Winter - ey Atmosphere

This is my first Sunday Stamps post for 2014 - so let me greet and wish every passionate philatelist and stamp enthusiast a Prosperous New Year! :)

Today's theme is anything you wish. I'm taking Viridian's lead and posting this stamp with a winter atmosphere. It came with a Christmas card from my long time pen pal from Finland. The holiday season is over. But we're happy here in Manila; we're still enjoying a relatively cold weather. Our usual tropical, humid, and warm weather will be back by end of next month, so the low temperature at this time of the year is indeed an extended holiday treat for us!

I can't help but be amazed and afraid at the same time though, about this polar vortex affecting the USA and the winter storms in Europe. I'm still haunted by the tragedy of super typhoon Haiyan... I pray that no similar amount of damage will ensue in those places affected by these extreme weather conditions.

~ maria

Nourish The Heart

RU-2207232, Sender: Marya11
Sent: 24 Nov 2013 from St. Petersburg, Russia
Received: 2 Jan 2014, Traveled 8,648 km in 39 days

At first glance, this postcard very well reminds me of a Chinese proverb:

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

A tree is nourished by minerals from the soil and vitamins from the sun, and refreshed by water and air. Such is the same for the human heart, nourished by past experiences and refreshed by new ones. As I bid goodbye to 2013 and welcome the new year, 2014 - I admit I didn't write down (yet) specific "new year resolutions". But I renewed my yearly promise that I will keep an open and cheerful heart, keen on taking in new rewarding experiences, relearning from wise and trusted people and friends, and learning from new acquaintances and even strangers.

Happy new year everyone! Wishing all of us a prosperous 2014!

~maria

Christmas Stamps 1

Surprise Postcard, Sender: Terry
Sent: 8 Dec 2012 from Sherwood, AR
Received: 8 Jan 2013, Traveled 13,552 km in 30 days

The theme for Viridian's Sunday Stamps today is holiday stamps.

First let me share a folded card I received last year from a dear

postcard swapping friend, Terry from the USA. The folded card

has a nice assortment of Christmas symbols presented in form

of stamps. A few popular Christmas symbols seem to be hiding...

When we do have the Christmas ball, there is no Christmas tree!

So check out those two Christmas tree stamps, one from Russia

and another one from the USA. Both trees radiantly depicted --

with the Russian Christmas tree, bright and lovely even out in 

the cold snow and the bright star atop the US tree, 

cheering up two kids and their dad.

Check out Viridian's page for more

holiday stamps!

~maria

Inspiring Peace

Facebook Swap, Sender: Abran
Sent: 15 Oct 2013 from Los Angeles, CA
Received 22 Oct 2013, Traveled 11,734.53 km in 7 days

Today, I woke up to the sad news that one of the brightest beacons of peace ever-lived on Earth, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela had departed. It's half an hour past 1 PM in my side of the world and I've been tuned in to 94.7 Highveld Radio for live stream of Mandela tributes. It's truly amazing what his spirit has achieved and the inspiration he's given us all. In one way or the other, the peace he worked so hard to achieve for his people and his country is very much a part of the worldwide peace each of us enjoy in our daily lives.

Madiba, may you now eternally be with the One who never fails to grant us peace. You will always be a source of inspiration in my life!

Sharing this card with Beth for Postcard Friendship Friday.

~maria

Share the happiness!

DE-235834, Sender: Jardinantoine
Sent: 14 Oct 2013 from Brussels, Belgium
Received: 20 Nov 2013, Traveled 10,517 km in 37 days

Hurray! One of the happiest seasons of the year is almost here -- Christmas!! I'm thrilled to post my first December entry for my blog this year. I'm not a fan of carbonated drinks, I don't drink soda as much as possible but that doesn't prevent me from loving Coca-cola's tagline, "Share the happiness", which is also very appropriate for this holiday season.

In line with this postcard, I'm happy to share, too (forthose who haven't seen this on the news) that Coca-cola Philippines, true to the Coca-cola tagline, have made a very charitable and generous act. Since 18 November, they have suspended advertisement campaigns to route the funds for these instead to helping those affected by the Super Typhoon Haiyan. Here's a link for Coca-cola's press release about this.

This Coca-cola postcard is among the first Christmas-themed postcards I got this year. Together with the cheerful front design, I got an equally delightful treat from the back of the card!

It's a lick-taste-smell Belgian chocolate stamp! When the taste is a bit disappointing, it does smell like chocolate! Wonderful enough... Kudos to whoever thought of this idea (I'm too lazy to run a research right now :p ) I think this is a winning way to get people back into the art of sending letter, postcards, and other stuff in the mail!

Sharing this heart-shaped chocolate with Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday. How I wish I can also share my actual experience of "lick-taste-smell" with this stamp, how I wish I took a video! It was my very first time to actually "taste" a stamp! Goodness... perhaps next time ;-)

~maria

PS. And I just realized, 6 December, tomorrow is St. Nicholas Day in Europe. St. Nicholas is identical to the American's Santa Claus. So let me also take this opportunity to greet my readers from Europe, Happy St. Nicholas Day!!!