Curitiba, Brazil

Vinni from Ponta Grossa, Parana, Brazil sent me this latest postcard. It is a picture of a pedestrial only street in the capital city of the state of Parana in Brazil known as Curitiba. Vinni says it is about 20 kilometers from her home. Curitiba is the largest city in Southern Brazil and is known for its urban planning. The city has many parks and many streets such as this one that are for pedestrians only thereby, cutting the automobile traffic in the inner city.

Below are some more of those wonderful Brazilian stamps that show various occupations. Of course, the one on the left is a manicurist. The stamp on the left is a shoe shine boy (engraxate).

Vinni wrote that she would be interested in doing a private card swap with me so she said she would send me a second card. Here it is, this beautiful cathedral. She said that she did not have any beautiful cathedral cards like she has seen elsewhere but she hoped I liked it. Well, Vinni, I do not know what you have seen, but I think this cathedral is AWESOME. I love the way the lights shine on it at night. Thanks, Vinni, for both postcards and I will be sending you one as soon as I get some more stamps!

Below are the stamps that brought the cathedral postcard to me. Note the shoe shine boy stamp. The stamp on the left has something to do with the celebration of 200 years of justice in the military courts - as best as I can read portugese!

From Finland, Of Course

Next to the United States, Finland is the country with the most members on postcrossing.com. Therefore, I send and receive alot of postcards from Finland. Mom and I always have a laugh when we ask each other where we got a postcard from because, of course, we get alot from Finland. But I do not mind. Since joining Postcrossing, I have found Finland to be one of the most beautiful places I have seen. I would love to go there someday.

So, of course, my latest card that I received yesterday comes from Laura who lives in Helsinki. As you can see, there are a number of cathedrals/churches on this card. Laura says that the Finnish word for church is "Kirkko". I am amazed at how many postcards I have received of the cathedrals. It is nice to know that people are reading my profile and trying to find postcards that I like - particularly, churches. Laura also said that my username, Cinnamon reminds her of a summer she spent in the US in Kansas as a foreign exchange student. She said that she and her host mom would spend alot of time baking. Cookies, muffins, cakes and of course, cinnamon rolls. She said she also made the Finnish version of cinnamon rolls for her host family. Thanks, Laura, for sharing a part of your life with me.

This is the stamp that brought Laura's card to me. This card celebrates the 150the anniversary of book publisher Kirjan Kustannus which is the largest general publisher in Finland. Read on!

Portugese Spanish

Carlos from Jaboticabal, Brazil sent me this latest card. Since it is from Brazil, the writing must be Portugese. I knew immediately that it must be a Bible Verse the way the book, chapter and verse were written. I gathered that "Salmo" was Psalms. Sure enough. I believe it says, " The Lord's lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting....Psalms 103:17. Thank you for the beautiful card, Carlos and the reminder that the Lord's lovingkindness is forever.

Here are the stamps that brought Carlos's card to me. Of course, the stamp on the left is one of Brazil's occupational stamps that I have seen before. This one is of a manicurist, I believe. The stamp to the right is a stamp for "Children's Day" in Brazil which is celebrated on October 12th of each year. This particular stamp is a reminder not to forget the missing and/or exploited children of Brazil.

Oops! I almost cut off the bottom of this card in scanning it. The word is Oviedo which is the capital city of the Prinicpality of Asturias in northern Spain. Lucia sent me this card letting me know that they were in the midst of celebrating the Prince of Asturias Awards which are given annually for notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, or public affairs. Some of the winners in previous years has been Bill Gates, Woody Allen, and the National Geographic Society. Lucia said that the postcard shows the three largest churches in her town. The church in the lower right is also home to a famous Nun's momastery.

And here is the "correos" (mail or letter) stamp that brought Lucia's card to me. The man in the picture is His Royal Highness, King Juan Carlos. Thanks again, Lucia for the beautiful card from Espana.

Autumn to Winter 2

Julia from Bassum (near Bremen in northern Germany)) Germany sent this latest postcard. She said she chose this card since I like winter. Although they get snow, Julia said, winter in Bassum has not received this much snow in a long time.

Their autumn is very colorful just like this stamp. Julia said. "It's pretty nice walking in a forest with red, yellow and orange leaves falling on you" said Julia. I bet it is Julia. I would like to do the same. Thanks again, Julia for the beautiful pictures of the seasons.

A London Surprise

Back in July of this year, I received a postcard from Ingrid in southern Spain. She sent me a postcard of the Costa del Sol. She had put her return address on the card so I sent her a "thank you" postcard. She received it and sent me an e-mail saying she was thrilled with the card and said it was an unexpected surprise. In the e-mail, she said she would be moving to London soon and once there, would send me a card. Guess what, I received that card today, October 30th! What a great surprise for me. Ingrid says that she is "finally here and loving it!" She also says that she wishes all the best for me and Charlie and hope I have a wonderful golden autumn. Thanks Ingrid, you are one of the reasons for me having a wonderful autumn.

