Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain .......

Nope...no contest results yet...coz there is no new country yet..I hope you wont get tired of waiting and checking and ban my blog eventually :) But thats why there is a lot of rain!! In case you are longing for some, let me know and ill send it to you....coz personally im sick and tired of it...

As i was getting ready for work today, the skies got dark, thunders could be heard and of course, eventually, started raining...but i still decided to go to work by bike coz i had this feeling that once im done, it would have stopped raining and i would regret not taking my bike, and hoenstly, im too lazy to walk and i find it very boring actually...so i got my umbrella, my bike and took off...its not my first time to cycle in such conditions, ive had it even worse....anyway, before going to work, i wanted to stop by at the post office as well...and i even wanted to go to a different one which is a bit out of the way...but i just wanted to make a change and see if maybe HERE they have stamps...of course, they didnt...so the additional distance was no worth of getting extra soaked....yeah...despite my umbrella, i felt soaked, and on top of that, the whole back of my jacket and pants were wet and with mud-spots....wanna take a guess how furious i was? And by the time i started work, the rain had stopped...by the time i went home, the streets got dry....so i guess i had  invoked some higher spirits...telling me that i SHOULDNT go to another post-office...and here is my punishment :D
Right now its raining again...arrghhh....this whole inconsistent weather is affecting me in every aspect..getting headaches and feeling sooo moody all the time =|
The funny thing is that many years ago i was actually PRAYING For rain...sun was depressing me...rain was making me feel awesome...i enjoyed being out in the rain..walking, cycling...whatever....but well...times change...sometimes drastically...
Tomorrow is Labour's Day...meaning no mail...meaning my 100th country will arrive...i really have no idea when :)

Åland

The 100th country??!!
Nope...im sorry...hasnt arrived yet...so yeah, it gives you more time to take part in the contest and give yourself a chance to win something...well, its not the lotto you can win, but still i hope its fun for you :)
So, I have the great honour and pleasure to actually show you my country number 99! Probably one of the places I LEAST had expected to get a card from, and definitely not a written and stamped from there...but oh well..never say never! :))))

If it wasnt for Markus, i doubt i would have had a card from Åland in the nearest future...so, all the credit goes to him and im wholeheartedly thankful that he sent me a card from there, knowing how many requests he actually had...he managed to sqeeze in a card for me too! Thanks a lot Markus! A lot lot lot!! :)
Honestly, before i joined postcrossing, i didnt really know about the existence of Åland (well, number of other places as well), but if i had to go back to school right now and go through my geography subject all over again, i think id be one of the best in class :D
What fascinates me about Åland is that its a Finnish historical province, yet, people there speak Swedish...its an interesting clash indeed...and if im not mistaken, i had read that Finnish people dont like hearing other people speak Swedish....or it was vice versa...hmm, well, im not really sure, but i know there has been some language animosity going on....
I think ive managed to learn the correct pronunciation of Åland....you know, when you dont have certain letters/sounds in your language, its a bit awkward when you try to learn them, and you always think that if a native speaker hears you, he will have a good laugh...well, at least i feel so...
Oh, and btw, i have to say that i really love the Åland's flag...it definitely enters my category of favourites!

Roma, Italy

I got this card from Val and her short Rome trip...and i have to say that im actually fascinated that people do send me cat cards! I dont know how it works, do you see a cat card and makes you think of me, and you get 9 city views and 1 cat card, or its somehow else...but i really love this kind of thoughtfulness, and honestly, it gets me spoiled as well :D

I have a bunch of Rome cards, from my trip there, and of course, they are all some city views...multi/single..whatever...and im very happy that i actually have the chance to see Rome from a different cat aspect :)
Val says that she had seen lots of cats wandeting everywhere, and that she even saw one at the Coloseum! Hah...one lucky cat that is...not to have to pay an entrance ticket, and yet get the chance to see the Coloseum....
Btw...what you can see on the card is a Fragment of the statue of Constantine...as for the cats, feel free to give them your own names...

Thessaloniki, Greece

Finally a Thessaloniki card which shows something else but that famous Thessaloniki tower...i have nothing against it...im just tired of seeing it on every possible and impossible postcard.
This is the St. Demetrius church...a view by night...which is obvious...

Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki was a Christian martyr who is said to have lived in Thessaloniki in the early 4th century. During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints often paired with Saint George. His feast day is October 26 for Christians following the Gregorian calendar and November 8, for Christians following the Julian calendar...
The Serbian Orthodox church reveres St. Demetrius as Mitar, having a feast of Mitrovdan on 8 November....well, here we also have Mitrovden...and is celebrated mainly as a nameday or saints day, which is some sort of a family celebration...so people whose name is Dimitar, Mitar, Mitra or anything related to Mitar, do have their celebrations on this day....
My grandparents commemorate December 19, St. Nicholas Day, coz my great-grand father was called Nikola...well, i just want to make it more clear, what kind of celebrations are these...
There is a funny story related to this and two other Thessaloniki cards, but i guess ill share it when i show the other ones, and instead talk of the tower, ill go with the story...unless i forget...which wouldnt surprise me...i have become very forgetful in the past years....

Champasak, Laos

Well, my 100th country hasnt arrived yet, so if you want to, you still have the time to take part in the contest....if you have no idea what im talking about, just click on the link on the left and it will make things clear ;)
So, in the meantime, i will show you my 98th received country which i must admit was an absolute and totally unexpected surprise...thanks to Zarah...I have LAOS in my collection!! WOW!!!

the Si Phan Don is also known as the 4000 islands...its on the south of the country, on the border with Cambodia. Here is a review i came across about this place:
Easily the most relaxing and tranquil place in Laos.  People are super nice.  Local wine super strong.  Hiking super easy. But no electricity => meaning: No hot water, charging of cameras, no AIR-CON/ fan when GH owners off their generators (usually) at about 9pm. No artificial lights in the night.  Lit by beautiful moon and stars only.

mmmm...seems interesting and intriguing....though if possible, i would like Zarah to bring some input here, from personal experience...i think it would be much better, than my own rant :)
Btw...Zarah...get your live streaming ready for Rome! :))

New Jersey, USA

A new map card in my collection!!! Yippieee!!!!
I have to say that Yvonne has been sending me a bunch of great cards...and some more are coming as well! Thanks Yvonne!!!!

