Ghibli Edition: Received from China, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, and the U.S.

Not too many cards today, but all with the common theme of featuring Miyazaki Hayao’s characters from Studio Ghibli films. Still unearthing older unlogged  (unblogged?) cards; most of these arrrived in 2017-2018, but there is one from this month! These were all received through Postcrossing Forum tags.

Let’s go with my favorite two first! The one on the left is from Japan, and the sender writes, “do you know Totoro? Totoro is character of Ghibli series – Japanese animation movie. This character is very loved in Japan. Totoro’s goods are sold a lot. This is nengajo postcard. In Japan we sent (as a greeting) postcard to celebrate New Year.”

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The second card was from Serbia, and the sender tells me the first Studio Ghibli film they saw was Princess Mononoke, and the most recent was Grave of the Fireflies.

Next two cards have great images from My Neighbor Totoro; the top card came to me from Japan, and the bottom one from China.

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The two poster-style cards side-by-side here are from Russia & the Netherlands, and both of the senders told me they were about to go see Disney “live-action” remakes: “Lion King,” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” respectively.

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The last two cards move away from Totoro, to the less-cute side of Ghibli (I’m definitely a fan of the more-cute side of Ghibli). Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind came from Japan, and Princess Mononoke came from right here in the U.S.

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What do you like the best today? Before you answer, check out all of the stamps, stickers, & washi tape! Lots of cool little things to enjoy.

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(oh, that was a very nice otter sticker)

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My First Trip to Côte d’Ivoire: Sent to Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Singapore

Happy New Year! I’ve got a bunch of fronts & backs to share, from cards going out in Postcrossing Forum tags, and a few Postcard United clicks.

In this grouping below, clockwise from the top, where we start with a pair of food package postcards:

It’s-It cookies go to Saitama, Japan
Animals chocolate cookies are off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Robert Mallet Stevens’s “Museum” goes to Shaanxi, China
William H. Bradley’s “The Modern Poster” is headed for Abidjan, Ivory Coast. I don’t think I’ve ever had postal contact with that country! THANK YOU, Postcard United! I guess this will make up for some of the times they’ve given me an address here in my own country!

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Here’s the Great Bell of Mingun, in Myanmar. The card is making its way to Hong Kong.

Samuel Bourne the Great Bell of Mengoon Said to Weigh 90 Tons

A red panda off to Hokkaido, JapanAnimals Red Panda Happy Hollow Park and Zoo San Jose CA

This photorealistic view of Malaysia–my favorite of this round of postcards–goes off by request to Semarang, Indonesia.Malaysia loka made postcards (10)

Mickey goes to Sendai, Japan.

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That one was off in a Postcrossing Forum Disney card tag, as is Gaston, who is headed to Kyoto, Japan.

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This beautiful scene from coastal California goes to Melbourne, Australia.California North Coast

Another coastal scene, this one going to Saint Sever, France.
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Charlie Brown & Woodstock are bound for Singapore!

Peanuts Snoopys Home Ice statues

Yangon, Myanmar

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Hefeie, Anhui, China

California Map w cow panda Reno LV

Frank Lloyd Wright’s “May Basket” seems destined for Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
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Time for stamps, stickers, & washi tape. A whole lot of awesomeness down here, I say. What do you think?

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Tastes Like Canned Soup: Sent to Australia, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, U.K., & the U.S.

I just got back from Malaysia, and it truly is a food paradise. Sad to say, I didn’t quite make it to every single thing on this postcard! It went off in a Postcrossing Forum food tag to Quzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Food Malysia Food Paradise

The Hainanese Chicken postcard is also from Malaysia, but not procured during my trip. I got it some time ago when I ordered the wonderful book, The Food That Makes Us. A set of postcards came with the book! This card is on a trip to New Taipei City, Taiwan.

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Another food tag, but this recipient in Sendai, Japan, isn’t getting anything nice at all. In brief: Andersen’s Split Pea Soup is a pretty popular brand on California supermarket shelves, so of course way back when I first passed the restaurant–a popular roadside stop in the city of Buellton–I wanted to try their homemade version. Well, do you know what it tasted like? CANNED SOUP!

Food Pee Soup Andersens

Another card I bought in Malaysia; this one goes off in a “not my country” tag to Gunma, Japan.

