TWENTY! Count ’em! Sent to Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan, & the U.S.

Sooooo many postcards to share–of course, they were sent off over the course of several weeks. Take a look & tell me what your favorites are–and stay tuned ’til the very end for the stamps, stickers, & stuff. Here we go…

Dreaming by the sea, this crew is off to Taipei, Taiwan.

Elephant & Piggie are going to Orange, NSW, Australia.

President Linus–one can only dream! Off to Itomi, Hyogo, Japan.

Franklin & Linus go to Gunma, Japan.

I don’t know where this book-filled postcard came from, but it’s been in my stash for a long time, and now it’s off to Tianjin, China.

A food package postcard, going to Beijing, China.

An awful movie! Off to Saitama, Japan.

 

Out by request to Lübeck, Germany…

It’s a wacky map, and it’s going to a map lover in Tokyo, Japan.

Donald & friends will land in Shanghai, China.

I clicked on the “advertising card” tag, and sent this card for KFJC (I had to look it up) to Yokohama, Japan.

This scene from Redwoods National & State Parks goes to Cronulla NSW, Australia.

This beautiful sea otter is on its way to Yonago, Tottori, Japan.

This card from a Thai restaurant will go to Foshan, Guangdong, China.

Captain Hook will go to a Disney lover in Hokkaido, Japan. This being a USPS postcard, the stamp on the back matches.

As much as I enjoy using Postcrossing Forum, it’s faster to just click “send a postcard” on the regular Postcrossing site, or its imitator, Postcard United. I happen to prefer the latter, and I have clicked a few times…

Snoopy on ice going to a warm place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This Kliban Cat is skating toward Perm Krai, Russia.

The beautiful San Diego Central Library goes to Annandale, NSW, Australia.

Charlie Brown will cry his way all the way to Dazu, Chongqing, China.

Uh-oh, a U.S. address came up! This beautiful scene–another from Redwood National & State Parks–will go to Van Dyne, Wisconsin.

Time for stamps, stickers, & washi tape…

Okay! Be sure to check in.

Reclaiming My Time: Sent to China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Serbia, Taiwan, the U.S. & the U.K.

In my last post, I lamented how attempting to track my postcard comings & goings is claiming too much time. Thanks to some commenters on the post, and some introspection, I have begun to implement a few techniques to chip away at the time suck:

• Going as I go: I am posting outgoing cards & info in a draft as I go–no more spending time trying to rediscover the information to post. I will be clearing all the shots on my phone & computer that I may or may not have already posted. This is huge.
• Faster than scanning: I will use the photoscan app on my phone when it seems faster. It’s–inelegant, as you’ll notice below, but it makes things faster!
• Keep it simple: I have begun editing my scans using PAINT! Just a simple shrink & crop. The free photo editing sites are adding more hoops that suck up time and computer space, so this has made a HUGE amount of difference.
• –And simpler: However I scan the backs of my postcards, I am trying to do it BEFORE I write them out. This means less editing later to protect recipients’ personal info.
• Making choices: Moving forward, when I finally make another post of received postcards, I may well leave out the ones I don’t care for so much (though I’d still show stamps I like). This has got to save a lot of time, right? We’ll play that one as we go.

Updates on this project as we go, and your input welcome. OKAY, let’s get on with the cards! When you see repeated cities down below, some may be going to the same person in that city. Sometimes. Didn’t necessarily keep track. See how well I’m doing with this project, already?

First off, there’s a food package postcard going to Ruian, Zhejiang, China. When I requested the recipient’s address, I received a response that this was to be a greeting for her friend’s 18th birthday, that the friend would like a Marvel card, and that she likes two singers no one over the age of 17 has ever heard of. Since this is a food package postcard tag, I sent her this sweet card, with the birthday greeting, and lots of stickers (which you will see, if you scroll down far enough).

A second panel like this is going to Osaka, Japan.

Cute otters heading to Yonago, Tottori, Japan…

Morro Rock going to Taoyuan, Taiwan…

The evil queen is off to Essen, Germany. This was in a “I’m Offering” tag, and the recipient had at first selected a card I just could not find in my available cards. I apologized, and this was her second choice. It’s just as well: the first choice was a lovely view of Trinidad. This Postcrosser mentions in her profile that she would like to live in the Caribbean, so I have the feeling she doesn’t realize that the “Trinidad” emblazoned on the missing card actually refers to Trinidad, California.

