Cards, Cards, and more Cards from All Over

It's been a while since my last update. I have received a large number of postcards in the interim , somewhere around nineteen or twenty. Hopefully I will get to most of them in the next while. Today I will be looking at and showing seven of them.First up is a card from Yap, Micronesia. Yap is an island in the Caroline Islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. The card shows a group of locals participating in a stick dance. Darlene, a coworker of my wife, sent this card along. She was taking part in a volunteer stint in Yap. Thanks Darlene. The stamp is from a set of 12 definitives issued in 2006 featuring butterflies.
The next card is a little bit of a surprise. If is from my lovely Teena. She came across a number of postcards featuring aircraft on them. She knows I have a collection of this type of postcard. She sent three such cards, only one of which I will show today. Today's card features a Canadian Airlines International Boeing 737-200. I worked for Canadian Airlines for many years and it was the best years of my working life. Canadian was a great airline to work for , sadly they no longer fly. Canadian employees were a proud lot and I was one of them. Thanks Teena, this card will be extra special to me. Teena used a 2009 stamp commemorating the 100 years of The Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.Now a card from Brunei. This card is a result of a private swap with Siang Yi, a Postcrosser from over that way. The card's front shows Brunei Town, the former name of Bandar Seri Begawan , the capital of Brunei. I don't see much mail from Brunei, so it was nice that Siang Yi and I could do this swap. The same goes for stamps from Brunei, I don't have many in my collection, so the opportunity for even one more was welcome. The five stamps on this card, all the same design, show wild orchids.
Our next card is from Sweden. It shows a winter scene from Dalarna. A Postcrosser named Glenn, great name, sent this card. Glenn says he is originally from Finland but has lived and worked in Sweden for the last 33 years. I really like the stamps on this card. They are 3 of a set of 5 issued in 2009 featuring classic cars. Mine show a Volkswagen , a Volvo and a Cadillac. The missing 2 from the set are a Citroen and a Ford Mustang. Oh well, one can't have it all. A nice looking set just the same.

Today's final card, actually today's final cards all come from Libya. The first one shows a tourist carriage on Green Square, in Tripoli, the country's capital . The next card shows the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, built in 163 AD, and is the only existing Roman monument in Tripoli. The final Libya card is a multi view of modern buildings found in Tripoli. These 3 cards and 3 others I received are all courtesy of Omran Elmajdoub who has a blog called Omran Elmajdoub Postcards, Stamps, Covers and Sheets at www,oelmajdoubstamps.blogspot.com .
Give it a look. Thanks Omran. I couldn't find any information on any of the Libya stamps. I do however really like the airplane set on the last card. They will be a fine addition to my airplane on stamps topical collection. Love the one on the right showing the Sud Aviation Caravelle.

I'm glad to be back here on the blog. See you again soon.

UPDATE on Lack of Updates

Just a note to advise on my lack of updates.I am doing a special project for my son and his family. I have internet access but zero scanner access. I am not picking up my mail on a regular basis, so therefore have little to blog about. All will be back to normal by Thursday evening . Hopefully you will tune in again then as I should have lots of postcards to write about and to show.
Take care.

Stamp Issuing Entity # 235 and Other Cards

Once again I have increased the number of countries or stamp issuing entities from which I have received a stamped and posted postcard. The total now is 235. The newest addition is Bosnia Herzegovina ( Croatian Administration) This is the postal service , HP Hrvatska Posta, maintained by the Mostar government. The card came as a complete surprise, but my thanks go to two people. I will get to them in a little while. The card is of Medugorje, a small village in western Bosnia & Herzegovina. This is where, since 1981, The Blessed Virgin Mary has been supposedly appearing and giving messages to the world. The site has been visited by 30 million pilgrims since the reputed apparitions began in 1981. The card was sent by Goran , from Croatia, and is postmarked in Orasje, a small town in northern Bosnia & Herzegovina, near the border with Croatia. As I mentioned two people are responsible for this card. The other is Ana in Macedonia. Apparently Ana mentioned to Goran that I was looking for just such a card. So big thanks go out to Goran and Ana. Goran used a 2008 commemorative celebrating the 500th anniversary of Zepce , a town in central Bosnia & Herzegovina. So with this card I get to cross out another on the list over to the left.

The next two cards are from Finland. The first one , features a biplane from the 1930s. Even though it's a toy model , it will be added to my aircraft on postcards collection. Susi, a Postcrosser, sent the card and wrote that aeroplanes are her biggest fear. The stamp is from 2010 and features a rock and roll band called Dingo as they looked in the 1980s.

