confederation building

I didn't think I had a card of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, known as the Confederation Building, but here we are.  This is the closest view I found of the building built in 1960 (with an extension built in 1991) overlooking the capital city of St John's.  It is the most modern of the parliament buildings and the province only became a part of Canada in 1949.

snow moon

February (and January) is often the snowiest months of the year ... and that has proved true here this past week! 

bonus parliament postcard.  this is the granddaddy of the Parliament Buildings as seen from the back with the gorgeous Library of Parliament taking centre stage.  The library survived the 1916 fire (120 years ago on Feb 3rd) that destroyed the rest of the Centre Block building when the library clerk ordered the iron doors to be shut so the fire couldn't spread into the room.  In spite of WWI going on, the Centre Block was rebuilt and reopened in 1920.

aries

I have been saving these stamps for the next year of the ram - so 2027 - even though they aren't technically lunar new year stamps.

They were worth .59¢ when issued in 2011,  now they are worth $1.24

I do appreciate the colour bars on the selvedge in the shape of the ram's horns.

With this alphabet round, I am going to go with stamps related to flora and fauna.  Some may be rather tangentially related.

cat amongst the tiles

 I almost missed the cat for all the tiles, and she blends in so well

received from Portugal

CATURDAY

legislative assembly building

The New Brunswick Legislative Assembly Building stands out for the mansard roofs. The Second Empire style building in Fredricton was built in 1882 after the previous one was destroyed by fire. 

It's a shame you can't see the central octagon domed tower in this 1970's era prepaid postcard

light shows

We have been getting some showings of the aurora this past year, and I have missed pretty much all of them.  This view is from Norway, and I'd be really teed off if I spent thousands to go there and never saw them there, either.

Or, a guaranteed light show is on display at Niagara Falls all the time.

largest leg

Another Beaux-arts building, this one in Regina, Saskatchewan.  It has the distinction of being the largest of the legislative buildings (and seems to be variously called 'legislative' and 'parliament').  It overlooks Wascana Lake and was completed in 1912.  At the time, there was some assumption that the population would grow to be in the millions ... that has not happened and the population of Regina is now less than 290,000 and of all Saskatchewan around 1,266,000.

The dome is copper and is 56' high - specifically designed to be visible from nearly every point in the city.  I'm not sure how old this postcard is (1980s?), but I am sure that the skyline has changed considerably.

parliament buildings

Not all the legislative buildings have legislative building in their name.  British Columbia's is one of the few that are Parliament Buildings.  Built in 1893-97, in a mouthful of Neo-baroque Renaissance Revival Romanesque Revival style.  The colour  of the stone in the first card is more accurate than the second.

 

Atop this dome is a statue of George Vancouver, though I'm not sure it ever warranted its own postcard.

the leg

Inspired by Lisa's postcards last week of state capitol buildings, I spent the weekend searching for my collection of our provincial legislative buildings.  I know I don't have all 14 of them, but we'll see how interesting this is.  In no particular order, here's the first I found, for Manitoba, in the capital city of Winnipeg, a neoclassical, beaux-arts building built in 1920 known colloquially as "the Leg"

 

Atop the dome, in pride of place is the Golden Boy, Manitoba's best known symbol.  Modeled after the Roman god Mercury (or Greek god Hermes) he is meant to represent the prosperity and entrepreneurial spirit of the province.  He is facing north to symbolize Manitoba's future in looking towards the vast northern resources.

paintings

 rock paintings from Zimbabwe

the last of this series of stamps A to Z

I have so thoroughly enjoyed all that was offered, I thought we'd go through the alphabet again.  So, next week  another 'A'

kazan cat

 

Received from Russia with an interesting story.  The sender picked this up while on vacation in Kazan City where the Kazan cat has been the city mascot since at least since the 19th C.  A large part of Kazan's tourist souvenirs depicts cats they wrote.

After some sleuthing on my own, I read that there is a three metre high sculpture of a cat lounging on a couch with a mouse nearby.  Seems, back in 1745, while the Winter Palace was being built in St Petersburg, there was a problem with mice.  The Russian Empress learned about the Kazan cats that had remarkable strength and impressive mouse catching abilities.  30 of  them were soon sent to deal with the mouse infestation and some of their descendants are in the Hermitage even now, still ridding the place of pesky mice.

