Hedgehogs

The first two words that crossed my mind for today were Horse and Halloween.Until while browsing through my stamps I came across the Hedgehogs. And I knew that this was it!
I love horses, but I am a real die-hard fan of hedgehogs, so there was no doubt what the choice would be between those two.


First is this FDC from Hungary, issued by Magyar Post on 9th April 2013.
Magyar Posta periodically presents the breeds and species of animal indigenous to Hungary and on this occasion the protected predatory and insectivorous mammals the stoat, pygmy shrew, European lynx and greater mouse-eared bat feature on the stamps in the series, the the northern white-breasted hedgehog is shown on the numbered stamp block.

Well, except in Hungary, the hedgehog is also widespread in Poland, Austria, the former Yugoslavia (as we will see below), Greece and the Adriatic Islands, including populations on Crete, Corfu and Rhodes. It is found eastwards through Russia and Ukraine, as far east as the Ob River in Siberia. There are no signs of a significant population decline, fortunately.

The second FDC comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued on 17th April 2018, and presenting as well the White-breasted Hedgehog! I wonder if hedgehog stamps are kinda naturally issued in April for some reason :D

Every summer, there are hedgehogs passing through my backyard (though not that frequently this summer), and sometimes I have the chance to pet them. I wish I could squeeze them and hug them and all but they were just not meant to be for that :) But if I could keep a hedgehog as a pet, I definitely would! They are just beyond beyond adorable! ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Well, enough about hedgehogs. For more H-related posts, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps... and have a great Sunday! 

Astronomy, Hungary

Well, the weekend getaway plans had failed, so I could do my Sunday duty properly for a change :)
And coming with a double G today, with Mr. Galielo Galilei (though maybe I could sneak in Galaxy here as well...)

On 8th of May 2009, Hungary issued this fantastic mini-sheet for that year's EUROPA theme, Astronomy. I am not into EUROPA stamps, but Astronomy is definitely one of my favourite subjects, so that is one joyous year to think about :D

As for the man himself presented on the stamps here, I don't think any special introduction is needed.

For more G-related posts, check out today's edition of Sunday Stamps. 

Franklin the Turtle, Canada

I should seriously get back to the scheduled posts, cos Sundays end up being days I am away from the laptop and unable to join on time the Sunday Stamps game. (just a note to self for next Sunday at least...)

Well, we have reached the letter F on our journey, and for today I have this adorable cover issued by Canada Post on 11th May 2012, portraying a really cute character called Franklin the Turtle, a little reptile who encourages the children to 'come out of their shells' (I am not familiar with these books or TV series but I'm pretty sure some of you are).
The books were written by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark, based on which later a TV series was produced. 
The main character is of course Franklin the Turtle, while on the stamps you can also see his best friend the Bear, his friends the Beaver and the Snail and (probably) his little sister Hariett.

Now in case just as me you were confused by reading Franklin Benjamin on the stamps and wondering what the hell this guy had anything to do with this character... well, it turns out that Franklin is known as Benjamin to its French-Canadian readers... you really couldn't have made it any more confusing guys :D :D :D But at least, mystery has been solved :))

Well lets go over to Sunday Stamps now and see if there are some other confusing/ambiguous stories of this kind :P

Endangered Species, United Nations (NY)

A Sunday Stamps post done on a Monday... but at least I didn't totally miss it like last time.

I wanted to do something Entertaining today, but then the choice fell on this set of Endangered Species issued by the UN postal department in New York.

Issued on 7th of September 2011, four different endangered birds are represented.

- the Leucopsar rothschildi or more commonly known as the Bali myna, which is is critically endangered and fewer than 100 adults are assumed to currently exist in the wild.
It is restricted to the island of Bali (and its offshore islands) in Indonesia, where it is the island's only endemic vertebrate species.

- The Gymnogyps californianus (California condor ) -  a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. This condor became extinct in the wild in 1987 (all remaining wild individuals were captured), but the species has since been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah,  the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps. The species is listed by the IUCN as critically endangered.

- The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane   -  a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity.

-  The black-fronted piping guan (Pipile jacutinga)  - a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae. This species occurs in Atlantic Forests in south-eastern Brazil and adjacent Argentina and Paraguay. It has become quite rare in recent decades due to hunting and habitat destruction.

Often this type of Endangered species stamps focus on one country (the issuing one of course). I like it how here birds from different parts of the world have been covered. I just wonder if Man will ever come to his senses and stop hunting animals for pure pleasure and profit....

Hopefully I will manage to check out all the other posts tonight or tomorrow - all can be seen here. 

Coral Reefs, USA

Well we are already into our third week of the new A-Z round, and it is time for some C's today

And my C today is dedicated to these Coral Reefs issued by the USPS on 26th August 1980.
Four different beautiful Coral Reefs are featured, starting with the Grooved Brain Coral, or the Diploria labyrinthiformi, that can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Se. It has a very interesting maze-like appearance.
Next is the Elkhorn Coral, or the Acropora palmata, a prominent Caribbean reef-building coral, whose structure resembles that of elk antler.
The bottom stamps show the Chalice Coral (Echinophyllia aspera), it is a species of large polyp stony corals. It is a colonial coral which is partly encrusting and partly forms laminate plates or tiers. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific.
The last stamp is dedicated to the Finger Coral, or Porites compressa, which can be found growing on coral reefs and in shallow lagoons in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  

It may not be seen very clearly on the scan, but this cover with Coral Reefs stamps also comes in with a very appropriate cancellation from the Coral Gables Branch in Florida. (all thanks to Bryon and his cool postal experiments :)))

For more cool posts for the letter C, hop over to the Sunday Stamps' blog! 

ps. there is also the very cute dolphin stamp which nicely contributes to the marine life theme on the cover :))

The 10th Anniversary of the "Baltic Chain", Estonia

The days between Sunday Stamps seem to pass really quickly, so here we are at the second episode of the third season of the A-Z game.

