig and the waves are all gold. It is really beautiful.

Belarus - Actress in Black & White

July 3, 2019

This card came to me from Natalia in Belarus.  She wrote a friendly note and wrote about movies, so I was very pleased with it!

She wrote,
"Dear Helen,
I'm Natalia from Belarus. I live in a small town not far from the capital city Minsk. My town is called Molodechno. 100, 000 people live here.
Recently I saw a film with L.diCaprio as the main actor. That was "Inception". I recommend it to you, too. "Interstellar" is one more that deeply touches. "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist" are also great.

June 17th, 2019  23℃

Marilyn Monroe

Czech Republic - Food

July 3, 2019

Verka sent a friendly message from the Czech Republic.  Some of it is in Czech, which I will not type here, as I'm not sure how I would do that!

She wrote,

"Hello Stella, Greetings from Czech Republic.  On the postcard are cakes-typical Czech with poppy and nuts. Have a nice day.

Vĕrka

I really like these stamps, although I'm not sure who the man is in the big stamp.  

Russia - Books

July 2, 2019

I enjoy receiving postcards from people who take the time to write a lot. Their cards are fun to receive.  I try and write a lot on my cards, I'm not sure if the receivers always appreciate it though.

This card came from Irina in Russia.  She wrote a lot, but it was a good thing!

She wrote,

Hello, Helen! Greetings from Astrakhan from the south of Russia ;-) My name is Irina, I'm 20. I'm studying foreign languages: German, English and French. I dream to visit as much countries and places as I can. I have a big family: mother, father, sister and brother. My grandma lives with us too.

I like reading books (detectives and romances). I can't imagine my life without sport: ice-hockey, football, ice skating, volleyball and etc. 

I really like tea. I don't drink any coffee. 

My region is famous for watermelon, fish and the river Volga. Our main attraction is the Kremlin of Astrakhan, you can find photos in Internet. It's old, but very beautiful, I think. 

Have a good day.

United Kingdom via Germany - Food

July 1, 2019

Marion sent this card from Germany, but she actually bought it in the UK.  I'm not a big fan of that, I prefer to receive cards from the country that they are sent from, but it is a great card!

She wrote,

Hello Helen,

greetings from Hamburg. My name is Marion. I am 50 years old. In my spare time I love to travel and visit places I haven't been to before. My current project is to visit all European capitals. 😀 Hope you like the card. I brought it from my last summer holiday to Cornwall. Best wishes Marion

Cornish Cream Tea

Netherlands - Actress in B&W with Book

July 1, 2019

Caroline sent me this great card with an interesting picture of Marilyn Monroe.  I've received many pictures of Marilyn Monroe over the years, but this is one that I haven't seen before.

Caroline wrote;

Hello Helen, here a postcard with an actress(?) on it. (that's Madonna? or Maryline Monroe? However it's a black and white one with someone reading a book! I think it must be rather difficult living in a foreign country and not speaking the language. Do you miss Canada? bye CAROLINE

Marilyn Monroe

 Love all these cool stamps! You can even see her question on the side if you look carefully.

Germany

July 1, 2019

Ilona wrote a note and told me about where she lives and her life.
24th of June 2019

Dear Helen,
The landscape on the card looks like the one where I live. I'm 52 years old and live in the Northern part of Germany - The North Sea to the left, Baltic Sea to the right.

We do not have any children but a tomcat called Anton. And we love to travel with our vintage car which is a 48 years old Mercedes Benz. Currently at the garage for repair...Hopefully in good condition again soon as we want to travel to Finland in summer.

Warm regards, Ilona

David Hockney RA
The Road Across the Wolds, 1997

These little guys are cute!