Portugal - Food

January 30, 2016

Marta sent this card from Portugal and wrote about herself on the back of it.  Hurray!

She writes, "Hello!  I'm Marta from Portugal.  I'm 16 years old.  I love movies and books too.  My favourite book is "1984", George Orwell and I can't decid my favourite movie because there are so many movies I love.  How about yours?

The Postcard is my favourite food in Spain: paella.  Happy Postcrossing"

VALENCIA
Paella valenciana

Russia

January 28, 2016

Olga sent this card from Russia with a note.

"Hello from Russia! I'm Olga and here's the card.
This is the old photo of my native city Ekaterinburg.
This is how it looked like in the beginning of the XXth cent. The
church and the mansion
close by are still there but
all the wooden buildings
have gone. But these wooden
buildings are typical for
Russian cities and they still
remain in many places.
Olga"

Taiwan

January 27, 2016

Amy sent this card to me with a short, friendly note on the back.

She wrote,

"Hello :-)
My name is Amy. I am a Taiwanese.
I have gone to Japan in 2015.  I like Japan.
Have  you gone to Taiwan?
we have many yummy foods.  Wellcome!

Amy"


Unfortunately, I have no idea what is on the card.

I like the stamp a lot, but have no idea what it shows.

Thank You/Movie Card

January 23, 2016

I recently sent a non-Postcrossing card to a person in Morocco and she sent one back to me to say thank you.  I like the card and the stamps that Eva used, so am posting them here for your enjoyment too.

Eva is interested in Alice in Wonderland cards and I happened to have a good one.  I sent it to her and she sent this great movie card back to me.  

She notes that it isn't a Moroccan illustration, but thinks I may like this postcard anyway...and I did!  

projekt plakatu Andrzej Krajewski

I love these great stamps...how lovely to have a book on a stamp!

Thank you Eva!  I appreciate your sending this card to me!

Russia - Books

January 23, 2016

Antonina sent this cute card to me from Russia.  She used great stamps and lots of colours on the back.  It was a fun card to receive!

She writes, "Hi!  My name is Antonina and I live with my husband and cat just near Moscow.  We have a 10-day holiday in Russia now.  It is a huge relief!  Time to sleep a lot and read books :-)

[Pointing to a stamp]This stamp is from book by Astrid Lindgren about Karlson.  Have you ever heard about it?

Favourite movie 'Amelie'"

This is a great card, but I don't know the characters.

This are really interesting stamps.  They are very long too!

Russia

January 23, 2016

Evelyn sent this beautiful card from Russia, with a nice note about herself.

She writes, "Hi!  My name is Evelyn and I am 16-year-old teenager who lives in Ivanovo, Russia.  But now I'm on vacation in St. Petersburg so I'm sending you a postcard from here.  About myself? I love singing and reading.  Don't watch many films, prefer serials.  Best Wishes, Evelyn"

Griboyedov Canal.  View of Resurrection Church
(Church-on-the-Spilled-Blood)

Russia - Food

January 20, 2016

Olga sent this beautiful card from Russia with a short note about herself.

Olga wrote, "Hello!  My name is Olga, I live in Russia.  I am a journalist, I write about cultural events.  This is very interesting!

Also, I am artist.  I love watercolor and sketching:) What are you hobby? Happy Postcrossing!"

Artist: V. Nagornov, based on original painting of K. Makovsky
<<Teatime>>

Germany

January 15, 2016

This long and beautiful card arrived from Germany recently.  Kate sent it and decorated the back with some stickers and a great little note.

She wrote, "Hi, my name is Kate.  I just came back home from my winter vacation.  I spent some time with my family in a very small village in the Bavarian Forest, close to the Czech border.  We went hiking in a National Park and the landscape was amazing, even without snow, you can see it on the picture!
Greetings, Kate"

A beautiful card.  

The stamp is interesting.  I'm not sure what game is being played, but I haven't seen many stamps with playing cards on them!

United States

January 14, 2016

Emily sent this great card from the US.  It features famous words from a poet and what looks like a maple leaf on the front.  She wrote a friendly note on the back too.

She wrote, "Hello!  Greetings from the cool desert of Arizona.  I am turning 30 this month.  I love arts & crafts like quilting & mosaics.  My favourite movies are Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, The Departed, Closer, and Sleepless in Seattle.  Happy New Year!  Emily"

Australia - Maxi Card Actor

January 12, 2016

This very cool card came from Helena who lives in Australia.  She wrote a very nice message on the back of this card.

She writes,"I'm Helena, live in the Blue Mountains -130km west of Sydney.  Geoffrey Rush is one of my favourite actors-did you see "The King's Speech" or "Shine"? great movies!

I was born in Switzerland and came to AUS over 30 years ago.  My two children are adults and I'm grandma to two sweet girls.  Happy New Year! Helena"


Yes, I like Geoffrey Rush a lot and have seen both Shine and The King's Speech.  In fact, one of the most interesting little movies I saw in 2014 was one of his.  It was called The Best Offer and was quite unusual.

Geoffrey Rush

 The card was pre-stamped, but there was an additional stamp on the back.

A very nice Postcrossing.  Thank you Helena!

Latvia - Handicrafts

January 12, 2016

I received this fabulous card from Kristine and I really liked it a lot.  It has a lot of mittens on it.  I  tried to knit a pair of mittens once, but my mother had to help me with the thumbs.  I loved them, but sadly ended up losing them somewhere.  I was quite sad about that.

Kristine writes, "Hello!  Greetings from Europe, greetings from Latvia.  And happy New 2016 year!

