Greeting from Thailand - Direct Swap with Jindarat

Another beautiful addition to my "Greetings from" collection. This card features Thailand thanks to a connection I made with Jindarat on the Postcrossing Forum. Love the sunset and reflection in the water. She chose some pretty amazing stamps too!

Direct Swap - Anu from England

It seems many others are now starting to collect the "Greetings from" series of cards too. I still have a few Canadian cards and am happy to help out when people ask. Anu was just starting her collection and had several cards to offer in return. I chose this fun one which on the back is titled "Pullover Farm". It is by a photographer names Senka Causevic. While I can find various eBay listing for other works I cannot find out much about her. I love the colours, really put a smile on my face. Anu used a Year of the Sheep stamp and chose a Water Sheep, that is my daughter's sign. I am Fire. I also love the circus stamp too!

OFFICIAL Card - Korea

Now that my Postcrossing account seems to have evened out it has been a really nice pace these past few weeks to receive a new card every day or two. Nothing like the dry spell I had leading up to Christmas. That was painful! This card arrived earlier in the week and I found it the most interesting read. I had never heard of King Sejong and really enjoyed reading the back of the card which provided many details on his life. Between my address, stamps, etc I wasn't really able to easily scan that portion. Hyemin chose a great Lunar New Year stamps and used some fun stickers showing Hanbok (traditional clothing).

 

Greetings from Switzerland - Direct Swap with Sara

Yes, you will be seeing several of these cards in the next few weeks as these have been the focus of my cards for the last while....

Sara and I connected on Facebook and this was our first swap. Really happy with this card from her home country. I knew the fact about the Red Cross as my daughter did a presentation for her Girl Guide Unit on Switzerland last year. I also love the country motto - totally reminds me of the Three Musketeers!

OFFICIAL Card - Ukraine

When I pick my mail up I always read the card first before flipping it over to see the front. This card confused me. I am the first to admit some days I am slower than others, but I just couldn't figure out which way was up without referring to the back. I scanned it both ways. While it looks a bit odd upside down it does sort of make you do a double take, doesn't it? Please don't say it is just me! The stamps Vika chose are unbelievably stunning!!! Made all the more so by the fact she is 12. Love it!!!

Direct Swap - SL from Malaysia

You can tell how behind I am with my posts as they all seem to have the Lunar New Year theme of late. This card shows another great night view, this time of George Town, Penang sent from SL in Malaysia. We have swapped a few times now. We both enjoy the Lunar New Year cards or in my case stamps as Malaysian Post does not issue cards like Canada Post does. Lucky for me though I get a special cancellation something I cannot offer in return. Until next year and the Year of the Sheep.

OFFICIAL Card - China

Ya Ya lives outside of Beijing and sent this card wishing me a "Happy New Year!". The card has a sweet drawing of a Chinese Money Tree. I would plant one of those if it were true! I also love the different rubber stamps she used to adorn the card, I had to include the full back to share.

OFFICIAL Card - Hong Kong

The more night views I receive the more and more I find I am drawn to them. I don't know if it is the lights, the sunsets or what but some view cards just look better at night! This one showing Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong is no exception. Jessica used a Year of the Horse stamp as well, love it!!!

Direct Swap - Aaron from New Zealand

Aaron was interested in swapping for Year of the Horse Stamps and was offering the same. As I do not have too many cards from New Zealand I though it would make a great swap. I asked him to surprise me with a card, preferably a bird and was happy when this card arrived. It shows the Brown Kiwi and the stamp is very nice. Kind of Asian in design and at the same time not at all. Funny enough this bird came up shortly after in some homework conversations. It was kind of neat to pull this card out to show the kids, might be old school, but way more bang for the buck than plain old Google.

Random Act of Smiliness - J.J. from USA

Once again, J.J. is on the move! This January she went to Arizona for the first time to see an exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden. She writes about several other museums and spots she visited while there. Great choice of stamps - the "matching" Arizona stamp as well as my first US Year of the Horse stamp.

PS - can you spot the typo on the card? I didn't at first either :)

Direct Swap - Stanley from China

I cannot remember how Stanley and I first connected exactly but this is our third completed swap. He is more of a stamp collector than postcards, however always has such an amazing selection of cards to chose from. Similar to last year we arranged to exchange for Chinese New Year. I was happy to send him this stamp. In return, he sent me this great card, stamps with the first day cancellation. A wonderful combination! Gong Hei Fat Choy!

OFFICIAL Card - Australia

Jielin from Adelaide, Australia thought it might have been to late to wish a Happy New Year, I don't think so! She wrote telling me about some new recipes she was trying out. Always fun to experiment in the kitchen.

OFFICIAL Card - Singapore

KukuNiao lives in Singapore and sent this card from an amusement park called Haw Par Villa. He wrote that he found these old cards in a bookstore. Quite an interesting read about the history of the park. He also used "Year of the Dragon" (2012) stamps.

Direct Swap - SL from Malaysia

I responded to a few posts in the forum looking for The Year of the Snake cards and/or stamps. SL and I had swapped once before and I thought I would help him so to speak by being his Canadian swap partner. He had told me that Malaysia didn't have specific cards only stamps to commemorate and I was OK with that. Super surprised when I received this card in the mail a few weeks ago. The view shows the Penang Snake Temple. SL tells me that he lives very close to this site and that the vipers are usually "sleepy". I so remember this place when it was featured on "The Amazing Race" a few years ago. Thanks SL until next year and The Year of the Horse. Also check out the postmark - fabulous!

OFFICIAL Card - France

Agnes sent this card to me a few weeks ago. It shows the L'Ain region of France and several little scenes of the area. Agnes has lived in there for 13 years. She says the area is famous for Chicken of Bresse, (which I'll be honest I have never heard of but after reading that article I know why) and also frogs legs, which I had many moons ago, once, enough said. Agnes also chose a great stamp for her card.