Across The Sea

From across the Atlantic and the Pacific:

From Finland, this map card of Lapland shows also a reindeer, snowmobile and a bird. There's no indication what kind of bird it is. The 14 year old girl who sent it to me marked where she lived, which is right below the Arctic Circle! If you click on the card you can see it. I think it takes a special kind of person to live in those environs!

This postcard was sent to me by a 24 year Japanese lady. She said this is the 

Ukiyoe-print and the upper part is a 2 31-syllable Japanese poem on the elegant six major poets. I really like this card, it is so delicate and pretty!

And finally, the Bretagne lighthouse, sent to me from Germany. How fantastic is it to see it buffeted with the wind and waves like this! I can imagine how deafening it must sound inside when this happens.

Click on any photo you want to see closer.

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden.

Great Group Today

Some really wonderful ones today!

This card is from Germany and is part of the Berlin Wall that was saved when it was taken down in 1989. What fantastic graphics on the wall, and what a great piece of history!

From Pittsburgh PA, looks like there's a football game in progress!

A very stalwart lighthouse in Finland, named Ronnskar and built in 1800. It looks like it could withstand any kind of storm!

A lovely old castle in the Czech Republic, named Kasperk and is in the Bohemian Forest.

And oh, I love this!!! From Germany a collection of mailboxes!! What great color and texture!!

China to Australia

From China, this postcard shows a hill called The Resting Dragon

In a tiny town in Australia, you could stay in the hotel. (Reminds me of something from the Old West in this country!)

From England; The Boys look young in this one! John looks like he is asking for something. I'm sure the person he and George are looking at wished they were in this shot as well - what fun that would be!

From British Columbia, Canada, a map of Abbotsford and some views from the area.

Too Tired to Sleep!

So I thought I'd try to catch up a bit. Just a couple of cards which came in Saturday.

A multi-view card from Poland. I'm not a fan of multi-views, because it's hard to see the pictures as clearly as one would like. For instance, I'd love to see the stork and its nest more clearly, as well as the old boats on the center 2nd row.

Now don't laugh, but this is an AD card from my eye doctor. I just thought it was artistic enough to include in my collection!

I think I over did it the last couple of days, and I cannot get to sleep. Which means a late day in tomorrow and probably feeling draggy. Ah, well, I've had this illness long enough to know that I will pay when I do the least little thing beyond the daily routine, but sometimes I just have to DO SOMETHING! So I guess I better not complain too much. This time it was because I had been able to go to church, and then we spent time in the afternoon with old friends who are missionaries and who happened to be in town. It was enjoyable and we hadn't spent time with them in many years. But, I did pay.

Seven Today!

Quite a variety today!

For the Letter C Round Robin, Chocolate from Germany, AND you can scratch this and actually smell it!  Mmmmmmmm!

Just Postcards RR, from Germany - an unhappy pigeon romance! I actually have this card but because I think it is funny, I don't mind having two!

Also, from Germany, pictures of a nature preserve.

Germany was the country of the day today! This is a kind of card I like - local places where people meet and visit.

The postcard is sent from Turkey, but the picture of a hotel & restaurant complex being built on the water is in the Ukraine. This is a great picture!

From a private swap, the Garden of The Gods, which is outside of Colorado Springs, CO. We visited there one time and it is full of lovely red stone formations.

Another private swap, a striking view of Tampa FL.

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden.

Four Today

My 2nd Beatles card, and they look very young in this one!

From Finland, Suomen Joutsen

An open air museum, Balarusian village of the 19th century, Belarus

From St. Petersburg Russia, the Peter and Paul Fortress; this is one of my favorites from St. Petersburg!

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden.

Tiny Building

I was sent this postcard from Japan:

She wrote on the card that she had looked at my art on my Flickr page and enjoyed it. She picked this card because she thought I would have fun making the little building. I love getting a card from someone who took the time to read my profile, check out my links and pick something to send me! This card makes a temple gate found in Tokyo; evidently there is a whole series of these cards with historical structures. I don't think I could cut up the card right now though. Maybe if I get more I would have to go ahead and make my own tiny city!

