Caturday

 

Thursday postcard hunt - Christmas

 Merry Christmas from.... Japan! Postcrossing has come through for me once again this month.

And also from Bulgaria - this card is stunning

If you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day, and if not, I hope your day is peaceful.

See more links to Christmas postcards at See it on a Postcard.

Christmas Eve

 Great card from CJ. arrived yesterday

I love the way she wrote my name on a curvy line with holly decorations

What are your plans this Christmas Eve? 

I have to brave the stores for some last minute shopping, and then I plan on drinking wine in front of the tree.

U is for USPS' 250th birthday

 Today is the solstice... time to celebrate the slow return of the sun in the northern hemisphere!

The special postmark celebrates 2025 as being the 250th year since the start of the postal service in the United States. The interesting thing about the USA is that the postal service is written into the constitution -  I wonder what it will look like in the future... will we recognize it in 10 years time?

Thursday postcard hunt - Christmas ornaments

 I didn't think I'd have anything for today, then this lovely postcard arrived last week from Belgium via postcrossing.

As it turns out, the sender wrote that they had intended to send a different postcard, then put stamps on this one. A serendipitous mail adventure!

And ornaments in a holiday wreath, also via postcrossing.

For links to more postcards, explore the links at See it on a Postcard

How do you like to choose ornaments - traditional, whimsical, by color, by theme, or a complete mixture of all styles? 

Tissue box in the tree

 Last year Jean inspired me to show a festively designed box of tissues in my tree.  This year Meier had the best selection in my opinion, and this bear is my favorite.

Do you like to hunt for tissues with a holiday design? What did you find this year?

T is for...

 It's the letter T for Sunday Stamps

Part of Canada's far and wide set, issued in 2025 this stamp features the Thousand Islands (and the stamp is Tiny)

Here's a Train stamp from Belgium, issued in 1985 as part of a set celebrating 150 years of rail transport. Link to the full set

And stamps celebrating Three Spanish Theatre festivals from Eva, who wrote that she has visited Two of the theatres.

Explore the links to more T stamps over at See it on a Postcard

Thursday postcard hunt - Christmas trees

 Here's a very attractive tree postcard received from a US postcrosser.

and another one arrived this week! 

The last card arrived with this festive tree postmark, I think it's new for 2025 🎄

To see more Christmas tree postcards, explore the links at See it on a Postcard.

Do you prefer a real tree, or an artificial one? Or maybe no tree?

Deck the halls

 This card made me smile. 

How is your snail mail faring this season? 

S is for holiday Stamps with last year's festive Snowman postmark

 Stamps that arrived in 2024

A deer and tree (Holiday Delights, 2020)

Santa's sleigh and reindeer (A visit from St Nick, 2021)

More deer, in a snow forest (Winter Scenes, 2020)

Madonna and child (2024)

Yet another deer (Woodland animals, 2023)

And any stamp can be a holiday stamp with a jolly snowman postmark (Liberty, from Four Flags, 2012)

 

Christmas cactus

 Sent via a Postcrosser in Arizona - I love it!

What's your tree like?

How ready are you?

 Mariah Carey has fully defrosted, my tree is up, and the first Christmas mail has arrived.

On a scale of scream to 10, how ready are you for Christmas?

Hlukhiv

 Today's postcard hunt theme is buildingss. 

In 2020, I received this card via postcrossing showing landmarks in Hlukhiv, a city in northeast Ukraine, close to the Russian border, showing famous city landmarks.

Left: the Church of the Savior's Transfiguration (1765)

Middle: Hlukhiv water tower, constructed 1927-1929

Right: I've seen several names for this one, including the Orthodox Church of Three Saint Anastasias, and Holy Three Anastasias Cathedral.

For links to more postcards featuring pictorial landmarks, head over to See it on a Postcard

Happy Halloween!

 

Thanks to CJ for this fab Halloween card and envelope, with excellent Halloween reflective foil stamp.

