heavenly

The China Palace Museum (2015)

the Gate of Heavenly Purity

Five different images of the sun that we don't always see. from 2000.

for Sunday Atamps - se-tenant, selvage

Ukrainians

 Traditional Headdresses of Ukrainian Women

 

a souvenir sheet from 2006

Ubrus and fur cap (Kyivan Rus)

Kerchiefs (Kyiv)

Namitka (Western Polissia)

Garland (Poltava)

Kerchief (Hutsul)

Koda (Bukovyna)

Kerchief (Central Ukraine)

Ochipok (Poltava)

Namitka (Hutsul)

Ochipok (Poltava)

Kerchief over Ochipok (Chernihiv)

Garland (Ivano-Frankivsk)

Canada has the third most number of Ukrainians (behind Ukraine and Russia). William Kurelek (1927-1977) was born in Canada to Ukrainian immigrants. Four of his paintings of The Ukrainian Pioneer are on these stamps for the 100th anniversary of the first wave of Ukrainian immigration (1991). 

Family Before a Vast Forest, Farmer in a Lush Field of Wheat, Group of Emigrants on the Deck of a Ship, and Barefoot Girl Going Out to Beg for Food

For Sunday Stamps - Ukraine

woolly and cute

 

There is something about the musk ox that makes me smile. Must be those curvaceous horns. The one on the left is from 1954 and the bottom one is from 1988.

 

He is shaped a bit differently from this wood bison, seen below from 1981, but the name musk ox translates to ugly moose, or ugly bison in the Woods Cree language

But enough of these big woolly creatures

we need something small, that coincidentally also makes me smile

like this red squirrel. They are noisy critters but so much cuter than the grey squirrels

For Sunday Stamps - animals

oops, sorry everyone. I'm going to blame the time change on this not posting earlier

modes of transport

I have been watching the latest 'Around the World in Eighty Days'

and the balloon trip is the most iconic of the modes of transportation that Phileas Fogg and company took even though it only happened in the movies

Also not actually taken was the Flying Scotsman, though they did travel by train a few times.

 

 

 

 

 

They also travel by sailing ship, and steamers

1999
1976

and, of course, elephant

for Sunday Stamps - transportation

dark

These are indeed dark times, certainly not expected when I chose this theme.

This was my original choice for a dark stamp. It shows the Princes' Gates in Toronto, one of the entrances to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds.

 

 

But here is another, for Ukraine, showing a giant Pysanka in Alberta. It celebrates the harmony, vitality, and culture of the community.

for Sunday Stamps - dark

Nigeria

 

There really aren't enough pink stamps..

Nigeria's national bird is a handsome fella, though it is on the endangered list.

 

For Sunday Stamps - 'N'

love

 

a love letter

 

 

with kisses

 

 

 

are you all familiar with Hershey's chocolate kisses? not a fan myself, but Americans seem to love them.

for Sunday Stamps - love, hearts

snow and ice

From speed skating (dominated in 1964 by Russia and Norway) to slalom skiing (dominated by France and Austria)

 

to curling (dominated in 2014 by Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden)

It was challenging to find anything not related to the Olympics, but then I remembered the World's, which is dominated by Sweden, Canada, and Finland (though it was won by Russia that year)

I can safely say that I have never participated in any of these sports.

For Sunday Stamps - winter sports

tigers

It seems Canada Post has given up making any more Lunar New Year stamps which is so disappointing.

Thank goodness I still have a souvenir sheet (with gold foil) from the last Year of the Tiger, in 2010.

This year, New Year falls on February 1st. I have already stocked up on dumplings.

From fifty years prior, another tiger from the Malaysian state of Trengganu. This tiger features on several identical stamps save for state name on the bottom and its sultan encircled in the corner.

for Sunday Stamps - Lunar New Year, tigers

maps

 

I like how Finland has a small map showing where the National Parks are located.

In 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador (plum colour) became the tenth province. In 1999, The Northwest Territories (purple colour) split creating three territories.