Below is the "royal" stamp that brought Ingrid's card to me.

Down By Six

I have quite a few postcards that I have received in the last three days, specifically, 6 and have not had a chance to post them. I would say 6 is a jackpot, but I received the 6 cards over a three day period of time. I did receive 4 in one day!

This first postcard comes from Bri who lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She says it is home to about 1.1 million people and is a nice enough place to live. Bri is a freelance photographer. With the name of Hahndorf, you would think this is a place in Europe, not Australia. Thanks again, Bri for the beautiful card.

This lovely stamp brought Bri's card to me. It is hard to tell, but it is a scene of of cliff overlooking a canyon. It says Gross Tuloss Gorge, New South Wales. Apparently, there are many different gorges in the area of New South Wales in Australia.

These stamps to the right were on the second card that came to me on Monday. If you look carefully, you can see they come from Belgium. Judit, a mother of three sent me the card from Belgium. It is a picture of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerpen.

It is hard to see, but the dates on the card point to the years that each part of the steeple was completed. The cathedral itself was completed in 1420 with different parts of the steeple completed in 1455, 1475, 1480, 1507 and the top completed in the year 1521. Thanks for the lovely card Judit.

Isn't he just adorable? He comes to me all the way from Lulea, Sweden. Catrina, along with her husband and two children sent me this little guy. Catrina says that Lulea is in Northern Sweden and is a beautiful city by the sea with about 70,000 inhabitants. It has 4 seasons with the beautiful northern lights in the winter and the midnight sun from June to August where the sun shines even at night. Wow! Now that sounds like my kind of place.

These were the Swedish stamps that brought that adorable little puppy to me. As the card was a cutout, it was hard to scan the stamps. However, they are worth the trouble. I love both of them, especially, of course, the pumpkin one. I think the US needs a pumpkin stamp! Thanks again, Catrina for the lovely card and the lovely stamps.

Here is another adorable guy - well, if you think moose are adorable - which I do. Terhi from Finland sent me this card. She said that she could not decide between this card or one with a "photo" moose on it. Well, we can see which she chose! Terhi said on her card that she is a avid dog lover and thought that Charlie was very cute. She has three dogs herself. In the last paragraph, Tehri states, "say hello to your mom for me. :) I have exchanged a few cards with her too." Sure enough. Terhi is mom's friend in Finland who sends her the Inge Look cards that mom so dearly loves. Six degrees of separation at it again! Another interesting note about this card. Today, I got a message for MooseLady in New England who said that she really loved this card and wish she had one like it. Thanks Terhi, for being so thoughtful in sending something that was right up my alley.

From one dog lover to another. Tehri put this beautiful stamp on my moose card. She said that the breed is called a Finnish Spitz.

Brrrrrr! From fall to winter. It happens in a flash, doesn't it. Darkpunkangel in Montreal sent me this great card. I love the snow. I especially like how it covered the bicycle in the left picture. Darkpunkangel said that since I like winter so much, she thought she would send me this card. She says that she hopes they dont have a bad winter there in Montreal. She says she likes snow, but not too much! Thanks again, Darkpunkangel.

The last card I received in the last few days comes from Jana in Germany. Jana sent me a handmade card. Jana is 21 and is really into art and is studying art and literature. Although you can't see it here, the postcard is actually a silver hologram. By moving the card in different directions, you can see the shapes appear to be moving and taking different forms. Sometimes, you see circles and sometimes you see triangles. Thanks Jana, for taking the time to create and send such an unsual card. Jana also said that like me, she loves autumn. When she goes running through the woods, the leaves are already orange, red, yellow, brown and green. Awesome, she said. She hopes that I am enjoying autumn in Texas. Probably not as much as you, Jana, but the postcards help make up for it!

West Coast and East Coast

I received two cards over the weekend. Funny, they are both from coastal regions of North America. One is from the U.S. and one is from Canada.

My first card comes from Michele who lives on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. She says that her family has lived there for a number of years and she really likes it. This card is from the North Carolina Aquarium, just a few miles from where Michele lives. She and her granddaughter like to go and look at the fish and other animals. Thanks, Michele for the wonderful postcard. I have not been to the Outer Banks, but my mom and dad have and they love it!

From the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, my second card came from Jenifer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is 19 years old and loves the beach. Of course, summer is over and so it is getting colder now to go on the beach, but she said she thought this postcard "was fun." I think it is fun too, Jenifer. Thank you. I'm wondering if I could write in the sand like this on the beach and get a picture of it.....hmmmmm....maybe next summer.