Here’s one going to Novi Sad, Serbia…

More Peanuts, this by request to a Postcrosser in Taichung City, Taiwan.

This pair of otters was requested by a Postcrosser in Pencoed, Bridgend, Wales:

By request to St. Petersburg, Russia…

The Aladdin card goes off in a Disney tag to Taichung, Taiwan.

One of the handmade envelopes I made some time ago takes the hula Jetoy card (my last, I think) off to Novi Sad, Serbia. The recipient asked that the card be written, but in an envelope to “keep it clean,” I think were the words she used. I don’t usually stick my cards in an envelope, and the standard-sized boxed envelopes I have wouldn’t fit the card–but what the heck.

The best thing about this Chinese vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco’s Chintatown? FREE POSTCARDS! This one goes to Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. in a food card tag.

Hey, the Disappointmentassortment rears its head again! I repurposed some stamps accumulated via Postcrossing to salvage an ugly card received in a cheap set I purchased. This goes to Englewood, Colorado, U.S.A., to a Postcrosser who wished for collage cards.

I drew another name in Postcard United; this card goes to a recipient in Nagoya City, Japan.

She’s a power user: 2,610 cards sent through this service in less than 3 years of membership. She’s also one of those people: the ones who list all of their “expired cards” that have disappeared into the ether (or postal service) without being registered. What purposed does this ever serve? I think many people do it just because they see others doing so. In this case the user realizes that close to half of her 380 expired postcards were sent to inactive members. This is probably why Postcard United is now tracking how long senders go between requesting an address.

Elephant & Piggie are bound for Hong Kong, in a Postcrossing Forum trade of children’s book illustrations…

…and California’s North Coast should land in Selangor, Malaysia, thanks to another Postcard United draw…and my very next Postcard United draw (a day later) was to Sarawak, Malaysia!

Right after that, I clicked again & came up with Shanghai, China.

Back to Postcrossing Forum trades, this Ben & Jerry’s map will go to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The recipient wanted food cards, and Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops are some of my favorite restaurants! Chocolate Therapy, please…

Time to show some stamps, stickers, & washi tape. New since the last post are the USPS scratch-n-sniff Popsicle stamps (which pair well with the older ice cream stamps), and also many stickers. What do you like?

22 Postcards, and Most of them Headed to Japan: Sent to China, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, & the USA

Have you ever sent someone the exact same card twice? I have.

It wasn’t until I’d fully addressed, stamped & decorated this evil queen card, that I’d suddenly realized I’d sent the person the same card–perhaps only a week before. This is part of a Postcrossing Forum Disney card tag, by the way, to a recipient in Shanghai, China. You can see the previous (same) card I sent her, by the way, in my recent post before this one.

The good news in realize what I’d done before I’d written the message was that I could start with an apology. Also, I promised to send her a different Disney card in a couple of days–which I did. Hence the Mickey dots here.

Another copy of the same card went to a different Postcrosser in Shanghai, in a “you choose” tag. He chose.

Coit Tower went off to České Budějovice, Czech Republic, to a recipient requesting postcards with famous places & cities in the U.S. When I worked in S.F., I used to frequently climb the hundreds of steps to get to this monument. The edifice itself wasn’t the goal–it was the beautiful, lush private gardens all the way up–a real escape from the dingy city.

Frisco’s Chinatown when to Taoyuan, Taiwan, in a “see my favorites & surprise me” tag. This recipient seems to like a lot of stylized, touristy cards.

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas went to Renkum, Netherlands. That Postcrosser said she liked cards with “special buildings,” and this gateway out in the middle of nowhere leads to a really great Chinese vegetarian restaurant! So special, it’s worth the very long drive from anywhere. Okay, so there may or may not be a better one or two near me, but the remoteness, and authentic spirit–I mean, there are peacocks and deer on the grounds–make it pretty precious.

Bigfoot went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to someone originally from England who said he liked anything cute/weird/scary.

It’s REALLY good, sometimes, to be able to say a lot about the image on a postcard. For instance, when a Postcrosser gives you nothing to say to them personally:

“Hallo, I am looking for nice cards, as collecting postcards is one of my favourite hobbies. Preferring cards showing towns, castles, bridges or buildings, I also like cards of train stations or unusual tourist cards …. Thanks a lot and have fun”

I mean, what could I write to relate? “Hallo, I, too, am in this just for the postcards, and not the interactive element of the pastime! I enjoyed learning nothing about you from your non-profile!”