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This is a place I’ve been to, but not in a while; it’s the Hotel King Kamehameha in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and it’s off in a travel tag to Nairne, SA, Australia.

Hawaii Hotel King Kamehameha

Here’s a card I bought at the airport as I was departing for my vacation. I’ve come across a whole lot of California map cards, but I think this is my favorite. It looks even better in person! This one goes out to a postcard pal in Hawaii.

California Max and Oscar

This pair of shiba inus are headed for New Taipei City, Taiwan.

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This card goes to an otter lover in Hamburg, Germany.

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Another otter card for another otter lover, this one in Shenyang, Liaoning, China.

Postcard A Sea Otter California Coast

Honest John went off in a Disney tag to Ylivieska, Finland.

Disney Villains Honest John

Postcrossing Forum has a number of “send me a card from my album of favorites” tags. I don’t dip in too often because, you know, what are the odds I’ll have a card the person has marked as wanting? Well, it’s happened twice recently (though the second Postcrosser has yet to respond to my tag)! This gator is being mailed to Faches-Thumesnil, France.

Mail a Gator

The lovely merpug is off — by request — to Itzehoe, Germany.

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Here’s another requested card, this one on its way to Riverside, California.

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Ready for a Peanuts Gallery? I’d better send off this 2018 postcard while it’s still topical! Copies go to Itami and Tokyo, Japan.

Peanuts Snoopy Year of the DogThis is the moment when Lucy starts calling for iodine; it goes to a postpal in Peacehaven, East Sussex, U.K.

Peanuts Smak Snoopy and Lucy

Lucy & Schroeder are off to Kyoto, Japan.

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“My Favorite Peanuts” will go to Jinjiang City, Fujian, China.

Schulz Museum My Favorite Peanuts

The tiger, like one of my earlier cards shown here, is also headed for New Taipei City (but to a different recipient).

John cards TIGER

I pulled another name on Postcard United! The recipient in Hong Kong enjoys images of architecture, so I’m sending her an image of the grand main library in San Diego, California.

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…and another Postcard United draw, this one going to Zheleznogorsk, Russia.

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This third Postcard United draw goes to Hangzhou, China.

Frederick C Herrick 1921

This last card makes 23 I’ve chronicled this time around, and its a postcard of Kliban Cats! I love them. This card goes to a fellow fan in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Stamps! Stickers! Washi tape! Do you see the durian washi tape I picked up on the second leg of my eating vacation: Singapore? Here and there you’ll also see puffy Tom & Jerry stickers, a silly online purchase that was awaiting me when I returned home. Kliban cat stickers also show up a lot in this batch of outgoing cards. I love Kliban cats. Dunno if I’ve ever mentioned that before…

Do you have any favorites this time around? Please let me know about them!

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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.

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

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

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Franklin & Linus go to Gunma, Japan.

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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.

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A food package postcard, going to Beijing, China.

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An awful movie! Off to Saitama, Japan.

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Out by request to Lübeck, Germany

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

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Donald & friends will land in Shanghai, China.

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

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

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

postcard California Sea Otter

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

postcard Kin Khao produce

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

Disney Captain Hook USPS

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.

postcard toon Peanuts Snoopy hockey

This Kliban Cat is skating toward Perm Krai, Russia.

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

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

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

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Time for stamps, stickers, & washi tape…

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Okay! Be sure to check in.

Buffet Edition: Sent to Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Taiwan, and the U.S.

I like Ritz crackers, and I like chocolate — so what can go wrong? THIS. My mistake: “fudge” does not mean chocolate. Yuck. One bite, and the rest went to work. Sending this box panel off to Tokyo, Japan, in a food package postcard tag.

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More packaged foodstuffs, but this time something much better: the seasoned flour for Tom Yum chicken goes out in a food package postcard tag to Cedar Hill, Texas.

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This is the restaurant in San Francisco where the food may not be the best, but free postcards? Yeah, I guess I love this place (even though I may well never decide to eat there again). Going off in a food tag to Rui’an, Zhejiang, China.

Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant SF

These messy cones are going to Foshan, Guangdong, China.

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Let me show you the back side of that one right now. Never have I been so matchy-matchy.

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The creme brulee with blowtorch goes to Gunma, Japan.

