A cereal world: Sent to Texas, U.S.A.

I cut up a big package of Cheerios this morning to make a postcard for a swap-bot “food package postcard” swap. It goes to a swapper in Houston, Texas.

I wrote to my swap partner about the card she is not getting: a panel from an off-brand Cheerios box. Some grocery store brand, which I told her, if she saw the photo, she’d think looked like cardboard. I told her it also tasted like cardboard. Sometimes saving money is not saving money, when all you can think about when you are eating the stuff, is how much you want to dump it in the trash!

Look at this stuff–isn’t it neat? Sent to Malaysia & Netherlands

The Little Mermaid development sketch went to Zoetermeer, Netherlands, for a swap-bot Disney postcard exchange. It reached its destination a day or so ago, and the recipient wrote, “Thank you so much for the little mermaid card! I love it!! :D”

The (Astro) boy & his dogs went out to Putrajaya, Malaysia, in a Postcrossing Forum “beach” tag. The recipient has been Postcrossing for over 8 years! I’ve only known of the site for just over a year, now.

It All Starts with a Couple of Bowls: Received from China, Japan, Lithuania, & Singapore

Lots of Postcrossing here. I really love the two tasty ones!

The cartoon bowl has got to be one of my all-time favorites. It came from Sendai, Japan, in a journey of 10 days & 5,012 miles. The sender writes,

(In Sendai,) we have lots of nature, delicious foods especially rice, fruits, and vegetables…In Japan, there’re lots of bowl-style foods. Do you know how many styles way to eat rice cake? The answer is 200.

The bowl of food without a face comes from Chongqing, China, not a postcrossing draw–we’ll I’m not her draw, but she’s mine! I drew her, and have had a card allegedly traveling her way 99 days as of this writing. When I contacted her at the 60-day mark, and sent a new card (which also, I guess, has not arrived), she rewarded my efforts by sending this delicious card. She writes of the dish on her card:

This card is a delicious food called ‘cold noodles with chicken shreds.’ This food is a little spicy, or maybe not a little spicy for you guys.”

The American art (Subway, by Jacob Lawrence) came from Singapore, a trip of 8,469 miles over 23 days. The sender does mention food: that she is craving wonton noodles (at 11:40 p.m.), and that she has an eating disorder called ARFID. I had to look that up.

Finally, a few nice views from Kuršių Nerija National Park in Lithuania, on a card that took 22 days to travel the 5,674 miles to my mailbox. The 16-year-old high-school freshman says she trying to learn some Spanish:

I’m learning it from a phone app, so I don’t know how it’s gonna work.

Stamps & postmarks! So many great stamps here.

A little bit of everything: Received from Belgium, Finland, Taiwan, and the United States

Logging in a quick handful, quickly…

I think I like the Snoopy card best, despite the jean jacket. I’m afraid I had a jean jacket once, too.

From Finland, and the Postcrossing Forum Snoopy/Peanuts tag trade, comes the Snoopy card, which is from Hallmark! Here in the U.S., there are hundreds of Peanuts Hallmark greeting cards available, but never a postcard in sight. I wonder why that is.

The century eggs, found their way to me in a Postcrossing Forum “Taiwan meets the world” tag trade. The sender’s message:

This postcard is scared to many tourists. It’s named “century egg.” This eggs that have been preserved by being coated with a coating of lime, ashes and salt before being shallowly buried for 100 days. The lime “petrifies” the egg, making it look like it’s been buried for at least a century. This is some indroction for this food.

If that’s not appetizing enough for you, check out the delicious noodles on one of her stamps below!

The Kentucky card came from Florida, in a swap-bot “butt-ugly” postcard trade. The sender assures me, “Kentucky is most beautiful.”

Lastly, through official Postcrossing, and from Belgium, comes the li’l cowboy.

Stamps!

A Question for You: Sent to Germany & the United States

Hold on, I’ve got a question for you. It’s at the end.

These otters are so cute, I can’t even stand it.

The lighthouse card went to a Postcrosser in Berlin, Germany. Since I am playing catch-up here after weeks without my “good” computer, I can tell you this postcard reached its destination, 5,661 miles away from me, after a mere 9 days! The recipient wrote, “Many thanks for your beautiful postcard and your kind words. It was very nice to hear from you.”