I seem to have quite a lot of B-related stamps, so it was a tough choice, but the final decision fell on this joint issue among Estonia-Lithuanua-Latvia, from 1999, commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Baltic Chain.  On the cover her is the Estonian mini-sheet.

The Baltic Chain (or the Baltic Way) was an uninterrupted 675.5 kilometre human chain uniting the Baltic capitals of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, in which two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, then still occupied by the Soviet Union, joined hands to demand freedom and independence.
It was organised by the joint efforts of the three Baltic countries’ Popular Fronts on the 50th anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet pact of 23 August 1939, which served as a basis for the Soviet Union to occupy the Baltic countries in 1940. The aim of the Baltic Chain was to draw the world’s attention to continuing Soviet occupation of the Baltic countries and emphasised the non-violent nature of the Baltic nations’ struggle for freedom.

675.5 kilmetres... that is so hard to grasp, leaves me in awe at the thought of it and how it had looked in reality.


For more B-related posts, simply click here.

The 100th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo, Italy

Well it would be my first time to do a Sunday Stamps on a Monday, and I almost kinda skipped it since this time I didn't even manage to do a scheduled post but, being that this is the beginning of another A-Z round, I just didn't want to miss the first post, so here I am with my A for this third round....

... and this time A stands for this set of Alfa Romeo stamps, issued by the Italian post on 20th March 2010, commemorating the 100 years since the foundation of the company. I'm pretty sure you all are familiar with this car, while for the details, I'm totally ignorant myself. And this goes with just any car brand, where unless I see the name of the car, I cannot really tell if something is a Honda or a Hyndai or a Ford... I'm just totally helpless!

Anyways, speaking of Alfa-Romeo here, founded by Frenchman Alexandre Darracq on 24 June 1910, in Milan. The brand is known for sporty vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911.

The stamp on the left shows the ALFA 24 HP, 4.1-litre four-cylinder passenger car, introduced in 1910, the year ALFA was founded, and produced until 1914 in ALFA's Portello factory near Milan. The model's name comes from its tax horsepower rating, then frequently used as vehicle designation.

The stamp on the right shows the Giulietta is a five-door, small family car officially revealed at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.  It is current top Alfa sales with about 40,000 cars per year. (I don't think this was the case back in 2010 when this stamp was issued though).


Alfa Romeo's logo (seen on the vignette) incorporates two heraldic devices traditionally associated with its birthplace, the city of Milan: a red cross, from the emblem of Milan, and the biscione, a crowned viper swallowing a Moor—emblem of the House of Visconti, rulers of the city in the 14th century.

So, cheers to another A-Z round and feel free to check out the rest of the great A's :)

The 100th Anniversary of Moscow Zoo, USSR

Another Z day and another ZOO post. Just as last time, so I really need to dig in a bit better for the next round of Z and find something different.
I do really like though this set of USSR stamps issued on 18th June 1964, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Moscow ZOO, which had an area of 10 hectares when it first opened, with 286 animals while nowadays it has over 6500 animals representing about 1000 species and covers an area of about 21.5 hectares.

Unlike the Animal Cubs from the Budapest Zoo featured in the previous entry, these animals don't come with names. However, the animals shown on these stamps are:

- The Asian elephant, the only living species of the genus Elephas, distributed in Southeast Asia, from India and Nepal in the west to Borneo in the south, enlisted as endangered since 1986.

- The giant panda, the adorable bear native to south central China. It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.

-  The Polar Bear, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. (The total number of Polar Bears left in the world is 20,000 to 25,000)

- The moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), which is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the largest and heaviest extant species in the Deer family. Moose are distinguished by the broad, palmate (open-hand shaped) antlers of the males, and they usually inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Unfortunately, here we have another case where hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time.

-  The great white pelican, which breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. It has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Specie.

- The Bengal tiger, which is the most numerous tiger subspecies in Asia, and was estimated at fewer than 2,500 individuals by 2011. Since 2008, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat. None of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes within its range is considered large enough to support an effective population of more than 250 adult individual.

- The bearded vulture, the only member of the genus Gypaetus. and the only known animal whose diet consists almost exclusively (70 to 90 percent) of bone. It lives and breeds on crags in high mountains in southern Europe, the Caucasus, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Tibet, laying one or two eggs in mid-winter that hatch at the beginning of spring.
Populations are resident but unfortunately continue to decline. Until July 2014, it was classified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as being of Least Concern; it has, however, since been reassessed as Near Threatened.

I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I am not fond of zoos, even though I may be really fascinated at how some of them are structured and maintained and all. However, I strongly believe animals should live in their natural habitats and not be confined to living in ZOOs for the sake of people's entertainment (and education).


So that would wrap up another round of the ABC edition of Sunday Stamps. For more Z-entries, check out today's episode of Sunday Stamps.

Animal Cubs, Hungary

For the previous Y, I went with stamps from Yugoslavia and that one is more or less like a very safe bet for me, having an abundant amount of stamps from there.
And in order not to be repetitive and kinda predictable, I won't be exploiting the easiest solution, but will show this very cute FDC instead.

Issued by Magyar Posta on 4th March 2014, this FDC contains twelve animal cubs, residents of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden - animal cubs, or for the purpose of this post, Young animals :)

The cutest thing is that all these young residents have come on the stamps with their own names, so here you have the chance to meet:
- Sempala the giraffe,
- Sid the two-toed sloth,
- Jakab the Barbary sheep,
- Moira the orang-utan,
- Bangita the blackbuck,
- Maszat the prairie dog,
- Mazsola the ground cuscus,
- Rozi the meerkat,
- Gizmó the ring-tailed lemur,
- Skipper the African penguin,
- Kiran the Asiatic lion and
-Willo the common wombat.