Now, as usual, your lazy blogging-host, turned to the back of the card, wanting to give you the information from right there...when...there isnt ANY kind of info on the back!! And NOW what, your host wondered...these things eased my writing so much...and felt appropriate to be put here since they belonged to the card...and what should i do know....duh...well, i actually like the back of the card coz its rather picturesque (its actually the same image as the front, just in a much paler tone..and its places horizontally ..but the usual facts and figures info, would have spared me loads of trouble :)
So...while wondering what to put and searching for info, i came across something fun and interesting and i thought to myself that it would be right to share it with you...and get a bit away from the conventional kind of posts when these kind of cards come in the way....so here we go:

10 Things You Didn't Know About New Jersey

* The first organized baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ
* New Jersey’s State House is the second oldest still in use. (Maryland has the oldest.)
* New Jersey was known as the "Pathway of the Revolution." Over 100 battles were fought on New Jersey soil.
* New Jersey has more horses per square mile than any other state. The United States Equestrian Team is headquartered in Gladstone , NJ.
* The properties in the United States version of the board game Monopoly are named after the streets of Atlantic City.
* The first state to sign the Bill of Rights.
* New Jersey is one of only two states (along with Oregon) where self-service filling of gasoline is prohibited.
* The first professional basketball game was played in Trenton, NJ in 1896.
New Jersey has 127 miles of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.
* New Jersey is home to more than 9,800 farms covering 790,000 acres of farmland.

well, personally, i definitely had no idea about one of these things...so..you live, you learn ;)

Singapore Flyer, Singapore

Here is a Singapore card with one of the most important and probably most well-known emblems, the Singapore Flyer.

From what i could tell, this card isnt an original photo but something like a combination of a painting and a photograph...and i actually love how it looks and i definitely love the colours of it! Its just lovely!!!
It is said that the Singapore Flyer takes 30 minutes to make one turn only...at first, it actually seems much...but when you think about it, if it went faster, you would probably end up feeling awfully dizzy when you put your foot one the groung once its over...i just wonder what kind of a view is there from its top...an enthralling one, i bet!
thanks a lot to Edmund for sending this to me...i just love it!!!

and lets see if country number 100 arrives tomorrow ;)

the 100th Country Contest!

Well, as you may know, time ago i told you that once im about to receive card from the 100th different country in my collection, i will make a contest about it. Well, the time has come...i know probably all of a sudden, coz first, i actually received 3 new countries in less than a week, and in that week, i havent really done many updates due to a number of reasons (had a really busy week, had a rough week and honestly, i sometimes feel down and not in the mood to write something decent...and the cherry on top is that my internet was down for like 3 days...so when you gather it all, it all contributed for my lack of posts...and im really sorry for that...and i know i owe many of you a message, and i will try to catch up with it during this weekend....)
Anyway, as i said, the card from my 100th country is about to come...when, i have no idea...where from, i dont know as well...all it takes for you to do is take a wild guess and see if you were right or no...the one who guesses it right, will get either a card or a cover, or anything he or she may like....we'll make a deal (just have in mind that the Macedonian postal culture doesnt give you many opportunities...)
So here are the basic rules, and as long as you follow them right, you are IN:
- one guess per person only
- do leave an email or link to your site when you post, as id be able to contact you in case you are the lucky winner
- if someone has already mentioned a country, doesnt mean you cant vote for it again...as long as the sixth sense tells you its the right one, go for it
- if two or more people guess right, they will all have the chance to win something
- if two or more new countries arrive on the same day, they will all be taken in account, and everyone who has voted for any of them will be considered as a winner
- if no one guesses right...uhm, oh well..ill draw one winner using some random generator
- if you had already sent me a card from a particular country or you are about to do so, you CAN'T vote for that country...that can be considered as cheating and unfair to the rest of the participants
- this contest will be open until the 100th country arrives

- the card itself can be written and stamped, or sent in an envelope...doesnt matter...im still not in the hunt for receiving the cards written and stamped only from the country of origin...so everything counts as long as the card shows something from that particular country
- the cards will have to be store-bought...so hand-made, self-printed, ad-cards, will NOT count...sorry!
- dependencies and sovereign territories are also valid for a guess
- and last, but not least....have fun! :)

So, here are the places you may choose from (ive left out some disputed regions...):

- Afghanistan, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Ascension Island, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey and Alderney, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshal Islands, Mauritania, Mayotte, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, North Mariana Islands, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Pitcairn Islands, Qatar, Rwanda, Sant Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands (British), Wallis and Futuna, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

well....lets get it rolling! Good luck to everyone! :)

Dead Trees, Namibia

Well, lets actually show one of those newly received countries, which would be number 97 on my list ( i wont give out the other two...you'll just have to wait and see :))

Here is a card i really like, coz it feels very artistic to me, and with an not-ordinary concept....showing dead trees in some desert in Namibia. My guess was that this is the Kalakhari desert, coz unlike the Namib desert, this one is considered to be the best known geographical feature of Namibia (and hence maybe a reason to be shown on a postcard), but as usual, i was wrong...coz if you type 'dead trees namibia' on google, it will give you pictures and info about the Namib desert...well, its most pictures and barely any info actually...all i could figure out was that these are most probably called "Camel Thorn Trees" and are found in the Sossusvlei region of the desert...well, its not hard to guess why trees may be dead in a desert area, yet, i wish i had some more facts available about it...you know me...i rely on facts and things i can have a proof of...
either way, i hope you like the card...i do ... A LOT!

The Cock of Barcelos, Portugal

Here is a really really great card thanks to my dear Marta! I simply love such educational cards, cards with legends or those 'did you know' cards....

well, as i usually do it with these kind of cards, i will just copy the text....in order to spare you from staring at it :)
The Cock of Barcelos

At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, the silver was stolen and one guest was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty. In spite of the overwhelming evidence against him, he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case. Seeing a cock in a basket nearby, he said: "If i am innocent, the cock will crow!". The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free...

Heh....maybe i should try something like this :D

České Budějovice, Czech Republic

A really nice card, showing the Přemysl Otakar II Square....i love the blueish tone of it!

České Budějovice has long been well known for the beer brewed there since the 13th century. For a time the town was the royal brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor and Budweiser Bier  , became along with Pilsener one of the best-known lagers. Brewing remains a major industry.

If there is a drink i totally cant stand, then thats beer....but for some reason, i found it interesting and fun to share this information with you...instead those historic facts and figures...

well, i hope you liked the cards today...i hope you are having a nice Saturday...and dont forget to take part in the contest!

Im off to watch the semi-finals in Barcelona! :)

Let's have some Cappuccino.....

There is no better way for me to start the day with a nice, warm, delicious cup of coffee...well, in general, it makes my waking up early more bearable....and for me, any time of day when i need to wake up is early, and without some coffee, i just feel flabby...AFTER some coffee, i feel more lively and in a better mood...

