Congratulations to Postcrossing and Place #227 of my Collection

Well, first off today, I would like to mention a little about Postcrossing. Today is a big day in Postcrossing history. Today marks the day on which 3 million postcards have been exchanged through Postcrossing. Postcrossing started back on July 14th, 2005 and has steadily grown to what it is today. Postcrossing has 128,712 members in 202 countries. Postcrossing reached its first million exchanged cards on 11 April 2008, its second million on 26 February 2009 , and of course its third million today. I joined Postcrossing in March 2006, some 1295 days ago. I have received 522 postcards so far from Postcrossing. It has been a barrel of fun so far. Postcrossing's goal is : to connect people across the world through postcards, independent of their location, age, race, gender or beliefs. And, Postcrossing certainly does that. Congratulations Postcrossing. If anyone reading would like to join or to have more information on Postcrossing go www.postcrossing.com


Now on to my postcards. Five in all for today. First is a card from Tinian , Northern Mariana Islands. While not a country, the Northern Mariana Islands make up a political union with The United States. They occupy a region of the western Pacific Ocean about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines. Covering about 463.63 square km , the population is around 80,000. One item of note, the Northern Mariana Islands have the lowest male to female ration in the world, with an average of 76 men to every 100 females. My card shows The Tinian Public Library, in San Jose Village, Tinian. If you send a postcard to the library, you will get one back from either a staff member or one of the students using the library. Their address is Tinian Public library, PO box 520704, San Jose Village, Tinian, MP 96952-0704, Northern Marian Islands. Be sure to add - Private Swap- on your card. Because of its association with the U.S. , all the stamps used are U.S. postage. Even though , as mentioned earlier, it is not a country, I consider it a distinct place and am happy to add it as # 227 of my collection. Glad that is over, # 227 took a long time, it is the first new addition to my list of countries and entities since July 14th.

My next card is from Belgium. It will be another addition to my aircraft on postcard collection. It is an Ilyushin Il76. Looks like it was a bumpy landing, but you know what pilots say, any landing that you walk away from , is a good one. The card is from Thomas, who has a stamps and cover blog, called My Stamps and Covers. Check out his fine blog at http://veedeesstamps.blogspot.com . Thomas used a new 2009 stamp from a souvenir sheet of 5 issued for World Cultural Heritage.

Now , I have mentioned this in the past. At one point in time, a collector may have been trying for a card from a certain place for a long time. Then that card appears. A short time later another card, and then maybe another card from the same place. Well, that is the case now. Only last week I received a card from Michael of cddstamps, mailed from Lord Howe Island, Australia. Yesterday , I received two more cards from Lord Howe Island. But, as I always say, you can never have too many cards from any one place. The smaller card was sent by Pixie Rourke , President of Lord Howe Island Tourism Association. The larger card is from Sandi Beaumont of The Lord Howe Island Visitor Information Center. The stamps on this card include a 2006 wild flower issue from a set of 4 and a 2009 stamp commemorating 200 years of Australia Post, from a set of 10.

My final card is from France. It was sent by a Postcrosser named Isabella. It shows a group of small kids lined up to drop their letters in a rather old looking postbox. Must have been a school project of some sort. Isabella used a number of stamps including 2 Marianne definitives and a 2009 Europa souvenir sheet of 2 celebrating Astronomy.

All in all a nice bunch of cards. Hope you enjoy this update . Your comments are always welcome.

Lord Howe Island, Oregon, Humpback Whales and More

I have a number of nice cards to show today. My first card is from Lord Howe Island, Australia. Lord Howe Island is a small island in the Tasman Sea, about 600 km east of Australia. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1982 in recognition of its unique beauty. Lord Howe Island is widely regarded as the most beautiful island in the Pacific. Not too shabby a claim. The island's permanent population is around 350. The card was mailed on September 03, 2009 and shows Lord Howe Island from above . It was sent by Michael of cddstamps. I have to be honest here and admit that I had never heard of Lord Howe Island until I read about in on Michael's blog, cddstamps on stamps. About 2 weeks after reading about the island , I find this wonderful card in my mailbox. It is the same card as Michael showed on his blog, that he mailed to himself. I think now that Lord Howe Island will be added to my to see list, when I do finally make that once in a lifetime trip to Australia. Be sure to check out Michael's blog at cddstamps.blogspot.com . He also has another great blog, cddstamps on aircraft & aerophilately at cddstamps.wordpress.com . Michael used a 2009 stamp from a set of 4 featuring young jungle animals , in this case the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Thanks to michael for this great card from a great place.

