Flowers, Bosnia and Herzegovina

First of all, Happy Easter to all of you folks celebrating it today! Here in Macedonia according to the Orthodox Calendar, we shall celebrate it at the end of the month... whether it is gonna be like last year in a total lockdown or not, we shall yet see...

On today's topic of Easter, flowers, spring (even though the weather outside is more like an autumn on its way to winter), I have chosen these two sets of stamps from Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued in 2012 and 2013, respectively. 

      

The 2012 issue (7th of June) is dedicated to the so-called spring flowers, the same flower represented in both the top and the bottom stamp in its column.

First is the Viola odorata, that is more commonly known as wood violet or sweet violet or garden violet (a small stamp-salute to our dear host of Sunday stamps 😉).  When I was a child we had plenty of pots in the garden with violets. I loved them! The colours were just so distinct, yet the petals felt so fragile.  

Next to it are two examples of Primula veris, better known as cowslip, followed by the Helleborus niger, that bears the names of winter rose or Christmas rose (even though it does not belong to the rose family). In Macedonian, we call this plant "kukurek" and it is often used in the context when someone is ill... usually we say that when you wake up in the morning, you will feel as 'kukurek' (meaning you will get better and healthy).  I never really thought about the etymology of the saying, until just now... There are some references to some old myths, but still not quite sure which one is to blame :)

The fourth column of stamps features the lovely Galanthus, or better known as snowdrop. We've been having these in our garden ever since I could remember, and they've always brought joy since they would be the first thing blooming during winter days, and were always like the herald of better days coming :) I just have the impression that each year they blossom earlier and earlier... or it might be just my impression...

The last in this set is the Crocus sativus, or much better known as saffron. I haven't used it in the cuisine yet, though I come across it in some recipes. Recently I spotted it in the supermarket and wanted to buy it and give it a try... but boy is this fella expensive 😀  And now I read it is considered to be the most valuable spice by weight...so it shall wait for some better days... till then my food can certainly survive without it 😊

       

The 2013, issued on 25th September,  set features the so-called nectariferous plants (producing nectar). Again there are two stamps dedicated to each of the flowers, though the order is a bit mixed up here :)

First is the "black locust" (also known as 'false acacia). second is the sage, whose tea I sometimes drink when I have dental issues - it has proven really effective. In the middle, that little yellow flower with the bee is the dandelion, of which we have plenty in the front part of our garden, and with the daffodils in the mix, it is really a beautiful sight! 

The fourth stamp features the 'common heather', while  the last one is dedicated to the linden, which is also kind of a symbol of my city, famous for the smell of linden overwhelming the streets in spring (not so fun for the ones with allergies tho').

So, if you haven't gotten tired of flowers and springy themes, head over to Sunday stamps for some more beauties :)

...   

Canadian Pride - Flag of Canada, Canada

After almost a year, here is a new post for the Sunday Stamps edition, which seems to have gone back to themes after the alphabetic posts :)

Today's theme is Water - and even though the primary topic of this issue is the Canadian flag, there is pretty much water on the sheet, to make it eligible for today :)

In this set, issued 14th of January, 2013, the designer Karen Smith said that they tried to represent as many different regions of Canada as possible as well as different seasons. There are images from the prairies, inland, and the coast, as well as summer, fall and winter, where the Canadian flag is shown in abstract, unusual ways.


The set of five stamps features essentially Canadian scenes with the flag uniquely displayed. In one, three Muskoka chairs lounge on a dock facing a lake in early fall, evoking Canadian cottages from coast to coast. The chairs reappear on the souvenir sheet, this time with the puffy, whimsical clouds of summer dotting the sky. The fall colours are recalled by the golden hue of a very Canadian hay bale that waits in a prairie field at harvest time. On the East Coast, just outside Halifax, a spinnaker fills with a summer breeze representing the Canadian sails and flags that fill the waterways each season. This same spinnaker is shown again on the OFDC, this time with an iconic East Coast lighthouse in the background.
During Canada Day celebrations in Winnipeg more than 3,000 patriotic Canadians gather on the lawn of the provincial legislature to form a living flag, challenging a record held by Victoria, British Columbia.
Finally, a lone fishing hut brings a splash of colour on a clear day to a frozen Lake Scugog, Ontario.