I dont know how it is exactly in all the rest parts of the world, but here, when you want to see a friend, you actually say 'hey, do you want to go for some coffee'? or 'do you want to come over for a cup of coffee'?
But its just like a phrase which sort of feels like an excuse of asking a friend to meet...as if its trivial to say 'i want to see you' direct...as if it leaves no room for anything else but see that person, doing nothing else...as if the 'coffee' makes the meeting more fun and easier to go through it...as if its actually a burden to meet a friend...
I know it sounds all wrong, but i guess the coffee meetings associate some sort of closeness with the person and as if what you're gonna do, wont be just empty talk, but you'll have some coffee as well!
The funny thing is that after you arrange the coffee meeting and all, you end up drinking something totally else, or you order something to eat...and the coffee is...well...left somewhere hanging....totally forgotten...and when you actually sit at the table, you have this 'oh, i drink coffee every day at home...give me something else' thought....
yeah, meeting for some coffee (here) is a real phenomenon....i just wanted to know the significance of coffee meetings in other parts of the world as well...and if its something that brings you closer to people....

anyone wants to have a cup of coffee with me now? :)) Or we can all have one over at Marie's at her PFF cafe :)

Pallastunturi, Finland

Morning everyone! Well, its morning indeed! For a CHANGE, i had managed to get up rather early (before 9 am, and that IS early for me) and more surprisingly, i dont feel really tired and all. Lately, ive been feeling awfully tired (i will again probably by tonight coz its gonna be a busy busy day) and my eyes start to close before midnight, and by 1am, i just feel totally incapable to keep them open or to do anything and all i want to do is sleep sleep sleep! Which may not be awkward, but if you knew me better, you would know that i actually barely can go to sleep before 3 am or even later, even if i feel tired, and then, the next day i can sleep for 24 hours if i could....but these past few days ive been having a real problem and could just barely make it by midnight.....I wonder for how long this kind of sleeping routine with me is gonna last....usually, its not much, and i just go back to my 'insomniac' attitude...but well, thats not really the issue of the updates here....all i wanted to say was that even though i need to go to work early, im still able to actually make an update BEFORE i go, coz apart from having time, i even found all the stuff needed for later, so i just feel like i could allow myself to post here...otherwise i doubt i will be able to do it till tomorrow or even Thursday....

and ok, lets get down to some business actualy...how i started, i will end up having no time to actually post the update with so much rant :D
You know that I love Finland and Aurora Borealis and all....but this here, has got to be one of the MOST magnificent Aurora Borealis cards i have seen. Its BLUE!!!! Well, ok, Bluish, but the blue colour is really predomonating and in contrast with the snow and the trees its just amazing! And its a huge card as well! And i just love it!
And im EXTRA EXTRA thankful to Essi for actually sending it to me! It was a great surprise and a very pleasant one! Essi, Kiitos!! :)  (if there is one thing i learned with postcrossing is how to say 'thank you' in a number of languages).
I would really love to experience the Aurora Borealis for real one day. I wanna know how it feels...to see the tremor of the lights, to hear if there is some sort of a sound (like the sound of the snowflake when its snowing, which you can best experience when all around is still and quiet...)....i think that its just a unique and one of a kind feeling....worth experiencing!
Ok...i wont bore you with details and facts and theories about the Auroras....ill just put something for you to enjoy...i even think i was able to go a step further in my comprehension of the Auroras in general, after watching this...

Bart Simpson

This is one of my all time favourite cartoons/series.....The Simpsons!

I have watched them for many years and sometimes they CAN get tedious, but in general, i love the sense of humour they have and actually how it is portrayed through their characters...in some ironic way...sometimes too subtle, sometimes too direct....
One of the things i dont like about the Simpsons is actually the violence and its enjoyment and fascination (which you can feel through the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon) but in general Simpsons are and WILL remain one of my favourite shows ever and im more than glad to actually have received not just one, but THREE Simpsons related cards! Wohooo!  Of course...you'll see them one by one....and probably with the next cards ill bore you with some facts and  figures info...

for now, just a Cranberry Sauce a-la Bart video :)

Minsk, Belarus

As for my last card today, ill take you to Minsk, in Belarus....

This is called the St.Triniry Suburb.
It is considered as a famous site in Minsk, settled down on the right coast of the river Svisloch.Walking down the small paved streets you can feel yourself in ancient times, enjoying multi-coloured houses and tiny shops and caves.
Well, not much info i could find upon this one...and whenever google showed me a site about it, turned out that the site is either non-existent or just contained NO info about it. Thats my luck, i guess...
Well im wishing you a nice day, and ill hopefully see you soon! And wish me luck that *I* get through MY day :P

Happy Easter!

As you probably know already....or maybe not...today we celebrate Easter...well, i know its a bit hard to keep track who celebrates it when, but i belong to that minority of the world, who celebrate Easter on this day.
So in order to commemorate it, i wanted to post this incredibly cute greeting card that i received from Ana in Serbia....I know some of you had asked me to send you an Easter greeting card from Macedonia, but unfortunately, after a nice quest, i came to realize that we DONT have Easter Greeting cards here, except for some handmade pieces of paper, and you can hate me as much as you want, but im NOT gonna send you those! I guess that people here just dont have the tradition to send Easter Cards so hence why you cant really find them....or maybe they exist SOMEWHERE, but not in all those places i had looked, and i looked in the ones which are most likely to have things like that, in parts of town where there is a high frequency, in markets which sold Easter decorations etc etc...but no luck...so I hope you'll forgive me!
And, this cat here, may not be exactly like Kimi, but he definitely looks like a Kimi's younger brother :)))))

Well, im not gonna bore you with stories and stuff...just wanted to wish Happy Easter to all those people who celebrate it today.

Честит Велигден!

Сретан Ускрс!

Wesołych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy!

Христос Воскресе!

Happy Easter!

 

Wishing you all a great day!

When cats and dogs get together...on a Postcard Friendship Friday

Its always fun to hear how some people claim that certain kinds of friendship just CAN'T exist...probably often based on some sort of prejudices or just personal experience. But I always want to prove such theories wrong...friendship can exist in any kind of a form, shape, relation, devotion....it just takes a desire and a good heart and the ability to escape from narrow-mindedness...and observe the world and things around you with no rejection and be open to all new and old experiences.....and give things a chance...at least once...or twice...or if you think they deserve it, endless number of times...
The cat and dog friendship is something which has often been analyzed and narrated and pointed out as something which doesnt really exist since dogs always chase cats, cats fear dogs (esp. when they bark) and they just simply cant stand each other....but a look on a cat and dog together makes my heart melt...I had seen real such examples, and here is a card which i love from the bottom of my heart, which gives such a warm and kind atmosphere....

