Autumn In Ontario

The autumn is in full swing by now but here where I live and work we are surrounded with coniferous trees, so we don't get to see the greatest autumn feature of all - the colour changes. Instead, we are 'trapped' on the island because of the extreme SE winds, with 65-knot gusts as we speak. Its a gamble to walk outside, with all the objects flying around! So instead let's enjoy this peaceful autumn view from Canada :) Thank you Katie :)

Miss Gabrielle Ray

I caught myself daydreaming of Christmas Markets (not that far to go, only a month!) and snow and coats and boots...and how I wish to go somewhere, just go...At least Zagreb is near and has a splendid Xmas Market..! In the meantime, here is a snowy vintage postcard with a new name to me, though she seems to have been extremely popular during the 1st decade of the 20th century - Gabrielle Ray, an English stage actress, dancer and singer, best known for her roles in Edwardian musical comedies. It makes me hum to myself 'jin-gle-bells jin-gle-bells'....

Lord Ganesha

Of all the Hindu deities Ganesha must be one of the most recognisable ones. He is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. Newly he is typically shown with his forward right hand towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness; the forward left hand holding a delicacy, while the back hands hold an axe (or sometimes a goad) and a pasha (noose). Thank you Abhay for this colourful card :)

This is a post for Sunday Stamps - letter J. I was browsing trough my scans for joint issues, and came across this stamp on the right presenting Jarabe Tapatio. In joint issues there are representations of one topic by two different countries, and this way you get to see some sombreros and china poblanas alongside some more typical Indian issues. Jarabe Tapatio is internationally known as the Mexican Hat Dance; it represents the courtship between a man and a woman, with the woman first rejecting the advances, then eventually accepting them. A video of the dance would be nice to see wouldn't it...I'll have a search. And you can see more J-entries on Sunday Stamps here.

UNESCO - Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica, Poland

These are the largest timber-framed churches in Europe, built in the mid 17th century following the Peace of Westfalia treaties. They bear testimony to the quest for religious freedom and are a rare expression of Lutheran ideology in an idiom generally associated with the Catholic Church.

The imperial consent to build the churches was hard to come by, and eventually imposed strict conditions: they were to be built outside any town boundaries in strictly defined areas, only with wood and clay, could not feature a tower, and should be finished within a year. Still, they endured the test of time to this day - considered the masterpieces of skilled handicraft, they remain without peer in their technological complexity and size.

No wonder these churches are a WHS! Thank you Sebastian and Sabina for your additions to my UNESCO collection :)

UNESCO - Place Stanislas, Nancy, France

This UNESCO site actually comprises three different squares, but I'll have to get there myself it seems, to be able to get all the postcards :D Here is the Hotel de Ville or the City Hall on Place Stanislas, a part of a carefully conceived project in the 18th century that succeeded in creating a capital that was both prestigious and functional. Thank you dear Sylvia for sending this card, but also for attaching these great stamps - which now I can present on Sunday Stamps :)

Today, for letter H - a Heart-shaped stamp, issued in 2000 for Valentine's Day. The French Post is not a stranger to issuing heart-shaped stamps, as are not many other national Posts (including Croatian), but this is one of the few ones I have received on a piece of mail. It is from a set of two dedicated to the great fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. I was wondering if he popularised the red lipstick? In my attempt to find out, I've learnt that it were possibly ancient Sumerian men and women who invented and wore lipstick first. Now that was about 5000 years ago!

I have actually struggled to find a stamp to present G last sunday, so I've skipped it. It seems I could have shown this cute stamp on the right as it is an image taken by the famous (baby) photographer Anne Geddes. It is from a set of two issued in 2004, this one is celebrating a birth of a baby girl, and there is one for a baby boy too. The same theme was issued in 2005 also. I have to say, exploring stamps for this blog has opened my eyes, the French Post prints some amazing issues, and they are plentiful! Its just that you never imagine it, mostly receiving the definitives on postcards.

Find more interesting H-stamps following this link.

Autumn In Québec

After a long hot summer the autumn is finally here, literally arrived to the date...Where I live it sadly doesn't display all these wonderful colours, but instead a strong chilly wind is the main 'culprit'. Canada seems awesome during this time of year. Still on to-visit list...

On a side-note: don't you just 'love' it when there are such great stamps on the postcard, but no proper cancellation? Instead crossed out with a black marker...groar.

Côte d'Azur Sand Postcard

Nine years may not seem that long ago in postal time, but to me it's like a different age...just starting to discover forums, FB groups...It was a time of no special swaps and no special postcard series...one of my first swap buddies was Deborah from France whom I've 'met' on FB. Sadly this was the last card she sent me before 'retiring' from postcrossing due to increase of postage rates. It is the only postcard I have to this day with actual sand in it - I wonder if its really taken from the beaches of Côte d'Azur..! And such a cute stamp, with the little cows also saying 'what a cute stamp' lol. And yes the hand cancellation, can't find them so easily these days in some 'mechanised' countries.

