19 flags

 

across the bottom of the envelope are the 19 members (with the recent additions of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic)

(this has turned out to be more in honour of the upcoming NATO Summit on July 9th than the upcoming July 1st and July 4th holidays)

 

ALSO, in the run up to the Olympics, I thought we'd tour the world of participating countries by hemisphere. Since nearly all countries are participating, this should give us all quite a variety of stamps.

time for tea

 

CATURDAY

time in the city

 Perhaps the most famous clock tower

A vintage timepiece (c1934) as a shop sign for Möbel Hansson, an antique store in Stockholm

 

 

 

 

 

a clock in the medieval Old Quarter of Torun Poland

but, the pièce de résistance

is this astronomical clock in Prague, 

the oldest clock still in operation (since 1410)

black and white

from the top of the world, a trio of long tailed ducks

 

 

 

 to the bottom, with a duo of 

condors and penguins

 

a gift for you

 

CATURDAY

preservation at its best

Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming is described as America's aquarium in stone.  A 50 million year old lake bed and one of the richest fossil localities in the world.  Recorded in limestone are dynamic and complete paleoecosystems that spanned two million years.  Preservation is so complete that it allows for detailed study of climate change and its effects on biological communities. (from nationalparks.org website)

 

Sucevita Monastery in the Moldovan region of Romania is covered in fresco paintings both inside and outside.  The paintings were done in 1601, though the church was built in 1585.  It is remarkable that these exterior paintings have survived all that weather can throw at it - wind, sun, rain, snow...

sentosa

Sentosa is an island resort off the southern coast of Singapore.  It was formerly a British military base, then a Japanese prisoner of war camp.  In the 1970s it became a luxury resort destination.  Today, Singapore is rushing to clean up an oil spill that has closed the beaches and blackened the water.  400 metric tonnes of oil.

In Malay, Sentosa means peace and tranquility

a talented man

 

Ugo Tognazzi was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.  The entertainment industry was in the family blood as he fathered four children, two of whom are actors, and two of whom are film directors.

side note: among his many comedic roles during his 40 year career, he played Renato (the father) in La Cage aux Folles in 1978,  a favourite film of mine that is not shown often enough.  A musical version is part of the line up at the Stratford Theatre Festival this summer and I want to go.

kitty against the world

 

CATURDAY

green eggs and ...

One of the thematic postcards I collect is EASTER

 

I like that this Ukrainian card shows an early spring with the tree's leaves

 

these green eggs are much more subdued than the other brightly painted Ukrainian eggs, but the colours remind me of the varying shades of green on the newly budding leaves

and they blend in well with the colours of some bird's eggs

pussy willows are an important tradition in Slavic Easter celebrations as the first blooms of spring

this little girl with her pussy willows and  painted red cheeks will perhaps be painting her basket of eggs next

this little girl looks rather wistful

maybe she needs

a little special delivery to cheer her up

 

 

 

 

 

a little bit of spring and Easter for a seasonal Thursday Postcard Hunt

rural scenes

You know you have really left the city and are in the country when you start seeing barns

 

and, if you drive a little further from the city, you might see landscapes such as these

some views of the countryside for Sunday Stamps

large white

 

CATURDAY

sunrise, sunset

I didn't originally intend to have all these sunrises and sunsets be from the States, but they all have the name of the city on them which I like

and, just to add, I live in a high rise and am not appreciative of the other high rises I can see from my west facing windows... except when I get some magnificent reflections of a sunrise off their windows.

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my view, one morning in 2010

movement

running in France

and dancing in Dahomey