As winter with snow and frost arrived here, - sending you card with nice mittens in traditional patterns.  My granny also is making such for us.  Love them.  Warm and beautiful.  We are enjoying skiing and skating.  Happy Postcrossing!  Kristine"

Knitted Mittens.
Latvia.  18th c till the beginning of the 20th c.
National History Museum of Latvia

The bird you see on the stamp is, I believe, a Eurasian golden oriole.  The Wikipedia article is here.

Thanks Kristine :-)

Canada

January 12, 2016

I received this interesting and self-made card from Nadine in Montreal.  I  liked it, but had no idea what was in the picture.  I asked her about it and she very nicely replied and told me that it is a close up photograph of an ornament.  I had a few ideas but that wasn't one of them!

Nadine writes,"Hello, I am Nadine, living in Montreal, Canada.  I love to knit, crochet and play piano.  2 years ago I started to grow orchids.  My favourites are miniatures.  Best wishes for the New Year! Nadine"

The stamp has an interesting history  It commemorates the HMS Erebus, an ill fated ship that was lost in the Arctic in 1848.  It was finally found.  The story can be found on Wikipedia, here.

Finland - Black and White with Book

January 12, 2016

Elli sent this cool card that looks like a still from an old black and white movie but probably isn't, from Finland.  She wrote a friendly note on the back too.

She writes, "Hi!  Greetings from Finland.  We have snow and -16oC at the moment.  We have had great northern lights this autumn and winter.

I love movies, my favourite ones are the Hunger Games movies.  I like Jennifer Lawrence a lot!

Best wishes, Elli"

I like the card, but there is no information about it on the back.  I don't know if it is a genuine old picture or a clever staging of a new one.  I can't even find anything about the name of the book.

I like this stamp, but as usual know nothing about it! I don't think I've seen it before.

Germany - Art/Book

January 12, 2016

Christa sent me this gorgeous card from Germany with a lovely chatty note on the back.  I don't think I  have ever seen this painting before, but I love it.

Christa writes,"Hello!  My name is Christa and I'm 60 years old.  I live with my two cats in North Germany, not far away from the Danish border and the Baltic Sea (Fleusburg Firth).  The landscape here  is very beautiful and every year many tourists visit this area.

I like Scrapbooking.  I produce greeting cards.  I hope you like this postcard. I wish you all the best for the future.

Best wishes to Japan
Christa"

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875)
The Reader Crowned with Flowers, or Virgil's Muse <<1845

I haven't seen this lovely Narcissus before on the stamp.  Beautiful!  When I see them here I know Spring is underway.  I hope to see them soon!

Germany - Books

January 12, 2016

Hannes from Germany sent this cool black and white card with books to me.  His handwriting was a little hard to read, but his message was friendly and interesting.

He writes, "Hello, Kon Nichiwa! Greetings from Bavarie, Germany!
The card it printed in France-but I bought it in Germany-I haven't seen it in your liste-I like to read humor books and have Abo (?) to the P.M. magazine. I love also the NATURE, mostly the MOUNTAINS, where I like go hiking and take a lot of nice pictures! Happy New Year 2016!
"Sidolix" (Hannes)

The Reader (Anonyme)
2008 Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

Thank you Hannes!  This looks like me and my books!  (Well, it would if I was a man and had a table to put them on like this. )

Netherlands - Book

January 12, 2016

Jeanette sent this great card with stamps to me from the Netherlands.  She has a lovely chatty message on the back.

She wrote,"Hello,

I live in a small village in the south of the Netherlands.  I'm a grandmother of 5 grandchildren (1 triplet). I love travelling and quilting and that's the most perfect combination. The visited a lot of quilt exhibitions.

I was in Tokyo Canada, U.S. and many countries in Europe.  I wish you all the best for 2016!
Jeanette"

Book
Agata Dobrzanska[obscured]

These are some very interesting stamps.  They look older, but I'm not sure honestly...also most of them are Christmassy, which I like!

Netherlands - Art

January 12, 2016

I received this cool art card from Marieke and thought I'd tell you all about it.

She writes,"Hi, I'm a fan of 17th century painting & this genre piece is considered to be the epitome of Dutch master painting.  But nothing you see on the table is Dutch (or from the Dutch Republic then) Everything you see was imported from all over the world as the Dutch ruled the seas back then. They were also the only ones to be allowed to trade with the Japanese @ Deshima.  Groetjes uit Nederland!  Marieke"

Still Life with a Gilt Cup, 1635
Willem Claesz Heda
Rijks Museum

United States

January 12, 2016

This interesting card came from Michigan and was sent by Diane.  She wrote a nice long message on the back for me.

Diane wrote, "Hello from Michigan!  Since you are originally from Canada, I thought you might like this card.  I love to visit Port Huron & the bridges.  The water is a beautiful sea green, and I love to watch the freighters go by.  I like to visit the lighthouses, too!  My daughter also likes to cross into Canada for a day visit.  Happy New Year! -Diane"

Blue Water Bridges
The twin spans of the Blue Water Bridges form an international connection between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Netherlands

January 12, 2016

This "typically" Dutch card arrived with a friendly note on the back and a bunch of lovely stamps!

Ingmar wrote, "Hi, Wanted to wish you all the best for 2016.  That it may be a year full of Postcards! =) All the best.  Ingmar"

These are really interesting stamps.  Sadly, it doesn't photograph well, but the Speed Skater stamp in the corner "moves" when you move the card. 

Thanks Ingmar :-)

Belgium

January 12, 2016

This card came from Belgium, but shows a scene in Montenegro. The sender was friendly, but didn't say too much.

He wrote," Hello!  Picture from our last holidays.  GiLBERT"

Looks like a beautiful place, but it isn't Belgium!