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! :)

Virpi Pekkala, Finland

and one more official card for today...and I have to close this update, otherwise im gonna be really late...

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To make it clear...im not all crazy about cute kind of cards..i mean, cute dogs/cats/animals...it's ok to some extent...but cartoons and illustrations, well not my cup of tea really...just on rare occasions...and I guess this card here nailed it into one of those rare occasions...maybe the fact it was sent by a 12 year old kid adds to the overall idea about the card...but still, this little girl on the power lines just makes me smile...and dont overlook the black cat either! I cant really explain it, but as a whole, this card is just so lovely! Not that Im gonna start a collection or something, but it is nice to have this one :)

The illustration is by a Finnish artist called Virpi Pekkala, but since the websites I came across were all in Finnish, I can not give you much info...however, I browsed the google images related to her works...and I must say that the one I have is definitely one of her cutest results :)

I guess you should be familiar with these Finnish stamps...but Repetitio est mater studiorium...so that odd shaped one is from a set of 4 archipelago stamps, issued in 2008. While the other one was issued in 2011, in   a set of 5 stamps representing mailboxes...this big structure is more like an entire small post-office though...

ok guys, gotta go! have a nice evening! and dont forget to grab a waffle or two! :)

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

An adorable kitty

This card actually arrived from Russia...and i think for a long time i will clearly remember the day i received it...

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If i had expected this card, i would have still melted when i received it, but definitely definitely not to the extent i did when i found this cutie in my mailbox totally unexpected....moreover, its an official card...the sender didnt state in the postcard why she chose to send me this one, but if we are to judge according to my profile, which says that i would love to receive cards with the cat which looks like mine, then its not hard to guess...but im really really moved that someone who accidentaly got my name, tried to fulfill my wishlist...I know that when i found it in the mailbox, my heart simply stopped, i got tears in my eyes, and just didnt know what to do or say...i felt like crying and screaming, and i could feel how something was squeezing inside me...
All the cards with a cat like mine are more than dear to me and i find them all cute and adorable...but the look in the eyes of this cute kitty just makes my heart melt each time i look at it...as if it feels guilty of something...or its eyes are just full of sadness...i dont know...but that look has just captured my heart...
And another thing...if im right, this is actually a self-printed card...with excellent quality...in general, im not into ad/free/hand-made/self-printed cards....but this so much breaks all the stereotypes im clinging to...its an absolutely great great great card!
I really want to thank the sender about it...i asked her to send her a thank-you card in return, coz i really didnt know any other way to express my gratitude...unfortunately, she never got back to me...

Cat and Mouse

My first cat-card......the sweetest, cutest, most adorable card in my collection


Now, lets see why is this card so special for me and made me open a label of 'cute cards'

- I love cats....i love animals in general, but cats rank the highest along with dogs
- I dont actually have 'animal cards' on my wish list, but there are certain kind of those, i would love to have, esp. cats
- I love this card coz the cat on it looks like mine! So i LOVE cards which have a cat that looks like mine

thats why this card makes me melt on the inside....my first cat card, and above that a cat that looks like my Kimi....how can i not love it??!!
Yeah yeah, im getting very soft here, but i cant help it....i have totally melted ever since i saw this card for the first time...cant express my reaction when it arrived in my mailbox...my cat is one of my softest spots, something i absolutely adore....
though i think the one on the picture is a bit chubbier than my own, or has more fur, i dont know...but its paws are definitely a bit bigger, in a cute way :) and i love the way it looks at the mouse....i wonder if my own one, would do something like this...

there are some commercials as well, which i love and where there is a cat resembling mine.....here is one of them....well, ill save the others for some other cat cards :)
My favourite part would probably be the end, when the cat stretches sooooo nicely.....its as if am looking at my own cat :)

Thank you Naomi soooooooo terribly much for this card....

DHL Cat Commercial