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Brown foods go to Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. I should have paid more attention, not to send Chinese foods to China, but maybe the guy will love it. I told him I’ve eaten most of these things–and cooked with some of them–over the last month.

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Moving away from food, while staying on topic: part of the joy of buffet (all of the joy of buffet?) is about choice. Postcrossing Forum has many tags where users can link to their available postcards, and others can choose the card they want. The redwoods were chosen by a Postcrosser in Nairne, SA, Australia.

Redwoods illustrated

This one was chosen by a Postcrosser in Saint Petersburg, Russia:

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This one was requested by someone in Lübeck, Germany. I told her that I’m not convinced the trees are actually in Hawaii. This is one I received as a part of a disappointassortment. Look it up, you’ll find it, I’m sure.

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By request to Omsk, RussiaPostcard A Sequoia Park Zoo Eureka

By request to Fiskars Village, Finland:

Postcard a Golden Gate National Parks Alcatraz

Franklin meets Linus, off by request to Taichung City, Taiwan.

NEW.Franklin.postcard.FRONT

“Have a great country day!” WOOOO! I never thought I’d get rid of this stinker! Off by request to its recipient in Cheboksary, Russia.

Have a great country day

Moving off the buffet line to non-request tags: this one went out in a Disney tag to New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Disney Micky gang California is so cool

Another one to Taiwan, this one to a map lover in Taipei.

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This, from my most recent quick shopping stop into the Charles M. Schulz Museum, goes off to Yokohama, Japan.

Schulz Museum My Favorite Peanuts

Moving along… I took another stop at Postcard United! a click on the “send a postcard” button, and I prepped this one for its trip to Johor, Malaysia.

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Stamps, stickers, & washi tape time…

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Hey Postcard Designers: Leave Room for Stamps! Sent to Austria, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, & the U.S.

We’ll get to the “room for stamps” bit shortly, but first: 17 postcard sends represented this time, so let’s get to it!

I clicked on “send a postcard” on Postcard United! This California map is bound for Longhua, Shenzhen, China. A second click sends another copy of the card to a map lover in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.

California Map Greetings from the Golden State w mermaid sea lion orca

Another click on Postcard United sends this card to a map lover in JiangSu, China.

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The Queen of Hearts is going to Foshan, Guangdong, China

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Ursula is off to Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan.

Pig Pen–the dirty candidate who is in fact innocent–is going out by request to Taichung City, Taiwan.

postcard toon Peanuts Vote Pig Pen

Another card going off by request: this view from Hilo, Hawaii’s Merrie Monarch Festival is destined for a Postcrosser in Yonago, Tottori, Japan.

Hilo Hawaii Hula

Whoa… Lucy & her balloon are off to a rare county for Postcrossing:  this is on its way to Melben, Austria.

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Still more Peanuts: this one is going to Hong Kong.postcard toon Peanuts Snoopy

This octopus is attacking the San Diego Central Library. One thing to know if you are a postcard lover: the Friends of the Library store here is a great place to go postcard shopping! I sent this one out to a post pal in Hawaii.

San Diego Public Library ToshWerks

Another copy of the card is going out in a Postcrossing Forum library tag to a recipient in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. Sadly, the design of the card’s back does not leave much room for anything larger than the smallest of domestic first-class stamps. No room for a larger stamp (like our round international stamps, among any number of others); no room for multiple stamps; no room for the postmark, which so often obscures a sizable chunk of real estate on the back of a postcard.  It would be nice, wouldn’t it, if the people designing the address side of cards were also people who send & receive postcards, themselves.

I recently popped into the Charles M. Schulz Museum, on the way home from somewhere else, just long enough to do a little postcard shopping! Poor Charlie Brown is going to a Postcrosser in Gunma, Japan.

Schulz Museum AAUGH

I also bought this new postcard, one copy of which is on its way to East Jakarta, Indonesia.

Schulz Museum My Favorite Peanuts

This image from The Princess & the Frog was requested by a frog-lover in Beckum, Germany.

Disney Princess and the Frog night lily

Another Art of Disney card–this one of Lion King’s Pride Rock–is going to Taichung, Taiwan.

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This beautiful sea otter is going to Foshan, Guangdong, China.

Postcard A Sea Otter California Coast

And finally, why are hard taco shells so popular? One bite, and the whole thing falls apart. Give me fresh corn tortillas! This box panel from “white people taco night” goes to Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

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Okay, are you ready for a huge party of stamps, stickers, & washi tape? Here you go! Any favorites this time?