So, dear Canadians, do you find pride in your flag? Or your maple syrup? Or is it something else? Feel free to share your thoughts, im curious to know :)

Seeing those chairs... not really fitting into the social distancing concept nowadays, eh?

For more calming water stamps, visit today's Sunday Stamps edition

Lighthouses, Algeria

Well hello there! It's been a while, no?

After having updated my postcards' blog the other day, it would be fair to post something here as well, right?
So after a little bit more than four months, here comes something I received this year (before all the worldwide havoc which included the postal services as well).

And quite a perfect cover, so enough to get me motivated to blow the dust off... plus seems it is my first ever post regarding Algeria here, so even more reasons to have it posted :)

Turns out Algeria has quite a few lighthouses (around 30), most of them seem to be commemorated on stamps, and this seems to be the last issue (even though it was issued on 27th February 2013).
This set of three stamps features the following lighthouses:

- Ile Srigina
Established in 1847 while the present tower was built in 1906. It is a white square tower rising from a 2-story keeper's house, on the summit of the island, with a red lantern dome. It has a Red flash every 5 seconds, visible for 13 nautical miles.
This lighthouse marks the western entrance to the Golfe de Stora. Located atop a steep-sided island about 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Stora. Accessible only by boat


-Cap Bougaroun
There are two lighthouses with this name, so I will assume this is the active one (the other one is said to be inactive).

Established 1869 while the present tower was built in 1911. There are two white flashes every 10 s. visible for 10 nautical miles. Its octagonal tower with lantern and gallery is attached to the front of a 2-story keeper's house. The lighthouse painted white.
The lantern appears to have been transferred from the historic lighthouse. It is located on a steep bluff at the northernmost point of the province, about 15 km  northwest of Collo.


-Cap Ivi
Established in 1898,  It has a  white flash every 5 s. visible for 18 nautical miles. Its octagonal stucco-clad masonry tower with lantern and castellated gallery rises from a 2-story keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white; formerly it was painted yellow with brown trim.
Located on a headland about 25 km  northeast of Mostaganem, directly on the N11 coastal highway. The site is open, but the tower is closed.



Nice to add all these to the bucket list. With the current travel restrictions though, and with the uncertainty of the future of cheap flights, this one surely wont happen in the foreseeable future.
But at least an update has happened, haha :D


Stay well and stay safe!

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! 

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.

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!

Dogs on Stamps

Hello all from a beautiful springy Sunday!

Unfortunately, I had to miss the previous edition of Sunday Stamps (which most probably would have seen a bunch of cats featured here), but here I am back for the letter D, which kinda logically would feature a bunch of dogs :)) If I was about to list the subjects I have mostly featured on stamps, both dogs and cats would rank rather high.

So here today I would like to present you a small part of my dogs stamps' collection, consisting of stamps only, and excluding anything like covers, FDCs or maxicards - I will leave those for another occasion.

First is a set of 6 Bulgarian stamps issued in 1991, featuring 6 drawings of small breeds of domestic dogs:

- the Japanese Chin, also known as the Japanese Spaniel, is a dog acknowledged for its importance to Japanese nobility;
- the Chihuahua, which the smallest breed of dog and is named after the state of Chihuahua in Mexico;
- the Pinscher a small breed of dog originating from Germany;
- the The Yorkshire Terrier, a small dog breed of terrier type, developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England, to catch rats in clothing mills;
- if I'm not mistaken, this should be a Chinese crested dog
- the Pug, a breed of dog with physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail.

Next is the Croatian edition of Children's world stamps issued in 2013, and I am kinda surprised that I haven't posted this one here yet.
Four different cuties here:

- the Bichon Frise - a small breed of dog of the bichon type which is a member of the Non-sporting Group of dog breeds in the United States, and a member of the Toy Dog Group in the United Kingdom. A very cute puppy, very likable and sociable. Extremely adaptable, cheerful and animated, bichon has gained many admirers since it appeared in the beginning of 70-ies of the last century as a relatively unknown breed.
- the Golden Retriever - a large-sized breed of dog bred as gun dogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties, and were named 'retriever' because of their ability to retrieve shot game undamaged
- the German Shepherd - a breed of medium to large-sized working dog that originated in Germany.
- and another cute Yorkshire Terrier

while we are at it, my favourite reference to Golden Retriever up to this day is this one :D

Next is a sheet of 3 North Korean stamps issued in 1977 but unfortunately I couldn't figure out the dog breeds, except that they all should be some kind of domestic dogs. If anyone has some more information, please let me know.

