Postcards for the weekend 54: Fall Scenes

Our theme this weekend is fall scenes. It’s such a pity that Singapore doesn’t have four seasons. I would very much love to watch the color change from green into yellow/gold and orange/red. Although on a second thought, perhaps that’s morbid to enjoy watching leaves die… 

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Gothenburg
Sent 14 September 2017, Traveled 14734 km in 9 days

The first card is from Monica who blogs at Beyond the Lone Islands. It’s always an indescribable joy whenever I get postcards from blogging friends. Monica said this is one of her favorite autumn cards. It easily became one of mine, too!

UA-936361, Sent from Kiev
Sent 28 Jan 2014, Traveled 8,188 km in 33 days

The second card I believe says, “This is my Ukraine”. It features the largest lake in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Lake Synevyr. 

I was just back from a higher elevation myself (Kathmandu, Nepal). But I was only in the city and I didn't' have the chance to go into nature. Hopefully, when I travel again next month, I'll be lucky to be in nature and surrounded by the colors of the fall season for real, once again!

I hope all of you, fall lovers are starting to enjoy this season. Please let me know your favorite place to watch the leaves turn into red and gold, in the comment section below.

Happy weekend,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 50: Patterns & prints

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sent 16 Aug 2017, Traveled ~10,486 km in 7 days

Delft was the first of four cities I've been to during my very recent trip and first trip to the Netherlands. My Dutch mom brought us to the city center on a Saturday. There was a flea market and lots of delft blue in display in the open stalls on the alleys and roadsides. Delft blue is a renowned pottery from Netherlands, tracing its roots to Chinese porcelain craftsmanship. Original and collectible Delft Blue are the ones with patterns painted by hand.

UA-536831, Sent from Kiev, Ukraine
Sent 14 March 2013, Traveled 8,707 km in 27 days

At the back of this postcard was written: Traditional ceramics of Kosov. I did my research as nothing else was provided about these ceramics on the card. If I'm not wrong, these are traditional prints and patterns from the Hutsul folk artists of the Carpathian region. I love how some of the bowls are shaped like open petals of a flower.

RU-1007560, Sent from Ivanovo, Russia
Sent 29 May 2012, Traveled 8,0479 km in 240 days

The sender wrote that Ivanovo is the traditional textile capital of Russia. Take a close look at each roll of cloth, which one is your favorite?

For patterns and prints.

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 35: Any waterform

Postcard sent out for swaps

Back in Feb 2014, I visited the beautiful island and islets of Coron, Palawan. I didn't make it to Big Lagoon though and has always wanted to go back to this part of the province. It gives me something to look forward into for the next trip.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: AJ
Sent 21 May 2015, Traveled 14,842 km

AJ, my not so little anymore "boy"friend sent me this card when he traveled with his mom to his dad's hometown. I think he's 5 years old during the trip when he sent me this card and he wrote to me, " I learned to paddle in a canoe. I saw some snow, too!" 

The falls featured on this card is the Upper Falls of the Tahquamenon Falls. I reckon AJ had his canoe adventure near this place.

UA-936361, Sent from Ukraine
Sent 28 Jan 2014, Traveled 8,188 km in 33 days

I'm in Sweden at the moment, a country with 97,500 lakes but what a pity! I haven't had the chance to find a postcard with a lake and I'm leaving very soon. Here's one instead from the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Ken Carlson
Sent 30 July 2012, Traveled 10,916 km

This is a scene along the coast of California. The wild waves and rugged terrains make this postcard powerful in a way.

For water forms theme this weekend, I hope these cards are enjoyable!

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 25: Gratitude

Searching for postcards to share for this weekend's theme reminded me of the interconnectivity of these four themes I've chosen for this month of February. Please forgive me if the cards might seem redundant with the emotions they convey ...

NL-2055263, sent from Den Haag, The Netherlands
Traveled 10,451 km in 15 days

...gratitude for receiving attention

UA-1478123, sent from Kharkov, Ukraine
Traveled 8,316 km in 17 days

...gratitude for being outside in nature under the warmth of the sun

Direct Swap, sent from Munich, Germany

...gratitude for having food and drinks on the table 

NL-3556071, sent from Volendam, The Netherlands
Traveled 10,517 km in 17 days

...gratitude for seeing and receiving a present from a good friend.

Happy weekend everyone and looking forward into seeing your postcards,

~maria

Stamps: Ukraine Flora - Trees

The theme for Sunday Stamps this week is fruits and nuts.

Here are a few Ukraine stamps, counterclockwise:

50K - Horse Chestnut, issued on 3 Feb 2012

40K - Walnut, issued 14 January 2012

5K - European rowan, issued 3 Feb 2012

3K - Small leaved lime, issued 24 Jan 2012

~maria

Back to Blogging & Theme Reveal for the A-Z Challenge

UA-847446, Sender: Nataliia
Sent: 20 Nov 2013 from Kiev, Ukraine
Received: 4 Jan 2014, Traveled 8,820 km in 45 days 

It's Monday, March is about to end, and I'm almost about to complete 1 month with a new job.Things aren't at full speed yet so I have some time to slowly sip tea and enjoy a small piece of steamed cake in front of my work laptop. They look pretty similar to what I have on this postcard. At the back of it is a delightful message:

This postcard has crossed over 8,000 km to make you smile. Did it work?I wish you to collect the greatest postcard collection. Be positive! Be happy!

Heartwarming, isn't it? 

