Sunday, November 30, 2014

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?



Saturday, November 29, 2014

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!





Friday, November 28, 2014

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.



Thursday, November 27, 2014

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.



Wednesday, November 26, 2014

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!



Tuesday, November 25, 2014

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.



Monday, November 24, 2014

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.



Sunday, November 23, 2014

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.





Saturday, November 22, 2014

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.



Friday, November 21, 2014

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!



Thursday, November 20, 2014

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.




Wednesday, November 19, 2014

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!



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

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!



Monday, November 17, 2014

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.



Sunday, November 16, 2014

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!



Saturday, November 15, 2014

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!



Friday, November 14, 2014

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!



Thursday, November 13, 2014

OFFICIAL Card - Russia

This card brings back so many memories! The view shows the Moscow Kremlin Cathedrals. If I was better organized I would dig up the pictures of me in front of some of these beautiful buildings. Vlad sent this to me and it arrived the day before his birthday. He was turning 15 and wrote he wants to be a translator or an ambassador in the future. Both are really cool choices!



Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Random Act of Smiliness - Meet-ups from LyndaC

My friend Lynda has been travelling on a trip of a lifetime through Europe the past few weeks. I have been following her adventures on her blog, and as we are friends on Facebook I also get to see the pictures each day. She has been really diligent in keeping both up to date while being so busy. One of her goals for this trip was to attend the big annual meeting in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a HUGE Postcrossing meeting - 50 or 60 people rent a house and it runs over 3 days. Wowza! Before that she had a mini meet up with a few Postcrossers while she was staying in Amsterdam. I was lucky that she sent me cards from both meet-ups. The 3D Hallowe'en card she made herself and it arrived on my birthday - icing on the cake! Thank you Lynda for thinking of me on your travels, truly appreciated and totally envious.






Tuesday, November 11, 2014

OFFICIAL Card - Philippines

What a surprise to receive another official card from The Philippines! Last month, I received my first official and less than four weeks later my second - what are the odds of that! Chloe, actually sent this card first, it must have taken the scenic route to my place. The view on the card shows Mayon Volcano. It is considered to be the world's most perfectly formed volcano as it has a near symmetric conical shape. It does look exactly how someone would draw a volcano!



Monday, November 10, 2014

Direct Swap - Corinne from Canada

Corinne and I belong to Postcrossing Canada on Facebook. She had found some cards at a local shop and shared her purchases with the group. This card cracked me up - just so retro! The copyright on the back is 1965, finally something older than me! I was delighted that she was willing to swap with me. Only 44 more days until Christmas!



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Greetings from Taiwan - Direct Swap with Yun Rou

Another successful swap via Facebook. This time YunRou and I both exchanged our respective "Greetings From..." cards. The card was written on October 10th, which is Taiwan's National Day or Double Ten Day. This was something I never knew and found it interesting. He asks if I am familiar with bubble tea as it originated in his hometown of Taichung. Yet another sign I should be trying it. I'll have to find a spot and bring The Little Prince to read too!



Saturday, November 8, 2014

Random Act of Smiliness - Alida from Canada

Alida my dear friend has sent me yet another wonderful cancellation. She had noticed on my blog I was "missing a few". I am so lucky that she has access to so many great ones! The card she tells me is one her brother picked up for her on his vacation. Lucky me, love the colours they are so bright! Thank you Alida!!!