Postcrossing news:

How amazing is this! I sent an official card to Giovanni in Italy, he was kind enough to make me a card covered with used stamps. Great! Yesterday I needed to send more official cards & there was one to Eliana in Italy asking for the card to be sent to her brother Giovanni ….. Yes one and the same…. Out of 74,584 members!!!!

Also this week I was asked to download a card sent to me in 2006 ID 1394. When I found it I put it on my postcrossing wall, it was a scene of ‘Girgaum Chowpatty (MUMBIA – INDIA). That evening I watched as Mumbia was attacked. Still waiting to hear if our fellow postcrosser is OK.

Great place to swim!

At this point I shall add this great recipe for

WATERMELON, FETA AND BLACK OLIVE SALAD (I hope this is OK to copy from Nigella)

INGREDIENTS

1 small red onion

2–4 limes, depending on juiciness

1.5 kg sweet, ripe watermelon

250g feta cheese

bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

bunch fresh mint, chopped

3–4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

100g pitted black olives

black pepper

Serving Size : Serves 8

1.	Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half-moons and put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice, to bring out the transparent pinkness in the onions and diminish their rasp. Two limes’ worth should do it, but you can find the fruits disappointingly dried up and barren when you cut them in half, in which case add more.
2.	Remove the rind and pips from the watermelon, and cut into approximately 4cm triangular chunks, if that makes sense (maths is not my strong point). Cut the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Tear off sprigs of parsley so that it is used like a salad leaf, rather than a garnish, and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint.
3.	Tip the now glowingly puce onions, along with their pink juices over the salad in the bowl, add the oil and olives, then using your hands toss the salad very gently so that the feta and melon don’t lose their shape. Add a good grinding of black pepper and taste to see whether the dressing needs more lime. Hava Negila! The taste of Tel Aviv sunshine!

To Let

A bird (box) in the hand. Now vacant.

Just another still life

Tiny toms

The first of the tomatoes.... very small but very sweet! Have to do better than this with the next lot.

To wear or not to wear?

Have to get shoes laces - rainbow ones?

Mmmmmmm............

Mmmmmm …. Think I’ll just sit here with my paws crossed & contemplate those two youngsters mucking about in & out of boxes (see Sams blog).

Still Life with Beads

Interupted catnap

3.30 in the aftenoon, I'm on my bed reading the excellent 'WHITE' by Rosie Thomas. Ebony on the widowsill. We both catnapped 10 mins later.

Entwinement

I was lucky to be given bunches of beetroot, spring onions, parsnips and carrots yesterday. So salad tonight and roast on Sunday. Just couldn’t part these two though!

Two for the collection

An envelope with four great stamps on, arrived today from Paul in the Netherlands, inside were two cards covered with stamps. Some people are so good to take the trouble to help my project. I still have a long way to go to get stamp cards from every country. So thank you Paul also Trishka from Estonia (don’t you just love the ‘bat’ stamp?).

Yum!!

Recipe for an unusual cake: I added chopped ginger and next time will cut down on the sugar. From The Food Pharmacy cookbook by Jean Carper. I' ve also started making bread.

Books, History & Creepy thing

Have been busy and lazy for the last few weeks. Finished reading ‘The House of Storms’ by Ian MacLoud – very strange but compelling book to get through 457 pages. Now onto another Rosie Thomas, this one ‘Bad Girls, Good Women’ goes back to 1955 and is 826 pages (3inches thick!). That’s in between making more stamp postcards, tracing the Beck family back in time (5 books out from the library on family history and hours on the computer) and general stuff in and around the house. Found the many legged thing in the bathroom sink when I went to clean my teeth.

3 postcards

Three amazing shoe postcards from Paulina in Finland.

Stamp card from Vilmante in Lithuania.

Check it out

My latest favorite blog
http://little-people.blogspot.com/

Kookaburra

This Kooaburra is sitting in the old gum tree in the back garden. One of pair just hanging around laughing.

Postcards covered with stamps

I am looking to get handmade cards covered with used stamps from every country, if anyone has time I would love one. I will swap.so far I have USA, France & Norfolk Island.

Ebony relaxing

Sitting in the sun - what a life. Bliss.