In the upper and lower margin of the stamps the gender, name, species name and date of birth of each of the cubs are indicated, and their original habitat is written and shown in the map in the rand part of the sheet.

I had the chance to visit the Budapest zoo years ago, and it is definitely one of the most beautiful zoos I've been to (though in general I cannot say I've been to many, but still).

Ok, these youngsters are not so young nowadays since 4 years had passed since the stamps have been issued, but they are still young for my Y contribution today :)

For more Ys, hop over to the Sunday Stamps blog and its latest edition.

The First Ascent of Lhotse by Tomo Česen, Yugoslavia

And here comes the so much dreaded letter X for the Sunday Stampers (ok, Ill speak on my behalf only), or Scrabblers... though the latter can be really rewarding with points if you nail it :) (Speaking of it, I'm kinda terrible at Scrabble... for some reason I just never think of the good words at the time of playing, even though it ends up the best word choice was something pretty easy and common).

Now, for today's edition, I kinda cheated with the X...

Namely, I chose this FDC issued on 24 April 1991 by the Yugoslav Post. commemorating the Slovenian Alpinist Tomo Česen, who had climbed the first solo ascent of South Face of Lhotse (which happened exactly a year earlier), the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres. It is part of the Everest massif, and of course part of the Himalayan mountain range. And here comes the catch... namely the Latin letter "H" is transcribed as "X" in the Cyrillic alphabet, the word Himalayas in part of the languages used in Ex-Yugoslavia is "Хималаи", so there you go, it is an X in some way :) Plus, the issuing country does not exist any longer and is now referred to as eX-Yugoslavia, so there is another X :P

Funny thing though, when I googled for this Tomo guy, the third result given by google included the word controversy... so this is where this post got really interesting for me.
Turns out that the Soviet Himalayan expedition later claimed that his ascent would be impossible (don't know why exactly).
He said he had climbed the mountain in 46 hours  and was awarded sponsorship contracts, $10,000 in cash and a national medal. But soon his climb was debunked... probably AFTER this stamp had been issued, otherwise, that would just add to the controversy.

Oh well, he had his hours of fame.

So if you are intrigued to see more X-related posts, simply visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps.

Whales of the Southern Ocean, Ross Dependency

I was a bit indecisive about today's post since I had two super duper things on the menu, but in the end I opted for this one, and decided to leave the other for a different letter in the third round since there will be a third ABC round after all... Yay!!

So today W is for their majesty, the Whales!

I do like whales actually and don't find them as intimidating as sharks, though that might be because I haven't encountered one in real life yet :D
This post today shows a number of Whales issued by the Ross Dependency, and I believe  that first I should say a word or two about this issuing entity before I move on to the whales.

Ross Dependency stamps have been issued by New Zealand postal authorities for use on mail from Scott Base since 1957. This post office was closed in 1987 as part of the rationalisation of New Zealand Post, for later, New Zealand Post to resume the issue of stamps inscribed “Ross Dependency” in 1994, “due to local and international demand.
The denominations match those of contemporary New Zealand stamps but these stamps are not generally valid on New Zealand mail. Mail from the Ross Dependency is processed by the “Ross Dependency Agency”, located at a post office in Christchurch where people can post items bearing Ross Dependency stamps. Mail is canceled with the inscription “Ross Dependency Agency, Christchurch.
The general rule is that there is just one issue per year, and this issue here is the one that was chosen in 2010.
It consists of 5 stamps on a mini-sheet, featuring:

- 60c - the Sperm Whale / Physeter macrocephalus - the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator

- $1.20 - the Minke Whale / Balaenoptera Acutorostrata - It is the smallest member of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Although first ignored by whalers due to its small size and low oil yield, it began to be exploited by various countries beginning in the early 20th century. As other species declined, larger numbers of common minke whales were caught, largely for their meat. It is now one of the primary targets of the whaling industry. (unfortunately =/)

- $1.90 - the Sei Whale / Balaenoptera Borealis - a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. The sei whale migrates annually from cool and subpolar waters in summer to winter in temperate and subtropical waters, with a lifespan of 70 years.

- $2.40 - the Killer Whale / Orcinus Orca - ok, this is like the most famous whale out there thanks to movies and stuff. It is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. These whales are considered to be highly social. (unlike me :D)

- $2.90 - the Humpback Whale / Megaptera Novaeangliae - a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species that has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating.

So that would be all from the whale world today. For other interesting W-related stamps, you know what to do :)

Bridges and Viaducts, Croatia

Going with the Viaducts for the letter V today, the choice for Croatia is totally unintentional but kinda suited prior today's World Cup Final, where Croatia and France shall fight the battle for the throne... my support certainly goes out to Croatia, which has been one of the greatest positive surprises in the event.

So cheers to that with the following two FDC's issued by Croatian Post in 2017 and 2013, respectively.

The first FDC shows the Kosinj Bridge, Limska Draga Viaduct on a Souvenir sheet.

A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans for crossing a valley, dry or wetland, or forming an overpass or flyover. The term  is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere, to lead. The ancient Romans did not use the term; it is a nineteenth-century derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early viaducts comprised a series of arches of roughly equal length.
Known as the Limska Draga Viaduct, Croatia’s highest bridge crosses a wide valley on the Buje-Vodnjan highway between Medaki and Kanfana - consists of a large steel box girder spanning several tall reinforced concrete piers, one which rises 120 mtrs in height.
The works began in 1986, and completed after 30 months of construction when it was opened for traffic in June 1991.



 The second FDC shows the old bridge at Torunj and the Railway bridge in Zagreb (also known as the Green bridge).

for more interesting posts of the interesting letter V, simply visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps :)

London Underground, United KIngdom

Good Sunday to all! This is gonna be a scheduled post since I will be away for the weekend, but I hope it turns out fine.