I've been engrossed with my emotional bubble for the past 1 year. I stopped doing several hobbies, like blogging about my postcards. Although I picked up new hobbies, I still miss this one. So hear y'all! I am back to blogland. I am not sure if I'll be able to post as much as before. But at least for a comeback, I will do my best to complete the April 2015 A-Z Challenge. Curious, click here to find out more: www.a-to-zchallenge.com.

I completely missed the Theme Reveal on 23 March so I am using this post for that. I would be posting about "Buildings and Structures" on postcards that I've received through the mail during the last 4 years. It is a challenge because until now, I don't have the appropriate postcards for letters "Q" and "Y". But well, I'll just hop on the A-Z ride and cross my fingers I get something in my mailbox fitting for those letters before 20 April. And oh, another challenge, I will be traveling starting the third week of April for a training overseas ... So let's see how I cope with one blog entry for one letter a day. It should be interesting to find out!

For the meantime, I am sharing my blue-themed postcard above to Sally's Blue Monday. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! :)

~maria

Z is for Zamovka Hill, Ukraine

Direct Swap, Sender: Lidiya
Sent: 29 November 2011 from Luhansk, Ukraine
Received: 20 December 2011, Traveled 8,187 km in 21 days

The settlement at the foot of Zamovka Hill that started in mid-5th century is now what we call L'viv. Nourished by Poltava River, it developed as an organized and well-fortified town. Throughout the time, it witnessed intense religious rivalry between Jewish and Catholics, siege of Ottomans, and the revolutionary year of 1848. It became Poland's then returned to Ukraine after Worl War II.

In the postcard is the Rynok Square, surrounded by fine houses in Rennaisance, Baroque, and Empire style in preserved medieval layouts. 

L'viv at the foot of Zamovka Hill was listed as a UNESCO site in 1998.

~maria

Colors and Patterns

I'm under the lazy bed weather mood right now. It's been raining since yesterday evening and the whistling strong winds kept me up for most of the night. I woke up an hour ago (it's noon now), with a heavy head. I feel like doing nothing other than enjoy the warmth of bed. But of course, it's Sunday...and I've been excited to share the stamp I scanned last weekend for the theme: ethnic or national costumes.

I am interpreting this widely and including folk and traditional costumes.

To cap off the feature on Dutch costumes on my blog this week, here's a stamp from the Grenzeloos Nederland series 2010. Grenzeloos means 'boundless' and the series' theme is beyond borders - ancient ties of the Netherlands. For the August 2010 issue, the series featured the Netherlands influence on its former colony, Suriname.

This second stamp from the 2010 issue shows parallels between the Afro-Surinamese kotomisse and the Dutch women's costume. Uncle Wiki said that the koto was a functional dress. It's purpose was to protect the slave woman against their master's sexual interest. The stamp designer Ariënne Boelens said that the dress made the Creole women unattractive, similar to the Dutch women's style that is pious and veiled.

With my Friday post including a postcard of Finnish traditional costume along with the Dutch, I'm adding more colors and patterns on this feature. We're moving east from the Netherlands, to Belarus and Ukraine.

Issued on 18 August 2005, this stamp shows the Belarusian national costume for the Lepel region. The designer was Vladimir Savich. Characteristic of this costume is the white and red embroidery.

On these stamps, issued on 10 December 2004, we have Ukranian folk costumes. On the left is from a wedding in The Land of Ivano-Frankivsk, on the right is the exaltation of the cross from the Land of Lviv. 

For more stamps with traditional/folk/ethnic costumes, check out Viridian's blog roll at Sunday Stamps.

~maria

Colorful stamps

I wish the scanned versions are as bright as the original ones.

I'm calling this, an experience in the limits of technology.

Nevertheless, I'm sharing some colorful stamps here 

for Viridian's Colorful Sunday Stamps roll for today.

Enjoy!

My guess is that this stamp shows the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

I can't get more information about it. If someone knows more info, 

please leave in the comments section. Thank you so much!

These two attractive Ukranian stamps are from the subject: 

Treasures of Ukranian Museum - Hanna Sobachko-Shostak's works.

The ox-eye daisies and the nestling box.

These were printed on 2 August 2002.

Stamps from Poland, starting from left:

Subject: Toy World - a xylophone, printed 1 June 2008

The one in the middle, I'm really sad the colors were faded.

It's for the World Post Day, issued on 9 October 1998.

The last one is the Europa stamp, issued 22 May 2012.

~maria

White tulips

UA-511259, Sender: smymmr
Sent: 26 February 2013, Sent from Kramatorsk, Ukraine
Received: 4 April 2013, Traveled 8,319 km in 41 days

White tulips : symbol of purity, forgiveness, and remembrance.

Hope all of us are having a relaxing weekend!

Linking up with Tina and Mona for the weekend floral love affair project.

~maria

Hugs for Leontien: Sonnet CXVI

Postcard ID: UA-235752, Sender: Irina
Sent from Kyiv, Ukraine, Sent on 14 Mar 2012
Received on 30 Mar 2012, Traveled 8833.2 km in 16 days

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

or bends with the remover to remove:

Oh no! It is an ever fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

- W. Shakespeare

A postcard that I received from the Postcrossing member with the most postcards sent from Ukraine :) Sharing this with Clytie for Random Hearts Thursday and the Leaves for Leontien campaign. 

  

~ maria

p.s. It would have been nicer if I could also post autumn leaves for Leontien but my only card with autumn leaves was already posted on September 28. I am a medical physicist and quality control of mammography equipment is one of the things I do. Breast cancer prevention and awareness is a big part of my job... I hope even without an autumn leaf and with just the green leaves with a beautiful love poem, I can send some warm hugs for her. :)