Today's second card comes from Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. It is from Postcrosser Eugenia, who was celebrating her 4th wedding anniversary as she was writing out this card. Happy anniversary to you, Eugenia and to your husband. Hope you had a wonderful dinner. This is an amazing card showing Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. Haystack Rock, at 235 feet high, is the world's third largest freestanding coastal monolith. This is a popular tourist destination and the rock is accessible by foot during low tide. I can attest to its beauty, having driven down the Oregon coast to California a few years back and did indeed spend some time at this location. Eugenia's card brings back some wonderful memories of a great trip. Thanks Eugenia.

Now we have a card showing humpback whales. It's from another Postcrosser, living in Quincy, Ma, U.S.A. The humpback whale is a Baleen whale. The adult humpback averages in length from 12-16 meters and weighs approximately 36,000 kilograms. The worldwide count of humpbacks is still around 80,000. This card, from Mary, has a number of recent U.S. definitives along with a 2009 Mississippi flag stamp, from the 3rd issue of 10 stamps.

My last card today is from Italy and advertises the 49th International Boat Show- Salone Nautico, which will be held in Genoa, Italy from the 3rd to 11th of October, 2009. Over 1600 exhibitors and 2300 boats , ranging from a simple dinghy to 45 meter yachts , will be on display. This card was posted from Naples by Vincenzo, another Postcrosser. I like the slogan on the card , located bottom right. THE TOWN, THE SEATY.

I think that's about it for today. Take care . More in a day or two , along as the postman cooperates.

Montenegro, U.S.A, Russia and Australia

After last week's low of two cards, I am happy to report things have picked up . Yesterday I received five postcards. I will be showing just four of them here today.

First up is a card from Montenegro. Ana sent this card showing Lake Crno , located on Mt. Durmitor. This lake is a glacial lake on an altitude of 1413 m in northern Montenegro. It is a huge tourist area in the Durmitor area. Ana was on her second trip there this summer. Lucky her. Ana used two great stamps on the card. The top stamp was issued in 2007 and shows the importance of protecting nature. The bottom stamp from 2006 commemorates Ivo Visin, the first Croatian and only the sixth sailor in the world to repeat what Magellan did- sailing around the world. Be sure to check out Ana's postcard blog, My World of Postcards , at http://thewholeworldatyourhands.blogspot.com, it's a great one.

Today's second card comes from Alaska, U.S.A. Kris sent it along, as he knows that I have a aircraft on postcard collection. It's an old card , at least 50 years old, that he found in a garage sale. It shows the Flight Line at Bainbridge Air Base, Bainbridge , Georgia, U.S.A. Bainbridge Air Base operated from 1942 to 1944. It later reopened in 1951 and operated until 1961. Thanks Kris, it's a great card. Kris, known as Postcardkris, has a postcard blog called Post Card Images: 100 Years of Life, Love and Mystery at http://postcardkris.blogspot.com . Give it a look , it's a great blog. Kris used 3 stamps including a 2009 playing card stamp, a 2007 Tiffany definitive and a 2007 First Class rate stamp.

Next is a card from St. Petersburg, Russia. The card is from Svetlana, a Postcrosser, and it shows The Palace Bridge with a view of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The fortress was founded on May 27, 1703. From 1721 onwards it housed the city's garrison and served as a high security political jail. Some of its famous residents were Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Trotsky, and Lenin's older brother Alexander. Svetlana used stamps from a 2008 definitive set of 15.

