Direct Swap - Mexico from Emilia

Back in September or so I swapped some map cards that I had with Emilia. They helped to fill some gaps she had in her collection and I know how important that is, especially when it comes to maps. We left her part of the swap open and when she went on vacation in November she sent me this great card from Mexico. Having been to Cancun I can say the water is this beautiful and blue! Thank you Emilia for sharing your vacation with me.

Direct Swap - Krista from Canada

Krista also belongs to the Canadian Postcrossing group I wrote about yesterday. One day we were chatting about a Christmas card exchange and she suggested that we do a random swap based on our profiles. Sounded good to me. A week or so later this card showing the Western Red Lily arrived. I did not know this was the provincial flower of Saskatchewan. Krista really did an amazing job on the reverse with a great message about herself and stickers, tape and more! Great swap - thanks Krista!

Direct Swap - Katie from Canada

One night while surfing around on Facebook, I saw a post Katie made in a group for Canadian Postcrossers. Of course, it stopped me in my tracks! She had just purchased a box set of Ryan Gosling postcards! I think I might have slightly hyperventilated when I saw this! I guess she put two and two together that he is my celebrity crush and messaged me to see if I was interested in swapping. Lucky me. A few days later this beautiful card arrived. The only thing I don't understand is why my husband wasn't as excited!!! And yes, Ryan, you can be in my never ending story!!! Do you have a celebrity crush? Willing to share it here?

Random Act of Smiliness - Alida and Lynda

One thing I must say about the friends I have made through this hobby is they are always there to help me out, regardless of what it might be for. I recently signed up to do another travelling card to feature Christmas stamps, just to realize I really don't have any Christmas stamps from previous years - oops! Lynda and Alida came to the rescue sending me some stamps from their own stash and included these sweet cards in their mailings. Thanks ladies, you saved me big time!!!

Greetings from Poland - Direct Swap with Anna

PostalLove is based in Poland. I am hoping that is the only reason she has issued a third edition of the "greetings from" series for this country only. If all of the countries I have collected start to get an update I will have to rethink this collection. It is proving to be a bit of a challenge with some countries as I like it posted from the country depicted on the front. I was lucky that Anna made an order the day it was released and she was happy to swap with me. Another fabulous design and addition to my collection! Now, if I can only find China.....

Random Act of Smiliness - Montreal Meet-up from Elaine

Every once in awhile it seems my Postcrossing account gets out of sync. Mine has been like that for close to a month now. Somehow my received cards is greater than my sent cards. When this happens your name is not given out until it is equal again. There are several different reason why this happens which I won't bore you with right now. All I know is it can be annoying! This time I had received 8 more than sent. It can take a long time to catch up when there is a difference like that, especially when I send only three officials a week. Frustrating! In the meantime to make my mailbox happy I have the swaps I've completed to post or a few RAS like this one.

Elaine and I swapped some blank cards a little while ago. She recently attended a meet-up in Montreal and very kindly sent me a signed card from there. To say I was surprised is an understatement! I was thrilled that she thought of me. The card is not only a great design but loved seeing all the signatures. Thank you Elaine!

Direct Swap - Curaçao from Lea

Lea was going on what sounds like an amazing vacation from Ireland to Curacao back in October. She was offering to swap via the Postcrossing Forum. While she liked the cards I had to offer, however very nicely explained she simply liked others better. Completely fair and totally understandable. We exchanged a few other messages and left it that if she could squeeze in another card she would. Lucky for me her time and budget allowed it. Two weeks later her card arrived. I must admit I did not know too much about this country and Lea's postcard helped me to read up on it. Thanks Lea!

Direct Swap - Xiaomei from China

Through the Postcrossing forum I arranged to swap for what I thought was the PostalLove Greetings from China card. While this great Panda card arrived I guess somewhere in between something got lost in translation. Has this ever happened to you?

Direct Swap - Nastia from Moldova

Another great connection made through Facebook, this time with Nastia. She lives in Moldova, another new country to add to my collection. Looking through each others swap album must have been tough as we both decided on two cards. I equally love the sheep she sent showing the countryside and the alphabet card. Kind of makes me do a double take when you see a watermelon beside the letter "H".  Great swap, thanks Nastia!

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

Galina shared with me that her favourite poet is Alexander Pushkin. The card she chose for me shows views of the Pushkin House-Museum outside of Moscow. I love the reflection of the bridge in the water.