When i found this card in my mailbox, i had one of my 'tears got into my eyes' reactins...but i think that my mum reacted even 'worse'! She said she wanted to have this card zoomed, framed and put in the living room! Yeah, you read it right...and those words came out from my mum's mouth, not mine...
The main reason why we both so much love this card is coz the cats are as the same breed as mine...while the dog is of the same breed as the one  i used to have....so this is some sort of heavenly combination...and apart from being cute, it has a much deeper emotional value to me.
And then again...just take a look at how that kitty is sniffing the dog, or maybe giving him a friendly kiss...i dont know...but that scene is just overwhelming me. And for the millionth time makes me wanna get a Collie and try to befriend it with my cat....my cat has had his times when he was sitting next to a dog...most probably coz he thought that if he tries to run away the dog will go after him and eat him alive...but you could feel that he was all unnerved and as if lying on needles...

and now shoo shoo shooo....go over to Marie's at her PFF and see whats going on there.....unless its from there how you had come here :P

Damüls, Austria

Finally weekend! And Easter! And me actually having working assignments throughout it all! But i promised you i wasnt gonna complain anymore, so it would be fair to keep my word....at least this time :)

When i look at this card, it reminds me of how lovely it is outside as well....FINALLY i can feel spring at its fullest...ok, i admit, we had a few days of  "I-went-out-of-my-mind" weather, but it has got back to its senses, so it feels warm and sunny again...and i can go by bike wherever i need to without worrying if im gonna get soaked or cold or so....i sometimes wish it was spring all year long....i dread at the thought of coming of summer...well, the Macedonian one...its not something you would really enjoy if you were here...
Well, this card REMINDS me of the weather outside, but it doesnt actually SHOW the actual outside....this is Damüls in Austria, which is one of the many little villages in the mountains, which in winter turn into big and quite famous ski-resorts.
I got this from Jasmin, with whom i started writing letters just recently....the letter lover in me hasnt been awake like this for a long long while....why oh why did i let it fall asleep in the first place...when we were doing so fine with each other....

Newspapers

You know that for some reason i LOVE cool cards! And i consider this one as an absolutely cool card...i just really really like the idea, all these newspapers from all over the world, to be put together at one place! Thanks sooo much to Davida for sending it to me!

I was analyzing them all, and i realized i actually have never heard about many of them, and have only read a few...online! There is a newsagents here where you can actually get many international newspapers and magazines, but ive only bought magazines..never had the itch to buy The Guardian or New York Times, or so...
Well, out of all these, I have heard about The Figaro (ive known about this ever since i was little, coz it reminded me of a Tom and Jerry cartoon when Tom sang "Figaro" :)), then of course, TheIndependent, Financial Times, Le Monde, The Express, Ta Nea (if it wasnt for the Macedonian-Greek dispute, i probably never would have heard of this one...but whenever they report about that issue, or anything regarding us, they often refer to Ta Nea), then there is Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mirror......and then there are Belgic, Swedish, Spanish, Irish and a lots of other countries newspapers i have never heard of...if you recognize something coming from your own country, which i handt mentioned before, feel free to leave a note :)

Btw...i rarely read newspapers in general...mainly coz the majority of articles are political..second, each newspaper belongs to a certain political party (at least here...no independent ones) and ofcourse they are biased and would write articles in the tone it suits them, and about issues that suit them, and when you think about it, turns out newspapers and news in general can be one big lie, and will present you things which THEY would want you to belive...ok, i know this sounds paranoid, but thats how things are unfortunately....and i cant read newspapers or watch the news when all they say are bad news...its a rarity to hear or read a good thing on the news....whenever i watch them, i end up thinking....where the hell is this world going to...

Dresden, Germany

I dont know if its coz its a castle, or coz blue is predominating, but i totally totally love this card! And the scene feels so tranquil as well!

this is the Pillnitz Palace on the Banks of the Elbe river, in Dresden.
Pillnitz palace is an extraordinary ensemble of architecture and landscape gardening, set in the river landscape in front of the vineyards of the Elbe valley. Influenced by East Asian design, the construction of the water and mountain palace in the early 18th century laid the foundations for one of Europe's most significant Chinese style architectural structures. Even today, there are impressive signs of its transformation into the summer residence of the Saxon monarchy.
The Elector Friedrich August, also known as The Strong, received the Pillnitz Palace on the death of his brother. His representation policies transformed Pillnitz into the "Indian" prelude to 24 planned themed amusement palaces, which were part of an overall concept of royal entertainments. The water and mountain palace was built between 1720 to 1724 and were designed by Pöppelmann. The models for this three-part pavilion group were found in the gate complex of the Emperor of China's palace in Peking as well as on the Elbe side in the palaces of Venice as well as Palladian villas on the garden side.
Originally designed as a gate house, to convey guests on arrival into the garden section, the pavilion itself functioned as a location for parties and amusements. The pavilion was extended by the wooden celebratory architecture of the temple to Venus. An important part of the amusement palace was the garden which was divided into games areas. In 1768 with the start of the reign of Elector Friedrich August III., also known as "The Just", Pillnitz was raised to the status of a summer residence. The necessary apartments were first built into the mountain and water palace before the construction of the two wings between 1788 and 1791 meant that it had the necessary rooms for courtly ceremonies.
The development of the English and Chinese gardens up to 1790, influenced by the ideas of English landscape gardening, reflects the artistic and scientific interests of the Electors. The garden pavilions located within the garden serve this purpose as offices for study and pursuit of the arts. When the renaissance palace burned down on 1st May 1818 a new building was constructed which replaced all the functions of the old palace and gave the complex a new finish. The Palm House was built in 1859 to house the Elector's large collection of plants, and in 1879/80 the jousting building was extended into an orangerie. In 200 years Pillnitz developed from an amusement palace to a residential palace in which both art and science had their place.


sorry, i had to make it up for all those numberless posts i had gone totally astray and didnt utter a single word about whats on the card...:)

Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Well, as i had already announced, my schedule got a bit tight and all...but im glad it did so...even though i complain when i got too much work to do, it does make me feel good and fulfilled....well, ok, i admit, i wasnt really in the mood during the weekend to put two sentences together, but i feel ok now *knock on wood* and i think i can squeeze in a few cards before i rush to work again....if this weather wasnt so cold and rainy only...the other day i was sitting in my garden, having coffee, writing letters, and it felt really nice...the other day i wanted to do the same....but there was a cold wind which just kicked me back inside....otherwise there would have been colourful papers flying all over the neighbourhood....

here is my second and last card from the Netherlands Antilles (*hint hint* :))
This one is showing a Flamingo in Pekelmeer....Pekelmeer...Pekelmeer....I had no idea what Pekelmeer represented but i thought it would be good to goodle for it...they call it the Flamingo Sanctuary! :)

The salt flats of Pekelmeer spread out in front of a visitor in great squares of brilliant color, ranging from the turquoise of newly-flooded areas and the livid pink of pools filled with brine shrimp to the blinding white of dried salt. Off to the side lie enormous mounds of dried and drying salt, and in the distance stand great flocks of flamingoes, happily supping on the shrimp. Pekelmeer's deserted vistas are frequently more populated by birds -- including osprey, heron, frigate birds, cormorants, and other marine birds -- than by humans, making it an excellent spot for birdwatching.