U may seem like a tricky letter when it comes to stamps but it surely isn't as near as tricky and challenging as X, to which we shall come very soon indeed :D

While the subject may not be something spectacular, still I really love these two FDCs issued by Royal Mail, celebrating 150 years of the London Underground... wow, it is quite unimaginable to me that back in 1863 something as an underground had been a means of transport. (it is the first Underground in the world).

The stamps were issued on 9th January 2013 which marks the exact date of the opening of the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington Station and Farringdon Street – the first part of what was to become the London Underground.

The first FDC bears six stamps, showing the timeline of the development of the London Underground, ranging from the first steam driven Metropolitan Line service through to a striking image of Canary Wharf, the most modern Jubilee Line station.

2nd class stamp - Metropolitan Railway opens
2nd class stamp - Tunneling below London streets
1st class stamp - Commute from the suburbs
1st class stamp - Boston Manor Art Deco Station
£1.28 stamp - Classic Rolling Stock
£1.28 stamp - Jubilee Line at  Canary Wharf

The second FDC features a four stamp miniature sheet focusing on the design heritage of London Underground posters.

The pictorial poster was a distinctive and highly effective medium for promoting all aspects of the London Underground and later London Transport.The visual images brought modern art and design to a huge audience and many of the artists commissioned were influenced by the avant-garde European art movements of the early 20th century.
This brought Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism to the general public of Britain and the four stamps have three classic London Underground posters on each.

Btw, I have taken the London Underground.....quite some long time ago. That was my first experience with this means of transport...but I found it super cool, esp. since, you know, coming from a city with less than 1.000.000 inhabitants, where you are used to riding on buses only - something like an Underground is quite an experience... esp. once you figure out how it works and can make it on your own, and be able to get simply anywhere in London.


 Check out the other cool U-topics on the Sunday Stamps blog.

The 100th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster

Letter T is very tempting for Trains lets say, but trying to be not so transparent and predictable, I will go with some Titanic stamps today, all issued in 2012, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of its sinking.

First is a cover from Canada, showing two of the four stamps that are part of the block showing the bow of the ship, as well as an international stamp, showing its side-view. These stamps were issued on 4th of April.

Even though many countries commemorated this anniversary on stamps, Canadians were among those personally involved with the world's most famous ocean disaster. In addition to a number of Canadians aboard, and the tireless efforts of the people of Halifax, it was a team of employees working at the Canadian Marconi company's wireless station on Cape Race, Newfoundland, who heard the early distress call.

Next we have the FDC issued by the BH post, on 29th of May.
No extra information regarding this stamp, but anyway, it is not like any extra info is necessary on this world-wide known tragedy.

then we have this FDC from Alderney, issued on 22 February, featuring 6 striking stamps. During its journey, Titanic had sailed past Alderney as well.
The story behind the six stamps is:

36p. - Leaving Southampton
47p. - Sailing past Alderney
48p. - The Grand Staircase
52p. - Orchestra plays the final rune
61p. - Captain Edward J. Smith
65p. - Lifeboats leave the ship

And just as it had caught me by surprise that I had never posted Titanic stamps before here, I was also surprised to see I have this FDC in my collection, issued by Macedonia Post on 17th April. The reason is cos I simply don't know why I would have bought this for myself, taking into account it is a bit pricey, and not as part of my collectibles. But I guess this was during the times I was just splurging on stamps (un)necessarily. Oh well :D

I have this gut feeling that I may be overlooking some other Titanic related FDCs or covers from my collection, but I guess these four will do for now.

For more T-related stamps, simply visit the Sunday Stamps blog.

Sports' Legends, Russia

In 2013, on two occasions, the Russian post issued stamps featuring Sports Legends who have participated in some of the Olympic Games or are anyhow related to them.
I know the world right now is in the midst of a football craze, so even though these are not football stamps, they are related to Russia, where the place of all that history is written these days (Personally, I couldn't care any less about it)

Up to this post, I wasn't familiar with any of these people featured here, so let's see what is it that they had done so that the Russian Post has decided to feature them on stamps.

-  Klavdiya Sergeyevna Boyarskikh (1939 - 2009),  was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed in the 1960s. In 1964, Boyarskikh won her first Soviet titles during thee Olympic Games held in Innsbruck where she had won the Gold Medal for both the 5km and 10km race as well as the one for the 3 x 5 km Women's Relay Team.



- Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov (1922 –  1979) was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is considered one of the best Russians ever in each of those sports. After he quit football in 1953 he turned to ice hockey, which he had taken up when it was started in the Soviet Union in 1946. He was one of the first ice hockey players in the Soviet Union and internationally he participated with the Soviet national team at several World Championships, including their first tournament in 1954, as well as the 1956 Winter Olympics, where the Soviets won the gold medal.


- Tatyana Averin was born on June 25 1950 in Gorky. She was a Soviet athlete (speed skating, an honoured Master of Sports, an Olympic champion in skating (100 m and 3000 m, 1976), the absolute champion of the USSR (1979), as well as the world champion (1978).


- Pierre de Coubertin (1863 - 1937) was a French educator and historian, and founder of the International Olympic Committee, as well as its second President. He is considered the father of the modern Olympic Game.  The Pierre de Coubertin medal (also known as the True Spirit of Sportsmanship medal) is an award given by the International Olympic Committee to athletes that demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in the Olympic Games.

- Sir Ludwig "Poppa" Guttmann  (1899 –  1980)  was a German-born British neurologist who established the Paralympic Games in England. The Jewish doctor, who had fled Nazi Germany just before the start of the Second World War, is considered to be one of the founding fathers of organised physical activities for people with a disability.
At the 1956 Stoke Mandeville Games, Guttmann was awarded the Sir Thomas Fearnley Cup by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his meritorious achievement in service to the Olympic movement through the social and human value derived from wheelchair sports.