So I did find a “castle” postcard, and wrote about how what’s even better is the thousands of elephant seals down on the beach. I sent the card off to Gundremmingen, Germany.

I have nothing to say about pineapple-ring guy, which was requested in a tag by a Postcrosser in Köln, Germany, so I think I wrote something about my weekend. I really need to consistently photograph the backs of my outgoing cards.

Next we’ve got a couple of cards for coloring, sold by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The first card depicts the museum itself; I don’t recognize the bridge in the second card, but it’s the flowers I like. The cards go to postcard pals in Hawaii and Japan.

Mushu from Mulan goes to Crewkerne, Somerset, England, in a regular Postcrossing draw. The recipient is a young French person teaching her language at a prep school, and she likes Disney, sushi, and turtles. Based on that information, I’m sure you will be able to identify the card’s backside below.

This California map was requested by a new Postcrosser in Taipei, Taiwan, outside of any assignment or trade. She had seen me post my stash in an “offers” thread, saw one she liked, then taken a look at my favorites & discovered she had a couple of them. This card is on its way, and I am trusting there is one from her heading my way, too!

The next postcard is cut from a food package, and it’s off to Osaka, Japan! Hodo Soy is based in Hayward, California (in the SF Bay Area), and is sold in local Asian supermarkets. I’ve had the tofu veggie burgers a couple of times, and really enjoyed them.

It’s a good thing Franklin & Linus are getting along, because they’ve got a long trip ahead: off they go to Kobeshi, Hyogoken, Japan.

Thanks to a USPS catalog I got in the mail, I learned that they are selling books of postcards to go with their Disney Villains stamps! Yes, I snapped some right up. Here goes the first round: Maleficent to Tokyo, Japan; Snow White’s Mommy Dearest to Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; and Cap’n Hook to Tomiya, Miyagi, Japan.

Okay, that all might’ve been a bit too exciting, so I’ll bring down the room a bit before moving on to part two of the post. These last two cards are regular Postcrossing draws, and are going to Barcelona, Spain; and Climbach, France.

Okay, time for the backsides! Stamps, stickers, & washi tape. See if you can spot Snoopy looking rather guilty.

 

SCUBA Chuck: Sent to Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, & Taiwan

TWENTY outgoing cards in this post! This all happened over the course of a few weeks.

Several more Postcrossing Forum tags heading out. Charlie Brown & Woodstock are heading for Shanghai, China. If you poke around the Santa Rosa area, you will find many Peanuts statues, decorated by local artists in many different styles. My favorite of the few I’ve spotted stands outside a seafood restaurant in a coastal area: it’s Charlie Brown in SCUBA gear.

The food package is going to Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. I don’t remember much about the cookies, but it says “crisp and buttery,” so therefore I know I loved them.

From Guangzhou, Guangdong, we go to Guiyang, GuiZhou, China— that’s where this big “Let’s Go with Lucy” card is headed. A card as large as this leaves a large canvas for stickers & washi tape, as well as plenty of room for a message. I’ve obscured the message, but you can see the stamps, stickers, & washi tape below.

Lucy pounding sand went off to Hirai, Wakayama, Japan; and Linus the door-to-door salesman to Tsushima, Aichi, Japan.

I chose Charlie Brown for a recipient in Tokyo, Japan. The evil queen went to Shanghai, China, and the beautiful sea otter was destined for Eutin, Germany.

“California is So Cool.” When I made a Disneyland trip not so long back, I tried to find postcards in the park, but failed. This I bought at a convenience store across the street, and now it goes out to Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan in a Disney cards tag.

“California Has Everything.” Now we are clearly bragging. This one is heading for Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan, in a “what I’m reading now” tag. I’m reading The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead.

Completing the California trilogy is the California Coast Highway 1 postcard, careening off to Hong Kong.

Another California card? Yes, this view of Point Lobos goes via a rare Postcrossing draw, to a recipient in Gnesta, Sweden, who expressed a preference for cards showing places–and Point Lobos is a great place!