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Toon & Animal Edition: Received from Belgium, China, Finland, Hong Kong, and Japan

I’m finally making it around to showing some of my incomings! I’ve got the front side of 12 this time, almost all received through Postcrossing Forum tags.

Charlie Brown is writing to his grandma! That makes me feel nostalgic. This card is from Aichi, Japan.

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Snoopy picturing himself on the beach came from Finland. The sender tells me:

I love forests, and meadows. If I only had a good camera, I would photograph, but maybe one day. Have bought online lots of used Peanuts albums (from the 60s and 70s) together with Calvin & Hobbes. You don’t have to take literature too seriously, ha ha!

Another card from Finland: it’s always great to see the Beagle Boys!

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It’s probably pretty obvious the Disney card came from Japan.

The Moomin card is another one from Finland, from a true fan of the characters, who writes: “if you have not read Moomin books, I sure recommend!! They are also for adults!” She is a retired teacher, so she should know! Moomin isn’t my jam, but I do know a retired guy who is into it, in a big way–so I will send this card on to him.

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Badtz & Hana came to me from Saitama, Japan.

The next card came to me from Hong Kong, and it is labeled “Little Warlord–Mai Min Zhong, 1960s.” The sender writes, “this is a Hong Kong comic book cover. It has stopped publish many years ago sadly.”

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Okay, on to the animals! I am a squirrel lover, & this one found its way to me from Germany. It had a squirrel stamp, which you can see at the end of this post. The sender writes,

I love squirrels, they are so cute. They are quite used to people in the park, around here, so you can watch them closely. Did you know there’s a mythological squirrel in the Edda? He’s called Ratatoskr, a messenger running up and down Yggdrasil. Quite benefiting their swiftness, I think!

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I love this panda card! It, too, came to me from Germany.

I always enjoy seeing jelly fish, and these beauties came on another card from Hong Kong.Disney591

It’s a card from the U.S., from North Carolina. I was trying to decide whether the turtle was digging into sand or snow.

This great big shaped card is from Belgium, and I would love it–but I see that the dolphin is in a swimming pool, rather than in the wild. I’m hopeful for a future where we don’t see the need to do this.

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Time for stamps, stickers, & washi tape! Lots of great stuff, including stamps from some cards whose front sides didn’t make the cut. What do you love here?

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Let’s Just Agree to Ignore One Another: Sent to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, & Thailand

A mere 10 postcards this time! What’s the story with the title? We’ll get to it, but not too much into it–later.

Elephant & Piggie are going to Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan.

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The recipes from a box of cake flour went to Niigata, Japan. Do you ever try the recipes on a food package? I have, from packages of chocolate chips & cocoa powder. I heard from the card’s recipient, and she does not cook anything from the recipes printed on food packages.

Off to Bangkok, Thailand, in a “marine life & sea creatures” tag, goes this sun star from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I tell the card’s recipient I enjoy visiting aquariums when I travel, and have been to her local, Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World.

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Piedras Blancas Lighthouse goes to Saitama, Japan. I go to the area often, but never to the lighthouse; in fact, I just learned you can get a tour! For me, the draw of Piedras Blancas is the thousands of elephant seals. As it happens, on the very day I wrote this postcard, I took a little day trip down there to see the current denizens of the beach.

California Coast Highway 1 with Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

Far, far north of Piedras Blancas are Northern California & its coastal redwoods. This card goes out by request to a Postcrosser in Lublin, Poland, who noted, “blank in an envelope, please.” I’ll ignore that like she ignored my notation that I send my cards stamped and written, as the snail mail gawdz intented. And as I suspected, her “profile”is nothing but a list of cards she wants.

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For a food tag, this goes to Jakarta, Indonesia. I may have already mentioned that this vegetarian Chinese restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown isn’t the best representation of its genre–but I sure liked getting free postcards!

Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant SF

Aladdin, Jasmine, & Abu are off to Hong Kong in a Disney tag.

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This cool Totoro card should end up in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

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Franklin is off by request to Taichung, Taiwan. I sure wish he–or any of the Peanuts characters–had won that election!

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More Peanuts: Li’l Lucy is headed for Yokohama, Japan.

