Two Sides of the Planet

I have been having a slight problem with scanning my postcards lately. I would say it is the scanner but I believe it is more like user error. Anyway, one of my two latest cards comes from Cobram, Victoria, Australia. Laura sent this postcard to me. She lives on the other side of the continent of Australia from my friend, Beverley. Laura lives in Cranbourne but likes to go to Cobram for her Christmas and Easter holidays. She says that she would like to have a place here and live one day with some sheep, wildlife and a vegi garden. I also just ADORED the kangeroo stamp. Isn't it just precious? Thanks again, Laura.

My second postcard I received this week comes from the other side of the world from Australia. It is from Espana or Spain as we say here in the U.S.A. Ingred sent me this multi-view card from Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun). She lives in the town of Nerja which is the picture in the upper left hand corner. Thanks, Ingrid.

Finnish-ing Up

It has been awhile since I have had the time to blog. Summertime got busy. The last 3 postcards I have received have come from Finland. This first one comes from Maija and she lives in Jamsankoski, Finland. She said that the card is designed by a Finnish artist named Minna Immonen. Maija even said to say hello to Charlie (my dog).

My second card from Finland is of Kerimaen kirkko (the church at Kerimaki). This church is the largest wooden church in the world and was built in 1847. Funny, it doesn't look like a wooden church but it is BEAUTIFUL nonetheless.

Laura from Finland sent me this beautiful card. This card along with some of the others from Finland sure make me want to go and see this beautiful country to the north. I love the way the trees frame the picture. Laura said she knew that I liked nature and the woods so she thought I would enjoy this card. And yes, Laura, this is one of my favorites. Thanks again, Laura.

Deutschland to The Netherlands

Here is the latest postcard I received today from Ute in Moenchengladbach, Germany. Boy, if that is not a mouthful. I love this card because of the old world building. The card says that it is "Die Oberstadtdirektor Presse - um Informatinsamt." Thanks Ute for the beautiful card.

On a side note, I went to Ute's profile on postcrossing and read about her and also went to her website. Ute is a beautiful artist. Her blog is called "Meine kleine kreativwelt", my little creative world. Even if you dont speak German, the blog is a beauty to behold. You may see it by going to http://stempelkatze.blogspot.com/.

I received a second card today from a second European country, The Netherlands. Riejanne from Roderwold in the northern province of Drenthe sent this card to me. She said that there is alot of nature around her small town. I can see that from this card. Thanks Riejanne. She also has a beautiful name.

Australia Musings

I have once again lagged behind on getting all my postcrossing mail up on my blog. Between work, church activities, SALSA activities, family in from out of town for a visit, my life has been quite hectic.

As I stated on an earlier blog entry, my friend Beverley, from Australia have been communicating via e-mail and instant messaging. She asked me if I would send her daughter, Kira, some stamps from the USA. I told her that I would be glad to send some stamps along with some postcards from the U.S. She said she would do the same for me. I had told her that my mom, Beachcomber, was also a postcrosser. Beverley said she would send my mom some stamps and postcards too.

Both my mom and I received our packages from Beverley on Monday. Beverley sent me four postcards from Australia and LOTS of beautiful stamps as you can see above. They are so beautiful and interesting to look at.

Below are the four postcards from Australia that she sent. It has made me want to go to Australia even more!

Well, well, I can't seem to find my fourth postcard on my computer. Well, I guess I will have to do some looking and see if I actually scanned it or not. I will post it later.

I have also received three more postcards since Monday. I have scanned these so let see if I can find them on my computer!

This beautiful card was sent to me by Jonna in Finland. She knew I liked the winter and snow so this is the card she chose for me. She said that where she lives she does not get much snow but in Lapland they get alot of it. I thought all of Finland got alot of snow! Thanks again, Jonna.

Chantal from The Netherlands sent me this postcard. She said she used to live in Hilversum but has recently moved to a small village called Nederhorst denberg. She said it is near Amsterdam. She said it is so small they dont even have postcards of it! Thanks Chantal.

Susanna from Dresden sent me this beautiful map card. Dresden is located in the Freistadt Sachsen which tranlated in English means The Free State of Saxony. This is in the southeast area of Germany. Thanks again, Susanna.

Lisbon, Portugal

I received this postcard yesterday from Pedro, who lives in Lisbon, Portugal. He is a mathematician who teaches at the unviersity there is Lisbon. He said that he has been to the United States because he received he PhD in Chicago. I sent him a message stating that I am a fellow mathematician in that I love math and tutor algebra and geometry. Thanks again, Pedro. Happy Numbers to You!

Kaj Stenvall

I received this postcard from Julia in Finland. She is a high school student studying to be a nurse practitioner. Way to go Julia. This postcard is a painting by a Finnish artist named Kaj Stenvall. This one is called "Without Hands" and was painted in 2006. I had noticed that many members of postcrossing were wanting postcards of his paintings from Finnish members. So, of course, I looked him up on the Internet. He is well known in many parts of Europe. The signature of his paintings is the duck. The duck looks a little like Donald Duck but has nothing to do with Disney's Donald Duck. Whatever Stenvall paints, he incorporates this duck into the painting and makes it unique. He has been making these kinds of paintings since 1989. You can go to www.kajstenvall.com and see pictures of all his paintings with his "duck". Thanks Julia for sending me my first kaj stenvall postcard. I hope to be receiving more.

My Scans

This is my first attempt at scanning my own pictures. I scanned all my other postcards on my mom's scanner. I guess I figured how my scanner works because it seems to do just fine.