A second Postcrossing draw; this one goes to Dirgenheim, Germany. Sad to say, this lovely series of national park postcards neglects to mention the state where each park is located. This despite a long passage of text on the back so expansive that it leaves room for only a single stamp! The designer really does not understand the postally-obsessed. Not to mention that the postmark will more that likely obscure all of that printed prose.

Another one of the national park cards: okay, this one does mention on the back that Acadia National Park is on the Maine coast. This one is a regular Postcrossing draw, and goes to Lahti, Finland. The recipient requested that people not use stickers or washi tape on her cards, so I won’t bother to flip this one over for you.

Scuttle and his dinglehopper are going to Kuwana, Mie, Japan, in a Disney cards tag. Ursula is on the back of the card (proof below).

Now several more regular Postcrossing draws: not something I do so often any more, but I am just in the mood to send out more cards (and by extension, receive more). The California Natural Wonders card was actually in the “favorites” of the person to receive it; she lives in Zoetermer, Netherlands.

The lemurs are going to a paleontologist in Omsk, Russia. She wanted illustrations of animals, so here she goes!

The map card goes to a map card lover in Taipei, Taiwan; and the bridge card goes to Dendermonde, Belgium, to a lover of touristy cards.

Lucy and Schroeder are going to a Peanuts lover in Espanola, Ontario, Canada. Unlike the recipient in Finland, this person loves a decorated card, so I did my best on the backside.

Time for stamps, stickers, & stuff. I love these brand-new Bioluminescent Life stamps from the USPS!

We Begin with Buns & a Dragon: Received from Australia, China, Germany, India, Poland, South Africa, & the U.S.

NINE (count ’em!) cards to share this time around!  They come via Postcrossing, Postcrossing Forum, Postcard United, & swap-bot.  Let’s start with my two very favorite, one of which is this delicious image of char siu bao!  The card is from Shanghai, China, and the sender writes:

You know the picture of the food on the postcard? It’s steamed bun and it’s a little sweet. You can usually eat it in Guangzhou province in China.

The beautiful seahorse card is from Australia.  Pretty cool how the postage “stamp” is part of the printed image.  The sender tells me:

The weedy seadragon is native to Australia and are a threatened species.  They are found in seaweed beds along the southern parts of Australia.  They can grow up to 45 cm (18 in) in size.  They are slow moving and rely on their leafy body parts as camouflage in the seaweed.  Although I haven’t seen a seadragon in the wild, I have seen them at Seahorse World in Tasmania, which is a working seahorse farm who have guided tours.  I could have stayed there all day watching them and the seahorses!

Otters!  That one is from Lowell, Indiana, and was part of a swap-bot “recycled postcard” swap, which means this sender received the card from someone else, but slapped a new backing on it & sent it my way.  I like this one enough to keep it around!

I’d regift this nice couple, though!  The card came to me from Poland, from a Postcard Uniter who tells me she is 20 years old, and she loves to travel and cook.

Still more mentions of food on this colorful night view from Nanjing, China.  The sender asks:

Have you tried a special Chinese snack called spicy dry tofu?  It’s a famous snack in China.  It’s spicy, little sweet and salty.  Maybe you will love it!

Maybe I will!  Since she didn’t include the Chinese name in Pinyin, I couldn’t tell if it’s one of the tofu snacks I’ve tried.

More scenery, this time from India!  So rare that I have postcards traveling to & from there, so it’s a real pleasure.  The image is labeled as being of the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, and the sender tells me she picked up the postcard there “when on the Darjeeling-Gangtok-Kalimpong circuit!”

The gazebo came to me from Virgina, and it’s labeled as being at Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin.

These two avid readers were sent to me by a swap-botter in Germany, and she says:

Well, I don’t know about you, but if I have to choose between the 2 newspapers–I definitely go for the comics!!!”

I took a hard look at the comics section, and was able to discern the strips printed here: Peanuts, Andy Capp, Blondie, and Prince Valiant.

The last card is made from the panel of a waffle box, and it is not as tall as most of the postcards, but much longer than any of them.  Hard to tell, as it was scanned separately!  It came from a swapper in Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa.

Okay, it’s finally time for stamps, stickers, and washi tape!  One of my favorites this time around would be the beautiful sun conure from Australia.  See anything YOU like?

There are some Russian stamps in this card, because while doing the scanning, I overlooked the fact that I’d already logged the corresponding card.  Oops!  The stamps are still interesting though, so enjoy (again)!