Nice to see not only athletes, but also people who have in other ways contributed to the development of the Olympic Games.

For more of the S-related posts, you know the drill, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps!

Canadian Recording Artists, Canada

The regular visitors to this blog may have expected to see some Railway stamps today but this train lover has decided for something completely different (partly because it was one of the very few already scanned stuff)

Actually, the main reason I went for this one today is to draw the attention to one of the accepted ways of stamps' cancellation in some countries, which outrages me! I think it is fairly visible that this cover has been crossed with a pen instead the regular way. I don't know who first allowed this and why is it still not sanctioned, but for philatelists this is tragic on many levels.
I received this cover some years ago, but now of course, thanks to the cancellation, I can just guess it was sometime after 30 June 2011, or after the stamps were issued.

Canada presents us with some important Canadians which are not very popular outside its borders, or at least, on this side of the pond. If you ask me to name some famous Canadian Artists, the first one that always comes to mind is Bryan Adams.... alongside with Alanis Morissette, Celine Dion, Leonard Cohen.... but none of these featured here, so lets get a bit familiar with them now, shall we?



- Ginette Reno, (28 April 1946) - a Canadian author, composer, singer, and actress. She has received nominations for the Genie and Gemini Awards and is a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. She is a gold and platinum selling Canadian musician. She has also starred in some movies, which of course, I haven't watched.
I have just listened to her on YouTube, and wow, what an amazing voice! Not the kind of music on my everyday playlist, but for sure it's good!

- Bruce Douglas Cockburn (May 27, 1945) - a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics that reveal a passion for human rights, environmental issues, politics, and Christianity. He has written more than 300 songs on 33 albums over a career spanning 40 years, of which 22 have received a Canadian gold or platinum certification as of 2018, and he has sold over one million albums in Canada alone.

- Robbie Robertson, (July 5, 1943), - a Canadian musician, songwriter, film composer, producer, actor, and author, best known for his work as lead guitarist and primary songwriter for The Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. His work with The Band was instrumental in creating the Americana music genre.
He is also known for his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, which began with the rockumentary film The Last Waltz (1978), and continued through a number of dramatic films, including Raging Bull (1980) and Casino (1995). He has worked on many other soundtracks for film and television - well I am well known as a movie lover who totally cannot remember movie titles, actors, directors, songwriters... no wonder I had no idea about him as being part of some of the movies I have watched

-the last stamp is reserved for two sisters, Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) - a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed until Kate's death on January 18, 2010.
Their songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Nana Mouskouri, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg, Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys and others. which had led to the McGarrigles getting their first recording contract in 1974. They created ten albums from 1975 through 2008.

so that would be my contribution for today's R letter, some recording artists (where you also have Reno and Robbie Robertson :))

For more R-related stamps, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps! 

ps. Thank you Bryon for this cover - turned out into a nice music lesson of the day :)

Sudan

Just a single item in the mailbox today, but the one of the kind which you feel like immediately sharing. Plus I did say I would try to post more frequently and not only on Sundays, so I am seriously working towards achieving that goal on the long run :)

I first opted for a postcard, but turned out postcards were not an easy find in Sudan (not surprised), so I did agree on a cover, cos after all, it is Sudan, not a country where you have the chance to get mail from every day. So while Sudan may still be missing in my postcards' collection, it certainly ain't missing in my stamps' blog, so me is happy :D

I am especially glad since on of the stamps featured is China-related, issued in 2009 in a set of 3 stamps, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations with China. At first I thought it was a joint issue, but then I couldn't find such stamps being issued in the Chinese side.

The other stamp is also from a set of 3, issue in 2010, celebrating the National Unity (the Potency in Solidarity)

Quite a funny thing. I just learned that Sudan is also known as North Sudan since South Sudan's independence. Ha!

Those familiar with the latest political issues here, will know why the mention......

Modern Lighthouses, China

I can't say I have frequent visits from the postman these days, and for certain not as I used to have some years ago. But he surely does bring joy to my mailbox when he comes, and today was such a day, so a great start of the week I can say. And I so much LOVE this cover, that I just had to share it with you right away, no way I would be waiting for the next L for this one... and I do have a lot of lighthouses in stock for sure, so it certainly won't be my ace up the sleeve...

 Now, I rarely take part in swapping stamps nowadays, which is mainly due to the fact that as years go by, Macedonian stamps are sticking to these ridiculous overpriced useless face values, while the images on stamps are becoming worse and worse (do you know that the last set of EUROPA stamps is almost 9 euros??!). It has become all about ripping people off and nothing about actually promotin the country cos obviously, that is the last thing on their mind...

So as I was saying, cos of a number of reasons I don't take part in stamps swapping, but an exception is made from time to time, like this time when I found a soulmate, who wanted to swap whole set covers, and on top of that, had this lighthouse set on offer. So how do you ignore such a thing? Well, you don't.

This fantastic set was issued on 28 October 2016, and showcases five different modern lighthouses which have been built in the last couple of years as part of China’s claim to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. All five of the lighthouses shown below are in the Spratly Islands which are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia (If true, this is utterly ridiculous, but I cannot say I would be surprised...)

The lighthouses shown here are:

- Huáyáng Jiāo / Cuarteron Reef
- Chigua Reef / Johnson Sout
- Zhubi Jiao / Subi Reef
- Yongshu Reef / Fiery Cross
- Meiji Reef / Mischief Reef

It really makes me wonder if a disputed zone becomes more 'yours' just cos you issue stamps about it :D

Nevertheless, the stamps are just fantastic!