This postcard was from a private swap that I did with Maria from Nova Scotia. I told her that I liked churches and this is the card she sent me. She is a botanist and wanted a postcard of Texas wildflowers so I sent her a card of Texas Bluebonnets. Thanks again Maria.

This unusual postcard was sent to me by Dina in Lyon, France. She said that Lyon is the 3rd largest city in France and that Lyon is known for its historical and architectual landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She also said that Lyon has a reputation as the French capital of gastronomy (an interdisciplinary study of food and culture. It is the study of cooking food, but also how food influences and interacts with its culture.) Thanks Dina!

Caught Up

This is the first of the last postcards and I will be caught up! Wow. I didn't think I would get here. I guess this bird from Finland was a harbinger of things to come!

Anu from Finland sent this card to me. She is a high school student but out for the summer right now. She is reading Crime and Punishment as part of her summer reading program.

Thanks Anu!

This BEAUTIFUL postcard was sent to me from Sirji who lives in Parnu, Estonia. She said that Estonia is a small country, but has beautiful beaches and beautiful cities, such as Parnu, where she lives. This postcard comes from Muhu Saar which means the island of Muhu. This is an island just off the coast of Estonia. Thank you Sirji!

This is the front and back side of a beautiful card sent to me from Kathrin in Germany. Although Kathrin lives in Germany, the card is from a frozen brook in Austria. I sent Kathrin a message saying that I love the snow and that this was my first snow postcard so it was extra special. I also love the penquin stickers on the back. Happy Feet!

More Posting of Post Cards

This is a postcard of the Jesolo lighthouse in Jesolo, Italy. It was sent to me by David. I received David's address and so I sent him a card. I noticed the lighthouse on his avatar and asked if he would send me a card of it since I like lighthouses. Thank you David and your Mum.

Carmen in the south of Spain sent me this beautiful card. This is a town near where she lives. She said they have alot of great beaches. Since I went to the beach last weekend, I sent Carmen a postcard of the beach "near me."

I thought I would put a little bit of a spin on things. After all, variety is the Spice of Life.

This mountain is in Fukushima, Japan. It is about a 4 hours car ride from where Wakana lives. She mentioned that this is her mother's home town. Thanks Wakana!

The picture below is from Cologne, Germany. I recognized it from the twin steeples. It was sent to me by Wyando. He is the postcrosser who has sent the most postcards and the most postcards from and Germany. Longest distance too. Way to go! Thanks for the card.

I'm Working On It

This card came in an envelope with a letter and some other "goodies." A young girl named Greta from Lithuania sent this to me. She wrote a letter and also included some small cards from several museums there in Lithuania. She also put in some Lithuanian words such as "Suo" which means dog. Thanks again, Greta.

This postcard is of Mt. Baker which is in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. However, it was sent to me by Carolynne of California. She said she has been collecting post cards for years and has some from every state. She asked me if I wanted a particular state, I could e-mail her and let her know. So I did and asked her for a postcard from Alaska and this is what she sent me.

I LOVE THIS POSTCARD. Thank you Carolynne. I can just see the moose from "Northern Exposure" walking down the middle of the street!

This is another card that was sent to me from Carolynne in California. As you can see, it is from Hawaii. Now I have cards from the 49th and 50th states! Thanks again, Carolynne.

Here We Go Again

This summery card came from Rosemary in Florida. She said that it should look familiar because I lived in Florida. I thought it looked familiar because I like to watch Burn Notice on the USA Network which takes place in Miami. Thanks Rosemary.


This postcard came on the same day as the previous card. Two cards with images of things at the beach. This one comes from a northern beach, particularly Maine (as it said on the back cover). However, the text on the back said "Greetings from Massachusetts!"


As I was receiving post cards from around the world, my mom and dad were traveling up to the UP Michigan (that is Upper Peninsula) for you non-natives. She sent me this postcard while in Michigan. I love otters (and ferrets, too). It is hard to read, but it does say that the card came from Bond Falls, a lovely place in the UP.


This postcard came to me from Beverley in Busselton, Australia, which is in western Australia, close to Perth. Beverley originally sent me a message through postcrossing and asked if I would like to do a private sway and/or be a pen pal. I responded promptly. Since that time, Beverley and I have become friends through postcrossing. We have communicated through postcards and through Instant Messaging (IM). She is 13 hours ahead of me in time. Thanks for your card, Beverley. Hope to see more.

Trying to Catch Up

Here I am again, trying to catch up on listing and publishing my cards from postcrossing. This beautiful card came from Audrey. She, her husband and dog live in a little town in the east of France. Thanks again, Audrey.



This card came from a wonderful lady in California. This was an appropriate card, I thought, since my last name is "Key".

Maaike from the Netherlands sent me this card. She is a psychologist who works with the elderly. She said she likes working with older people because they have such great stories to tell. Thanks, Maaike, for reminding me that everyone, including senior citizens, has something to share.

The next card that came to my mailbox was from Maiko. She is from Flower Mound, Texas. Right within my own state. Her name is very close to Maaike from the Netherlands. Interesting. As you can see below, she sent me a card from the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. She has relatives there and this card reminded her of Sunday drives with her grandfather.

Finally Back Again

Well, I am finally getting around to publishing my second card that I received from a postcrosser. If I am reading the caption correct, this picture is of castle ruins in Galway, Ireland. It was sent to me by Elke in Saarbrucken, Germany. Thanks Elke!