Are You Feeling What I’m Feeling? Sent to China, Hong Kong, India, Latvia, Russia, & the U.S.

Still a lot of catch-up to do on the documentation side of things.  Heck, with all the holiday rush-about (yeah, I’ll blame that), now I have a lot of catch-up to do on postcards I am due to send out!

Eagle Huntress went to Laurel, Maryland, for a swap-bot trade of movie/TV postcards.  I haven’t seen this film, but I picked up the card at a local independent theater.

Goosey Goosey Gander’s castle went to Hong Kong, in a Postcrossing draw.

Hula Kitty  (not Hello Kitty) went to Moscow, Russia, the city I drew in Postcard United. The recipient must not have written much about herself, because I went the dastardly route of talking about the weather.  I try never, ever to do that.  It’s like the saying goes: everyone’s talking about the weather, but no one’s doing anything about it.

Entering the black & white postcard zone, all from a book of NYC photography I found at a library book sale.  Some people just love b&w photography.  Me, not so much, at all.  Not that I want my old movies & TV series colorized (I DON’T), but I’m just glad rich full color is how we see things these days.

Grand Central headed off to Shanghai, China.  This is actually a resend: I heard from someone whom I’d tagged in Postcrossing Forum some time ago, asking if I’d sent him the card.  I had, but I still don’t want him to miss out.  He’s a train lover, and I’d previously sent him a Skunk Train card–but I am out, and Grand Central was the closest I had to a train card.  By the way, there is a “train of lights” nearby this holiday season, all lit up, and with Santa aboard.  I’ve taken the ride 2-3 times, but honestly?  Well, look at the pics: all the joy is on the outside!  This is also why all of my holiday decoration efforts are focused on the inside of my home, where I can enjoy the fruits of my labor.
The ship shot was a Postcrossing draw, off to Riga, Latvia.  The recipient must not have written much about himself, because I went the dastardly route of talking about the weather.  I try never, ever to do that.  It’s like the saying goes: everyone’s talking about the weather, but no one’s doing anything about it.

Whoa–I’m feeling all déjà vu-y right now.  Are YOU feeling all déjà vu-y right now?

The Guggenheim Museum went to Beijing, China, thanks to a Postcard United draw. The recipient likes movies, reading, & travel–and so do I!

Barney Gumble from “The Simpsons” went to Mumbai, India, in a Postcrossing Forum tag trade.  The recipient noted that she likes this show, and I remembered that somehow I happened to have this card.  I told her that as far as I can remember, the last time I saw “The Simpsons” was when the movie came out–back in 2007! My favorite thing about that movie was how some 7-Eleven stores were turned into Kwik-E-Marts!

Big Hero 6 & the Unmanageable 8: Sent to China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, & Taiwan

I thought I’d wait to share my outgoing postcards until I had sent out a handful or so–and before I knew it, it’d become an unmanageable 8!

The “Southside with You” movie poster card went to Singapore for a swap-bot “movie/TV” postcard swap.  I picked up that card at a movie theater, and was not just pleased to have a movie postcard to share–I was also excited to see the movie!  When it came out, I did indeed go see it, and really enjoyed the entire thing.  I was happy to be able to write about the movie on this card, as this swapper, though she provides a long, long, profile, it’s not about her–but about what she wants, wants, wants.  Sigh.  Well, one thing she wanted was “vintage tickets,” and though the vintage is probably late 1990’s or later, I glued a few arcade tickets onto the card as a divider.  You can see that down below.

Another movie represented in the next card: “Big Hero 6.”  That went out to Mumbai, India, in a Postcrossing Forum Disney tag trade.

Hearst Castle is next.  It went to a castle lover in Hong Kong, thanks to a Postcrossing Forum USA-Asia tag.

By the way, I’ve started sending out more cards via Postcard United!  Astro & the Dogs are headed for Shanghai, China, to a recipient who wrote, “I prefer like: Marvel, Harry potter, Game of Thrones.”  Since I had none of that, I sent her Astro Boy, UglyDoll, Battlestar Galactica.  I’m sure she’ll like it.

The Jetoy cat is also headed out via Postcard United; it’s going to a cat lover in Bergheim-Fliesteden, Germany.  She says she doesn’t like any animals except cats & butterflies.  Oof!

