Three New Postcards

Doha, Burton and Alaska. That is where the three postcards in today's blog update are from. First let's look at the Doha card. Doha is the capital city of Qatar, an Arab emirate in the Middle East. In 2005 Doha's population was 400 thousand and a bit. Doha is the economic center of the country , as well as the seat of government. One of the unusual things about Doha is that the majority of residents are expatriates, with Qatari nationals forming the minority. The card shows a young Qatari boy studying the Qu'ran in the early light of a Gulf morning. This card was a complete surprise . It is from Trevor , one of the expat majority. Trevor happened upon this blog and decided to send a postcard. I love it when that happens , thanks Trevor. Trevor mentioned on the card that he is a Canadian, a fellow Newfoundlander and was even born in Grand Falls, my Hometown. Obviously that makes him a great guy in my book. There is a card on the way for you Trevor, my friend. Two great stamps from 2008 were used on this card. The stamp on the left celebrates The Museum of Islamic Art. The stamp on the right is one of a set of 4. Too bad about the heavy cancellation. The set of 4 is just a wonderful set and a set that I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. The 4 stamps show Streetlife in Souq Waqif or Standing Market . It was a real pleasure to get this card from a guy from Grand Falls.

The next card is a rather uniquely shaped card. It is a cut out of a London Taxi Cab. The card is from a Postcrosser named Laura, a young Finnish girl working in Burton , England. This taxi cab shaped card brings back some memories from the seventies. My wife and I visited London in the seventies and frequented these cabs often. Thanks Laura for this fine card.

The last card for today , from Alaska, shows the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) glowing above a Cessna floatplane. Quite a relaxing scene. The card is from Kris of the blog www.postcardkris.blogspot.com fame. He knows of my aircraft and airlines on postcards collection. Thanks Kris. On this card we see the 13 Mile Woods , 72 cent airmail rate stamp from 2008 and the 24 cent Common Buckeye butterfly stamp from 2006.

A short but sweet update this day. Have a great weekend everyone.

A Mexico Postcard

I have finally received the postcard from Mexico that I have been expecting for well over a month. The card was posted in Puerto Vallarta sometime between April 18 and April 25. However , one can see from the postmark that it was only postmarked on June 2nd. Where was it for the month of May, who knows? I am certainly glad that it has finally arrived though. The card shows Las Estacas Beach in Puerto vallarta. It is a beautiful beach situated on the south of Puerto Vallata, a Mexican resort city located on the Pacific Ocean's Bay of Flags. This card is from Stephen, Sara and Evan- my son, my daughter-in-law and my wonderful grandson. So as you can see, its arrival was extra special. Stephen used a 2007 stamp from a set of 11 values featuring popular handicrafts.

And as they say down Mexico way, Adios.

My 1000 th Postcard

I guess before I get to the 1000th card, I should say a few words about last week. On Monday , June 8th I started off the week with a new country, Timor-Leste and with my 2nd postcard contest. It was just so good to start off the week on such a positive note. Of course the week went totally downhill from there. Postcards were kind of scattered during the week and those that did arrive were very uninspiring and fairly uninteresting. The stamps on them were pretty uninteresting and boring , too. I was in a postcard funk the whole week. I really didn't have much to blog about. Then in the midst of this postcard funk I receive a card from The U.S with a Bart Simpson stamp and one from Belgium, with a Smurf stamp. As a stamp collector of more than 40 years, I have to ask , don't countries have anything more important, more interesting, more beautiful and more relative to their country to honor on a stamp ? If I were asked, Bart Simpson and Smurfs wouldn't even make the list. And, if that wasn't enough, not one person, not a single postcard collector, not even a blog reader entered my contest about the 1000th postcard. On that note, I can now announce due to a huge lack of interest there is no winner in contest number 2.

Now on to more positive things like postcards. Well, my 1000th stamped postcard arrived yesterday. It was from Belgium. A Postcrosser, Krista sent the card, her 3rd. The first two from her have never arrived. The card shows a number of building , 13 in fact , located in various Belgian cities.
It was very exciting to finally receive number 1000. I started collecting March 01, 2006. So 1000 cards in just over 3 years is pretty good, I think. First let me thank Krista for her milestone card and 999 others for all the rest.

Now for a card from Finland. It shows a bunch of young guys having a picnic , maybe just outside a sauna. The card is titled Cleanliness is half a meal. And the stamp shows a bunch of big guys inside a sauna. The stamp , issued this year is from a booklet of 5 stamps , themed around saunas and health. My thanks to Postcrosser Jorma for this unique card.

Finally we have another card from Finland. Another sauna card and sauna stamp. This one is a First Day of Issue for the stamp. Thanks to Virpi, another Postcrosser for this card.