CATURDAY

a source of light in dark times

Abbell Synagogue, Hadassah University Medical Centre

"These windows were Chagall’s window of opportunity to give back to his people — a source of hope and light, illuminating the road taking the Jewish people from difficult times to a brighter future. The windows adhere to his usual colour palette of vivid blues, reds, greens and yellows and subject of abstract biblical motifs, with each window portraying one of the twelve tribes of Israel from Genesis"

tall trees

 

Redwoods, or Sequoias, are the tallest trees in the world and can live for thousands of years.  This particular view makes me dizzy just looking at it.

received from the US 

Y

I spent so much time looking for Q and X, that I forgot how challenging Y might be...

though Germany has a Y, there isn't a Y in  this Deutschland stamp 

maybe "youngsters"?  Bibi & Tina are fictional teenagers who apparently have exciting adventures  with their beloved horses (one is a witch with magical powers)

And Ukraine has a letter that looks like a Y 

though it is pronounced more like "oo"

mrs montoya's cat

 

received from U.S.   photographer Geraint Smith, Taos NM

CATURDAY

snow

I was going to use this for 'sunshine', but the snowy scene was too perfect

he is cutting a good figure in the snow

xhosa

 

This stamp shows a Xhosa woman and traditional beadwork.  It could also be considered x-rated - at least in Canada and USA?!

dreaming cat

 

CATURDAY

reflections

 

some Canadian reflections for Thursday Postcard Hunt

water

Sometimes it is enough just to get a bird's eye view of the water

other times, you want to be right in it

or maybe you'd like to live surrounded by water

russian cheshire

 

CATURDAY

wolf moon

 the first full moon of 2026, and the first supermoon

sunshine

a new year is dawning 

time to get up and start fresh for 2026

we have a bright sunny day

winter needs the sun to shine (and the snow to be fresh and white) to make it less depressing

rays of sunllight adding to the view

these travellers have the setting sun at their back

 

happy new year

 walking away from 2025...

vaduz

 

After last week's discovery of a double land-locked country with Uzbekistan,  I looked up my cards for Liechtenstein, the only other land-locked country (bordered by Austria and Switzerland).  Vaduz is the capital with its most prominent landmark being the castle which sits high on a steep hill.  It is the home of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and as such, is not open to the public.

psychedelic cat

 

CATURDAY

frozen

 

We may not get this much snow, but there is ice pellets and freezing rain expected on this Boxing Day

happy christmas day

 

I don't think I have ever seen an image of Joseph holding the baby Jesus. They look like such a happy family here, and the baby looks like a real baby (not an almost toddler in a manger with his arms flailing).  No one knows how Jesus referred to Joseph, but here he looks on as a proud papa.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE

more than santa

In 1992, Canada issued a series of Christmas stamps featuring "personages" from various regions, specifically Estonia, Italy and Germany.  The denominations are for Canada, US, and International.  My, how rates have changed!  

Estonia's  "Jouluvana" is dressed in a brown sheepskin coat and matching hat, hand-knitted mittens and a walking staff.  Imported from German legend, he carries a bag of presents for good children and uses his stick for the naughtly.

Based on an illustration by Anita Kunz

"La Befana" of Italy, is a benevolent witch-like woman who rides a broomstick on the eve of Epiphany, January 5, carrying presents for the deserving and charcoal for the erring.  After leaving small gifts and consuming snacks left for her, she sweeps the floors with her broom.  Italy also enjoys a second gift-giver, Babbo Natale, a Santa figure similar to ours who brings larger or more expensive gifts on Christmas Eve.

Based on an illustration by Jamie Bennett

Germany's "Weihnachtsmann" is a thin, stooped, heavily laden, white-bearded old man who makes his rounds on Christmas Eve with his sack of presents and a Christmas tree.  He is a secularized version of St Nicholas who is still associated with December 6.

Based on an illustration by Simon Ng 

All stamp descriptions from Postage Stamp Guide

Merry Christmas Eve

uzbek

Amir Temur (1320-1405, or thereabouts), perhaps more commonly known as Tamerlane, was a particularly brutal military leader from Uzbekistan, seen here on a rearing horse, a statue in Tashkent.  Uzbekistan is a double land-locked country (meaning it has no ocean, but neither does any of the surrounding countries) in Central Asia. It is bounded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.

lonely kitty

 

CATURDAY

red breast

 

It is raining here.  Here a couple of red breasted birds from Lithuania.  Artist: Raimonda Rauluseviciene

ornaments

are those little oranges on Paddington's tree? 

from Russia