The otters–sea otters–were my “S” in the swap-bot trade,”Postcard Through the Alphabet: S.” It went to a swapper in Bonita, California, and I don’t know how long it took to get there, but I do suspect, based on the recipient’s message to me, that maybe she doesn’t love otters as much as I do: “Thank you! I was just in the Bay Area in June. Saw lots of new birds that i don’t see down here.”

So, my question: the swap-bot user in Bonita mentioned in her profile that she also participates in Postcard United. I run across that every once in a while–it seems somewhat like Postcrossing–and have been curious about it. I asked this user what she thinks of Postcard United, in comparison with Postcrossing, but she didn’t answer the question. Have YOU tried, uh, P.U.? Please, let me know what you think, thanks!

The Only Thing fit to Consume is PEANUTS: Sent to China, Finland, & the United States

Which one is your favorite?

That stuff on the left: OOF! Two more servings from The World’s Tackiest Postcards by Klutz Press, on their way to San Francisco & Tervakoski, Finland, thanks to a swap-bot “weirder than weird” trade. I’m not sure if these restaurants were ever real; if they did exist, they didn’t survive to the internet age, because the ones I looked up only led me to sites listing these ~~nasty~~ tacky cards.

On to more pleasant things, more of the Peanuts postcards I bought online via the web store of the Charles M. Schulz Museum. I love that Lucy & Schroeder card. As I told its recipient in HengYang City, China:

The oldest art from ‘Peanuts’ is my favorite. I loved it when Snoopy walked around on all four legs!

I sent that to her via the Postcrossing Forum Snoopy/Peanuts tag thread. The colorful card full of Peanuts friends went off to Honolulu, Hawaii, in a Postcrossing Forum “rescue a sinking tag,” tag, which you may enter after you have entered another tag that is several pages back in the discussion. If I ever get caught up here, I might even share the card I sent out in the sinking tag thread, “last vacation.”

A Lingering Odor Amidst the Recycling: Sent to Canada, South Africa, and the United States

You just know those folks in the lab coats did something horrible in their previous lives to deserve this job.

All swap-bot in this batch, and 3 of the 4 for the “chunk of cardboard” trade. The fourth is for a swap called “butt-ugly postcard,” and I pulled it from and old book from Klutz Press called “The World’s Tackiest Postcards.” So glad there have been a couple of swaps worthy of these ~~horrible~~ tacky cards–otherwise, I would have had to mail them to my friends!

To Fold a Squirrel: Received from Belgium, France, Thailand, & the United States

Since I’m still playing catch-up, I won’t say a lot about this batch of cards (questions? ask!), but these are some great ones I’ve received lately-ish:

The papercraft squirrel came from Thailand, from a Postcrosser who saw papercraft cards in my favorites. She suggests I scan the card & print to cut & fold the squirrel. That way would indeed preserve the beautiful, colorful Thai stamps!

Snoopy-dog-dog: Received from Japan & the United States

Starting with the stamps, stickers, & tape this time, just because they are sooo cool.

I love those Japanese stamps, both the Peanuts & the tempura. Those, & the tape, came on what has to be one of my favorite postcards I’ve received since my start in Postcrossing & swap-botting not much more than a year ago. The postcards are below, and the wonderful Snoopy card came via a Postcrossing Forum “Snoopy/Peanuts tag” from someone in Tokyo who tells me her favorite Peanuts character is Woodstock.

The oddly-named bathing beauties, and the shiny goldfish sticker, come from around Kansas City (I don’t know which one), thanks to a swap-bot “weirder than weird” trade. The sender mentions toy photography (a silly pastime of mine): she tells me she got a Moomin advent calendar, and took photos like mine with them. Cool! I’d like to see that. Moomin are funny. They have characters they call trolls, that look just like hippos. I like hippos.

Finally, from the Little Rock, Arkansas area, comes that chunk-o-cardboard, through one of my favorite (okay, my absolute favorite) ongoing swap-bot trade. I neglected to photograph the washi tape on the back, which looks like a colorful circuit board

Catch of the Day, with Garlic & Tomatoes: Received from Netherlands & the United States

These JUST in:

A trade of Disney postcards on swap-bot brings that Toy Story illustration, from a sender in Connecticut who says she hasn’t been to a Disney park since 1995, and never to the original site in California.

That coffee run originated in the Netherlands, from a Postcrosser who says that a recent cooking class she took taught her:

Italians never cook red meat with garlic
Tomatoes came to Italy from the United States