That's this day's update. I guess I blew off enough steam above , hopefully I won't lose any readers, if indeed I actually have any, re contest. On a brighter note, I am expecting postcards from Ivory Coast, Mayotte and The UN in Austria. Also there is a slight possibility of a card from Sao Tome and Principe and finally Tuvalu . I actually succeeded in contacting someone in Tuvulu but he is driving a hard bargain.

Take care .

Another New Country , Timor-Leste # 223 and Another Contest

Well this week is starting off in just the right way. I found three postcards in the mailbox this morning. One of the three was a new country, Timor-Leste, #223 . That makes 4 new countries so far in the first 8 days of June. Looking good. Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco , along with Oecussi-Ambeno, an enclave located within Indonesian West Timor. Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002.The card is compliments of Megatours of Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. Give them a look at www.timormegatours.com . According to the card, the front of the card shows a typical house in Timor-Leste. The stamps are 2 of the same issue, from a 2002 set of 4 celebrating Independence.

The second card from today is from Finland. It is just a great card , with a number of young polar bears on the front. Looks to me like they could be the Coca Cola bears from the Life Tastes Good television commericals. The card is a good one considering the stamp used. It is from 2009 and is half the souvenir sheet issued for the Preserve the Polar Regions and Glaciers theme. The card is from Eva , another Postcrosser.

The last card today is from Romania. I don't see that many cards or stamps from there for some reason. So getting one today is good. The card shows a painting entitled Sound of the Sea by Sabin Balaso. I have listened to the sea through one of these large shells, have you ? This is another Postcrossing card and the stamp is from 2007 , 1 of a set of 4 featuring ceramic objects.

There you have it for today. Will Lady Luck shine on me again tomorrow with another new country ? One can only hope.
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Oh, by the way, the Romania card mentioned above is the 987th postcard that I have received. I am quickly closing in on #1000. A postcard or cover (their choice) goes to the reader who correctly guesses county of origin of card # 1000. If no correct answer, I will select a random name as the winner , just so there is a little more incentive to enter. Be sure to leave a comment with your choice.
Take care .

British Virgin Islands, New Country #222

Here I am with a late Sunday update, showing a few cards that arrived on Friday. Leading off is a new country in my collection. The card is from British Virgin Islands, country # 222. What can I say, I just love it when a new country card arrives in the mail. With 222 here, that just leaves 44 more to go. British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The BVI consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with a number of smaller islands. The larger island is Tortola , where the capital , Road Town is located. The card shows a red sunrise over Maya Cove, Tortola. The card is compliments of Robyn of The British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission. For more information on BVI visit www.bvitourism.com . Robyn used 3 stamps on the card. The stamp to the left was issued in 2005, 1 of a set of 4 for the Endemic Bird Festival. The center stamp is from 1 set of 6 issued in 1991 featuring butterflies. The stamp on the right was issued in 2008 , 1 of 3 featuring The Rev. Charles Wesley and coats of arms.

The second card is from The Kingdom of Lesotho. This is another of several cards that have arrived from Lesotho during the last couple of weeks. This one shows a Mosotho Rider. From what I understand, the Basotho (not Lesothans) like to be referred to as Basotho, or a Mosotho (not a Lesothan). Basotho speak Sesotho. The card was sent by another PCV serving in Lesotho, Kelly F. She has a blog called Study In Contrasts- My Peace Corps Journey in Lesotho June 2008-August 2010. Thanks Kelly. Kelly used 3 flower stamps issued in 1997.

The next card is from Metropolis , Illinois- Home of Superman. Metropolis is located along the Ohio River and in 2000 had a population of 6,482 . A quick bit of trivia- Robert Stroud , the Birdman of Alcatraz is buried in Metropolis. The front of the card shows a reproduction of Action Comics front page , issue No 1 from June 1938. Check out the price , 10 cents. This card is from Nori, a Postcrosser. She used 2 of the 2008 USA First Class Forever stamps.

And finally , a card from Austria. Sent by Edna who I have swapped cards and stamps with previously. The card depicts the Wiener Staatsoper or the Vienna State Opera House. Work on the building started in 1861 and was completed in 1869. 2009 marks its 140th anniversary. Edna used 2 stamps and was lucky enough to get the special postmark marking the 140 years of the Wiener Staatsoper. The stamp on the right depicts the Staatsoper and was issued 25May 2009, while the stamp on the left is from 2003 and features Kleinwalsertal.