Sometimes it is good to have a map of all the islands so you can see where in relation to the others your specific island is located.

for Sunday Stamps - maps, flags

icon

 

This stamp of Margaret Atwood, celebrating her 60 years of writing,  has the line "a word after a word after a word is power" from one of her poems, Spelling. The photo was taken by Ruven Afandor in 2017. The raven cancellation is in honour of her interest in birds. "In my unlived life I was an illustrator" she has said, and one of her sketches of a version of herself, 'neither fish nor flesh' is also included.

for Sunday Stamps - writers, composers

blue

 

Ballet slippers with a swan reflection for the 50th anniversary of Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, (Festival Hall) where one can enjoy  opera, ballet, and classical music.

A footed pot from China

perhaps a teapot?

For Sunday Stamps - the colour blue

eid

This was the third issue for Canada Post for Eid (the others were in 2020 and 2017). The 2021 version shows the crescent moon and nine stars seen through an intricate latticed arched window.

Happy New Year to all

For Sunday Stamps - recent issues

 

Christmas

 Christmas in 1964

and in 2021

I hope an angel brought some joy to your Christmas Day. We had rain instead of snow this year and the sun stayed hidden all day, making it a little dreary. 

for Sunday Stamps - Christmas

snow

 

Caribou, ermine, snowshoe hare, lemming, and an arctic fox hide easily in the snow with their winter coats.

 

These sheep have their heavy woolly coats to keep them warm as they eat on the snow covered field

The branches of these trees are able to withstand the heavy snow

for Sunday Stamps - winter

I wish everyone a safe and healthy - and happy - Christmas

ranges

 

The Tatra National Park showing the High Tatras along the border of Slovakia and Poland.

and a few hours to the west, we come to the Emmental mountains in the western Alps.

 

Both of these ranges are relatively low in elevation with the Tatras slightly beating out the Emmental with a highest peak of 2,655 m to 2,350 m.

For Sunday Stamps - mountains

moonwalker

 

The Lunokhod, a Soviet rover, and the first roving remote controlled robot to land on the moon.

An extraterrestrial escape from earth

for Sunday Stamps - your choice

editorial content

 

The editorial cartoon is the first thing I look for when reading the paper. Sometimes I like to try to guess which story of the day they choose to illustrate. They can be humorous, thought provoking, poignant, or simply a reflection of the time. After a few years, without context they can sometimes be difficult to understand. 

This set, issued in October 2021, features some well known editorial cartoonists from Canadian newspapers.

Here we have a beaver (our national animal) sitting in a ubiquitous Muskoka chair drinking a beer; another in honour of a hockey game between Russia and Canada in 1972; the relationship between US and Canada; a slightly resentful feeling of Quebecers to the rest of Canada after the 1995 referendum; and finally, a tribute to the hockey players of fatal bush crash in Humboldt.

 

For Sunday Stamps - cartoons or illustrations

tall and wide

two elongated trees from British Honduras (1972) a quamwood tree and a mammee apple tree

Back in the British Isles (1973) we have the mighty oak, which can grow more wide than tall

 

and on to the continental US (1978) - a giant sequoia, white pine, white oak and a gray birch

for Sunday Stamps - trees

folk songs

 stamps with images, lyrics and music

Les Raftsmen from Quebec  followed by The Alberta Homesteader

A Mohawk lullaby called The Bear Will Dance  and finally, from Newfoundland and Labrador, a dance ditty I'se the B'y that Builds the Boat

Some Japanese folk songs with an autumn theme

Autumn Leaves and Home

 

for Sunday Stamps - music

crossing point

 

from 1973 a bridge to Abu Dhabi. Before the Al-Maqta bridge was built in 1968 the only way to get in or out of the city was to wait for low tide and walk by foot or camel. Al Maqta means crossing point.

and from 1985, the oldest bridge in Berlin - Jungfern. It is a bascule bridge, originally built sometime around 1701 with some  remodelling and changes made in 1798 and again in the 20th century which ultimately made the moving parts of the drawbridge inoperable. Ever since, it has been a pedestrian bridge.

for Sunday Stamps - roads, train tracks, or bridges