Perfect day!

Many postcrossers are on holiday. I think some sent postcards arrived but they are not registered because of the recipients are not at home. This Monday was a perfect day. One of my sent card arrived to Japan. It is a lovely cat card with two cute red tabby kittens.

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I'm at home and I wait every day for postcards from all around the world. Today I have found four postcards in my postbox. All four cards are from my wishlist. The first one came from Belgium.

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It is an interesting card. There is a sculpture of Damien Hirst, an artist from United Kingdom. He was born in 1965. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He made the series "Medicine Cabinets". These sculptures are glass-cabinets packed with pharmaceutical packaging. "Sinner" is the first work in Hirst’s series of "Medicine Cabinets". There is portrait of his grandmother, Eileen Brennan, taken through the drug packaging she left to him, on his request, on her death. Three great stamps are on the Belgian postcard.

Spotted Nutcracker - fenyőszajkó (Nucifraga caryocatactes) occurs in Europe and Asia. Ginkgo biloba is a special tree and a popular medicinal plant. I have written about this plant in my post on 10 January, 2013. Third stamp was issued on the 100th anniversary of Institut Royal Météorologique de Belgique (31 July, 2013).

Second card is from Germany. It is a funny painted cat. There isn't any information on the back-side about the picture.

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Lot of stamps are on the card. Two of them are colourful flower stamps. There are Crocus and Pulsatilla.

Third postcard is a Flower Fairy card. I like these series very much. I has a post (29 January 2013 ) about lovely Fairies of Cicely Mary Barker. This picture is from the book Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948. Rush-Grass and Cotton-Grass Fairies are two little boy on  adventure expedition.

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There are beautiful stamps on the lovely card from the Netherlands.

All four colourful stamps are related to children books. 1st and 3rd are from series Child welfare, 1980. The 2nd one is a funny Christmas stamp from 1991. The 4th one is from series Child welfare, Joost Swarte comics, 1984. 

I received the forth postcard from Finland.

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The picture was painted by Rolf Lidberg. Troll kid studying his water-wheel moved nailing hammer. So cute! Rolf Lidberg Jonas, (1930-2005), a Swedish artist and botanist. He was best known for his paintings and books with paintings of trolls depicting old life at Indalsälven, before the river was extended. Lidberg great interest was botany, especially orchids and fungi. He traveled around Europe to paint and draw of vegetation. My 2nd Lidberg card with a nice flower stamp was sent from a Postcrossing meeting. 

I got earlier an other Rolf Lidberg card from Finland. Theme: trolls studying a wild-orchid. Depicktion of the orchid is very realistic.

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Cats on cards - photos

In November of  2011 I found two black kittens on the street. They suffered from hunger and cold. I made a home for them in November 2011. The start of our “family life” didn't go easy, because they were very afraid of humans and didn't know toilet etc. Now they are totally domesticated.  They got their names after the Latin names of two medicinal plants. The both cats have a “spicy” Latin names. The sweet she cat is Pimpinella (anise) and the naughty tomcat is Zingiber (ginger). I love my cats and I like postcards and stamps with cats and kittens.

Tomcat Zingiber (2012)

She-cat Pimpinella (2013)

It's no wonder I like cat cards very much. Above all paintings and drawings with black cats. There are my cat cards received by Postcrossing. 

The first one is one of my favourites in spite of it is a photo. Title is Simon. He is a beautiful old style Siamese. My parents have a very similar cat. His name is Simi and he is 19 years old. Every day with him is a present for my mother. My father also love him very much. This card came from the Netherlands. I like it!

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I like not all cat cards. Artificial photos like the second cat card received in January 2013 from Japan is too kitschy and not so lovely.

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This photo received from Finland is also artificial:

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The next card is kitschy too, but the kitten on it is adorable. I got it from Sweden. It will be better without text.

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This photo of a tabby kitten from Germany is more natural.

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This simple photo of a Siamese kitten and a tabby cat is lovely. The card is from Germany.

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The last postcard of this note is my absolute favourite. It is a retouched photo from Germany. Eyes of a beautiful black cat like my dear Pimpinella. Oh, sooo great!

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In my next note I will show painted and drawn cats on postcards.

