Dark

 The theme for Sunday Stamps this week is dark, and was announced week's ago, well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Definitely a dark week for Ukraine, for Europe, for democracy, and for the world. I can only hope that the conflict ends soon.

I thought that today I would share the beautiful Ukrainian stamps I have received through postcrossing, symbols of happier times in the past, and hopefully in the future.

If you are feeling a bit helpless and frustrated about the situation in Ukraine, consider donating to the Red Cross. Be well and safe this Sunday.

Día de los enamorados

 Eva sent me a card celebrating Lovers' day

It was issued in 2021 by Correos with pre-stamped postage.

For links to more love and heart-related stamps, visit the Sunday Stamps

Snow days = no days

 Two snow days due to storm Landon.

The storm also resulted in no mail delivery for two days, the first time I remember that happening due to weather.

The crazy cats decided they needed to explore, after round one of shoveling and round two of snow.

Now it's just frigid temperatures for a couple of nights before it climbs back up to 32 F / 0 C.

Stay warm and safe out there if you're dealing with winter weather.

Tiger

 Today's prompt for Sunday Stamps is Lunar New Year, and tigers, since the Year of the Tiger starts February 1.

This semi-postal stamp came to mind. 

USPS issued first issued it in 2011, and it has been reissued several times. I believe the semi-postal stamps require congressional approval.

Currently this stamp costs 75c, with 17c going to various wildlife conservation funds. For a full list of them you can visit the stamp's page at USPS.

For more tigers and Lunar New Year animals, check out the links at Sunday Stamps.

Writers for Sunday Stamps

 The theme for today's Sunday stamps is writers and composers.

I have two writers to share.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American naturalist, writer, poet and philosopher. One of his most famous books is Walden, written during his time living at Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

The stamp was issued as a forever stamp in 2017, the two hundredth anniversary of the year of his birth.

Ursula K Le Guin (1929-2018) was an American writer best known for her science fiction works, although she was also an accomplished poet, essayist and author in other genres. The first book in her Wizard of Earthsea series, telling the story of Ged as he starts his journey with magic by attending a school for wizards, was published in 1968. 

Le Guin's novels The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974) both won the Hugo and Nebula awards - the first woman to do so.

The stamp was issued as part of the literary arts series in 2021 at the three ounce rate (currently 98c).

Mailadventures has a much better image of the Le Guin stamp.

For more links to stamps this week head over to Sunday Stamps.

New(ish) stamps

 Today's prompt for Sunday Stamps is new and recent issues. I decided to interpret 'new' as also meaning latest to show up in my mail box. And it is an extension of last week's theme of Christmas, as these all arrived on cards that arrived between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Finally some of the Otters in Snow arrived - two of the four stamps. The holiday postmark obscures them a little bit, however I still love them. they were the final stamp issue by USPS in 2021 - October 12.

And a beauty from Fafa - there is a subtle foil effect on the numbers that is hard to appreciate in a photo. the stamp celebrates 500 years of the tradition of Christmas trees. 

The stamp was issued 22 November, 2021.

Bonus image - last week another card from the UK arrived - but I think Brackley post office didn't have their date stamp set correctly!

Have a great start to the new year, everyone, and for links to more stamps, visit Sunday Stamps.

Happy New Year!

 Another year, another lemon pig for good luck and prosperity.

Keeping this year's simple in the hope that 2022 will be a more straightforward year.

Wishing a happy new year to you and yours.