The other Finnish card shows the market square and part of the historical centre of Helsinki. The view is what you would see arriving Helsinki by boat. Also from a Postcrosser, this card has a 2010 stamp featuring Pusseytoes or as mentioned on the Finland Post site, Posti, a Cat's Foot stamp.

Actually my next card is from Finland , too. It shows the M.S. Mariella of the Viking Line in Helsinki harbour. Heli used a 2008 stamp celebrating 150 years of book publishers.

That's it for today. I was going to add one more card , but I changed my mind, I don't want to bore you. I have to say though, it's a good day when I can cross off another one from the list on the left. As always, if you are going to, or know anyone going to, living in or have any contacts in any of those missing countries, I would request and can certainly use your help to receive a postcard from anywhere on the list. That is quite the sentence, but I had to include all the possibilities. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment if you have one.

Three Interesting Postcards

I have just three postcards for today. They come from France, Cape Verde and Jamaica. What makes them interesting, as mentioned in the title, is a number of things , that will become evident if you keep reading.

Let's look at the card from France first. It is a rather longer card than normal, but in this case the length is used to perfection. It shows a pedestrian bridge across The River Seine. Even though I have never been to Paris, I believe it to be Pont des Arts. The card is a surprise , which I was not expecting. It was sent by Jean Pierre Maleret, whom I can only think must have happened upon this blog. I have seen other cards that he has sent to other postcard bloggers and I must admit , he sends cards from great places. I often wondered how he accomplished this. I am certainly glad now to be included on his list. He mentioned that I can expect other cards through his doing. I have forwarded a thank you card from Alberta, the first of many that I will send him. Jean Pierre posted this card from L 'Adresse Musee de La Poste in Paris. The stamp is a 2009 commemorative honoring Francisco Miranda, a joint issue with Venezuela. Thanks Jean Pierre.

My next card also arrived as a surprise. It is from Cape Verde and was sent by Iolanda. I usually have some idea on the sender of most cards. But for the life of me, I can't recall any contact with Iolanda , who lives on Santiago Island . If this is a mistake on my part, I certainly apologize , but I do thank her for the card. The card shows a house in Cidade Velha , the oldest settlement in Cape Verde and according to Iolanda, the first city in Africa. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. The stamp is from 2009 and honors the bi-centenary of the birth of Louis Braille. It is one of a set of four issued in 2009 for Braille.

The last card today is from Jamaica. It shows a scene from rural Jamaica, pickney bath time. That means bathing the baby. The card is from my lovely Teena. She sends me a card every time we go away and our recent trip to Jamaica was no exception. Thanks Teena. A stamp from 2008 was used and it is one of a set of 6 definitives highlighting the architecture of different building in Jamaica.

I think that's all for today. I should be back here tomorrow. See you then.

Indented Shore, Twente, and Garreg-ddu Viaduct

Well, that's quite the title on today's update. Questions, questions, but I have the answers and they all lead to postcards. What else would we talk about here ? Today's postcards come from Australia, The Netherlands and Great Britain. I'm sure some of you may be familiar with these areas and may already have the answers.

First up today is Victoria, Australia and the Indented Shore. The card actually shows the Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park, Victoria. The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off shore , by the Great Ocean Road. The area has become a very popular tourist attraction. Despite the name, there are not twelve individual stacks visible in any one location. Twelve or not, they are still a very majestic sight. The card is from a PostCrosser named Colleen who lives in an outer suburb of Melbourne. Colleen used a 2008 Russell Falls, Tasmania stamp , 1 of a set of 4, featuring waterfalls. Nice card Colleen, thanks.

Our Twente card actually is from Oldenzaal. This is where an extravagant carnival is celebrated. It is also where Ans , who sent the card , lives. Twente is a region in the mid eastern part of the Netherlands. It has approximately 32,000 inhabitants including Ans. It is in Twente the traditional practice of blowing the mid winter horn takes place.
Now on to the stamps used on this card. What can I say about them , beautiful, wonderful, outstanding ? They are from a 2009 multi sheet of 10. The sheet celebrates 100 years of motorized aviation. The stamps on my card show a Fokker F-27 Friendship and a Lockheed Super Constellation , commonly called a Super Connie, and in my opinion perhaps the most beautiful airplane ever built. Other stamps in the sheet include a B747 and a DC3 among others. What is interesting in the multi sheet is the fact that the actual stamps do not complete the full picture of the airplanes. The complete picture requires the selvage on the end of the stamp. I am so glad that Ans never separated the stamps from the selvage. These will be a great addition to my topical stamp collection of aircraft on stamps.

