Lake Michigan, USA

Well, next comes another surprise card that I received this year...and since I don't feel like opening yet another box to be storing my 2015 cards, why not clear them away immediately? :P
Thing is, if it wasn't for this card, I wouldn't have realized that my Illinois posts so far were actually labeled as IlliOnois...even in the title! Yeah, me, who can be a real nit-picker sometimes, makes such clumsy mistakes...that laaast and laaast and laaast..for years! Just terrible...but I guess either no one has noticed so far, so it is not THAT embarrassing, or people didn't feel comfortable of pointing it out :)

The guilty guy for making me notice this mistake of mine, is, well, of course...Bryon! :D
Well, you know, I realized that both of the card I received since the beginning of the year are somewhat related, since they both show some icy, cold place...and eventually, really spontaneously, this whole updated turned out to be veiled in ice and snow...just as our weather here...snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures, which were like the main reason why my initial NY plans didn't work out...but as they say, everything happens for a reason and Im not complaining :)

The card here shows a view of the Chicago skyline from the frozen Lake Michigan...doesn't seem suitable for ice-skating though

if im not mistaken, this is my first Christmas USPS stamp of 2014...and I really love it!

Thank you Bryon! Hope that Argentine wine was nice ;-)

Chicago, USA

this great Chicago view was sent to me as a surprise by dear Carol

the back of the card says 'a unique view of the sun setting on Chicago'. And it is a lovely view indeed....problem is, im not quite sure which buildings are exactly portrayed here, so you will excuse me for the lack of information about that and just enjoy the view. 

Chicago, USA

An official from USA

US-190383

On the card here, you can see the historic Water tower of Chicago. It was built in 1869 and is 47m. tall. Inside, there was a 42m. stand pipe to hold the water. In addition to being used for firefighting, the pressure in the pipe could be regulated to control water surges in the area. The tower gained prominence after the Great Fire in Chicago in 1871. While some incorrectly believe that the tower was the only building to survive the fire, a few other buildings in the burned district survived along with the tower. But the water tower was the only public building in the burned zone to survive, and is the only one of the surviving structures still standing. In the years since the fire, the tower has become a symbol of old Chicago and of the city's recovery from the fire. Oscar Wilde stated that the Water Tower looked like "a castellated monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it."


off-topic....if you hadnt read anything from Oscar Wilde by now, i recommend that you do so.....and start with The Picture of Dorian Gray. Its a book i can read over and over again....