Penguins, Umm al Qiwain

I know I said that for this round of the alphabet I will (try) not to go with the easiest solution - countries, but I feel kinda lazy today (tell me something new) and just can't put those brain cells into extra thinking, so I'm just gonna cheat on my own 'resolution' this time :))

And I really could have used these Penguins last week, but then they didn't even cross my mind, so here they come in handy for the letter Q.

This set of 6 Penguin stamps was issued in 1972 in Umm al Qiwain, which is one of the seven sovereign Emirates in the UAE and is the least populous one. It issued its own stamps from 1964 to 1972.
The first post office in Umm al-Qiwain was opened in 1963 by the British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia. The Agencies were set up in 1948 to provide postal services to several countries in the region. Mail was processed via Dubai using the stamps issued for the Trucial States until 1964, the year in which Umm al-Qiwain also issued its first stamps (when it was a British Protectorate). After joining the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Umm al-Qaiwain continued to issue stamps until the issues of Umm al-Qaiwain were replaced by those of the United Arab Emirates in 1973.

Interesting to see that a country like this would issue something totally unrelated to it like Penguins, that live in climates so opposite than the one in the Emirates

Here you can see:

- the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica (shown on the first, fourth and sixth stamp).

- The long-tailed gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), shown on the third stamp

- The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), a species of penguin found from the subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula and one of six species of crested penguin (shown on the second stamp)

- The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) (also termed Peruvian penguin, or patranca) - a South American penguin that breeds in coastal Chile and Peru and was named after the cold water current it swims in, which is itself named after Alexander von Humboldt, an explorer. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. (it is shown on the fifth stamp).

yeah, sorry for the total disorder in the scanning of stamps...

so before you go on with your daily activities, check the rest of the Q-entries for today, an interesting letter nevertheless :)

Trains in Sabah, Malaysia

A great cover from Malaysia, a whole-set-of-stamps (if we don't take into account the souvenir sheet), the kind I ultimately like the most.

On 28th December 2015, POS Malaysia issued a set of 3 stamps and one souvenir sheet featuring different trains across Sabah, one of the states of Malaysia.

The history of the trains in Sabah had begun with the British North Borneo Chartered Company in 1896, known as the North Borneo Railway. It was originally intended primarily for the transport of tobacco from the interior to the coast for export. The first line built was a 32km track, from Bukau river north to Beaufort and south to the port of Weston. that had eventually been extended several times.

The Railway Network had been almost entirely destroyed during the Second World War after which a number of ambitious projects had been put into force in order to restore and improve the network and its services.

Trains in Sabah nowadays use diesel locomotives such as the Diesel Multiple Units (DMU), the Railbus, and the Hitachi Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive, all of which are featured on the stamps above.

Portuguese-Brazilian Stamp Exhibition "Lubrapex 80", Brazil

Hello all! Very hot Sunday today here, and if this should be taken as a premonition about the actual summer temperatures, then I guess I should start thinking of moving elsewhere for the summer.

But in the meantime lets do another edition of Sunday Stamps, and today it is the letter P on the agenda, where I again have some birds to show. Last time it was owls, now we have parrots.

This set of 4 stamps was issued in 1980 for the Portuguese-Brazilian Stamp Exhibition "Lubrapex 80".
Lubrapex is is a stamp exhibition in which only postal operators and collectors from Brazil and Portugal participate. Since 1992, Portuguese speaking countries and territories have also been taking part.
It is the oldest Bilateral Philatelic Exhibition in the world, having been conceived by Brazilian diplomat and philatelist João Paulo do Rio Branco, in order to promote the strengthening of friendly relations between postal operators and collectors from the countries involved.
Held for the first time in 1966, at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, the Lubrapex exhibitions have been held alternately by the Designated Postal Operators from Portugal and from Brazil.

the four cute parrots we have here are:

- The vinaceous-breasted amazon (Amazona vinacea) which can be found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.

-The red-tailed amazon (Amazona brasiliensis), also known as the red-tailed parrot, a species endemic to coastal regions in the south-east Brazilian states of São Paulo and Paraná. The bird has been threatened by habitat loss and capture for the wild bird trade, and is a symbol of the efforts to conserve one of the Earth's most biologically diverse ecosystems.

- The red-spectacled amazon (Amazona pretrei) is almost the same as the vinaceous-breasted amazon with regards to its habitats, origins, threats, etc.

- The brown-backed parrotlet (Touit melanonotus) also known as the black-backed parrotlet, the black-eared parrotlet, and Wied's parrotlet, is a small green parrot found in south-eastern Brazil from Bahia to southern São Paulo. It has a dark brown mantle and back, brown ear coverts, and red outer tail with back tips. They frequent humid forest from 500–1,000 m  (occasionally down to sea level), and are mostly found in small flocks of 3–20 birds.



So that would be all for today. If you are curious to see what others have come up with, visit today's Sunday Stamp edition. 

Btw, those on blogger - I don't know if you have been experiencing the same problem lately, but as of last week, I do not receive email notifications regarding blog comments anymore. When I googled it, I realized that many others have been affected by it since last Sunday or so, and it is thought that this may have something to do with the latest EU Data Protection Regulation. I really have no idea, but lately my inbox has literally been flooded with all those Privacy Emails and I certainly haven't bothered to go through them all. So I may have missed something in there, who  knows, and now due to my ignorance, am doomed to be left notification-less :P

Children's World, Croatia

For a while now I've been posting here on Sundays only (if I post in the first place, that is). I've been trying to break that bad habit for a while now, but by the time I decide to do it, another Sunday comes... and it all starts all over again.
So having posted on my postcards blog after over a month, why not pay some respects to this one as well :))

So here is something I treated myself with a while ago (during my last trip to Zagreb). I rarely buy stamps lately, mainly cos of financial reasons, but there are some that are just irresistible, and so is this set of cat stamps issued by the Croatian Post on 22nd February this year.

