Cats, cats, cats....and a Poem

As for my last post today comes one of my longish, annoying ones, with a bunch of cards, and today's subject is Cats.

Now, I know that time ago I said no more cat cards and I didn't really plan on posting some, until recently I received this card which kinda changed my mind and inspired me to do a cat-post.
The card itself is not a cat card at all, but had a reference to a poem which is the main 'offender' of why this post was born. And here it is...

Stray Cat

by Francis Witham

“Oh, what unhappy twist of fate Has brought you homeless to my gate? The gate where once another stood To beg for shelter, warmth, and food For from that day I ceased to be The master of my destiny. While he, with purr and velvet paw Became within my house the law. He scratched the furniture and shed And claimed the middle of my bed. He ruled in arrogance and pride And broke my heart the day he died. So if you really think, oh Cat, I’d willingly relive all that Because you come forlorn and thin Well…don’t just stand there…Come on in!”

It is both so heartwarming and heartbreaking and I'm sure that anyone who has ever kept a cat would be kinda touched by it and find it all so true.

So for the love of all adorable cats out there, here come a few on cards (I tried to make a variety of the countries where these came from so at least in case you are not into cat-cards, you may enjoy the stamps =)


I have no idea now who sent me this first one, but I'm glad to have it cos it is adorable beyond words.

If this cute little fella came to your door, how can you not bring it in?? Look at that adorable face and eyes!! Gosh, I'm such a sucker when it comes to cats. If I could I'd rescue all the stray cats out there (and unfortunately there are way too many here =/)


Next comes a great Nouvelles Images card sent by Bryon, showing different breeds of felines.

I have to admit that in general I prefer stray cats to the famous breeds' ones, and I'd never really go for a cat (or dog) for which I'd have to pay money - I'd always rescue some poor little fella from the streets and I really encourage other people to do so, since those little creatures are the ones that truly NEED your help.
Among else, this card reminded me that it's been really a while since I've posted something from the NI series here...

And what makes a cat card perfect?? Well, cat-stamps of course! :D These are from the amazing 2010 Adopt a Shelter Pet - series (just what I was saying above).

Thank you soooo much Bryon!!



Next is a card I received from Larisa in 2012...

....showing this photographer-wanna-be. However I think that (s)he is easily distracted so I wouldn't expect some booming career here :P

On the back we have one of the 2008 definitives, the Moscow Kremlin from the Kremlins' set of 2009, and one from the set of 4 stamps issued in 2010, showing Head Dresses of the Republic of Tatarstan.



Another one from the NI series received as an official in 2013.

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The expression on both the girl's and the cat's face are just priceless, for different reasons. The little girl is so delighted and there is something evil in her smile, while the cat has this 'oh my God, here comes my torturer, the fun days are over' kinda look.

The card came with a number of stamps, which I rarely get to see on the official ones from the Netherlands :)
First is a 5c definitive issued in 2003, then we have the blue 10c stamp which is from a set of 5 Numeral stamps issued in 1976. The top-right corner stamp was issued in 1992 commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Dutch Pediatrist Union. The one below featuring Wilem Jansz Blaeu is a Charity stamp issued in 1983, while the very last one is from 1991 from a set of 3 Summer stamps.

Thanks a bunch to Anne for this one!!


This one with the surreal green eyes came as an official from Great Britain and is actually a resent card since the first one went, who knows where..

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This one reminds me a lot of Kimi...even though his eyes weren't green as this, but that face and that look are just the same...and cannot believe that it's been almost a year without him =/

The stamp is a Christmas stamp from a mini-sheet of 7 stamps issued in 2012.



So besides a photographer wanna-be, today we also have a reader wanna-be.

The looks on this one's face is just heart-melting...and look at those lovely paws!! I don't know why but there is just something particularly adorable about little kittens' paws ❤

A number of nice stamps on the backside of this one. At the very bottom is a stamp from the Polish Farmhouses set issued in 2001. The top row starts with a stamp issued in 2004, showing Sandomierz, from the Polish Towns series. In the middle is a stamp issued in 2006 as part of the Polish Alphabet issue (so one stamp for each letter - so 26 in total. The last stamp was issued in 2009, from the Tytus, Romek and Atomek set (a Polish comic-book series).

Thanks a lot to Patycja for this one!




This double-cuteness arrived in 2009, for the Winner of the Month lottery at the PC forum.

Being a WOTM is a really great experience! Unfortunately I don't take much part in the forum activities now, and this also includes the lottery in question. However, I still have a number of cards received as part of it, that haven't been shown yet (and I was a winner twice actually during my PC career :)))

This card arrived from Steffi who attached two stamps - a lighthouse one from the set of 2 issued in 2009 and one definitive from the flowers' set issued in 2005.



Looks like a pretty vain cat this next one with a killers' look! :)

It arrived as a surprise from dear Essie in 2010 - yeah, another one of those 'shame on me it took me so long to post it'. But better late than never, no?

a very very cute stamp issued in 2009, representing Multi-cultural Finland.

Essi dear, kiitos!!!



I decided to close this post  with another card from Bryon cos this one is like one of the most unique cards I have received!

The card is an Edward Gorey's illustration that is part of the Cats & Dogs boxed postcard set.
And I think it makes a perfect postcard here when it comes to address, space for writing and additional stuff - therefore had to scan both sides, but deleted (most of) the text, cos otherwise one just cannot get the idea about the coolness of the card :)

It came with three different stamps, starting with the Polar Bear one issued in 2009. Next is a great tiger stamp issued in 2011, trying to raise awareness about the endangered species, while the last one showing two Love Birds was issued in 2006.

Big thank you again to Bryon! :)

Well, I guess you have had more than enough of your daily cat dose :)

Thank you for dropping by! Till next time...

Yuri Gagarin, Russia

well, apart from the Italian maxi card, some Russian cards of course...well a bunch of them actually....though I still have this feeling that I must have overlooked some :)

if you are not such a Gagarin fan, maybe you love Russian stamps....and this post has plenty of beautiful ones to show...
But before I get down to that, just wanted to show a picture of Yuri's night here in Skopje (it is an event organized throughout the world), and this time it was organized by the Russian Embassy here which I thought would be something spectacular, but was utterly boring but at least I got to meet some of my astronomy buddies and other friends....and at least pose for the picture with Gagarin....thanks to Iskra for the picture :)

and after the introduction lets get down to the cards....where for some I have NO idea how I have obtained them....yeah, blank cards....and the very first one is of such kind....

Found it in the 2010 pile, and it says it was issued by the State Institution of culture of Moscow, "The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics".....other than that, it says "Yuri Gagarin - the first cosmonaut of the planet fulfilled the age-old dream of the Mankind about flight to space. On April 12th, 1961 spacecraft 'Vostok' with Yuri Gagarin on the board, made one Earth orbit and successfully landed. The era of manned space flight has begun.

well, as I said, it is blank, so no stamps nor any idea who sent it to me....


Now, when it comes to the next one, I have two copies of it, one received for the WOTM in 2012 from Alexandra, and the other one as part of a swap from Ekaterina in...unfortunately I cannot read the cancellation...

but both are written and stamped, so a few words about the stamps now...

on the first one we have one of the Russian Kremlins' stamps from 2009 (the Moscow Kremlin) and the other one is from a set of 4 stamps issued in 2011, for the Olympic Games in Sochi, showing Krasnaya Polyana, the only ski-resort at the Black Coast.

on the other card we have another of the Russian Kremlins' stamps  (the Rostov one) and three more - there are two stamps from the set of 5 issued in 2005, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of A.I.Mikoyan...and the one on the right, issued in 2008 in a set of 4 stamps showing the Decorative-Aplied Arts of Dagestan.



next we have another blank card from 2010...with a smiling Yuri! ♥

now this one is not a maxi-card, even though at first glance it may seem so...

the sender, Natalia, had designed it herself, and she says this was her first designer's experience with a retro photo....well done Natalia!! And thank you for sending it to me! :

and she used nice stamps too....two more of the Russian Kremlins (haha, maybe by the end of the post I will have them all :P) - here you can see the Zarask Kremlin and the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, and also a fantastic stamp issued in 2010, showing the Curonian spit...and if you actually touch it, you can feel the rough sandy-surface!


Next is probably one of the most iconic Gagarin pictures, where he is holding a dove...but in general there is a trend of famous people being photographed with doves, promoting peace and all...

blank card unfortunately...



another one with this super-charming Gagarin smile :D

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received this one as an official from Elena in 2014 (I also have a blank copy, so if anyone is interested, let me know).

and among the three stamps here, we also have a matching one with Gagarin!!! Issued in 2009, for the 75th anniversary since his birth...we also have one of the 2008 definitives, and one from one of my favourite Russian cartoons with Karlson - it comes from a set of 4 cartoons' stamps issued in 2012.


Ok, i think we are like half-way through, and next comes a card dear Maria sent me in 2010

It was indeed issued to commemorate April 12th, and the world's first spaceman!



Next is probably one of my favourite Gagarin cards where you can see him in the company of Gina Lollobrigida at the Second Moscow International Movie Festival in 1961

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Received it from Polina in 2011, when Russia still had 6-digit IDs :)

On the stamp you can see another one of the Kremlins - the Ryazan Kremlin.


A card I received in 2012 from Anna for the wishlist-tag...

The English translation on the back of the card says "Long Live the Son of the Communist Party"!
I don't know how come the translation has the word 'communist' in it...or maybe it is understandable it refers to the communist party...but I do somewhat disagree with such wilful addition/omission of words..

anyways, the card comes with a nice stamp issued in 2011, showing the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve.


this next card is from the same series as the one above...an official received last year, sent by Larisa and Anastasia...sisters I guess :)

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the English translation says, "We are creative and friendly and clever, we're making space to be peaceful forever"! 

which word means 'clever' in Russian here? 

one more Kremlin stamp :D it shows the Astrakhan Kremlin. There is also one from the 2008 defintivies and one Sochi stamp from the set of 15 issued in 2014, showing all the different disciplines.


The next-to-last....

...received from Irina for the (no-more-existing) Favourites RR.
I wonder what's going through Gagarin's pensive head here....

A gorgeous stamp with Orcinus Orca from the set of two whales' stamps issued in 2012....and another 2008 definitive.


And this last card for this post, and today came as a surprise from dear Katya in 2013

another pensive Gagarin-look....probably before take-off :)

Here you can again see the Moscow Kremlin and another beautiful stamp issued in 2013 in a set of 3 Contemporary Russian Art stamps.


Sorry Yuri for the delay in this post....but I hope it still counts :)

and wishing you all a nice weekend....yeah sorry, that would be all for today, but I just wanted to make one update dedicated to Gagarin...I will try to come back soon with a new regular kind of update...promise! :)

Arlington National Cemetery, USA

The initial idea about this post was quite different...since I thought I had never posted about the Arlington National Cemetery before (even though my gut feeling was telling me otherwise, but the tags on the left were like trying to prove me wrong).
Turns out I really really should trust those gut feelings of mine...cos they just prove to be right...and the reason why i overlooked the Arlington tag here was cos I was looking for it under Washington D.C and not under Virginia as the other Alrington post is...but these cards can be sooo confusing sometimes...cos both that are shown here, bear the name of Washington D.C on the back...tsk tsk tsk...what a mislead!!
Well, frankly I was too lazy to search and scan and upload something else, so here we have two cards of the Arlington National Cemetery...this time under the tag of both Virginia and Washington D.C..but dear USA postcard printing companies, please make up your mind on such issues in the future so to avoid such confusions...thank you very much

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Both cards arrived in 2012...the first one as an official...the text on the back reads:

Arlington Mansion and 200 acres of ground immediately surrounding it were designed officially as a military cemetery June 15 1864, by Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. More than 260,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf War and Somalia. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900.

the three smaller stamps I guess are more than familiar...the bigger one doesn't appear so often on my mail..theYear of the Dragon stamp issued in 2012.

the other one arrived from Swantje for the WOTM lottery...boy, that seems to have been so so long ago!!
Again, from the backside: The Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery was dedicated on May 15, 1920 (here is that tricky word 'dedicated' again...thanks to Bryon for the prior clarification!))
While many ceremonies are conducted throughout the country, many consider the services at Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater to be the nation's official ceremonies to honor all American service members who serve to keep the United States free.