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Before stamps, stickers, & washi tape, let’s look into my Postcrossing Forum U2U inbox. I just got a thank you from an earlier send to Taichung City, Taiwan, with a little museum report:

Thank you so much for the beautiful cards! They arrived at the same time 😀 We don’t have a lot of museums in Taiwan. There are two in my hometown, the science and art museums. But the museums are small and do not have a lot of works contained. I once took my foreign friend there and she said it was boring compared to those in her country. Thank you for always using great stamps 😀 Have a great day!

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Peanuts Schroeder Snoopys Home Ice

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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).

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

Cute otters heading to Yonago, Tottori, Japan

postcard a Monterey Bay Aquarium otter mommy and baby

Morro Rock going to Taoyuan, Taiwan

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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.

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Here’s one going to Novi Sad, Serbia

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

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

Postcard A Sequoia Park Zoo Eureka

By request to St. Petersburg, Russia

Postcards a Women in Science Elizabeth Blackwell

The Aladdin card goes off in a Disney tag to Taichung, Taiwan.1529247783241

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.1529330809791

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.

Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant SF

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.

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

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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…

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…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!

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Right after that, I clicked again & came up with Shanghai, China.postcard 338

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…

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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?Hawaii 568

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I Am Finding This Difficult: China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Russia, Thailand, and the United Kingdom

I’m finding I just can’t keep up on this blog. The point of it has been to keep up with postcards going in & out, and recalling a little bit of the ephemeral nature for posterior posterity.

IT’S EATING UP MY FREE TIME.

The scanning, & editing, then going back & matching everything back up–it’s a deep research project, with none of the intellectual or professional benefits. I am losing a whole lot of time I could be reading, for one thing.

I suppose I could put each card up on a blog draft as I go, but that even eats into the bits of time I steal to prepare a postcard to send. Something needs to give.

With that downer of a start, let’s dive into the joy: the cards I WAS able to assemble for a blog post today. I have added fewer details than usual–in the interest of saving time.

San Francisco went to Lubeck, Germany.

postcard a California San Francisco

The bridge went to Saitama, Japan.

postcard a California San Francisco GG Bridge

Elephant & Piggie went to Yonago, Tottori, Japan. This was part of a “sticker” tag, in which we were to cover the back sides of the cards in stickers. Since I take pride in putting messages on my cards, I squeezed one in, while still being very pleased with my sticker game. I guess it was silly of me to say I was let down when I received a card in this tag that was all stickers, no message.

postcard toon Eric Carle Museum Elephant and Piggie we are on a postcard

My sticker game is strong, so sayeth me:

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Krtek went to a Krtek lover… somewhere. He gave a link to all of his already-collected cards of The Mole, and I was surprised to see he apparently didn’t already have this one, which is from a pretty widely-distributed set of toon cards. How about you– have you received any cards from the set?

Postcard toon Krtek

This otter goes to Isojoki, Finland

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I just bought a box of these “Women in Science” postcards. I went looking for the images online, so I would not have to scan them all. The postcard of paleontologist Mary Anning isn’t QUITE like this one from the original book…but it’s close enough. The card is going out to Rhede, Germany, in a regular Postcrossing draw.

Postcards a Women in Science Mary Anning

I don’t know where this Playboy cover came from, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get rid of it–but then I drew the address of the Postcrosser in Chelyabinsk, Russia, who requested cards featuring alcohol or pinups. HELP IS ON THE WAY, SIR!

sexy-girl-joyce-nizzari-playmate-december-1958-swimsuit-bikini-playboy-postcard-3

Double-Snoopy time. One to Oita, Japanpostcard toon Peanuts Snoopy hockey

…and the other to Bangkok, Thailand. Wish I could travel with both cards!

postcard toon Peanuts Snoopy

A Postcrosser in Novosibirsk, Russia, actually requested this gray pomegranate. Another card I didn’t think I’d ever get rid of!

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The Matisse image, “A Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon,” goes to an art lover in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China.

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Flounder is off for Foshan, also in Guangdong, China.

Fairyland Cow Jumped549

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon is off in a Postcard United draw! They notified me that I had been gone from the site so long, they were about to switch me to “inactive.” Can’t have that! This card will go to a recipient in Edinburgh, U.K.

Time for more stamps, stickers, & washi tape!

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Send help!