Flower Feries

On 26th January I received my 5th flower fairy card. He is Ragged Robin Fairy from the book A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934. He came from Portland, Oregon (USA). The sender is the 15th on most postcards sent from USA but she is not a Postcrossing machine. Flower fairies are so lovely and I would like to collect all.

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There are nice stamps on this card. With the first one the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the bobcat (Lynx rufus), a member of the feline family found across the United States. In this bold, graphic depiction, the bobcat's golden eyes and pink nose make a striking contrast with its fur, rendered in shades of brown.

Flower fairies were painted by Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973). She was an English illustrator. Her first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring, was published in 1923. Similar books (Flower Fairies of the Summer, 1925; Flower Fairies of the Autumn, 1926; The Book of the Flower Fairies, 1927; A Flower Fairy Alphabet, 1934; Flower Fairies of the Trees, 1940; Flower Fairies of the Garden, 1944; Flower Fairies of the Wayside, 1948) were published in the following decades. Flower Fairies of the Winter was published posthumously (1985). Her sister conducted a kindergarten. The children in the kindergarten modelled for the flower fairies. Flower fairies are tiny creatures that live in the tree tops, marshes, forest floor, wayside and gardens. Wherever and whenever a seed sprouts, a flower fairy baby is born. Each flower fairy lives and sleeps in their chosen flower, plant or tree, and as this grows the fairy grows too. Each and every flower fairy is in charge of looking after their flower or plant; keeping it strong and healthy by making sure it has plenty of sunshine and water to drink, sweeping away dead leaves, and polishing flowers and stems. Flower fairies are nature sprites. Each fairy looks and behaves like an extra dimension of the plant it lives within and cares for. The evocative 'song' each flower fairy sings, helps convey the 'spirit' of her flower. The plants were painted from life, and if a specimen was not readily at hand, Kew Gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed. Barker designed and built the flower fairy costumes, and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated.

My first flower fairy was the Winter Jasmine Fairy. He came from the UK in August 2011. I read the blog of nyassa, an English postcrosser and gave her information about a Hungarian postcard. She send me this lovely card as a thank.

This card was sent also with three stamps. The most interesting is the Mini, a British icon of the 1960s. This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis.

The second flower fairy came from Finland in January 2012. She is the Lavender Fairy. It is lovely!

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One month later I received a new fairy: the Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy. It was also a "thank you card" from Cleootje from the Netherlands.Sheliked my card (HU-44156) so much so she sent me this nice thank you. Nyassa and Cleootje are good examples for postcrossers who send and receives a lot of cards but they are not Postcrossing machines.

This card has a nice Postcrossing stamp on it.

I have one more flower fairy. She is the Snowdrop Fairy. It is a beautiful glittering card from Finland.

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It has a lucky  ice-hockey stamp.

Five card in my mail-box

On Monday I founded five card in my post-box! It is my record! By registering the cards I try to read the post stamps and I register them in chronological order of sending. The first card is from China. I'm sorry because of the sender didn't write me about him. I read his profile, therefore I know he is a 18 years old boy. On the card are all words in Chinese. I don't know where this beautiful cave can be found.

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There are three stamps on the card. Two bird species of China and a lotus (Nelumbo).

From the Netherlands I received an Atelier Nouvelles card. I like this multiple style card. On of my friends learn France and she translated the text. There are delicatessen and accessories of a Butcher’s Shop on the card. Some picture are funny!

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Also the stamp is interesting on this card. It is a long description on it about Maarten van der Weijden (born  1981), a Dutch long distance and marathon swimmer. He won the gold medal in the 10 km open water marathon race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. 

This great Art Nouveau card came from the United Kingdom. The sender bought it in Riga, Latvia. It must be a window of the building in Alberta iela 2a, Riga. I like it!

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A great stamp is on this card. Mrs. Gamp (Sarah or Sairey Gamp) was a nurse in the novel "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit", written by Charles Dickens and first published as a serial in 1843-1844. She was dissolute and drunk and became a notorious stereotype of the bad secular nurse in the early Victorian era, before the reforms of campaigners like Florence Nightingale. I didn't read this novel but I like the stamp!

The two last card s are from Germany. On the both are figures of the Harry Potter movies. On the first one is one of my favourites, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Michael Gambon played Dumbledore in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. This scene is in the movie "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".