I treated myself both with the sheet of mint stamps and the FDC (plus used two of these to mail myself a card from there, which right now I cannot confirm if it arrived at all or not.... that is how forgetful I have become)

The set contains four adorable cats:

- the Russian Blue, which loves to sleep in the sun and playing with the rays of sunlight. His thick coat is short and easy to groom. There is almost no shedding, so it is enough to comb the Russian Blue’s coat once a week. The breed comes from Archangel in Northern Russia and the thick short coat reveals that the Russian Blue is used to cold climate.

- The Maine Coon, which is a natural breed native to Maine. The climate there is damp and harsh, so unlike other cat breeds, Maine Coons have a heavy water-resistant medium-long fur, with tufted ears, paws and cheeks, reminding of the lynx.

- The Himalayan Cat - this is not a natural breed, but a man-made one developed through selective breeding and crossing several breeds to help avoid genetic diseases and to see how distinctive features will be inherited after breed crossinge. The word Himalayan is not connected with the Himalayas, but with the cat’s distinctive look.

- The Sacred Cat of Burma (with the hat on, it looks nothing but sacred :D) - this is like the most mystical breed and how they came to be is actually unknown. Legend says that in the Buddhist temple of Lao-Tsun in Indochina lived a white cat called Sinnom and that one day robbers came to kill the priest who was feeding the cat. The cat jumped on his master and his coat became the same colour as that of the skin of the goddess to whom the temple was dedicated. The robbers got scared and fled and all the cats there have acquired this striking appearance.



Now that we are at it, I don't know how many of you know that actually another furball has become a family member last year. Came in my backyard, abandoned by its mum when it was still teeny tiny. One look was enough to know this kitten was going nowhere :)) And been brightening up my days and nights ever since. So I proudly present you Her Majesty, the Little Bullet (yeah, you read that name right)

Yeah, I want to believe she loves me too :) I think she kinda resembles the Maine Coon....

Hmm, I guess I should make use of some of the dozens of cat cards I have that have not been posted yet :)

Enjoy your weekend! Prrrrr!!

Wildlife Conservation, USA

I did Owls for the previous O-post, and here we are with Owls again - how could I not post owls again with such a cover in hand?! :D

Will leave you guessing whose fault it is (though if you are a regular here, I am pretty sure that would be one easy guess :))

Few weeks ago I went bird-watching in our city park here but being it was a daytime activity, no owls were spotted of course but it was really cool nevertheless. And I do hope to have the chance to join one of those nocturnal expeditions and hang out with some owls as well :)

And back to the stamps now...on the right you can see the set of stamps issued on 26 August 1978, under the name Wildlife Conservation, featuring four different owls:

- The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl.

- The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small owl native to North America.
Weighing from 54 to 151 g, with an average of around 80 g, they are one of the smallest owls in North America.

- The barred owl (Strix varia), also known as northern barred owl or hoot owl, is a true owl native to eastern North America but they have expanded their range to the west coast of the United States and Canada, where they are considered invasive. Mature forests are their preferred habitat, but they are also found in open woodland areas.

- The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), also known as the tiger owl or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.
Its primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates

You know, I never imagine owls as birds which actually feed on anything bigger than a worm, let alone a rabbit...

From what I could see, for all these four owls, the conservation status falls into the Least Concerned category, which is very good.

Now, on the left side, you can also see another owl stamp, this one coming from the 2001 issue, Nature of America, which itself is stunning! The owl featured here is the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) which is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the midday heat.

And even though is not an owl, I do have to mention the Old Glory stamp from 1994, which is another O for today - this flag stamp was issued in a set of 6, with a variety of the letter G - the red “G” on the stamp indicates it was printed by Stamp Venturers.
 The United States Postal Service started selling the G rate stamps on December 13, 1994. This series was produced by more printers and in formats than any previous rate change stamps.
The reason this Non-Denominated booklet stamp was issued because of a postal rate change that was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 1995 - I guess the US residents would be more familiar with this than me.

Now last but not least, what makes this cover so special, is the cancellation - this cover was posted in Owl's Head - a small town in Maine, with a population of 1580. I just guess the person cancelling it was feeling kinda anxious at the moment and cancelled this left and right :D But way better than just crossing it out with a pen - that one makes my teeth cringe!

I have one or two more treats of this kind, so just keep on following the Sunday Stamps and will share them with you when the time comes :)

In the meantime, check out today's edition of Sunday Stamps!

I rarely do scheduled posts, so hopefully this one will come out just right :)

Art in Yugoslavia throughout the centuries, Yugoslavia

Well hello everyone!

After some breath of fresh air last week, here we are back to my standard ramblings and modest collections, sorry :D But at least now I have someone to chip in for the times I feel lazy, out of ideas/stamps, or to simply make it more fun and versatile.

Today it is the letter N that is on the menu, and for that occasion I have chosen this set of 6 stamps of beautiful paintings of Nudes, coming from a number of different artists from the former Yugoslavia.

This set was issued on 28 November 1969 and shows reproductions of the works of some of the Yugoslav artists from the XIX / XX century.

The top row of stamps starts with one by Nikola Martinovski (August 18, 1903 – February 7, 1973) who is considered the founder of the Contemporary Macedonian art and here is presented with his painting called Young Gypsy with a Rose.

The middle stamp shows a painting by Sava Šumanović (22 January 1896–30 August 1942),born in nowadays Croatia here, with his painting The girl in the Red Armchair. (1932-1934). He had
managed to develop his own, rather original artistic expression, which he simply called "the way I know and can." Due to innovations and unique style, Šumanović can be described as one of the most prominent Yugoslav painters of the twentieth century as well as a major painter from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

The last stamp in this row shows a painting by Marino Tartaglia (3 August 1894 – 21 April 1984) who was a Croatian painter and art teacher, for many years a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and had also received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in the arts in 1964.
His painting on the stamp is titled Combing and dates from the year of 1924.