I think Flamingos are really nice birds...though i think i havent actually seen one for real so far...at work, in one of the books, there is a lesson which has a Flamingo included, and the main point of the lesson is for children to use words like: pink, feathers, wings, bird....i think that the Flamingo is one of the animals they mostly prefered to describe....

Kras, Slovenia

Here is a card that i got as a total surprise from Staša in Slovenia...something totally new in my collection regarding my Slovenian cards and im really happy coz of that.

There is just a small funny thing regarding this card....when i received it, i actually misread Kraš instead of Kras....i know to most of you it will make no difference, but to me it got confusing...when i read Kraš, the first thing that came to my mind was, Oh the chocolate factory!! (ok, the confectionery factory, but chocolate is the first thing that comes to my mind when you mention it). And then I read Slovenia, and then something felt weird coz i couldnt relate Kraš to Slovenia, in my head something kept saying, wasnt Kraš in Croatia??!! But funny enough, i still didnt really grasp the thing...until my mum actually said it was Kras, and that its a place in Slovenia, and that it has nothing to do with the Croatian factory...yeah, embarrasing i know...i guess that my mind just totally blew when i thought of chocolate :))))))
I mean, i doubt that a Kraš postcard actually exists in the first place....but whenever i think about it, all those Kraš products bring back such nice memories...well, they still exist here, and i still love Dorina and the Zivotinjsko Carstvo chocolates (i collect those, in case someone wants to exchange pictures :P) and then Kiki, Bronhi, Petit Beurre and the one and only Bajadera....its just that this last one got too expensive...but its sooo damn delicious...mmmmmmm
Another, totally astray post....

Yellowstone National Park, USA

Ive posted once a Yellowstone card, but shown from a totally different aspect......this one seems just like a melted candy....

Midway Geyser Basin is seen here from the air. Grand Prismatic Spring, in the center, has the distinction of being the earliest described Yellowstone thermal feature. It is the largest hot spring in the park with a diameter of 370 feet.
And oh yeah, it is a UNESCO whs :)

I should stop seeing food in anything...

Road Signs and Postcard Friendship Friday

You thought that there wont be a PFF post today? Well, honestly, i started thinking the same, but it seems that i can manage to squeeze it in somehow...even though i should be getting ready for tonight....

This card here has been on my very favourite wish list for a long time...a really long time coz this is just one of the coolest cards i had seen, plus i really love the colours of it and all. Anyway, whenever i see it in someone's album, it always said its not available...and the same happened this last time, in one of the tags...i saw it, said its gone...so i went for another card i as well really really like...but i was just wondering, how is it possible that this card is never available.
Anyway, some time later i opened my mailbox and among all the great mail, was this card as well! I couldnt believe it to my eyes! I immediately knew someone had sent it to me coz they had seen it on my wish list but i had no idea who....and it was from my dear Katy from Estonia, but she actually hadnt sent the card...she asked someone else to send it to me coz she knew i would like it and it would make me happy! The funny thing is, that she asked the same person where i saw the card and it said it wasnt available...turned out Katy took the last copy of it, just a few minutes before i did :)))))
I was really touched and happy and delighted...people's thoughtfulness is what amazes me most...and what makes me happy to be a part of all this postcard craze and to know soo many nice people around...I think this card represents it best....it represents all the people I know from all over the world...doesnt matter where they come from....they are all people whom i can call friends even though i havent met them in person..they are all people who think of me when i least expect it...thats such a noble feeling. Black, white, old, young, boys, girls, happy, sad, married, single, weird, ordinary...doesnt matter who you are or where you are from...i want to thank each and everyone of you for every single smile you had brought on my face and for every single smile you had brought to my mailbox...thank you for all those times you had made me feel warm around my heart when it was freezing to death..thank you for making me feel that there is someone out there who thinks of me at times i had felt as the loneliest creature in the universe...even though you are not aware of it, you had all made me get through very rough days, and you keep doing it...no matter what i say, i wont be able to express how thankful i am for everything...as DM would say, feelings are intense, words are trivial...

Clayderman;s concert is in less than two hours....and im not even dressed yet...so i better do something about it :)
Happy PFF Day everyone...and the biggest Thank You to Davida and Katy for making today's post possible to happen :)

Palmer Land, Antarctica

Whichever adjective i use in order to describe this card, i still wont actually express how i feel towards it...fascinating? Yeah, it is fascinating, but it feels as if its more than that as well....maybe you cant get the ACTUAL glimpse of it thru here, but this card is just absolutely AWESOME!!!

The Antarctica itself is more than appealing to me, something i want to explore, get inside its secrets, depths, mysteries....extremes of the world actually fascinate me in general.
This card is called: BAS Twin Otter flying low over a crevasse field.
This is the English Coast of Palmer Land, which is broad southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula about 640 km east of Peter I Island (in the Bellingshausen Sea), claimed by Britain as part of the British Antarctic Territory. It is named after its discoverer, Nathaniel Palmer,  captain of a U.S. sealing vessel, who led an expedition to Antarctica in 1820.
A GREAT GREAT GREAT card! Simply GREAT! Not just coz its the Antarctica...i simply love how they caught that plane..i love its reflection in the snow...and its just a feeling one of a kind, a plane, flying over a deserted area, having in mind that unlike the Arctic, on Antarctica there are no permanent human residencies...except for scientists and explorers....

Japan

In general, im not very fond of posctards with people (why, kill me if i actually know) but i DO like it when they are portraying something significant about the country, like in this case.

the back of the cards says: Maiko-Feminine charms of traditional Japan are still preserved by these Kimono-clad maiko in Kyoto.
I had no idea what Maiko actually is..but here is what friendly google says: Maiko is a Japanese word for "dancing girl" and is an apprentice of Gesiha.
And it also can be a female given name....whose meaning can be different regarding the Kanji used...hmm, and thats when i got lost and stopped googling...if you expected me to actually analyze each Kanji and what each name means, then sorry, but you've overestimated me!
I once started learning Japanese...I knew how to write my name, and some very simple words (which nowadays im teaching my 4 year old students) like apple, tree, sun...that Japanese learning is a real story, but i wont go into details...the thing is, today, i know NO Japanese at all...whatever i had learned, just disappeared...puff...like that...
I was analyzing this Maiko girl...how on earth can she walk on those platforms! I mean, i know it would be easier to walk on those then on high-heels of the same size since these are flat and its easier to hold balance and all(btw, im a walking-fiasco when it comes to high-heels of any size) but still...when you dont really have a close connection with the surface you are walking on, it gets difficult...even on platforms...i have a pair of lovely white sandals, which are like 20cm high...and i always feel as if my leg is gonna twist and im gonna break an ankle...with these ones as well...i mean, just look at them...all it takes is to lean a bit forward...and puff...again!

