84-day-old Dill Sauce: Received from Czech Republic & U.S.A.

Golly!  I did a double-take after I registed that Postcrossing card on the right, and learned that it took 84 days to get to me! It was sent by someone living near Kladno, Czech Republic, a distance of 5,812 miles from me.  I have a traveling one that I’ve been stressing about; it’s been out on its way to the U.K. for 38 days right now.  I wonder whether the sender of the card I received today has been wondering about its status, or if she finds that’s been the norm for the cards she sends.  She has a chihuahua named Marshmallow, if that is any possible clue as to the answer.

She tells me this recipe is for dill sauce.  I put the recipe’s title through Google Translate, and it told me the language was Hindi.  After I set it straight–only then–it confirmed this is indeed a recipe for dill sauce.

The Buenos Aires postcard came from a swap-botter somewhere near Phoenix, Arizona.  She writes:

“Have you ever been to Argentina?  I went last summer and loved it!  We also got to go to the beach in Uruguay.  What’s your favorite place you’ve traveled to?”

Stamps & postmarks:

 

There & Here: Sent to Czech Republic, Germany, Taiwan, & the U.S.

A year ago this week, I was in Thailand, and I wish I were back there right now!  I loved the balmy January weather, the wonderful street food, and the freshest, cheapest, most abundant & perfectly-ripe fruit I think I’ve ever had.  And that’s what I told a couple of swap-bot members in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany and Rohnert Park, California.  The latest trade had us choosing cards representing a place we’d rather be, and writing about it.  Fortunately, I still had a couple of cards I’d stashed from my trip!

Closer to home, the California cards went to Postcrossers in Tainan, Taiwan, and Úpice, Czech Republic. Now, I was just tripping around these locales one week ago.  San Simeon’s Hearst Castle is famous, but the real treasure in that neighborhood is down at sea level: the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas!  Right now there are appear to be thousands of them, and little crying, nursing baby ones everywhere.  Check out the webcam!  I wish I were back there again, too.

Moving on to the stamp & washi tape portion of our presentation:

Mrs. Roosevelt in Translation: Sent to Belarus, Czech Republic, & Germany

Those two postcards on the left were sent to me in an envelope from a Postcrosser in Netherlands, as a thanks for the card I had sent her.  I send them out now, in a swap-bot “free/ad card” trade.  I was lucky to have these, as I do not tend to stumble across free or ad postcards on my own.

The Eleanor Roosevelt quote, which I don’t think she actually said–at least not in this language–is headed for Nidda, Germany.  That leaves the feathery card, which goes to Brno, Czech Republic.

The hummingbirds zipped off to Brest, Belarus, thanks to a regular Postcrossing draw.  The recipient, a bird lover, requested that senders write her name on the cards they send; it seems she’s not the only one in her household receiving postcards.  Sounds like a great housedhold!

A peek at some of the stamps & washi tape:

 

°Dentalsmile°?!?!? Received from Belgium, Czech Republic, & Spain

Three more Postcrossing arrivals!

That happy li’l toon is Večerníček, or “Little Eveninger,” and he came to me from Brno, Czech Republic. The senders who share this Postcrossing account tell me that the character “is on Czech national TV channel every day to introduce short evening story for kids.  He is 50 years old.”

The mitten is from Aarschot, Belgium, and it came to me in an envelope, because the sender wrote so much (and in a very tight hand) that it filled the entire back of the postcard–yes, address-side, too–and another postcard-sized sheet of paper she taped to the bottom.  It was quite the read: I get the impression she is quite young, because she uses a lot of internet-type asides after nearly every sentence.  The difference, though, is that instead of inanities like “LOL,” she writes, well, quite a variety of things, including the somewhat-common °laugh° (these odd little circles are all hers) and °smile° , to the more rare °blush° and °sparkle° (whatever that is), to the off-the-charts what-the-heck, often-repeated throughout her missive:  °dentalsmile°.  EEK!  What is THAT?!?  I assume it must mean something along the lines of “toothy grin,” but it just sends shivers up & down my spine.

–just give me a second to shake that off, & finish up here–

The Madrid postcard comes from Madrid, Spain, from a sender who says, “I love to travel, to watch movies and TV shows.  I love reading and animals.  I have one guinea pig but soon I’ll have another one, they like company.”

Stamps!

 

 

Popeye & His Feline Friends: Sent to China, Czech Republic, France, & Scotland

I drew the names of four more Postcrossers today:

Popeye is on his way to say ahoy to a Postcrosser in Glasgow, Scotland.  In his profile, the recipient had a link to his flickr account showing photography he’d turned into postcards, so I thought I would send him one of the cards I’d created from my own shots.

The Morro Bay card goes to a woman in Saint-Nazaire, France who was hoping for cards showing the senders’ cities.  The cards of my city aren’t very well done–and furthermore, I don’t have any right now–so I sent her one of a city I enjoy visiting whenever I can.

