August Postcard Report

Well, the end of August has arrived. I didn't receive any new postcards today, so I guess it's time for my monthly report. During August, I received a total of 33 postcards , and 24 of them were through Postcrossing. I mailed out 36 cards and 30 of them were to fellow Postcrossers. I did not receive a single postcard from any new country in my collection. August is the first month since Nov of 2008 , and only the 5th month since I started collecting in March of 2006, that I did not receive a card from a new country. Hopefully I will fare better in September.
That's all for tonight and for this month.

I'm Back At Last

Well, I am back, but so very tired. The trip to Moose Jaw was cut short after 2 days. I received word of a family tragedy and had to fly from Regina to Newfoundland , on the east coast of Canada. After a a very difficult week in Newfoundland , I flew back to Calgary and then over to Moose Jaw again, to pick up my car. Then after 7 hours driving , I 'm back in Calgary. Of course, this all changed the plans I had for Moose Jaw, of sending postcards . Sorry, but maybe next time. And, as expected, on my arrival back home, postcards were waiting, 12 in fact. Too many to show at once , so I have picked 3 for today.
First up is a card from a very special place to me now. It is from Honolulu , Hawaii, USA . It shows Waikiki Beach with famous Diamond Head in the background. The card is from Teena who writes that it is a true paradise there. I wholeheartedly agree. Teena used the 2009 Grand Teton National Park stamp , from a vending machine booklet of 1. Thanks Teena and I too, look forward to our next trip back to Waikiki.

The second card is from a Postcrosser named Marleen in The Netherlands. This card , I'm showing just for the picture on it. This guy looks just a little bit under the weather. Been there, Done that.

The last card now , is from the country of Georgia. It was sent by Khatuna, who often contributes to my postcard and stamp collection. The card shows the Monastery of the Virgin-Galati. It was founded by a king of Georgia, David the Builder in 1106. In 1994 Galati Monastery was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Khatuna used a 2008 Beijing Olympic shooting stamp from a set of 4 and a 2005 theatre stamp from a set of 8. Khatuna also sent along a envelope containing a number of aircraft on stamp stamps for my collection. Not to mention the wonderful selection of Georgia stamps, 10 in all, on the cover. A great addition to my Georgia collection. Thanks for all this, Khatuna.

It looks like this month, August , will be the first month in quite a while , during which I will not have received a postcard from a new country. At least, it looking that way. I hope I'm wrong, though.

That's it for this time.

Small Update before Vacation Again

I am just getting a small update in today , before another small vacation. I am leaving tomorrow morning and won't be back until the evening of August 20th. I will be in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for a week. My plans , while there , include sending a few postcards from this small, 100 year old city . Just one card to shown today. It is from postcardkris in Alaska. Kris used the 2003 10 cent American Clock definitive and the 72 cent 2008 13 Mile Woods airmail rate stamp. The card shows a reproduction of a Lisa Rogers original watercolor entitled Alaskan Float Plane. Another great addition to my aircraft on postcards collection. Thanks Kris, appreciate it.

Now , I have to send another huge Thank You out to Bev and Jannick. They live on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. Jannick is a young Postcrosser, who gets help from his mom , Bev with Postcrossing . Jannick has sent me a few postcards and I have sent a few to him. On my return from vacation last week I was delighted to find an envelope from them. It contained a beautiful mint set of 6 stamps from Guernsey. It was the Europa Astronomy 400th Anniversary of the Telescope issue. Just a wonderful addition to my stamp collection. Thank you Bev and Jannick. Enjoy this set, readers.

Catch Up Time From Vacation

Well, I'm back from vacation. We had 11 wonderful nights in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. It was just great. No stress whatsoever, just sun, sand, ocean and cool drinks. I arrived back home to find 15 postcards in the mailbox, 10 from Postcrossing friends and 5 from non Postcrossers.
With 15 cards to chose from , what will I show ?

Actually, before I get started I should finish up with July first. It is a little late, but my postcard report for July is as follows. I received a total of 27 postcards , of which 19 were from Postcrossers. I mailed out 24 postcards and 22 of them went to Postcrossers. I received just 1 new country postcard during July and that was Mozambique.

While I was away, I received 2 cards from Rwanda, 4 from Finland, and a single card from USA, Australia, Netherlands, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, and Taiwan R.O.C.
Now for a few postcards.

First up is 1 of the 2 Rwanda cards. It is a really nice card showing some of the wild animals of Rwanda. It was sent by Rebecca, a fellow Canadian from Toronto, volunteering in Rwanda , training primary teachers. She says she saw my ad in the New Times , but I didn't even know I had an ad there. But obviously it is working. Rebecca, if you are reading this , a card's on the way. Rebecca used a nice selection of 4 stamps on her card, including one from 1988 , issued in a set of 5 for the Seoul Olympic Games. Thanks Rebecca.

My next card is from Sandra and was sent from Lucerne, Switzerland. I don't know much about the picture on the card, but it looks pretty cool. Cows on parade with flower arrangements on their heads. Need I say more. Sandra used a number of nice 2008 stamps. The one on the far left is a Europa stamp showing an envelope formed by birds. The others are from a set of 4 featuring wheat.Thanks Sandra.

Now a card from Taiwan R.O.C. Willy sent this card along. It shows the Suao Cold Springs. These springs are located on Cold Spring Rd. The water, clear and transparent, from the springs gushes out from the ground at a temperature of about 21 Celsius.Willy has a postcard blog at www.collectroc.blogspot.com . Check it out. The stamps on the card are from 2008 and 1999. The bird stamp is from a 2008 set of 4 and the other stamps are from a 1999 definitive issue featuring fruits.

The next card is from Savonlinna, Finland. It shows Olavinlinna Castle which was built in 1475. Opera festivals are held in the castle every summer. 13 year old Roosa sent this card and the day she wrote the card, she was going to see Madam Butterfly at the castle. The stamp is from 2008 and shows many balloons.

Mount Maunganui, New Zealand is next. The card shows 4 pictures taken from the top of Mt Maunganui , then put together to make a postcard. Good work. Lois from Tauranga sent the card, but her daughter took the pictures. Again 3 great stamps, all from 2009. The top left stamp is from a set of 5 featuring Champions of World Motorsport. The Colossal Squid stamp is also from a set of 5 featuring Giant Animals of New Zealand. A really cool set. They are also issued as a Souvenir Sheet, one I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. The final stamp shows a bridge across Tolaga Bay. Thanks Lois.

My last card for today is from Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies. The picture is of Salibia River in Trinidad. Matthew sent this card after viewing this blog a few weeks ago. He used 4 stamps all from 2005. The 3 smaller ones are from a booklet of 10 featuring fish and turtles. Shown on my stamps are the Southern Sting Ray, the Foureye Butterfly Fish and the White Speckled Hermit Crab. The stamp on the right is from a set of 10 featuring Medical Plants.

I think that's about it for today. Not a bad update at all. Thanks to all who sent cards , even the ones that didn't get mentioned this time. There were just too many.

Cheers,