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| Pumpkin, vampire, ghost, cat and witch |
Although I do not celebrate All Hallow's Evening, I would like to share this postcard with all of you who enjoy this celebration. Happy Hallowe'en!
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| Forest from 1975 (left) and Hello Kitty summer greetings (right) |
These are the stamps I showed
last time as part of my Hello Kitty collection.
Postcard from: Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan.
Received: October 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 20 yen forest stamp issued in 1975 and one 50 yen Hello Kitty from 2012 summer greetings series.
Thank you very much, Erisa-san!
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| Wang Jian's water & ink painting |
A water & ink Chinese painting from a series of postcards called "Appreciation of Famous Chinese Paintings". I love it. This one, although similar to another one
I received before, was painted by artist Wang Jian (ca. 1598-1677). Sadly I don't know the title of this work. I can't read Chinese characters!
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| Happy New Year |
This beautiful red & gold stamp is a greeting stamp for
New Year issued in 2007.
And what do you think about the red ink cancellation? So cool.
Postcard from: Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.
Received: May 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 3 yuan (元)
Happy New Year stamp from 2007.
Thank you, Fengyi! 谢谢
{CN-595569}
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| Easter |
My second Easter postcard came from The Netherlands and it is a lovely illustration by
Silke Leffler. I liked it very, very much!
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| Postcrossing |
And the stamp that made it possible I received this beautiful postcard is a Postcrossing stamp! ♥ My first one! I was so happy. I feel now a more official member of the Postcrossing project. ♪
Postcard from: Bergen op Zoom, North Brabant, The Netherlands.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one Postcrossing stamp.
Thank you very much, Mirjam!
{NL-1126121}
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| Kara Dag |
A beautiful spring view of the Kara Dag Mountain, part of the
Kara Dag Nature Reserve, dropping to the Black Sea in Crimea (Ukraine). Although it is called mountain, Kara Dag is actually an extint volcano that emerged during Jurassic times. "Kara Dag" means "black mountain" in the Crimean Tatar language.
The native flowers in the foreground remind me strongly of our Mediterranean coast. Somehow the light and the feeling is the same, although the climate must be very different.
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| Left: Happy New Year! & right: Askania Nova |
Two beautiful stamps this time. On the left side, the New Year stamp (З Новим роком!) and on the right, the
Askania Nova nature reserve (
Асканія-Нова) stamp from the Seven Nature Wonders of Ukraine series.
Postcard from: Kiev, Ukraine.
Received: April 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one 1.80 hrívnia New Year stamp and one 2.20 hrívnia Askania Nova stamp, both from 2011.
Thank you, Mierna!
{UA-246608}
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| Hyvää Pääsiäistä |
This little beauty came to my letter-box not long ago. Tiina is an 11 years-old girl who enjoys postcrossing thanks to her mum, who thinks this project is a great idea for her daughter to learn English -- agree. I was lucky enough to be sent this gorgeous greeting card with a matching stamp. Spring has sprung! ♪
We don't celebrate Easter in Spain* and I have never sent or received this kind of cards before. Needless to say, I love it.
* although we do celebrate Holy Week & Resurrection Sunday, those holidays have nothing to do with eggs, bunnies or spring, but they are a religious celebration.
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| Designed by Janne Harju |
The stamp also put a big smile on my face: bunny and chick painting the easter egg together! It is a design by
illustrator Janne Harju released in March 2012. Ten points to the Finnish postal service!
This postcard's theme: Easter (obvious).
Postcard from: Seinäjoki, Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland.
Received: March 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one Easter 1st class (priority) stamp designed by illustrator Janne Harju in 2012.
Thank you very much, Tiina! ♥
{FI-1362056}
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| Resurrection Church in Kostromá |
The Church of Ressurrection, built in 1651, is a superb example of the typical 17th century Russian art. Although it is not an UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kostromá is part of the
Golden Ring and worth sightseeing.
They cannot be seen in this snowy winter picture but the five onion-like domes are green. I haven't never seen snow so I love these white snow sceneries. Plus I love old buildings and art. Plus I love green colour. ♪ They were -22ºC the day this postcard was sent! I cannot imagine that.
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| Wolf (left) and Happy New Year (right) |
To bring out that cold Russian weather there are two winter stamps. A cute
wolf fox in the tundra and a New Year's stamp from the 2011 series (
C HOBбIM ГOДOM!). It is sparkly!
Postcard from: Kostromá, Russia (Кострома, Россия).
Received: February 2012.
Language: English.
Envelope: no.
Stamps: one sparkly 20 RUB Happy New Year and one 0.50 RUB
wolf fox.
Thank you very much, Elena!
{RU-760567}
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| Sweet Nativity |
Postcard from: Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Received: December 2011.
Language: Latin.
Envelope: yes.
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| The Manger: Baby, donkey and ox |
The first Christmas card of the season arrived today. A plain bright red envelope with a single small stamp gave me very good vibrations. The stamp is simply gorgeous.
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| Outside... |
What else could I expect from a comicbook reader friend? A comic-strip card. Fun!
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| ... Inside |
And I must confess I totally fell for it. He didn't buy her a diamond necklace! I also feel cheated, Mrs. Penguin.
Postcard from: Hertfordshire, England.
Received: December 2011.
Language: English.
Envelope: yes.
Stamps: one Christmas (Luke 2:7) small 68p stamp.