Gaotian, China

If things go as i was told they will, then soon i might be burried in piles of work...and i actually want that to happen, since i need money...a lot! I know I always complain when i have to work 24/7, but no work, means no money and no money means no to many things...so hopefully, that work will come...what i wanted to say is that if that happens, i wont be able to actually make many updates (as if until now i had been the most regular updater) so i just want to use my time before that and compensate somehow...and not leave cards piling and piling and piling...if i exclude all my older cards, from before the postcrossing era, right now so many cards on stand-by that i would need to make an update every single day (with 3 or 4 cards per day) for the next two whole months, in order to exhaust that whole collection....if we assume that i wont receive any cards in those two months....which, is not gonna happen, coz im not gonna allow it...i mean...two months with no cards...who are you kidding?? So i guess ill just slowly update here, with cards making bigger and bigger piles, and with people wondering, why am i not posting a card they had sent me...well, its not coz i dont like your card...thats not a reason at all...you just know that my whole updating concept is complicated....but i dont wanna change it...you know why? coz it will feel as if i had failed to go all the way on something i had said i would do...as breaking a rule just coz i didnt have enough patience...its like when you go on a diet, and at the third glimpse of the chocolate, you eat it whole and then you feel guilty and something feels wrong inside...well, resisting a chocolate isnt always easy, so at least i dont want to be character-less here...so i hope you understand..and in case you see your card in two years time, its not coz i didnt like it, ok?

ok, i think i talked too much...so i will spare you from more talks :)
Ill show you a video instead, which is somewhat related to the card itself...so instead of my rants, enjoy the beautiful scenery and the nice relaxing music :)

Kinabalu, Malaysia

An interesting Malaysian card...a bit different from what  i already have from there....

The card shows a climber on summit plateau of Mt. Kinabalu (13.000 ft)...i know its a shame, but im totally hopeless at calculus and stuff so i cant really transfer feet into metres, miles into kilometres...galons into litres and so on and so on...i have a whole list of those metric systems, since i need it for work...but i never learnt it by heart....
I think that mountain climbing is really amazing and thrilling but as well dangerous...while looking at this man on the picture, i wonder, how much does all his equipment weigh...more than himself maybe? Isnt it a hard task to actually be able to climb up a mountain, carrying ALL that load on you? Doesnt all that weight actually cause difficulties, makes you lose balance?
There is a lesson we do at work every year with the upper-intermediate students...its called "I will survive" and it actually deals with climbers...the first story is about Joe and Simon, who were climbing a mountain, with a rope between them...then Simon accidentaly lowers Joe over a cliff and Joe's whole weight goes over Simon...and there comes the moral issue...should Simon cut the rope and let Joe die...or should he try and rescue him, with a great chance for both of them to die........he decides to cut the rope....what would YOU do if you had been Simon?
then the second part is about Captain Robert Scott and his men who wanted to reach the South Pole...the Norwegian explorer Amundsen was also trying to reach there first....this is a story which always gives me the goose bumps when we do it in class...its sad, and just makes you think about life in general...
In case you are intersted, you can read more about their lives and their expeditions here: Scott  -  Amundsen

Key Lime Pie

In case you didnt know....recipe cards have taken a firm place on my wish list...this one in particular...is mouthwatering...i got it thanks to dear Katie :)

I may not be addicted to chocolate/cakes and such....but i actually cant resist a piece like this...to be honest, i am capable to finish this whole cake by myself...and later, of course wonder how come my jeans dont fit me anymore....
I just LOOOOVE such creamy/crunchy stuff....the ones that just melt into your mouth...Katie says that this one has a sweet and sour taste at the same time...oh my...sounds just sooo perfect to me! I would attempt to make one like this at home, but i doubt the outcome would be anything close to whats on the picture....but thats just an excuse more not to show it in public and eat it by myself :)))) yeah, im selfish and mean sometimes :D
This cake is actually Florida's state pie....soo, in US, each state has its flag, song, bird, motto...and a pie...and im sure im missing something as well.....in order to spare you the zooming, ill write down the recipe here as well:

4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (Key Limes if possible) - im not sure if we have this here at all
6 tbsp. of sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, beat 4 egg yolks, add condensed milk and lime juice, beat until thick, pour into baked pie shell.
For topping, beat 4 egg whites, blend in sugar and cream of tartar, beat until stiff and forms peaks, bake in moderate oven until egg whites are golden brown.

mmhmm mhhmm mhhmm....all i have at home is something thats supposed to be sacher cake...if you are asking me, its not even close to what a real sacher cake should be like...but thats how the bakery  called it...i should assume they got the recipe wrong :)

btw...today is my grandmother's birthday...and i would love to dedicate this post to her...and this cake to commemorate her birthday. At this very moment thats the least i could do...when i go to see her, ill do more...she deserves it more than a lot....i love my grandmother more than anything in the world...its just a pity i cant and dont see her more often...Happy Birthday dearest Grandma!!!!!!

Brussels, Belgium

these are the Corporation Houses in Brussels dating from the XVII century...

Funny thing...just now i realized that this is my first Brussels card...i have numerous cards from Belgium, and i had no idea until now that Brussels was missing from my collection!
Funny thing numero due...i could barely find any info about something called Corporation Houses in Belgium...and when i looked at the building card, i even thought it might be a UNESCO! :)
So...all my Belgique readers....if you can...please...HELP! :)

Lindesnes Fyr, Norway

Here  comes one of my world's favourite destinations, on an absolutely amazing postcard! With beautiful scenery and a lovely lighthouse!
Lindesnes is the end where the mainland sinks into the sea. It is a lighthousemuseum and a touristspot visited of thousands of tourists every year. It is the southernmost point of Norway and literally it means 'arching land peninsula'. If im right, fyr is actually the Norwegian word for a lighthouse...

If you have been coming around for a while, then you know how i feel about Norway and how much i would like to visit it one day and so on. Well, for the past few days ive been having some other ideas going thru my head. There is this agency here, you know, one of those 'work and travel' ones...well, they offer some opportunities to go to UK, US, Germany...and Norway! Right now the offer is to go to a family who lives on a farm and to help them with that...of course, they provide you accomodation, food and stuff like that, and you are obliged to work a particular number of hours for them. Ok, i think i might be very lousy with it, and all that farm work, though you can never tell something unless you try....and somehow i want to try. Well...i cant just leave NOW, since i have to work until the end of the semester and i still have no idea how all the procedures are...since there is the worst one, called, VISA approval...and if im not approved a visa to stay there, then i can just dream those cows and chickens and pigs...but, what im trying to say is that, im just willing to try it out....maybe in the summer, i dont know..maybe till then, some new opportunities will arise...like au-pair...i know there is this girl who is in Norway and is looking after some children, and they communicate in English, while she is studying Norwegian at some school...maybe i should get in touch with her and see whats the deal...I know there are loads of things that need to be taken in account, but for the starters, i have the desire for it...even though im a bit afraid...and i know i will miss my family a lot...but apart from them, i realized that not many other things are keeping me here...the things that matter to me, are miles and miles away, and it feels as my care is in vain...since it isnt mutual...i know that this going away somewhere, to a certain degree is like trying to run away from the problems....but sometimes you just have to do it, since where you are, you just keep spinning around the same point all over again....and i know that once i come back i will face the same old things again.....if i come back...