Here's to you Deborah, I hope you're fine & happy wherever you are! :-*

Mali Losinj, Losinj Island

Mali Losinj is a well-known resort town on the south side of Losinj Island, connected to Zadar by a ferry line. Even though its a popular tourist spot, when I hear of it I think of my dad and his stories how he served the army there and walked the whole island. This was of course at the time of former Yugoslavia, and it makes me wonder how much things have changed since then. 

I also wonder how this postcard reached me without any stamps..!

Beli, Cres Island

Wow I didn't realise I have this little place on a postcard...the reason I wow about it is, I planned to go there last week, but sadly all my plans failed because of a series of unfortunate events. Beli is a small town on the NE part of Croatia's largest island Cres. Coming from Rijeka via ferry I would have had to walk for about 15 km to reach it from the ferry port, as there is no public transport available. And why, one might ask? Beli homes a rescue centre for Griffon Vultures, as one of the few colonies left in this part of Europe is in that area. I've been wanting to see these unique birds for ages now...I guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer.

The thing is, Cres is not as overridden with tourists as some of the other (more accessible) islands. It is actually close to land on the northern side but very long, and it continues to the island of Losinj. I planned to walk the whole length. It still makes me sad to think of it, sniff. I think I have a postcard of the end point too...Coming next.

Punta Arenas, Chile

Here you can see the largest city south of the 46th parallel, Punta Arenas. It is the capital of Chile's southernmost region Magellanas and Antarctica Chileana, and one of only two free ports in the country. As the kind sender Ramon mentioned, there are also Croatian landmarks in the city, as many have migrated there between the two wars.

There is not only Chile on these stamps, but also a popular comic book character Condorito, read throughout the whole of the South America - I am not entirely sure where I first 'met' him, but I think it might have been Ecuador, although he was 'born and raised' in a fictional Chilean town of Pellotilehue (and he is as old as my mum :)). I even bought one of the comic books as a souvenir, hmm now I wonder where i put it...And this is the third and the last entry for this week's Sunday Stamps, letter C! I guess I either skip it or overdo it *grin*

Titan Arum Flower, Indonesia

Amorphophallus Titanium or the Titan Arum is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. Due to its odour, which is like the smell of a rotting corpse, it is characterised as a carrion flower and also goes by the name of corpse plant. I must say I am very intrigued by this and would love to see/smell it myself...once in a lifetime would be enough I'm guessing..!

The stamp shows a creature I have never heard of before, or rather I thought so far Cuscus is only something you eat heh. But here it is, or more precisely a Black-Spotted Cuscus, which is sadly critically endangered...and difficult to spot in the wild, which resulted in this very stamp being the only image of it on Wikipedia. And that's a second C for this week's Sunday Stamps' A-Z challenge :)

Pink Anemone, Great Barrier Reef

It is actually because I came across Sunday Stamps that I thought to myself - it would be nice to post something again..! This sunday it is letter C's turn in the A-Z challenge, and I have managed to find quite a few fitting stamps on (some older) postcards; here from 2011 a beautiful underwater theme from dear Heather, who attached three Cocos (Keeling) Islands stamps; from the set of no less than 20, issued also in 2011 and titled (very aptly I might add) Colours of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. These show 1) a Giant Clam and a Soft Coral 2) Spotfin Lionfish 3) Pink Anemonefish - the latter also known as Pink Skunk Clownfish, and is matching the postcard perfectly :)

A few words also on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands...it is an Australian external territory in the Indian ocean, comprising a small archipelago halfway between Australia and Sri Lanka, closer to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The islanders do have a degree of self-government through the local shire council, while many public services (health, education, policing, etc) are provided by the state of Western Australia. The overall population is just over 600, mainly ethnic Malays. As the territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, no wonder they need 20 stamps to show off what they've got..!

Blackie Says Hi

Once upon a time I've received this cute official postcard from Merag...I must admit I always thought that Highland cattle was strictly orange *blush*. 

Another lengthy break on my side...I also haven't sent any cards for a while. Now that the high season at work is over maybe I should get back to it slowly...after all I have so many blank cards and a stack of stamps to use. It's time!

Rainy View In Kyoto

A dash of refreshment during this heat wave we have, at least in a form of a postcard...Another one of those I-want-to-jump-right-in scenes.

Official - Route 66

The classic - always a dream, I wonder if it'll ever come true...Its one of those trips when I'd rather have company, but not so easy to find..! As a child I thought the old American cars are rather ugly, now I'd like nothing more than to drive one through the expanse of the North America.