Random Act of Smiliness - Genek from Denmark

Genek and I have never swapped. I have asked him for his address and so far he has successfully avoided sharing it with me. This is the second card he has sent me, the first one you can see here. He too attended the big Bielefeld meet-up in Germany last month. So many signatures are the same and so many new ones, that place is crazy busy! The card is great - vintage black and white bird photo, the caption on the back is hilarious - "The reward for feeding great Tits". Certainly gave me a good laugh!!! Thank you Genek, my goal is to track you down for Christmas.

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

Andrew sent this beautiful oversized card showing St Petersburg, Russia. The building is grand and is known simply as "General Staff Building". He wrote to me about volnteering at the Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games. I do a fair bit of volunteering so I loved to read that. Do you volunteer?

Andrew had the stamps in totally opposite corners of the card - great cancellations!

USA from Michael

I had a wonderful lunch with Michael last week. Two hours is not enough time to get caught up, but I will take what I can get. He was in New York City for a few days before Toronto and he picked up this beautiful skyline for me. Until next year my friend.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

 I still get so pleased when someone takes the time to try and match up the card they send to my wish list. While any card and message is appreciated, when it is a true "fit" it is great! Roxanne sent this card showing the Olympic Park of the 1972 Summer Games.

Lottery Win - Malaysia

Matthew recently hosted a lottery on the Postcrossing Forum. He was offering various cards he had received through this initiative - Peace in the Sky. He very generously sent cards out to all who entered. This was the card I won. It was neat to see the various planes and to spot Air Canada! Thank you Matthew! The stamp he chose was issued on August 31st of this year and commemorates the 57th anniversary of Malaysian Independence.

OFFICIAL Card - Finland

Sofia sent this card showing a "typical Finnish" couple from approximately 80 years ago. With the exception of the boots on the gentleman it could easily be a "typical" Canadian couple as well. She wrote to me about a previous trip to Canada and shared some warm thoughts about some recent current events here in my province. Very much appreciated to know my country is in others thoughts.

OFFICIAL Card - Belarus

This is a great illustration of a Pygmy Owl that Olga sent me. I was not aware there was an "Owls of Belarus" series. Even more great birds to collect! Thank you!

Greetings from Sweden - Direct swap with Jarmo

I honestly thought trying to find someone to swap the Greetings from Sweden card sent from the country was going to be a needle in a haystack. I was thrilled when it turned out to be one of the easier ones! I connected with someone on Facebook who pointed me in the direction of Jarmo. He was keen to swap as he needed the Canadian card. So nice when it works out like that. The stamp and postmark he selected for me is icing on the cake. The Europa stamps are from 1998 and the theme that year was festivals and national celebrations.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Heike sent this card showing views of the Bavarian town of Passau. My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about taking river cruises when we retire. The timing of this card coincided perfectly with a brochure that arrived - perfect coincidence! Heike wrote about her family, job and hobbies. Nice to get to know her!

OFFICIAL Card - Portugal

It is funny sometimes when you receive a card and you can't even remember they last time you "saw" that country. Portugal, Spain, Brazil - they all fall into that category for me. The ID numbers never seem to be that far off from the Canadian count so it makes me wonder if Canada is on the "rare" side for some receivers too. This card arrived early November and was a full year since I received an official from that country. Diana wrote a great message about the state of affairs at her house having moved the month before and the day she was having. A great map and views- thank you!

OFFICIAL Card - Australia

Robyn lives in Australia and wrote to me about her recent travels to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. If I think they are far from me, they are even farther for her! Love the card she sent, such a simple and strong design. The text on the back discusses the symbols of the flag.

Canada from Michael

I am super excited! This week I am getting together with my bestie Michael - yeah! We had a minor blip in our communication last year so it has been two years since I've been able to squeeze a big hug out of him. Cant wait! He sent this fun card to me a few weeks ago while doing homework. A great diversion if you ask me!

OFFICIAL Card - Finland

Ninna lives in Helsinki and sent this multi-view of the harbour to me. She wrote that her passion is travelling and she tries to visit 4-8 countries every year. Jealous!

Greetings from Ukraine - Direct Swap with Anna

Another wonderful swap via Facebook. This time I connected with Anna who lives in the city of  Dnipropetrovsk. She wrote it has the longest promenade in Europe - 25 kms! Wow, that would be beautiful to see! And I almost can as it is shown on the stamps she used. Those too are stunning!