She also doesn’t like to receive religious themes–the exact opposite of the Postcard Uniter I drew in Łódź, Poland, who prefers them.  Since I have none of that, I combed his profile for other possibilities.  Good News: he writes,

“JAPAN and USA: please send me card from your country (landscapes, buildings, culture etc) – I am fascinated by this.”

–I can help with that!  I pulled out the Oakland card, and told him a little bit about that city.

Matisse’s “Woman Before An Aquarium” is for a regular Postcrossing draw, and it went out to an art lover in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.

Finally, the tiger went to New Taipei City, Taiwan, in a Postcrossing Forum tag trade.  The recipient is a new Postcrosser, an 18-year-old high-school student, and though she provides a list of possibilities for people who really need guidance, she prefaces it with, “no special request for the postcards, they are all surprising gifts to me.”

I just love that.

Okay, have a look at some of the stamps & stuff!

The Drug Store Ice Cream Chain of Command: Sent to China, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, & South Africa

It’s time for another exchange of recycled goods via swap-bot!  The postcard hewn from a Dixie Cups box is headed for Dalview, Gauteng, South Africa.  The Pillsbury Dough Boy is going to live in Kiel, Germany, and as I lamented to the man who will end up with this card:

“…the problem with the Dough Boy’s tubes of refrigerated cookies, breads, etc., is that they all taste the same.  One bite, and, ‘oh, Pillsbury!’“

The ice cream cones are actually for a Postcrossing Forum Food Package Postcard trade.  Yes, I love making postcards from boxes of…whatever. I have a whole big stack of them, just waiting to send out!  Just ask, & I’ll send you one.  Anyhow, the ice cream cones: this card is going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and it is from a box of Thrifty brand cones.  I told the card’s recipient about the whole deal with Thrifty Ice Cream:

“Thrifty was a big drug store chain, and at their ice cream counter, scoops were CHEAP!  And then Thrifty shut down, and their ice cream moved to another chain, Pay Less.  And then Pay Less shut down.  Now you would buy Thrifty Ice Cream at Rite Aid.

I ran out of room on the card to tell her this, but the last I heard, Rite Aid was looking like it was going to get swallowed up by Walgreen’s.  Too bad: I’m a CVS guy.

Stepping away from the recycling, the restaurant card in the top center is going off in a regular Postcrossing draw to a young couple in Münster, Germany.  The restaurant is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and as I told them, I don’t know how I got the card (either an unearthed family stash, or sent to me from a swap-botter), but I looked up the restaurant, and it still exists!

Next, let’s go to the funky leopard under the ice cream cones.  Off to Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with that one.  This was for a swap-bot trade called “Think Before You Send.”  My partner likes leopards–that was the first part of the thinking.  The second part was to look up details about the card, and share them.  I’ll just tell you it involved doing some research into the cards’s artist, Kazumi Yoshida, and I will let you do any leg work on that yourself, if you care.

The second (and final) regular Postcrossing draw goes to Kaliningrad, Russia, and it is the b&w pic of Radio City Music Hall.  The card’s recipient says she likes to travel, as do I, and I told her I also like going to the cinema, and that day I planned on seeing (and indeed, I did end up seeing) “A Flying Jatt.”

The California Natural Wonders map card goes out in a Postcrossing Forum trade in which we were to send the person we tagged a card from their favorites wall, and this person had actually marked a card I happen to have!  Off it went to Schiffdorf, Germany.  When I got tagged by the next person in the thread, I did not follow the link s/he provided to the card that I will be receiving from my favorites: I prefer to be surprised!

Finally, tiger goes to Shanghai, China, in a Postcrossing Forum trade to a 19-year-0ld who is interested in landmarks & scenery (those things are indeed behind the tiger, if you look).

Okay, giant stamp, stamp, sticker, & washi tape party at my place:

 

The Stamp I Very Nearly Tried to Eat: Received from China, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, & the U.S.

 

Time again to let you poke through my mail a little bit!  We start with some delicious food.

That large serving of siu mai (or a serving of large siu mai?) is from Shanghai, China, via Postcrossing Forum.  This is the same Postcrosser who recently sent me char siu bao, and this time he writes:

“This card shows Shumai also Romanized as siu mai or shaomai. Is a type of traditional Chinese dumpling served as dimsum.  I like to eat.”

Yes, siu mai & I are old friends!