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The stamp was issued on the 50 anniversary of "Élysée Treaty". Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer on January 22, 1963. It set the seal on reconciliation between France and Germany. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them.

The other Harry Potter card is a picture of  Draco Lucius Melfoy (Tom Felton) and his friends, Vincent Crabbe  (Jamie Waylett) and Gregory Goyle (Josh Herdman). 

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On the stamp is medieval centre of Regensburg (Germany), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Season greetings

In December and January I got more season greetings. The last one arrived on 17th January from the Netherlands. It is a folded old style card.

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The stamp was known for me.

On 14th December I received this black and white card from Austria.

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On the stamp is the "Museum der Moderne Salzburg". This museum hastwo buildings at two truly spectacular locations. On the stamp is the building of the "Museum on the Mönchsberg". In this is modern art in a contemporary setting.

Two Christmas greetings came from Finland. The both are nice. This bouquet with poinsettia and Hungarian tricolour around was sent from Lahti. The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is member of the Euphorbiaceae plant family. This plant family is in the focus of my phytochemical research, because these plants contain specific chemical constituents.

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I think there is an anemone on the stamp. It looks like to Anemone nemorosa. Anemone is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to the temperate zones.

The other Finish greetings came from Savonlinna. It is a lovely vintage card. The Finish sentence means: "The school is filled with warm thoughts." The picture was painted by Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879-1964). She was a British illustrator. She was known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children, based on her daughter, Peggy.

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 There are three different cross-shaped stamps and a lovely one on the card.

On 19th January I received a card fro a Finish little girl. It was painted also by a children's book illustrator, by Elsa Beskow (1874–1953). She was a Swedish author and illustrator. Many of her books became classics and are continually reprinted. Beskow also illustrated ABC books and songbooks for Swedish schools. On this card is "January" from the book "Årets saga" was published in 1927.

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Finish stamps are so beautiful! On this card is also a flower. I seems to be a sunflower (Helianthus annuus).

Beginning my Blog

I'm member of Postcrossing for 529 days. It is a great hobby. Sending a postcard is really amusing pastime. I'm so excited when I'm clicking "Send a postcard" button to get a new address. I read more than once the profile of the receiver to choice the most suitable postcard for him or her. Writing the text is also an enjoyable task. The best moment is to get a message about the receiving my card after a long travel. Receiving a postcard is also a great feeling of course! Every workday I open my postbox expecting for postcards.

Today I have received three cards!

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I put the Mucha card from USA to my favourites. I like Art Nuoveau style so much! I would like to visit the Mucha Museum in Prague someday. The two Christmas stamps are also great.

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The Persian cat in the gift box is cute but I like the painted or drowned cats more better. I like the stamps of this card.

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I'm sorry but I didn't found the title of the third card painted by the Dutch mouth and foot painter Pieter de Leur (1923-2010). (Ow, it was not easy to insert pictures in the blog! Now they are OK!)

Since July 2011 I have received 198 postcards and send 201. I would like to write about postcards obtained and posted earlier too.
Yesterday I sent a card to Czech Republic. The user is a Japan-fan, so I picked up this card for her:

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It is a beautiful Japanese painting made by Kano Tanyu. He was one of the foremost Japanese painters of the Kano school. Kano painters often worked on a large scale, painting nature scenes of birds, plants, water, or other animals on sliding doors or screens, covering the background with gold leaf. This card is one of the 12 postcards of an UNICEF calendar. There are pictures of two Japanese painter: Kano Tanyu (1602-1674) and Yamamoto Soken (1683-1706).

One of the stamps is specific the others the common "chair-stamps". The colouful one is an altarpiece from the collection of the 50 years old Hungarian National Gallery. Title: "The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine" (from the Batthyány Collection of Németújvár). It was painted by tempera on wood about 1490.

My first card sending by Postcrossing was "Wild flowers" painted by Hungarian mouth painter  Erzsébet Czibolya. It is a popular card favourited by 15 Postcrossers. I like the colours of this card. Poppy is one of  my favourite plants.

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All my sent cards are scanned. To the picture I note the ID, the address and also the text of my card. It is useful when a card lost and I want to send a new one. A note in the file looks like this: