Cats, Portugal

As my final post today (yeah, I can hear your disappointment), are these two cat cards I sent myself from my trip to Portugal this winter...

The first one is a 3D card, and yeah can give you quite a dizzy feeling, while the second one is just an ordinary card.
However, the funny thing is that once they arrived I actually realized it was the same kitties we were talking about, in the same basket and on the same white cloth, haha.  I think that the 3D really deteriorated my perception here
But there is no such thing as too many cat cards now, is there?

Btw, how is the situation with the postal services where you live?
Here, since the airport has been closed (for over a month now). sending of cards has been very limited, it is just like 10 countries to which I may send cards too, but Postcrossing has been great, having adjusted its algorithm accordingly, so I can still take part in it and sending cards to these particular countries only
Well, none of those cards have arrived so far, but taking into account that the first ones I sent just last Monday, and everything is going through surface mail now (incl. countries like Germany or Ukraine), I think it will take a while... but im really curious to see how long will all this actually take now compared to the regular conditions... well as long as cards dont get lost, i dont mind the waiting...
I barely receive any mail... like two weeks ago I received several official cards, all from Germany... and this single official card yesterday from Finland... other than that, my mailbox has been rather lonely... but we will make up to it once this whole nonsense is over...

haha, ok I think i used too many food stamps here, esp. that traditional sweet Cavacas de Resende, from 2019
In the firsr part you can also see something I thought was some kind of bread but seems that it is another kind of sweet pastry, called Bolo de Ança (Ança's Cake). It is from a set of 7 gastronomy stamps issued in 2018. And here we also have one adorable otter, from a set of 6 stamps from 2016, showing mammal predators (i would never consider the poor otter a predator!)

In the second part, besides the sweets, we also have one stamp from a set of 7, issued in 2019, showing Figures in Portuguese History and Culture and this man here is Fontes Pereira de Melo, who was a Portuguese statesman and engineer. He was a leading parliamentarian and political figure of his time. Among other posts held, he was six times Minister of Finance and Minister of Public Works.
I guess he had deserved his spot on a stamp.

So, yaaay, the silence has been broken... hopefully wont be the only post of the year, haha

Anyways, hope you are all safe and sane... feel free to drop me a line in the comments and share your thoughts and experiences... take care, and dont forget to wash your hands! :)

Cats of Malta, Malta

A cute card that arrived from Silvan the other day (and I also have a copy sent by dear Marta last year). Well, one can never get enough of cats :)

Colonies of stray cats can be found all over the island. In Malta you will be struck by the lack of starving cats on the streets that you unfortunately see in many other countries. Most of these cats are looked after by the whole community whose efforts ensure that the stray cats in Malta are happy, healthy and well fed.

this is the Christmas stamp from 2018 from a set of 3 showing Baby Jesus.

the stamp from Marta's card, which is from the set of 2 Think Green EUROPA stamps issued in 2016.

Thank you both!! <3

Cats

And for the end of today, I left these four super cool cat cards sent by Bryon, cos I don't know if you know, but for a while now, a new adorable cat has been part of our family... again. And life just makes more sense.. again.

Cos what else could you do when you see this little terrified kitten in your backyard, abandoned by its mother, yet, she protects and feeds the rest of the three kittens from the litter. It gets you both angry and overprotective, and that's how yet another story had started and the Little Bullet took a special place in my heart in an instant (She is not so little anymore. In fact, quite big and heavy for a cat that hasn't even celebrated its first birthday, but that's what makes her more adorable too)

several months later:

I think it is obvious she has been well fed :D

This cat story has an additional recent kitten story, but about that, in a future cat-post :)

Now back to the cards - all these are from a set of illustrations titled Kliban's Cats

B. ‘Hap’ Kliban was born on January 1, 1935, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He began painting and drawing while he was in elementary school. As a teenager, he joked about wanting to join the Air Force to strafe civilians, something that epitomized the bizarre sense of humor that later characterized his cartoons and drawings

Three stamps from the set of 20 issued in 2001, representing American Illustrators. Here featured are: Robert Fawcett. N.C. Wyeth, and Edwin Austin Abbey.

In 1962, Kliban became a Playboy cartoonist, contributing cartoons until his death. He is best known for the book Cat, a collection of cartoons about cats drawn in Kliban's distinctive style. The cat cartoons were discovered by Playboy editor Michelle Urry and the 1975 book Cat was born. This led to several other books of cartoons ending with Advanced Cartooning in 1993.

Along with the Navajo Jewelry. some dinasourish stamps too coming from The World of Dinasours sheetlet issued in 1997. Shown here are Edmontonia, Camptosaurus and Corythosaurus.

Judith Kamman Kliban trained in fine arts where her main interests were landscape painting and photography.  In 1975, she moved west to San Francisco where she radically changed her lifestyle, and continued to pursue her ambitions as an artist and designer. Living in San Francisco she worked as an advertising agency art director and as a freelance designer. She also continued her painting and photography.
During the crazy mid 1970's, Judith met artist and cartoonist B. Kliban and began a deep and lasting friendship. They later married and enjoyed a wonderful creative and spiritual alliance. While Hap continued to create and publish other humor books and Playboy Cartoons, Judith ran the business and became the Art Director/ Designer and facilitator of all B. Kliban®Cats Licensing and Design.

The very well-known Tiffany Lamp and George Washington stamp, side by side with two Christmas stamps from 2004.

The husband and wife team ran the business as a "cottage industry," preferring to keep things simple, under control, and small.
Since B. Kliban's untimely death in 1990, Judith has continued to expand and strengthen B. Kliban®Cats. The positive changes have promoted growth and added more polish to the classic license, Cat. Judith works on creation of new Kliban concepts and calls upon the huge residual of work from B. Kliban's prolific artistic life. As a designer, Judith's wide experience in design and with Cat enables her, in a way, to continue even today her collaboration with her husband.

and more prehistoric animals on stamps here, these coming from 1989, featuring the Tyrannosaurus, the Pteranodon, the Stegosaurus, and the Brontosaurus - Correct name is Apatosaurus.

Big thank you to Bryon for these beauties, and to all of you as well for dropping by.

Be sure to drop by soon for another fairy-day post. Who is it gonna be this time? Well, you have to wait and see :)

Now I am off into some big shadow... like the basement maybe.

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.

NL-2151691

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..

GB - 404612

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...

Farewell, Kimi dearest (August 2005 - May 25 2015)

Seems that instead of posting stuff regarding what this blog really is intended for, it has turned into a place for commemorating events....sometimes nice ones, and sometimes not really nice ones, like the one this post is about..and from the title, you may guess what it is about....yeah, my adorable furball Kimi, died late last night....even though I saw this one coming, it doesn't hurt any less than when Foxy died...it may hurt even more actually because Kimi's been sick for years, and I can only imagine how many days he had spent in pain...so even though now he is finally relieved, it is us the pain is gonna stay with for losing him...
For his entire life, he has had some kind of problems more or less, but the greatest one, and the one that eventually made him too weak to be able to live, was the so called feline AIDS, or viral stomatitis...or whatever vets call it...however, just as with humans, there was no cure...a fact we had accepted years ago when he was first diagnosed with it..and we all tried to fight with the disease for all these years...but eventually, we couldn't save him, and after being not himself for the past week, last night he just gave up on it all....
He will be terribly, terribly missed...I just can't imagine that he won't be around anymore to jump on my lap, to abuse my laptop when I leave the room, to run after me when he sees food coming...to go out in the street when he hears my footsteps from afar and wait for me...he wasn't the kind of playful cat Foxy was, yet he was Kimi, adorable and gorgeous in his own Kimi way.

After this, I don't think I'd be able to keep another pet....at least not in the near future...not cos of me only, but my parents as well...my dad and Kimi especially had this particular bond, and losing our pets makes him suffer terribly as well...my mum too, even though she always somehow kept her distance....yet, I know she adored them with her whole heart...

I didn't manage to say goodbye to him....even though I knew it yesterday he just won't make it, still my heart somehow hoped for a miracle...unfortunately, the miracle didn't happen...

Thank you Kimi for all these lovely years you gave us with your presence...I'm really sorry we couldn't do more and save you from the pain...I just hope you know we would have done anything for you, literally anything!! Rest in peace my dearest one! ♥♥♥

R.I.P Foxy dearest (26.05.2009 - 16.11.2013)

when last time I said I may not be in the frame of mind to post for a while...I certainly didnt't foresee this coming...yeah, the events I was referring to did turn out the worst way...but the actual shock came a few days later...on something I couldn't even have imagine...my dearest Foxy the cat is no longer among us...and I can not possibly find the words to describe how heartbroken I feel ;-( Sorry if this may be a yada-dada post, but I've written about so many things here and commemorated events and all, that I just can't go on without doing a post for him on one of the saddest occasions...and I already did a post about him here...and I have a few cat cards with cats that look like him...so I found them somewhat appropriate for today

And it all happened so soon and so out of nowhere...I mean, Kimi is ill (feline leukemia), and has been on daily therapy for almost two years...he can't be cured, but the therapy is keeping him alive...and if it comes to Kimi, aside from being ill, he is also twice older...so subconsciously Im somewhat more prepared that something may go wrong with him...not that I am REALLY prepared, one never is for that, one always has hopes until the last moment...but you know what I mean...
But no, I still can't accept it that it happened to Foxy...and I don't know what actually happened...he was missing for a day...and the next morning I found him in one corner, all quiet, as if something hurting him...my first thought was that he has been hit by a car or something, by the way he could barely walk...took him to the vet later that day, turns out he had some internal bleeding and his bladder was dysfunctional so he has been retaining everything inside for a few days...with a temperature lower for 3 degrees that the minimum one...but after giving him the treatment, the vet said he'd be ok, and to bring him the next day for some additional therapy and all...unfortunately, he didn't get to see the light of the next day...it was a shocker to me...still is....and it is still a mystery to me WHAT has actually happened...whether he has really been hit by something..whether he actually had kidney failure as a result to the internal bleeding...I really really dont know...all I know is that I just cant forgive myself for not being able to spot some signs earlier...and why wasnt he meowing the unusual way...cats usually should do that...Foxy was so apathetic...I lay in bed, and put him on my chest, and he was staying so still...coz he was actually getting ready to die *sigh*...and he died just next to my bed..not the most pleasant thing to wake up to...and the immediate reaction was to go back to sleep...as if what you have just realized is nothing but a bad dream...but unfortunately, it wasnt...it was a bad reality =/

Ive lost pets before...but never hurt like this...coz Foxy was so different and so special...a cat with a character...the one who would never sit still, the one who loved opening doors, who could never have enough food to eat, who loved jumping at you out of nowhere to bite your leg, who loved laying in ambush and jumping at you...the cat who knew what to do when you'd tell him 'sit down'....yeah, that was Foxy...made all our days so fun...that all who knew him, are gonna terribly miss that
But I guess those whom I care for so much, decided to leave me together...be it a cat or a man who has so much gotten under your skin...they just decide to leave (and thats a third failure of the year, but this one hurts the most coz it has been the most meaningful one...and you cant help it but start wondering why it always has to end that way? why cant it just for once go nice and last? Something Ill never get an answer to...

I really would like to think of him as taking a nap somewhere...he just didn't deserve to die...not so soon, not this way...he cant even possibly imagine how much he will be missed...and how empty it feels without him =/

After this, I think I will give up on collecting cat cards...at least for a long while...I unliked everything cat-related on Facebook as well...some people have told me to get another one, just like him...but there is NO cat like him...and no, I can't go through this again...I still have Kimi, and his day will come eventually...it is more than I could bear already
And Kimi is all alone now..yeah, there is no one to tease him and chase him and fight him...but Foxy so much protected him from other cats as well, despite being twice younger..

And sorry for the spirit of the post today...but as you know, on such occasions, this is the place which helps me at least a bit to cope with things by getting them out of the system..cos crying for three days and not being able to sleep nor eat, certainly hasn't helped much...

here is one of the Foxy pictures I so much love...he is just so adorable and as someone said, has such a warm face =[

Foxy

I received this card exactly one year ago.....it took me some time later to actually figure out what a portent it was...and this was my first received card with a cat which looked like this...all my other cat-cards were in general cats which looked like Kimi...but anyways, here is how the story goes....

I was getting ready for work, and mail arrived and among it was this card....cute.
I go to work (by bike) and not far from home I hear some meowing which catches my attention in an odd way that it makes me stop, wanting to see what's going on. And i see this woman standing near the bushes, and IN the bushes this small orange kitten, with its hysteric meowing and aggressive hissing. My guess is that it was this woman indeed who had left him there, so that someone can pick him up, but of course, she wouldnt have admit it.
I am a cat and dog lover, but what happened here was something i cant really explain...there was some force which kept dragging me towards this kitten...and then there was this woman which kept telling me to take it....which i couldnt...first of all I was already late for work, so there was no way I take the kitten, go home and go to work..not to mention the bare fact itself for taking another cat home...i didnt want to leave the kitten there but after some reasonable thinking I decided that i just CANT take him....and got back on my bike....and after a few metres, turned my handlebars the other way and came back...for whatever reason it was, i just COULDNT leave the kitten there...I couldnt wait to get back from work in order to take him coz the chances for him to still be there were almost impossible...I had to take him THEN and THERE...I knew it was a crazy decision, but the thought of leaving him there was heart-breaking....and the next I know is this woman picking him up, putting him in a plastic bag, and giving it to me....no turning back...no way to go home, since im LATE for work....so I just head straight to work, with a kitten in a plastic bag, who couldnt stop hissing....i dont think i have seen a more aggressive cat ever....by just pointing a finger towards him, he would immediately attack...it was even scary honestly, but I couldnt just leave him NOW on the street...and I didnt even want to think what would happen with me bringing a kitten like this at work.
Of course, when the children saw him, it was pure joy and all my attempts to have a normal class failed....everyone wanted to see what the kitten was doing (we had to put him in the bin....that was the only place from where he couldnt get out...otherwise, as aggressive as he was, I risked someone from the children getting hurt or scratched all over).
Well, the class eventually came to an end, if you could call that a class...and now it was time to go home and of course face with another problem or risk being kicked out of home along with both cats.
Kimi was FAR from happy when he saw the new buddy, and it took months actually before he gave in eventually.
You can just imagine my parents' reaction...and my excuse was that I just couldnt leave him like that, and that I need to give him something to eat and eventually I will let him go....well giving him to eat was also impossible, coz we just couldnt come near him....so I had to use these thick gloves my mum has and which she uses for gardening....that was like the only thing which could protect us from him...
I dont know if it was because he started feeling safe, and had something to eat...but his aggression lasted for a few hours only...by evening time, he was so timid, I couldnt believe it was the same kitten I found in the morning.
Of course, the issue of letting him go remained, and my dad was the most persistent one about it, and i can freely say he couldnt stand him and had this reprimanding approach all the time, about how it is not fair towards Kimi and blah blah blah...yeah, Kimi is well-known for his anti-social behaviour so I wasnt surprised and I felt bad with the fact that he would go away and wont come home all day long...but on the other hand i REALLY didnt have the heart to have the other one let go...not after how timid and sweet he got...I know that deep inside myself i was convinced he would remain, back in those several days, it was a really troublesome issue..
I kept finding excuses all the time...how I cant leave him in the the middle of the night since he is too little...and I cant leave him during the day since other people will see me and of course, either bring it back to me or turn me in to some  of the Animal-Protection societies...and eventually my excuse was that I cant let him go now that he has been with us for a week or two...and he remained...and i am more than glad and happy he did...I am more than happy and glad that I decided to take him in the first place, that i decided to listen to that inner voice and go against my common sense...
Foxy (my mum gave him the name, since he is orange and crafty like a fox) is one of the most adorable creatures ive seen...and smartest as well. He is the kind of a cat which NEEDS human company, wants to cuddle...he is soo playful...sometimes too much...he always wants to tease the other cats....he knows how to open doors (I dont know how cats figure out the thing about doors)...and one thing I LOVE about Foxy is that when I tell him "sit down" he sits down :))

And Foxy is the exact kind of a cat as the one on the card which arrived that morning before I went to work...when I realized this some days later, i got shivers all-over....even though i refuse sometimes to see things like that, the card wanted to tell me something, to prepare me for something that was about to happen and which would in a way, change my life.

From this point if view, I would have never forgiven myself i I didnt take him with me, on this day, exactly one year ago....boy, time flies so fast :)

Later, I got this card too....since it reminded Ana of Kimi and Foxy together :)

Their relation today is muuuuuuuchh better than it was at the beginning...well Foxy always loved Kimi, but Kimi didnt love Foxy...I still think that Kimi is not so fond of Foxy (well Kimi is not fond of anyone actually), but at least he doesnt run away now, when Foxy comes to him, and cuddles into him, and falls asleep like that...when I see them like that, i just simply melt :)

this is Foxy during his first days with us:

this is him today

oh yeah, I forgot to say....he is ALWAYS hungry :)

sorry for this loooongish cheesy post....but i had to give some significance to this day, coz i absolutely adore my two cats, which are different as day and night :)

Ill be back with the regular postings from tomorrow on.

Cats

Well, I had received a bunch of cat cards so far, and I thought that its a bit pointless to post them one by one, so i decided to post a few altogether with a few words for each of them....and in the meantime, i had removed the "cats" from my wishlist, until a further notice...i really need to find a way to deal with these first :)

FI-567683

a card from a dear forum member, Soilian, which came as an official. Its always nice to receive officials from people I already sort of know :)

And a great stamp! Issued in 2008 in a set of 2, both of 0.80 € value, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Mika Waltari. He was a Finnish writer best known for his novel The Egyptian.
The stamp shows an illustration for a detective novel published in 1940, Komiario Palmun Erehdys or Inspector Palmun's Mistake.

This other cat card came as a part of the WOTM lottery I wont for the month of October :)

the stamp is the quite famous definitive depicting flowers (issued in 2009 in a set of 2)

This one came as a swap....I just really like such cat-dog friendships, esp. when such big dogs seem to be so harmless and cat-friendly :)

I love this stamp too. Its from a set of two stamps from 2009, regarding the EUROPA - Astronomy issue.

DE-321869

My last cat card for today is another official (in case you had noticed, there is some similarity among these cats....and more or less they look like my Kimi....though I must say Kimi is much more adorable....sorry :P)

Another German flower (from 2007), the tulip in particular. The stamp on the right is from a set of 2 issued in 2008 representing Greeting stamps.