More tasty food: that illustrated sorta-how-to on spring rolls.  Another Postcrossing Forum incoming, this one from Hong Kong, and the sender writes:

“This is Asia cuisine–spring rolls! Very delicious.  I love them.  🙂 Hope you enjoy this card.”

Oh, yes.  AND THE STAMPS!  Look down below & see the four great stamps from this card: 3 birds & a meal.  I especially love the two to the right: the sea eagle & the delicious nasi lemak.  That is a Malaysian dish, but as is printed on the bottom of the stamp, it is a China-Malaysia joint issue.  Very interesting!  I looked it up, and learned this:

As the Chinese saying goes, food is of paramount importance to all of us. By learning more about the food culture of a country, we can gain an appreciation of the customs and traditions of the local people. For Hong Kong’s 13th joint issue with other postal administrations, Hongkong Post and Pos Malaysia are jointly issuing a set of four stamps on local food that can be found in the two places.

These stamps showcase the unique local culinary delights that reflect the distinctive cuisines and food tastes of these two Asian neighbors, including the egg waffle and Poon Choi in Hong Kong and Nasi Lemak and satay in Malaysia. 

I’m so excited about these stamps, I might as well show them right now, so we can get on with the rest of the postcards.

Next up is the shark-surrounded kayaker, which came to me from Germany thanks to a swap-bot “ad/free card” trade.  The sender tells me,

“I found this ad postcard at our local cinema.  It says: ‘no bad surprises.’ Hope you like it!”

A different swap-bot free postcard trade brought me the suitcase, in from Chevy Chase, Maryland. This sender is better at filling out the back of the postcard than most swap-botters I encounter: she actually has a lot to say!

“I’m so glad that summer classes end just last Thursday (man, were those classes hard)!  Fitting with one of the main themes of this card, my family and I will get to travel for the part of next month to many places in eastern Canada for various reasons from reuniting with old friends, seeing the place to taking maple syrup extraction classes!”

Disney/Pixar fact about me: I loathe their movie “Cars,” but really enjoy the Disney California Adventure area Cars Land/Radiator Springs!  The movie is the point where I semi-retired from Pixar. So much more creativity went into the attraction than the movie franchise.  My enjoyment of the California Adventure land caused me to welcome this postcard from Lake Elsinore, California, sent to me in a swap-bot Disney postcard swap.  The sender writes:

“We have Disneyland passes and we really enjoy strolling through Cars Land, especially when they turn on all the neon lights in the evening.”

Finally, and still on the topic of vehicles, we have that dolly behind the wheel, sent to me from a friend in Singapore.  My friend is a real toy nut, and like me, she photographs her toys in fun situations–and sometimes even makes postcards out of those shots!

People on the Go Don’t Freeze Well: Received from China, Germany, & the U.S.

The mail carrier handed me all five of these cards at once yesterday–and look at these awesome top two!

The bao come from Shanghai, China, thanks to a Postcrossing Forum trade.  The sender writes:

“Greetings from China.  This card shows char siu buns (dumpling with marinated pork).  It is also Cantonese cuisine.”

Love me some Cantonese cuisine!  I have made bao several times.  Hint for people on the go: they freeze well (bao, not people on the go).

I’ve had a lifelong love of the Kliban Cats, and in swoops Avery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to enable me a little more!  Hey is that a juice box? Oooh, pineapple juice…

I also like all those little figures on the “impressure BEIJIN” card.  Another Postcrossing Forum trade, it was sent to me from someone in Harbin, China, who tells me:

“Our city is famous for ice and snow.  The winter here is beautiful.”

Nope.

Then comes a bit of recycling from Kiel, Germany, another result of a swap-bot Upcycled Cardboard trade.  Those truffles sure look good.  The sender writes that he works as a teacher, and that he’s on summer break.  Do you know some schools here in the U.S., right now in August’s infancy, have already started back up?  Saddest thing ever.

Finally, another swap-bot trade, this time the “I HATE this postcard,” comes to me from Austin, Texas.  The sender writes:

“This is one of those cards I’ve had for years and can’t seem to get rid of.  It’s almost vintage!  Hope it brings you some joy.  🙂 “

I don’t mind the postcard, but I had to admit to the sender that I DO HATE the stamp:

What a horrible life for a beast. 

The rest of the stamps (some wonderful ones here, I love the hurdling ram from China), plus postmarks, stickers, & washi tape…