I would love to add this complete multi sheet to my collection. Anyone with one to spare or can pick one up for me, I would be glad to hear from you. What can I offer in return ? I have many great mint souvenir sheets from Canada that you could chose from. If you contact me , I can let you know what I have. If you are a postcard collector rather than a stamp collector, then I can certainly mail you a number of different postcards from Canada, or from other countries. I have lots to choose from.
Enough begging Glenn !

The final card today is from Great Britain. It shows Garreg-ddu Viaduct in Elan Valley, in mid Wales. The picture shows what appears to be a bridge, but it is actually a submerged dam , used to maintain water levels in times of drought. I am also showing an old 1901 picture , in which you can actually see the dam. The stamps are both Machin definitives. The larger on on the right is from 2009 and features the Royal Mail security features. This is the first I have with these new features.

That's ll for today. As always your comments are welcome .

Two Germany Cards and One From The Poconos

I have just three cards for today. Two are from Germany and both were sent by PostCrossers. The other card is from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania and features The Poconos. It is from bonnie of Postmuse.com .

Our first card shows Schloss Veitshochheim, a summer palace of the Prince-Bishops of Wurzburg. The building is located in Veitshochhein in Bavaria and was built between 1680 and 1682. Its gardens contain many fountains and sculptures. Both stamps are from this current year , 2010. The stamp on the left honors Ruhr, a cultural capital of Europe. The other stamp is 1 of a set of 4 featuring fruits. The interesting thing about them is that they are actually scented. If you scratch the fruit, you can certainly smell them. And yes the one on my card does indeed smell like an apple.

Next is a card from Cologne. It shows Cologne Cathedral , a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have blogged about Cologne and the Cathedral in the past, so we won't dwell this time. Again two stamps were used, one from 2009 and one from 2010. The one on the top showing the dinosaur was issued in 2010 for the 200th anniversary of the Berlin Museum of Natural History. The bottom stamp from 2009 shows Leipzig University on the occasion of its 600th anniversary.

Today's last card shows a scene in The Poconos, Pennsylvania. The Poconos is famous for its resorts, skiing, natural scenic beauty, its many lakes and quaint historical towns. Postmuse.com blogger Bonnie sent this card along and used 2 nice US commemoratives. The stamp on the left from 2009 features Edgar A Poe. The stamp on the left is from 1999 and is part of the 1940s Celebrate the Century series. A great series if one is lucky enough to have a complete set. I can always dream !

A smaller than normal update, but I'll be back tomorrow for sure. See you then.

The End of The Olympics, A New Month and a Few Cards

It's March, a new month and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games are over. I guess this blog will be updated a little more often this month , what with no Olympics . The Games were just great . The USA won more medals than any other country, as expected. Canada, though, won more Gold medals than any country, 14 , and that is more than any other country ever did in the history of the Winter Games. Canada's total medal count was 26 , more than we ever won before in the Winter Games. Of course , being Canadian, we take our hockey seriously , so taking Gold in Women's Hockey and Gold in Men's Hockey, both over the USA , was the topping on the cake. I guess the Universe unfolded as it should. I may later in the week show a few of the latest Olympic stamps that Canada Post recently issued.

With it being March, it's time for my monthly postcard report. I received a total of just 18 postcards in February . I guess a short month does make a difference. Of those 18, 15 were through Postcrossing. I mailed out 28 cards and 16 of those went to Postcrossers. I received cards from 2 new countries during the month.

Now for a few postcards. First up are 2 cards from Pittsburgh, with 2 totally different views of the city. Both cards are from Bonnie Jeanne of postmuse.com .Check it out , it's a great site and maybe you'll be able to help her out with her project. I actually don't receive many cards from the US , so when it happens its a great chance to see a few of their recent commemoratives, like those Bonnie used on her cards.

Next is a card from Japan. It is from a PostCrosser named Yui and the card shows a number of birds in flight and swimming. Have a look at the stamp , but unfortunately , I didn't find anything about it in the resources that I have.

Ukraine is next. The card, also from a PostCrosser , is showing some ancient or old building, fort or walled area. I can't read the wording so I can't tell you . But, I can tell about the stamp. It is from 2006, is a definitive and is of a series showing flowers. Hats off to the Ukraine Postal Service. That's the way all postmarks should be. Most , and from most of the world are quite unreadable.

The last card today is from The Netherlands. Sent by Laurie, it shows The Peace Palace in The Hague. I leave the stamps to themselves.

That's the update for today. See you soon. Comments ?