OFFICIAL Card - Germany

On my desk right now I have over 20 cards to get scanned and uploaded. Since I started sending cards again after Christmas there has barely been a day when I haven't received a card or two!  This lovely flag and coat of arms belong to the state of Hesse in Germany. Kornelia lives there in a small village. I'll never get tired of looking at the Balloon Flower stamps!

Direct Swap - Kathryn from Australia

This is the third swap Kathryn and I have done. First, we were introduced via the "12-12-12" group swap, next we exchanged cards for the Year of the Snake, and this time it was for a surprise for her Mom's birthday. Her Mom is turning 60 in April and she wanted to collect 60 different cards wishing her a Happy Birthday and sharing a birthday tradition. I sent one of my favourite winter views of Niagara Falls and wrote about how we celebrate half birthdays in our family. In return, Kathryn sent me this fun shaped card showing a variety of animals native to Australia. Love the stamps Kathryn chose - totally forgot AC/DC was from there, but then again I don't of them all that often!

OFFICIAL Card - USA

Edvard lives in Phoenix, Arizona and sent this card of Lake Powell, Arizona. He writes "too bad it's man made" while I can agree on one hand on the other it sure is beautiful.

OFFICIAL Card - Finland

Tarja sent me this card showing a pretty wintry scene at the beginning of February. She wrote that she lives in the country in the middle of forests and fields in northern Finland. She rides horses a few times a week and has alpacas that love the snow and winter. Really looking forward to seeing more of the new 2013 Finnish stamps. This one is so bright and colourful - certainly cheering me up!

 

OFFICIAL Card - Austria

Franziska is studying Applied Geoscience at the University of Leoben in Leoben, Austria which is the view in the card she sent me.

OFFICIAL Card - Australia

Karen lives in Sydney, Australia and sent me this multi-view of her home town. The view on the bottom is Darling Harbour which looks like it would be a fun place to hang out. Love the looks of that fountain with the flags and what looks like flamingos. Karen wrote that they had a very hot summer and are now experiencing a lot of rain and flooding. That doesn't sound like fun.. Also, really appreciate the stamp she chose to use.

Direct Swap - Keelley from Wales

At the end of January I responded to a Forum Post. Keelley was looking for cards showing soccer stadiums and maps. While Toronto does have a team, the stadium is fairly new and not quite within a "normal" skyline view of Toronto. Plus, here it is all Sky Dome all the time so getting BMO Field is kind of a needle in a haystack. She was happy to swap an Ontario map and Toronto view and I was able to pick my cards. A totally hard decision. Not only was her trade album great but I had no idea Wales is as beautiful as it is! Finally made my choice and these came about 2 weeks ago. I always find it interesting when cards arrive at the same time. I don't know why but for some reason I think just due to the volumes alone they should be separated while travelling. Also interesting that neither card was cancelled, although one did get penned. Love the stamps she chose, both of the Queen stamps are new to me.

 This first card shows the Seven Wonders of Wales. and the next the Welsh alphabet. Keelley wrote that the Welsh alphabet does not have a J,K,Q,V,X or Z as the English alphabet so her name is quite unusual in Wales. Two fantastic cards - and she is just as happy when my arrived!

OFFICIAL Card - Finland

I don't receive too many square cards so right off the bat this card popped out at me. The view is really pretty and quite unique. Leila writes that this is a view of the Finnish parliament building and "we have snow, snow, snow"! Not that I didn't believe her but I wanted to see it less snowy, so a quick google search and yes, it really is the Parliament House in Helsinki!

 

Direct Swap - Liechtenstein from Ruedi

About a month ago I read a post in the forum offering cards from Liechtenstein. Ruedi, is a very new Postcrosser who lives in Switzerland. He travels to Liechtenstein frequently and was offering to send cards from there as there are only 8 Postcrossers from that country. I was one of the lucky 64 people he sent cards to. I think it is a great way for a new person to quickly build their collection and with it being such a rare country to receive from it is not surprising he had so many takers. He stated upfront there probably wouldn't be a lot of dialogue on the card which was OK by me. His daughter helped to decorate the cards with stickers and smilies. In exchange I sent Ruedi a UNESCO card from Banff National Park with a Year of the Snake stamp. I sent his daughter a card with baby bear cubs as she too Postcrosses and likes animals.

This is the card I received from Ruedi. A fantastic view of Vaduz Castle. Ruedi also had a few Year of the Snake stamps and I was delighted to receive one. This is huge - measuring 1 3/4" square - and beautiful! Funny thing, it wasn't until I received the card that I realized my mistake. I thought I was agreeing to a card from Luxembourg. So many small countries starting with "L" how can I expect to know what I am doing! Love it nonetheless.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Anne is a grandmother from Wuppertal, Germany. She sent this card with views of her hometown to me two weeks ago. By reading this article I think the town sounds lovely, so much history and so much green space. The best of both worlds. The suspended monorail looks interesting. While I don't think I would have a problem being on it, I might being under it. What about you?