The cartoon Sherlock is headed for Guangzhou, China.  The recipient of this one is a high school student who hopes to travel to Germany next year.  She expressed interest in animals & cartoon characters, among many other things.  Hope she likes this.

Lastly, I hope that sleeping duo is not disturbed on the way to Jičín, Czech Republic.  This Postcrosser did have a short list of likes, which included cats.  She didn’t say much of anything else, so I just talked about the weather.  Well, the season, really.  Basically, that fall is here, and I am looking forward to spring.  That’s just the way it is!

Of Hammocks & Laziness: Received from Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, & the United States.

Love that mole card!  Krtek came to me from his homeland of the Czech Republic.  I have seen the character around, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode of his cartoon.  Apparently book versions have been made, because this card’s sender says, “Krteček was my favorite bedtime story.”

The hammock came from Finland.  I will share with you the entirety of the message from the other side:

“Warm summer greetings from the south of Finland!”

I swear, there was enough white space on the back of that postcard to build two Starbucks franchises.

If you don’t know what to write on a postcard, why send postcards?  Postcrossing doesn’t exactly leave us hanging out here in write-to-a-stranger-land, either: the site offers 20 suggestions of what to write on a postcard. Heck, I’d even be amused if she had slapped on a comic strip from her local newspaper–there was certainly room for that!  At least the bird stamp was very nice.

The big panel-of-Sharpie box is from Canada, thanks to the swap-bot Chunk of Cardboard trade I like so much.  If you look at the bottom-right corner of the stamp scan below, you will get just a peek at the wonderful watercolor dots with which the sender covered the back of the card before stamping, addressing, & writing me a very long note.

The penguin came to me from a swap-bot member in Illinois, U.S.A., torn from a notecard for a “notecard postcard” trade.  She tells me that, like me, she enjoys author Carl Hiassen, and the TV show “Shameless.”  I have slowly been working my way through the original British version of that series, which just kept going & going & going.  Kind of like me, when someone doesn’t write an actual message on their postcard.

Really beautiful stamps this time around! The Canadian ones commemorating the Lunar New Year are especially amazing: may be hard to tell from the scan, but the dragon image is raised, and the ram is embossed with shiny, reflective highlights.

Neighbors: Sent to Czech Republic, Germany, & Poland

A lot of my Postcrossing cards have been reaching their destinations this week, so I drew 3 more names–and all are neighbors, sort of.

Brno, Czech Republic is the destination of the first card, the nice kitty…or is it?–right, it’s a doggy.  With these toys, I always think the doggies are kitties–until I see the kitties.  Anyhow, Brno.  According to Wikipedia:

Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area.  Brno is the seat of judicial authority of the Czech Republic.

The card goes to a 12-year-old boy who says he plays badminton, and doesn’t mind what card I send.  So I hope he doesn’t mind this card.

Over in Czerniewice, Poland—

Czerniewice is a village in Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies on the Krzemionka River, approximately 50 km (31 mi) east of the regional capital Łódź. It was probably founded in the 14th century.  In 2004 the village had a population of 730.  –Wikipedia

–the Postcrosser, who is soon to be wed, said she likes black & white cards, art cards, and cards with animals.  I combined the three for her.

Finally, Snow White is going to Wadersloh, Germany.  Here is the entire text from Wikipedia’s entry on that town:

Wadersloh is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km north-west of Lippstadt and 30 km east of Hamm. In it there is a grammar school which is named Gymnasium Johanneum. Wadersloh was the place of a bike race in 2008 with competitors from all over the world.

The recipient of my card is also very short, in her profile, about giving out information about herself.  There is a list of likes, in which she said she would like Disney cards, but all she said about herself is, “I collect stamps and postcards from all over the World!”

Cake, Kitty, Consciences & the Coast: Sent to China, Czech Republic, Russia, and Taiwan

The first two of my outgoing cards are for Postcrossing Forums tags; the second two are in traditional Postcrossing draws.

The Pinocchio card goes to Shanghai, China, part of a Postcrossing Forum Disney tag trade.  A new Disneyland is scheduled to open in Shanghai this year; I’m wondering if this Postcrosser is excited about it–and if she’ll have to wait in insanely-long lines!  I told her my favorite Disneyland rides are Space Mountain & Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride–and not necessarily in that order.

The cake is going to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in a Postcrossing Forum food package trade. This is a panel from a box of Softasilk cake flour, and I told the recipient I keep thinking of making this “Deluxe Devil’s Food Cake,” but with a cream cheese frosting rather than the almond extract-laced frosting recipe printed on the box.  Can’t stand almond extract.

Now for the regular Postcrossing draws.  What two countries came up?   Czech Republic and Russia!