My last card today is from Australia. It is a beautiful view of Lake Pedder, in South West Tasmania. Lake Pedder is a sparkling gem set amongst the magnificent mountains and rain forests of South West Tasmania. The card is from Joanna, a 7 year old Postcrosser. Joanna used a very beautiful stamp, a 1986 issue for horse racing, 1 of 4. The other stamp is from 2007 and was issued for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

A rather nice group of postcards. As always , don't be shy , leave a comment if you have one.
See you tomorrow.

A Two Card Week

I'm sure it's time for an update. But, I was waiting for a few more postcards to show up , unfortunately they never arrived. During the whole of last week, just two postcards arrived. A very slow week, to be sure. I can only hope for a better week coming up. It really can't get much worse. Two cards in a week must certainly be a record , but not a very good one.
Oh well, on to the two wonderful cards that did arrive. Both are official Postcrossing cards from Great Britain and Slovenia.
Let's have a look at the Great Britain card first. It was sent by Karen and is from Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire is an English county in the East Midlands. It is famous for its involvement as the home of Robin Hood . Tourists flock to this area to visit Sherwood Forest and Nottingham.Karen's card shows a number of buildings in the area . At top left is Newark Castle and at bottom right is Nottingham Town Hall. Karen mentioned on her card that she couldn't really find a nice postcard, so she made her own. I think that she did a really nice job. Congrats Karen.

My only other card for the week was sent by Andresa from Ljubljana. Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. With a population of close to 300,000 it is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative centre of Slovenia. The card has 3 views from the city. Top left is Ljubljana Castle , dating back to 1144. In the center is a statue of France Preseren, considered the Slovene National Poet. On the right is Saint Nicholas Cathedral. The stamp on this card is a 2007 Christmas issue stamp.

Well a small update, but what can I say. Two postcards equals a small blog.
Take care and keep those cards coming !

A Boeing 747-400 and Two Other Cards

This is just a small update with a couple of cards. I actually haven't received many postcards this past week. Pickings have been slim.
I just have 3 cards to highlight today, from Malaysia, The U.S. and Taiwan, R.O.C. The first one, from Malaysia, is very similar to one I showed back on May 13th of this year. It is a picture of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400. It's another card for my Airlines on Postcards sub collection. This one is from Edna. She has sent me a number of cards and stamps in the past. Unfortunately , the 3 wonderful stamps on this card were obliterated with a red ink pen. I used to think that this type of cancellation was a Canadian or American phenomena , but now I see that it has reached international proportions. How very sad. As a longtime stamp collector, I can find no excuse for this horrendous action. I think it should be outlawed and the people responsible should themselves be canceled.

Now that I've had my say on that, let's move on to another card. It's from the U.S. and celebrates this national day, the Fourth of July. A nice reproduction of an old card. A Postcrosser named Smoochie from Wisconsin sent this card along. Smoochie used 3 Tiffany Lamp stamps from 2008 and a 14 Mile Woods airmail rate stamp , also from 2008.

The last card is from Taiwan , R.O.C. Another Postcrosser, Adia, sent this card . It shows the train station in Fen Chi Hu . Many years ago, Fen Chi Hu was a major center for railway maintenance and repair. Sadly, Adia used a postage machine label as postage, so no stamp to show for this one. I am glad that this doesn't happen very often on my postcards.

Now before I go, just one more little bit of complaining. While I am glad to receive and look forward to any postcard, quite a few lately have been the dreaded multi view card. I think I am really starting to dislike them. It's just that the many views on them are sometimes too small to really appreciate and I feel if a place warrants a postcard, then by all means show it, and not jam it up in the top right corner or the bottom left corner. Enough about multi views.

Here's hoping all readers take time to have a look at the top left side of this blog, showing the countries from which I still need a mailed, stamped postcard. If you have any contacts in these countries , I would certainly appreciate your help .

Take care. No mail, no postcards tomorrow, here in Canada. We are celebrating Labour day, a holiday that originated in Canada in the 1870's. A National Holiday, Labour Day is celebrated by our Post Office , so the next mail won't be until Tuesday.

Comments welcome.