Official - Glenfinnan Viaduct

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, it overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the surrounding waters. 

The West Highland Line connects Fort William and Mallaig, and was a crucial artery for the local fishing industry and the highlands economy in general, which suffered enormously after the Highland Clearances in the 1800s.

The viaduct may seem familiar to you as it has been used as a location in several films and television series, most notably in four of the Harry Potter movies :)

Thank you Alan!

The summer season is in full swing, which means work overload for me...not that I don't have free time, but when I do, I feel tired for lack of sleep and high temperatures. Energy zero...no, minus twenty. I even haven't sent any postcards in this time; more tragically, I failed to report those that have arrived through swaps...A month to go and hopefully the overall air will change..!

Purr

These days are all about cats...There were three, and then there were five, but presumably even more...There are a lot of unwanted kittens this time of year, trying to find their forever home. Here's hoping they all find good hoomans to look after them, so they can be rewarded with lots and lots of purrs...

This Postallove card was in my favourites, thank you Marion :)

Red Northern Lights

Recently received card for the Scandinavian RR, a fantastic red/yellow display of the Northern Lights. I always assumed that the Lights were visible in whole of Norway, with different time-span and intensity depending on region - but apparently on the very south that is Oslo region they weren't spotted for a long while, as Joerg is explaining here. Hope you get to see them this year Joerg! Esp as there is a Postcrossing Meeting on the 8th of December in Tromso - and any postcrosser can join in! It is my great wish to make this come true for myself too, as it is exactly on my birthday, and I love Norway...aah the dreams.....

Autumn Doe

I hardly even blinked and two weeks since my last post have already passed...after a long period of sweltering heat today has finally brought some fresh air over the Croatian coast, and reminded me of just how much I long for the autumn to arrive - appropriately here is a lovely card from my autumn collection :) Thanks to Waka from Japan :)

Sand Lizard, UK Stamp Card

Royal Mail issues some fantastic sets of stamps and often these are printed on cards too - as the value of the stamp itself is rather high, I will probably never have it used on the back, but this postcard is a wonderful addition to my lizard collection :)

As I have returned to postcrossing recently, this also meant joining different tags and RRs on the Postcrossing forum site. There are three (if not more) favourites tags, which means you get to tag the last person in the thread if you have a postcard from their album of favourites. Alas not much has changed since I last tried to participate - most people don't favour view- or tourist cards, which means its tough for someone from a country like mine where such cards are prevalent...In the last couple of months of stalking I managed to tag - twice. In return I was tagged by Rachel, who not only sent me this card but adorned it with such a great selection of stamps - many MANY thanks!

Brazilian Beach Donkeys

Most recently acquired postcard of cute long-ears; obrigado Marcos :)

Life In The Nile Valley

As I've noticed its letter 'P' today for Sunday Stamps I thought of the pyramids, but hey lucky chance I got some Pharaohs as well :) Took a bit of digging to find out what exactly these were, definitives from 2002: Statue of Pharaoh Sesostris III, Pyramids of Sneferu (Sneferu was a founder of a great dynasty and had three pyramids built in Dahshur, all happening in the 2nd millenium BC), and Mask of the Pharaoh Psusennes I (made of gold and lapis lazuli). 

Postcard received for the wishlist tag - and I guess I had donkeys on my wishlist as usual :) Dear Farah thank you for this card, I haven't seen you for a while I hope all is well x.

 

Vintage Southampton

Has it been two weeks already? I wonder where the time went, hmm. Anyways! To break the silence, here are first two vintage postcards showing England's Southampton. As it was the turn-around port while working on the ship, I have gotten to know this place quite well - well at least the shopping area... After a while I've realised there is more history to it than I've imagined, and I've almost missed it. Also, I do love these type of old posties :)

Lappi Tastes, Finland

As the sender wrote: this card shows some wonderful delicacies from Lapland; sauteed reindeer meat, Finnish squeaky cheese (leipäjuusto) with cloudberry jam, and of course some coffee by the campfire. I must admit I am intrigued by the cheese! Thank you Virpi :)

The stamp shows the Linnansaari National Park, situated in the heart of the Finnish Lake District - on the Haukivesi Lake. A large part of the island is natural-state coniferous forest, with some herb-rich parts. The critically endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal inhabits the park.

Dotty Caravan

Being 'plagued' with constant thoughts of possible getaways (what will it be? or will it be?) this comes forward as a most desirable image. As it happens there IS a caravan named Dotty lol though more in the 'eccentric', rather than 'covered in dots' sense. The Porsche on the stamp is also not an ignorable sight. Thanks to Claudia :)

Also, this is a 100th German card posted! As Germany is most represented country here on my blog, I thought it would be nice to mention this :)