Jenisov, Czech Republic is the destination of that Morro Bay card.  The recipient said he enjoys “sending and receiving all types of postcards except of fairy tales and stars.  I really like nature scenes and landscapes from your country and city views or aerial views, too. I like castles.”  Since he only wrote about the cards he wanted (and he does go beyond what I shared) rather than about himself, I didn’t have a lot to write about, but I did manage to go on about why I enjoy the Morro Bay area.

Kitty comes last, and is headed for a Postcrosser in Enem, Russia. She says, “I live in south of Russia.I like history and different cultures. And I like to travel too. I will like any card you send me!” She hasn’t done a lot on Postcrossing yet, so there are not a lot of “favorite” card images to guide me, but one of the few there is a cat, so–kitty with beads.

Sent to Belgium, Czech Republic, and Germany

I’ve been letting the numbers of my Postcrossing “traveling postcards” dwindle; it’s time to catch up just a bit!

I would be thrilled to receive these cards, I think they are all so cool!

Working clockwise from the top left, that coastal card goes to a real piece of work in Kamenice, Czech Repupblic, whose profile doesn’t say a horrible lot about himself, but gets into some emotional detail about what he expects NOT to find in his mailbox!

“Prefere to receive interesting and unusual postcard with atmosphere.Please DON´T SEND postcard which are not from your country,no ad cards,no cards with military motive or animals.Thanks … “

He presents a list of things he might like to receive, but is soon back on topic:

“PLEASE NO art, NO selfmade/selfprinted, NO cute or “girlie-like”, NO folded cards, NO sheets of paper(can’t believe that anybody wants to get such “postcards”)- you won’t make me happy with it, PLEASE respect that, thank you! :)”

Okayokayokay!  He DID mention, twice, that he liked landscapes, and thus my landscapey choice for him.  Long list of dislikes leave me deflated, so I was only able to mention a short 10-line message to him (that’s 3-4 lines fewer than my usual average.  The postcard served as its own writing prompt, as the California poppies are in bloom all over right now, and of course I love to go and enjoy the beautiful coastline whenever I can.

That card full of pinnipeds is headed for Dortmund, Germany, to a Postcrosser who lets potential correspondents know:

“I try to draw faces in these times and I need some portraits of people and animals of all kind yet, just to practice practice practice. You will make me really happy, if you find a postcard with portraits of people or close ups from animals. Thank you very much.”

I think this gallery of extreme close-ups of patients at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California should keep her busy!  The center itself is quite busy these days; just moments ago on the radio, I heard yet another update on the rise of baby sea lions washing up on state beaches.

Finally there is that elephant, which if all goes well, will end up in Hemiksem, Belgium.  The Postcrosser there says “I am 46 years ‘old’, but I still feel like 26!” and her list of likes includes .“elephants (pictures and drawings).” At the end of the list is this: “But of course you can send me any card you think I’d like.” This elephant card is the first I’ve sent from a big box of 100 animal art cards I’ve just purchased, and may well be my favorite of the whole lot!

By the way, here are the details of three of my Postcrossing cards most-recently received in their overseas destinations:

* The card I sent to Buxtehude, Germany, arrived in 7 days, after having traveled 5,518 miles. The recipient tells me, “thank you for a wonderful postcard – I love it. I was born and raised near the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, so I, too, love the sea and the beaches and all those amazing animals.”

* The postcard I mailed to Utrecht, Netherlands took 11 days to travel the 5,474 miles to its destination. The recipient writes, “Thank you so much for the card.It’s funny my brother and sister in law are flying of the Mexico tomorrow…Also visiting the beautiful (California) coastal line,where you talking about 🙂 And going to see the elephant seals 😉 …And i’m jealous hope to see them also someday ;)”

* My postcard sent to Taipei City, Taiwan (at the same time as the Netherlands card I just mentioned) arrived after a 12-day, 6,465-mile trip. Its new owner tells me, “thanks for sending the great card! I really like Doraemon!! It’s so cute!!! I hope next time you can have a vacation in Taiwan!!! Taiwan always welcome you!:)”

I can’t wait!

Sent to Czech Republic & Netherlands

Two of my Postcrossing cards have been received–I’ll tell you the countries they’ve reached & how long they took to get there, but you’ll have to muddle through my blog to the approximate right date to view the card & read the other pertinent, uh, whatever:

A card I sent to Poland has reached its destination, after traveling 5,913 miles in 13 days.

A card I sent to China has found it recipient–finally–after a journey of 6,237 miles and 40 days.

OKAY, so now I get to send out two more cards!

Two young brothers in Drunen, Netherlands–an 8-year-old & a 4-year-old–who apparently like Smurfs will receive my Smurf babysitter card.  Apparently these two run to the mailbox every day, and whenever they receive a postcard, they stick it on their living room wall.

The guitar card goes to a music lover in Prague, Czech Republic.  He’s been Postcrossing about as long as me–since last summer–and according to his profile, is mathematically-oriented.  Truth is, he had expressed interest in landscape cards, but I thought he’d like the guitar better than any landscape I might have in my stash.