The bottom row starts with the painting Nude Olynpia by Miroslav Kraljević (1885–1913) who was a Croatian painter, printmaker and sculptor, and was one of the founders of modern art in Croatia. He had died at a very young age from tuberculosis unfortunately - he was only 27.

The middle stamp shows the painting Bathing Girl by Jovan Bijelić (30 June 1884 or 19 June 1886 - 12 March 1964) who was a Bosnian-Herzegovian and Serbian painter, and one of the most important Yugoslav visual artists between the world wars. He is also one of the most important representatives of color expressionism.

The last stamp in this series is a painting by Matej Šternen (20 September 1870 – 28 June 1949) who was a leading Slovene Impressionist painter and here is represented with his work from 1914, called Woman on a Sofa.

I do appreciate all types of art, though I cannot say I am a huge fan of this kind. However what I admire about it is the courage of these women posing showing their perfectly imperfect bodies (presumably they were actually posing and these paintings have not been done based on the artists' imagination). It is just really compelling!

So thank you for your attention today and now go over to today's Sunday Stamps edition for the rest of the N-entries :)

It is an M day!

Good afternoon folks, it is a Sunday and a day for new post here at myphilatelicpassion.blogspot.ba. First of all want to say thx to Ana for letting me use her blog and (ab)use her faithful followers.

It is an M day and I would like to introduce you to my unusual stamps collecting topic. There are a lot of people collecting stamps on topics like birds, cats, dogs, art, religion, lighthouses, Olympics etc. You could try to guess and say I collect motors and would be still wrong.

They say stamps are like small ambassadors of their countries but there is one thing older and even more ambassador of one’s country.  As the song says Money, money, money must be funny and for me if money is on stamp it is double funny 😀

Collecting coins and banknotes often goes hand in a hand with collecting stamps and I have been collecting both for quite a while when I came upon idea of collecting this particular topic. Will give it a try display few items and who knows maybe someone finds it interesting enough to start collection of their own.

 

This is oldest stamp in my “Money on stamps” collection Cyprus ¾ Cypriot piastre stamp issued on February 1^st 1928. This stamp is lowest face value and part of set of 10 stamps. Usually I go for mint stamps but average sale value of this set is bit on a high side so for now I have to put up with this nice used example 😁

As mentioned stamp is a part of 10 stamps set issued to commemorate 50 years of British rule of Cyprus, recess printed on watermarked paper, perforation 12. It depicts silver Coin of Amathus. Amathus was one of ancient royal cities of Cyprus and coin has a head of roaring lion, which was city emblem, both sides (it was common practice for this type of coins)

Now something bit more modern and to pay my respects for blog owner 😉 

On April 26^th 2012 Macedonia issued stamp to commemorate 20 years of monetary independence. Stamp has a face value of 50 Macedonian denars and features 1 denar coin and an ancient Byzantine M type coin (picture is not sharp enough to try to attribute it properly and showing only avers so it will remain partial mystery).   

Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia on 8 September 1991, shortly after, on 26th April 1992 the national bank was established and the denar was declared as official currency, few days after first issue of emergency banknotes was put into circulation (these were more like money coupons), in 1993 Macedonia issued first permanent banknotes.

We are all pretty aware of money importance in our daily life, and while it is true you can’t buy happiness but one can’t deny influence money has on every single person living in modern society. 

Changes in monetary system of any country are kind of very important events but forming of monetary union among multiple countries is epic event with tremendous impact on every country involved. 

Everyone would agree that forming European Monetary Union and common Euro currency was event of century. All countries involved recognized importance and many of them issued stamps commemorating Euro currency.

One of my favorite sets was definitive stamps set issued by Vatican in 2004 consisting of whooping 15 stamps. Each of stamps features one European Monetary Union country flag in background and Euro coin design from corresponding country.

Those stamps remind me of UN series issue that has been issued for a quite few years now, so called flags and coins series. It would be too much to display all of it here but just two pics to show off 😃

Even some non EU countries issued stamps featuring Euro currency, like my country (Bosnia and Herzegovina). 

Speaking of my country I decided to share two more issues also money related ofc.

First, there is this set of three definitive stamps issued in  2002 featuring coins of Bosnian medieval rulers king Tvrtko (0.20 face value), Stjepan Tomaš (0.30 face value) and Stjepan Tomašević (0.50 face value), Stjepan Tomašević was also last sovereign ruler of Bosnia before Otoman empire invaded and occupied country in 1463.

And for the end MS issued by Bosnia And Herzegovina but this time Croat Administration (yes, we have three different and independent postal administrations, each one with its own territory and stamps of each are valid for postage only at corresponding post offices)

MS consists of four stamps with two different designs (two stamps of each design), I personally like design of stamps and a fact they are embossed gives them some luxury appearance, and a price of 20 Bosnian marks for a MS is quite luxury if I can notice (equivalent of 10 euro)😒

Stamps feature ancient Daorson coins. Daorson was a capitol of Daorsi tribe. Daorsi were Hellenised  Illyrian tribe. They adopted Greek language and a lot of their culture. They were quite influential tribe in area of river Neretva valley, possessed their own money (as shown on stamps) and quite powerful navy for that period. They left lot of archeological traces throughout Neretva  valley.

So that was all for today, bet you are exhausted now and I’ll let you go and enjoy rest of this Sunday. Maybe I’ll write sometimes again if Ana finds this was up to her strict standards.

And not to forget for some more interesting M-posts, well you know the drill, click on the following link - Sunday Stamps
 
Sincarely,
 
Danijel