 

some more nice stamps! (incl. the American Clock and the Toleware)...Here you can also see the nice Bonsai stamp from the set of 5 Bonsai Tree stamps issued in 2012, with this one showing the Black Pine. The other one is the Neon Celebrate stamp issued in 2011.

so, that would be all for today folks...hope you had a nice summer in general, and you are now ready to embrace the lovely autumn days and their beautiful colours!

Stay well!

Paris, France

Did you know that, 31 March 1889 was the day when the Eiffel Tower was opened? Well, due to that, I will post the several Eiffel Tower cards I have, and that have not yet been posted here...

the first one comes from JP and I think it is one of the most fantastic angle from which the Tower has been shot...plus i love the golden against the blue colour combination!
In case I havent told you, Ive been here...straight to the top...but I was lucky enough to do it on a foggy day so the whole experience was rather disappointing and I cant really brag about having some spectacular view all over Paris....

JP used a very nice matching stamp (with a perfect matching cancellation!). The stamp is from the 2012 EUROPA series, on the "Visit" theme...and here you have some of the most famous French places to visit, among which is of course, the Eiffel Tower :)

another Eiffel Tower from JP :) On this card, you can see the Eiffer Tower as seen from the gardens of Palais de Chaillot..another place to see in Paris, where there are several museums located, as well as an aquarium.
That statue you can see, is called "L'Homme", made by Pierre Traverse.

another great stamp, with a great cancellation..the stamp comes from a set of two Galante Hear stamps, with Maurizio Galante as an artist. This one in particular also bears the words - Crayon me...and im not sure how you can see it on your monitor, but the stamp on my card is red...while the ones ive seen on the stamps' websites, is black...so im wondering if maybe JP did crayon it or it is just by chance that on the internet they appear black while in reality they are red....

I received this one as being a WOTM on the PC forum...
The tower has been named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. The work on the foundations of the tower had started in January 1887, and the main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889. On the 31st, Eiffel celebrated this by leading a group of government officials, accompanied by representatives of the press, to the top of the tower.

You know, as I keep looking at these cards, more and more I feel that I should really go back and climb on the tower again and experience it at a whole new level...but only with the appropriate company. Ive realized that the best way to experience places, food, things, is only if you have the appropriate company with you...

rather familiar stamp I think :)

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A card I received as an official back in 2010.
Im not sure if the moon image is real or photoshopped but it makes a nice detail on the card.
Just today I read that there was a bomb threat yesterday at the tower by some anonymous guy, after which the whole tower has been evacuated..of course, no explosives can be found...but you can never be too sure. They say that the tower gets such calls like at least once or twice a year...boy, some people really know how to ruin your experience, esp if that was, lets say, your one and only chance to go on the tower.

the stamp was issued in 2009 and is a joint issue of France and Venezuela, showing Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot, general and traveler considered the "Precursor" to Simon Bolivar's "Liberator."

and another card from JP...the colours on this one are just fantastic!
Again on this card you have the tower as seen from Palais de Chaillot (or you can also find it as the Trocadero)
Did you know that there are over 30 replicas of the tower all over the world? I wouldnt be surprised if we get it one day as well....I mean, we already have the Triumphal Arch....so why not add this as well to the already cluttered city centre...

love this bike cancellation! as for the stamps...the left one is the well known Marianne definitive, this one issued in 2008...the other one is from one of those stamps issued by Phil@poste for letters up to 20 grams...which make it sort of impossible to track them down since they dont even print the year of issue on the stamp itself...and after like an hour of searching, i found out that this one was issued in 2011, under the subject, I love Auvergne....pheww, at last!