Plants and Animals

here is a really cool card which at first i actually thought represented only cactuses in the desert...but when i took a closer look, i noticed that it has a bit more variety than that....i got the card in the surprise-tag...Linda saw it in my wishlist album, and sent it to me...thoughtful people always leave me speechless, you know...

To be honest, im not familiar with like more than 50 percent of the things represented on the card...fishhook...jumping cholla....teddy bear cholla...ocotillo....this is the very first time i hear about these...than God for the cartoon, or i wouldnt have heard about 'roadrunner' either :D
I think ill google them each eventually, but i surely wont bother you with info about all of them...there are just too many...though i think that Carol may know a lot more about these, since these all seem to be desert-related...if you are reading this Carol, please, help! :)
btw...Joshua Tree...reminds me of a movie which believe it or not, right now i have no idea if i had watched it or no...it is also an album by U2....but i didnt know it was some sort of a real tree as well....Joshua....its a nice name...has warmth in it...

Glarner Land, Switzerland

What a lovely view! And no no no...im not posting this card coz it coincides with the weather outside...actually, the weather is tooo hot that it feels hard to get used to it...

Heeeey, did i tell you??!! I got tickets for a Richard Clayderman concert today!!! Yay! Im sooo happy, i cant tell you! I totally accidentally found out he is going to have a concert here (this is what happens when you dont watch TV, and you miss out all those annoucments). I was going to the post and to buy some stuff for my mum, when all of a sudden i notice a huge billboard saying that Richard Clayderman is gonna have a concert. I just couldnt believe it! Ive been listening to him ever since i was a kid and i really think he is great and all, and now he is coming here!! Well...after i finished with all that, i came home, took a break, found out which places are selling tickets and got two immedately...i still cant believe it! and they were unbelivably cheap for this kind of an event! 20 euros per ticket!
The concert is next Friday, and i realized i need to get some decent clothers to wear...i mean, i cant go to Clayderman dressed in jeans and trainers...there was this pair of black pants i thought were really nice and elegant, yet, something i would wear...and rather cheap...so if they dont get sold in the meantime, i would probably buy those...wohoho...Richard Clayderman! I know some of you would be surprised that I actually listen to Clayderman if you know what my overall taste in music is like...but yeah, i love such music as well....except that its not something i can listen to on daily basis...to me, each kind of music/band has its own proper times to be listened...i mean, i cant even listen to Depeche Mode 24/7.....each of my moods has its most appropriate music....I listen to Clayderman and classical music in general, when i just want to relax or calm down, or when i want some easy music in the background, which wont disturb my focus on its lyrics or anything...or something while i sleep...its soothing....
And the card...hmm. Clayderman is French, so he totally has nothing to do with the card....oh well...maybe he has been here on a skiing holiday...who knows :) Sorry, but i just had to tell you....its not something i have a chance to attend to every day...

Postcard Friendship Friday

Hello everyone! I missed last week's PFF but here i am today, to share my thoughts...esp. since i have a reason...so yeah, this wont really be like most of the updates, this is one of the days when i take a step back and do something a bit different...
Im dedicating this Friendship post today to Helle, formerly Pedersen, now Andersen. As some of you may know...or may not know...Helle was one of my pen-pals back in time when i was devoted to this hobby, ive mentioned her at some of my previous posts when i had posted a card she had sent me.
Well, yesterday, i got a letter....from Helle...and that was more than enough to entirely brighten up my day to the fullest. So thats why today, im dedicating this dedicated to Friendship post, to her. Along with the 4 cards she included in the letter :)

 

Well, it all began not that long ago...several months...ever since i discovered postcrossing, ive been more than delighted that after many years catching dust and spider webs, my mailbox was being fed again with stuff which are not bills, leaflets, propaganda material, and such....my mailbox was getting lively again. For someone who had enjoyed receiving mail over the years, this was just a treat of a kind. Which you could have noticed thru my blog, each time i posted a card.

Cards are a delight....but....there always has to be a *but*...one day, after reading how some people say, hey, today i received 5 postcards and two letters...or, i received a letter from my pen-pal in Germany..or im writing a letter to a friend in Poland etc etc etc, a small hole of emptiness started creating inside me...and it grew bigger and bigger...all of a sudden i realized how much *I* miss writing/sending/receiving letters....email never grew on me...online chats for hours are annoying to me, unless i have to talk to someone with whom there is no other way to talk to, and yet, communication is required/wanted...plus talking to 5 people at the same time is just not a way to be able to dedicate your attention properly to all of them....so, as i said, inside me, i started longing for real letters...a LOT...i just dont know why i havent got that itch earlier...

 

So i decided to do something about it...and of course, there are (still) many people around who enjoy snail mail, and who love taking their time to write and post a real letter every now and then...so i looked around and saw that there were some really nice and interesting people....but...yeah, here comes the inevitable *but*..something inside me STILL felt missing. The desire to actually write letters with people i used to write to, and who were very dear to me....so thank God to the internet and its vast opportunities, i decided to look for them...and can you believe it that i found 4 very very dear ladies??!!! Can you even imagine my heart-beat when they said they remembered me and that they would LOVE to keep writing real letters to me??!

I know i give myself no credit, for a lot of things....this was no exception, and i just didnt really want to interfere with their lives and impose some demands after all these years, now that they have families and are busy...why should they write to me, just because all of a sudden i got this desire for it...i mean, where had i been TILL now? But i thought there is no harm if i just ask, and if they dont want to or cant, thats ok..but they all said they wanted to write to me again...real letters....Helle was one of them. And yesterday her letter arrived...her first letter after all this years....my mailbox felt so content....me, more than that...