I also received this lovely card from Indiana. I'm trying to collect a card from every state with the state name across the front. It's odd, but this is the first card ever from Indiana - I have several from other states but none at all from this one, so it's nice that the first one is a State Name card! Pictured on the front is an Amish farm, the state bird (cardinal) and the state capitol building.

Now I better go feed the dogs!

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden.

Old and New

Today I received this gorgeous twilight view of the Washington Monument, 

so that is the new:

And this is the old, a postcard which came in the mail several months ago and is one of my favorites! It's from a series of paintings done by Finnish artist Inge Look. I call them Inge Look's Grannies, (I really don't know what they are called). Every one of them show these same older ladies and whatever they are doing they are enjoying it to the full! I have twelve of these dear old ladies now, and in this one they are excited about getting mail and I really identify with this feeling. It's one of the reasons I joined Postcrossing, to get a surprise in the mailbox. I'm somewhat housebound with this chronic illness and I love finding snail mail in the mailbox!!

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden.

Finally!

Well, after 2 years on Postcrossing, I finally received a Beatles postcard! This is one of the postcards from the No-View Postcard Round Robin I am in. I should be getting 2 more soon, one from Germany and one from Finland. This one came from England.

Here are the Fab Four, with Ringo not quite paying attention. If you click on the photo, you will see that he is either getting ready to sneeze, dozing off, or off on a mind trip. Haha!

From the Bridges Tag, the lovely George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey. There is something graceful and artistic about bridges and I really like the architectural dynamics. Plus, the sender used some great old stamps to send it!

Be sure and visit me on A Rabbit In The Garden, and have a great Monday!

Some New Cards

One of the fun things about Postcrossing is reading the profiles of the people you are sending a card to. They list a little about themselves, and most of them list some suggestions of postcards they would like to receive (the site prevents you from demanding a certain card, which is a good thing). Sometimes people add other requests- I've sent a small button to Quebec, and a dime to the Ukraine, both taped firmly on the cards. A few people want the cards sent in envelopes because postcards seem to get torn going through their post offices, and a very few prefer the postcard totally pristine - no stamp, no writing and only sent in an envelope. Of course, they can't demand it, but I try to oblige people's wish list when I can. This week I had an envelope request and these two others:

This person in Germany likes rats and asked her senders to draw a rat.

That was a first for me!

 This person in China likes all of her postcards to be SWAK

(Sealed with a Kiss). That was a first for me as well!

I participate in different groups on the Postcrossing Forum and the first card was in a Alphabet Group (I sent a Carousel card) and the 2nd one is in the I Don't Want This Card, Do You? group, where you can hopefully get rid of some cards you don't care for. This particular card was for the Gaylord Conference center in Washington DC and the person in China collects hotel postcards, so off it went.

Here are some cards I received lately:

Lovely architectural details from a cathedral in Cologne Germany

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in China - Panings Temple Complex

A 16th-17th century farmhouse in Estonia

And from the town of Riva del Gardo, Italy

Hope you enjoyed seeing them all!

OOO - A New Blog!

Now this makes three!! Can I do it? I hope so!

I receive some really lovely, fun and dreamy postcards from my participation on Postcrossing.com. (Dreamy as in "I'd love to visit there!") I've gotten so many, I've arranged them in different albums and I enjoy looking through them. They come from all over the world, and the more you send, the more you receive, so having been a member now for almost 2 years, I'm getting a lot! I started collecting map cards of the US states, and different countries, and I have some beautiful artful cards too. I've made some friends and penpals. I will be sharing some of the cards with readers now!

This card came from Holland, and I just think it's so cute! I'm finding pictures of mailboxes appealing, I guess because of what it means for me personally.

I just cannot imagine living in a log cabin like this! With children and animals and a husband. Of course, it wouldn't be too hard to clean, it's so small! I'm sure there wasn't a paved sidewalk to the front door originally, but they don't want people tracking mud into the place (haha). This is one of my favorites!

Another from my favorite list, this is an old advertising illustration from China. Such a dignified looking gentleman, and such gorgeous colors, all artistically arranged!

Also from my favorite list, this explosion of colors from bath houses on the beach in Melbourne Australia. So cheerful!

Stay tuned for more cards, I've received over 480 cards so far and getting more each week. I'd love to share them with you so sign on to "follow" me (up in the left hand corner)! 

And leave me some comments - I really enjoy reading them!