That is all for tonight. Hopefully the mailbox will bring a bunch of cards tomorrow.
Cheers.l

A Couple of New Places in the Collection

Yes I have two new additions to my country collection. They are numbers 220 and 221. In the last two days I have received a number of postcards , eleven in fact, from quite an assortment of places around the globe. First up is a card from my home province of Newfoundland & Labrador , an island off the east coast of Canada. The card was sent from Cape Spear, the most easterly point in Newfoundland, Canada and North America. When you stand at Cape Spear there is nothing between you and Europe but a lot of water. The Cape Spear Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and is located at 47 31 N and 52 37 W.The first lighthouse here was built in 1836 and the site has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site. The card shows various Newfoundland scenes. The top left corner shows Hawthorne Cottage in Brigus. It was the home of Captain Bob Bartlett, a world famous navigator and Arctic explorer. Bartlett accompanied Robert Perry on his voyages to the North Pole. In the top middle is Cabot Tower , on Signal Hill where Marconi received the first wireless message. The top right corner shows Point Rich lighthouse , located on the Great Northern Peninsula of the island. The lower left shows L'anse Aux Meadows, the site of Viking settlement on the island , dating from around the year 1000. Hawthorne Cottage, Cabot Tower and L'anse Aux Meadows are all Canadian National Historic Sites. L'anse Aux Meadows is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The card was sent by Jerry and Bev, friends of my wife and I for more than 35 years. The card was sent with a 2008 permanent polar bear stamp and you can see from the postmark that it was cancelled at Cape Spear. For all the lighthouse lovers out there, I have included a picture of Cape Spear Lighthouse. Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

Now for a new country to my collection. Country #220 is The Gambia. Located in West Africa, it is the smallest country on mainland Africa . It is bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal. It has a small coastline on the Atlantic ocean in the west. This card was sent by PCV Katie C . She has a blog called Katie's Totally, Super, Awesome, Gambian Adventure!!! Katie used a number of butterfly definitives on the card. Thanks Katie, it was great to get a card from The Gambia.

The next card is from Norfolk Island. This is a small island in the South Pacific located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. Population is around 2,140. Jillian a Postcrosser sent the card. The card shows the island , looking south from Mt Pitt.Jillian saw on this blog that I collect airline/aircraft related stamps and used 2 wonderful stamps. They will certainly add to my collection. The stamp on the left is from 2003 and shows a Qantas aircraft and celebrates 100 years of powered flight. It is single from a set of 3, a just beautiful set of stamps. The other impressive stamp shows a F/A-18 Hornet of the Royal Australian Air Force. It is from a set of 4 and was issued in 1996 on the 75th Anniversary of the Air Force. Thank you Jillian for this card and the 2 great stamps that you so thoughtfully used.

Two more cards and we'll call it a day. Next up is a card from Republika Srpska and is country or entity #221. Republika Srpska is one of two political - territorial divisions of the Sate of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's capital is Banja Luka , from where this card was posted. The card shows Greetings from Banja Luka, home of the 2009 World Rafting Champs. The card is from Bob Lamb, who has sent me a number of cards the past few years. He is a former Executive Director of The American Philatelic Society. Bob is the reason I started to collect a postcard from every country and stamp issuing entity in the world. I read an article about him in Linn's Stamp News a few years ago in which he said he was attempting to collect a stamped postcard from every country. The big difference is that he wants to travel to every one of those countries and mail himself the postcard. I certainly hope he succeeds. Bob used a very striking stamp from a 2008 set of 2 issued for Nature Conservation featuring birds of prey.

Before I go on to the final card , let me say this about Bosnia and Herzegovina. As I understand it, there are three equally right postal operators in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are 1, JP PTT BiH- operated by the Sarajevo government. 2, HP Hrvatska Posta- operated by Mostar (Croatian) government and 3, Srpske Poste- operated by Banja Luka (Serbian) government. I now have a postcard from Bosnia and Herzegovina , with a Sarajevo stamp and a postcard from Republika Sspska with a Banja Luka stamp .Now if only I can get one from Hrvatska Posta , I would have the complete set of 3. Anyone reading, who lives in the Mostar region, under the Mostar Croatian postal service, please feel free to drop a postcard in the mail for me.

Now the final card for today is from Montenegro. It also was sent by Bob Lamb. It shows a 2000 year old olive tree located in the city of Bar. It was posted from Podgorica. It has a 2008 stamp, but which I could not find any info. Thanks Bob for both of these great cards.

With 221 now in the collection, I now have 45 more to go. I never really thought 3 years ago when I started this collection, that I would ever have such luck. Some of the places I have received a card from , I never thought it possible. Now I just keep going, knowing that there are still a lot of difficult collecting days ahead.

Take care.

May 2009 Postcard Stats

No new postcards arrived in today's mail. Hopefully something will show up tomorrow. I guess all I have for today is the monthly report for my postcards. In the month of May I received a total of 45 postcards and of these, 23 were from fellow Postcrossers . During the month I mailed out 33 cards and 28 of them were to Postcrossers. And , finally I received cards from 4 new countries during May . Those countries were Lesotho, Mali, Ethiopia and Palestine. And let's not forget a card from Hell.

Take care.