Helle was one of my first pen-pals ever, when i started pen-palling back in 1993....she contacted me thru this programme...there was a programe on the Brtish Supper Channel back than, which aired every day from Mon-Fri, with Clive Pears (gee, i remembe his name :)) and each day was a thematic day...Monday was pen-pal day...and after watching many pen-pal day shows, i decided to enter...and there one day, another pen pal day comes, i sit to watch it...and then he says ' and here is pen-pal number 4 for today, and thats Ana from Macedonia..and i see my picture on TV! And he reads my intro letter while my picture keeps staying on the screen and i smile to the viewers...hahahaa, my 2 mintues of fame!
So after he read my letter and all, people were supposed to send a letter to Supper Channel, write on it who is the pen-pal they want to write to, and inside they actually write a letter to me...so after waiting as long as they consider is enough, Supper Channel gathers all the letters for the particular person and mails them...so one day after like two months i appeared on TV, a huge brown envelope arrived to me, with 12 or so letters for me inside...so thats how it began....and i was addicted to it immediately...as if its been in my blood...in my veins...it just needed to be unveiled...Helle was one of the girls whose letters was inside...

 

We wrote to each other A LOT during the years and we wrote regularly...she wasnt one of those pals to whom you write once in six months...and she wasnt one of those pals to whom you write one sheet of paper per letter...she was one of my pen-pals i considered close to me, and to whom i could rant about whatever comes on my mind and confess things, and confide things etc...i just enjoyed our pen-friendship...plus we shared one huge passion...New Kids On the Block :D :D :D Yeah yeah, laugh about it...but back then, in my teenage years, that was my taste of music (it shaped long after that)....how and why we exactly lost contact i dont know...i havent checked my letters to see when it happened...i know that once emails got terribly popular here back in 1999, i was all, hey, we can keep in touch by email, its faster and all...i guess it was just a fascination to something new...i never got into it, so maybe there lies one of the reasons why contacts ceased...apart from my overall apathy i felt stuck into for many years....i cant say i was depressed or so...but i just didnt really have the desire to dedicate myself to something...no wonder my Italian lessons failed...i now regret having wasted so many years, but at least i woke up....and im more than glad i did...coz otherwise i wouldnt have been enjoying again the beauty of written letters...the smiles of the people at the post office when they see me and after checking my pile of mail tell me that everything is stamped perfectly...the thrill of expecting the postman..the thrill of finding a full mailbox...checking the mailbox 50 times a day..
Helle said that she had collected these cards for me...and i love them ALL! Im not entirely sure what each of them represents but to me, they represent Friendship and thoughtfullness...and im so happy to have found Helle after all these years! She's been one of my first and dearest pals...it feels incredible to be in touch with someone youve known for over 15 years...
Well, in case someone had had the nerves to manage reading this until here...if you are interested in pen-palling and if you think youd be able to cope with a 28 year old lady, who doesnt have an exciting life...who rants a lot...who skips from subject to subject, who talks of both too serious and too boring and 'why the hell is she telling me this' stuff..who will definitely talk of either F1, tennis or Depeche Mode in each of her letters...who will complain about work in EACH of her letters...her cat probably as well...if you think you can endure that, then just feel free to write to me...age? doesnt matter...as long as you have something to tell me, and want to hear what i have to say, you are more than welcome...dont ask for permission...just write to me...me and my mailbox love surprises...if you wanna write to me, but feel reluctant about it, please, write to me :)
Helle, i know you probably wont read this...but thank you...for being a friend...for wanting to be my friend...thank you for all those letters, postcards, greeting cards you had sent me throughout the years...thank you for being here after all these years...i know lives are way too busier than when we were teenagers, but what im glad is that we are in touch again...i hope we wont lose contact this time....

Tamgaly Gorge, Kazakhstan

well, it may be April Fool's Day...but this this is not a joke..this is actually, indeed, a REAL update! Maybe it will be good to start with updates on the first day of the month, so that the rest of the month goes fruitful as well...though we are to judge like that and if the rest of the month is gonna be as this day has been, than id rather, more than else, oversleep the whole month, from beginning till end...
If someone dares to say that a teacher's job is easy...switch places with me for a week....if those teenage monsters dont take the Cruella de Vill out of you after day number one, i will worship you for the rest of my life!
Even my mailbox was empty today....*sob* :[.....should i mention i went to sleep at 7 am and woke up at 10 something? Should i mention that the weather outside is so crazy that even when im coming home from work, i need no jacket, even a sweater is too hot to wear? I dont know about you, but when it gets all cloudy and tough,  and hot, it affects me BIG time...and i see many other people as well..yeah..im telling you, its been hell of a day, and definitely not the kind of day i want to have at the beginning of the month

Well, another breath of fresh air...Kazakhstan! Of course, again thanks to no one else but Jo! Moreover, its a UNESCO whs!!! Woohoo!

Set around the lush Tamgaly Gorge, amidst the vast, arid Chu-Ili mountains, is a remarkable concentration of some 5,000 petroglyphs (rock carvings) dating from the second half of the second millennium BC to the beginning of the 20th century. Distributed among 48 complexes with associated settlements and burial grounds, they are testimonies to the husbandry, social organization and rituals of pastoral peoples. Human settlements in the site are often multilayered and show occupation through the ages. A huge number of ancient tombs are also to be found including stone enclosures with boxes and cists (middle and late Bronze Age), and mounds (kurgans) of stone and earth (early Iron Age to the present). The central canyon contains the densest concentration of engravings and what are believed to be altars, suggesting that these places were used for sacrificial offerings.
In the guidbooks, this place is described as a unique and spiritual place.
I hope you can see the carvings on the rocks on this card.

Great card, all in all! Thanks Jo!

Union Jack

And....here comes a new great flag to my flag-cards collection! With the million thank-you's going to Dee!

The back of the card has a short info:
Union Flag or Union Jack (named from the "Jack Staff" of a Naval Vessel). The flag represents the union of nations whose influence extends beyond the British Isles. A composite design of three national symbols: Red Cross of St. George (England), White Cross on Blue, St. Andrew (Scotland) and a Red Cross, St. Patrick (N.Ireland).


The PERFECT kind of a flag card!

Bonne Bay, Canada

My last card for today comes thanks to Glenn, who actually sent me two cards, since the first one decided to take a look around the world first and then arrive to my mailbox...but eventually both of them arrived and both are lighthouses, and both are great, so it was a bit tricky, which one to post today....and this is actually the second card...you will see the other one, sooner or later...

This is the Woody Point lighthouse, in Bonne Bay, Newfoundland, and in the background is actually Gros Morne, so this card actually shows Gros Morne as seen from Woody Point.

So this is where my dilemma arose...Gros Morne is a National Park AND is a UNESCO whs...so should i label this card as UNESCO, or no....the infinite dilemma my cards can impose...

The Woody Point Lighthouse stands along the waterfront in the historic town of Woody Point in Newfoundland Labrador and in the background you can see sections of Gros Morne National Park. After a fire tore through the town of Woody Point in 1922, many of the historic buildings were destroyed except for a handful of them. The lighthouse was built in 1919 and it was one that was saved from destruction.

Its a really lovely lighthouse...and UNESCO goes to the labels ;-)

thanks Glenn!