Groups Swap - Lookea from Poland

The last of the four cards from the "12-12-12" postmark swap I participated in came to me about a week ago. It took awhile but was well worth the wait. Lookea from Poland sent me this card of Centennial Hall in Warsaw, which is a UNESCO site. The symmetry of this view is stunning. Of all the postmarks too, I think this one was the most crisp. She wrote telling me about her hectic day and her exams. Hope everything went well.

Happy Valentine's Day - RAS from J.J.

Happy Valentine's Day!

J.J. had this card posted to me via the Loveland, Colorado post office. The cancellation used changes each year and this one is amazing. She also used some wonderful love themed stamps. Hard to say which one I like best. Not too sure why the post office but the big sticker across the front but it all just adds to the character of the card. Funny thing, I too arranged to have a card sent to her from Love, Saskatchewan which she received last week. Thank you J.J. this is my first (and possibly only) Valentine's this year.

Enjoy your Valentine's Day!!!

OFFICIAL Card - Netherlands

This card actually took my breath away when I picked it up from my mailbox last week. Laura lives in The Netherlands and amongst other animals has 6 birds. The day she wrote me she was putting off cleaning her guinea pigs cage. Her house sounds like a mini zoo, kind of like my sisters! The card she chose is wonderful - Garden Birds, with a fancy scalloped border. Laura tells me when it is is snowy like it is now, she feeds them extra.

Direct Swap - Jasman - Republic Srpska

A few weeks ago I saw a post Jasmin made in the forum offering cards from Republic Srpska. If I understand the politics correctly it is part of Bosnia Herzegovina, yet separate at the same time. She was going to the capital Banja Luka and was offering to send cards in exchange for some of her favourites. I was lucky that I had a card she wanted - an aerial night view of Rogers Centre, like this one - and we agreed to swap. Last week, I received this card from her. Again using my favourite tool, Google Translate I believe the text reads "Square of the Serbian Rulers". The view also shows the Christ the Saviour Cathedral Church.

OFFICIAL Card - USA

Carrie lives in Grass Valley, California and sent me this pretty watercolour of the downtown area. She writes telling me it is a 5 minute walk from her house - and about 2 minutes for her son. Boys - certainly can be faster if they want to be! Not too sure if this is something new or not but the metered postage kind of came with a picture too.

OFFICIAL Card - Germany

Anna a 13 year old Postcrosser from Germany sent me this card last week. I googled translated the text to read  -

     Sailor Love  -
     If the high masts proudly in the wind
     The home Pennant blow
     Then there is treasure on homeland
     a happy reunion.

Fitting leading up to Valentine's Day!

OFFICIAL Card - Finland

Leyla lives in Helsinki and sent me this vintage card of her hometown last week. It shows many different views including, Helsinki Cathedral, in the upper right. She wrote telling me Helsinki was founded by Sweden's King Gustavus Vasa in 1550. Love the stamp Leyla used. The Northern Lights is something  I would love to see in person.

Jamaica from Sean

Sean is one of my oldest and dearest friends (read high school sweethearts). It has literally been years since I have seen him and almost as many since we spoke. Having a friendship that spans 30 years (yikes, we are that old!) doesn't always need the day to day to know where you stand with the other person. That is the beauty of a good friendship. Anytime, anyplace, anything.

So, a few weeks ago I heard that he was in Jamaica for a holiday. Having not told too many people of my postcard hobby, I emailed him asking to send me a card. I figured if anyone would tease me about this being a somewhat weird (read geeky) hobby it would be him, but at the same time he would understand. Super excited when he returned and messaged me that he had sent one.  

This beauty arrived last week. A wonderful beach view of Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay. Had a good giggle with what he wrote too "Wish you were here!". First thing my husband said when reading my cards for the day was "Awkward!!!!". Not too sure his wife would be writing the same thing either!

The stamp is probably the best part. It was issued in 1995 and commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Birth of Bob Marley and today would have been his 68th birthday!

Thanks Sean!

OFFICIAL Card - France

When I first started Postcrossing this is exactly the type of card I thought and hoped I would receive. I love it! The Eiffel Tower is such an iconic image  and to see it like this - especially at night - just is so beautiful to me. Great choice Nadia - thank you!

OFFICIAL Card - Spain

Anna tops the list of Spanish Postcrossers having sent a staggering 5,300 postcards in the past 6 years! I was delighted to get this card from her last week showing the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. So kind of her to send me something that combines two of my favourite types of cards - The Olympics and stadiums. She wrote telling me she is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. Where she lives now in Spain she sees thes sun 320 days of the year and it has 10km of beaches - good move!

Direct Swap - Helene from USA

Helene (I have no clue how to make the accents over her name - sorry) from Texas had posted in the forum a few weeks ago looking for some "Canadian" cards. She used to live in Quebec. I sent her one of my favourite map cards which she had never seen before. In return, I received this great hummingbird card. I do love my birds!

OFFICIAL Card - Portugal

This lovely black and white card of Porto Covo, Portugal arrived earlier in the week from Carlos who lives in Lisbon. He wrote saying he missed the sun and the summer. Same here! In the last week alone we have gone from -19C to +14C back to -11C today. Talk about Mother Nature being confused!?!? Even with the little bits of sun that we have had it makes me long for a beautiful beach like this one.