And thanks to Eva for this skeleton postcard, as well as the brainskull sticker on the back of an envelope.

Enjoy spooky season!

F is for Fish

The theme for today's Sunday Stamps is the letter F

Eva sent me this wonderful (and large!) stamp, showcasing fish, and fishing, as a major component of Spanish gastronomy. 

Despite the importance of fishing in Spain, consumption of fish has decreased recently, and Correos has issued this stamp has the slogan: 'Fill your table with the sea'.

The stamp also has a very. nice foil effect, which is a bit hard to capture in a still image. Eva also mentioned that she has an additional reason to like the stamp - it shows the correct postage to send to the USA :)

For links to more stamps with this theme, visit See it on a Postcard.

Blue

 Blue is the theme of today's Sunday Stamps, and I have this first class stamp from Finland issued in 2014.

For more blue stamps, explore the links at See it on a Postcard. 

Raven Story

 Today's Sunday Stamps theme is stories and fairytales. One of my favorite stamps with this theme is the Raven Story, issued by USPS in 2021.

The National Postal Museum website has a nice description of the meaning of the Raven in northwest American native cultures. The stamp features a Raven that is transitioning from human form to avian form - you can see the hand shape at the bottom of the stamp. The stars and orbs are highlighted in gold foil, representing the Raven as lightbringer.

I used these stamp in a Pushing the Envelopes envelope exchange earlier in the year, making envelopes from calendar pages showcasing inuit art.

For links to more stamps with today's theme, head over to See it on a Postcard

Postbox Saturday

 I'm loving the dinosaur sticker

Postbox Saturday

 A repurposed USPS mailing box for postbox Saturday

Kebaya sulam

 Today's Sunday Stamps theme is patterns.

This Malaysian stamp features a traditional South Asian tunic,  a kebaya, with embroidery (sulam in Malay).

For more patterns on Stamps, explore the links at See it on a Postcard. 

Postbox Saturday

 Spotted at Columbus Zoo.

I wish it was real so I could send postcards from there!

Boston Public Garden

 Gardens is the subject for today's postcard hunt.

CJ sent me this great card from Boston showing the famous swanboats at dock. The opening date for the boats this year was April 19th - and this is the 158th year!

This is also a place I have visited, albeit about 20 years ago.

For links to more gardens on postcards visit See it on a Postcard

White magic

 Today's Sunday Stamps theme is white, and I love the white images on these Art of Magic stamps issued in 2018. The white rabbit being pulled from a top hat and the white dove emerging from a flower are great symbols of magic, representing the illusions of production and transformation.

Thanks to CJ for sending them on this wonderful envelope in 2020. The classic playing card suits letters are perfect, and the first day of issue was, appropriately, Las Vegas.

And the hand made card inside used an image of another stamp in this set - the empty white cage signifying a vanishing act.

For links to more stamps with a white theme, head over to See it on a Postcard.

Eagle

 Today's postcard hunt theme is (song)birds.

Looking through my postcards I have very few birds. The only one I found was this bald eagle on a postcard commemorating 50 years since the moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission.

For more birds on postcards, explore the links at See it on a Postcard

Pony Express

 Sign seen in Nashville

Waterfalls

 Today's Sunday Stamps theme is waterfalls and rivers.

I think this extreme sport counts. This is Descenso de Barrancos, issued by Correos in 2006, and sent by Eva. Whatever this is (waterfall, river, rapids?), it looks horrendous :)

This stamp is Harrison Wright Falls in Pennsylvania. I'll take fast running water as a spectator sport, please.

It arrived on this lovely February exchange envelope from Maggie M.

For more links to stamps with this week's theme, head over to See it on a Postcard

Sunday Stamps on Monday

 This week's Sunday Stamps theme is lighthouses.

The German definitive series 'World of Letters' includes this beauty, which I was lucky to receive.

For linkks to more lighthouses on stamps visit See it on a Postcard.

Stamp

Last Sunday's Wordle