Join the fun!

I have a variety of postcards to share with you today. And for those of you who enjoy this blog but who do not swap postcards yourself, go to www.postcrossing.com to get in on the fun. Another good site for swapping postcards and many other items is www.swapbot.com. You too can find delightful surprises in your mailbox!

Here's another map card to add to my collection. This one is from sunny Portugal.

From Taiwan I received this scene from the 2011 movie "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale".

This reproduction of an old cover of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" came from The Netherlands.

I love old travel posters. This one reminds us to always wear white gloves when traveling.

The Cathedral of the Resurrection in St. Petersburg, Russia, otherwise known as "church in a jar".

I'm not sure what is happening in this Japanese painting. It looks like one of the Scrabble players took entirely too long to make a move and sent the other two players completely over the edge.

I want to end today on a calmer note. The translation of the writing on this card is "Everything will be all right", and if the picture doesn't give you the warm fuzzies then I give up.

Outdoors with imaginary friends

Spring has come to Oregon and Salem is filled with large, colorful azaleas, such as these from our back yard.

It's far too nice to spend the day inside, so I think I'll call a friend and go for a nice long walk.

I'll pick some flowers while I'm out.

I might have to stop for a rest in the shade once in a while.

If I get really tired, I'll just ride instead of walking.

I always stop in the park to feed all my bird friends.

OK, I'm off for my nature walk. I tried to talk my cats into accompanying me, but as usual they would rather stay home and do yoga.

Garden party

Here's an adorable Inge Löök card I recently got from Finland. Don't these two ladies look like they're having a great time? I like the little railway track that runs around the table delivering hors oeuvres. I want one of those for my dining table.

Remember My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison? One of the all-time great musicals. This card was sent to me from Belarus. I MUST get a hat like Audrey's.

Don't you just hate it when you go to a movie and the theater is really crowded?

Of course if you don't feel like going to the movies, you can just stay home and make your own music, as in this painting by John White Alexander (American, 1856-1915). The lady on the right prefers hip-hop and is very bored.

Or maybe she's just hungry, and wondering why the Chinese food delivery is taking so long.

I'm going to finish up today with a really beautiful card that I received from Western Siberia. What with the angels and all, it has a sort of Christmas-y feel to it.

The Merry Month of May

Hello, postcard lovers! Ready for another whirlwind trip around the globe? Let's start in China with a card about Peking (or Beijing) opera, one of China's cultural treasures.

I recently got another card to add to my map card collection. This one is from the Lüneburger Heide area of Germany, south of Hamburg. It looks like there is lots of great architecture to see there.

And here's one more from Germany, this time from Sonsbecker Ansichten.  I wish I knew how to pronounce these German names.

Here's something from my "Don't Try This At Home" collection. This is a student from a clown school in Lisbon, Portugal, giving a little performance on a city street. I believe the Latin inscription in the background says, "Whatever you do, don't look down".

Today I got still another Kaj Stenvall duck card but unfortunately it was damaged in transit from Finland. However, a damaged Stenvall duck is better than no duck at all, so I will definitely keep the card. Just pretend there is no big ugly white line right down the middle of the card.

When you wish upon a star tonight, make a wish that my future ducks will arrived undamaged.

This card is courtesy of Maria in Germany.

And don't stand barefoot in the snow.