Six lovely stamps from Portugal, dating back to 1981, issued for the 50th Anniversary of the Dog Breeding Union.

- the Portuguese Pointer (15.00) - a breed of dog developed as a gun dog. It is one of several pointing breeds and is mainly used in red-legged partridge hunting;
- the Serra de Aires (8.50) - a medium-sized breed of dog of the herding dog type, and is one of the indigenous regional dogs of Portugal.
- the Portuguese Water Dog (7.00), or cão de água, originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve, from where the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore;
- the Serra de Estrella (33.50), or the Estrela Mountain Dog - a large breed of dog which has been used for centuries in the Estrela Mountains of Portugal to guard herds and homesteads;
- the Castro Laboreiro (25.50), the Portuguese Cattle Dog or Portuguese Watch Dog, is a dog breed of the livestock guardian dog type, originating from Castro Laboreiro in the northern mountains of Portugal;
- the Portuguese Podengo (22.00) - an ancient multi-sensory hound (sight and scent) breed of dog from Portugal.

and the last part of today's post is dedicated to these four adorable dogs on stamps from Romania, issued in 2012.

- the Carpathian Shepherd Dog (Ciobănesc Românesc Carpatin) - a breed of large sheep dogs that originated in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania;
- the Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog (ciobănesc românesc mioritic),  a large breed of livestock guardian dogs that also originated in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania;
- the short-haired dachshund - a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed.
- and here we also have another Golden Retriever

Speaking of dogs, I love them all, but I have a soft spot for stray dogs, while when it comes to dog breeds, it is the Rough Collie which is in my heart, since I literally grew up with one, called Ares, and later even had one of my own, called Eddie.This is one of my favourite pictures with Ares, dating back from 1985 or 1986.

well, no more rambling from me today. It is time to check what the others have come up with for today at Sunday Stamps.

Angry Birds, Finland

So a new round of the A-Z game starts today, and let's see how well I do this time. I just have this feeling that this second round is gonna bring more creative and out of the ordinary posts that won't just stick to country names, but would go way beyond that. At least I thought I'd try that way and see what I can come up with.

And I will officially open this second round with the super duper cool Angry Birds!

Don't know about you, but I LOVE video games, though nowadays I play way less than I used to some years ago, which may be a bit ironic cos now video games are literally available on all of your devices and you can play them on the go unlike before. I grew up with Super Mario and Adventure Island and Prince of Persia and JetPac and Colin McRae and a plethora of other stuff. Nowadays you can mainly see me playing Candy Crush. I actually was really against all those FB games until a few years ago when during this really tough part of my life I kinda gave in and used it in order to keep my mind off things. And somehow it grew on me cos of all those bright colours and the overall cheerful tone it has. It is one of my guilty pleasures, ha ha.
And back to the Angry Birds, I used to play this one a lot on my phone, but nowadays due to the never-ending issue of memory and storage, I have decided to not install any games on my phone, plus it will give me less or no chances of totally wasting my time on it. But I love Angry Birds! They are just so cute, and the fact that they are angry makes them even more adorable and gives this comical touch to it all :D
And being that this entire concept originated in Finland, no wonder that the Finnish post decided to commemorate them on stamps too (Finland does in general have interesting ideas on what to put on stamps). The video game was created by the Rovio Entertainment company, in 2009 and featured into a movie (that I still havent watched because I am kinda sparing myself some potential disappointment - like it happened with Secret Life of Pets for example.
Also, along with the stamps, cute priority stickers were issued, that I had received on some of my postcards, but which unfortunately, are not shown on this FDC.
Anyways, here on the stamps you can meet, from left to right, top row of stamps: Red (the angriest bird), Stella (the feisty optimist), Bomb (the chill guy).
Bottom row of stamps feature: Chuck, The Blues (the three of a kind, aka Jim, Jake. and Jay) and Leonard (or the bad pig).

How about you? Have you ever been into video games? Are you still into them? Any favourites and guilty pleasures?

And before you leave, don't forget to check more of the A-related stamps for today! 

The 100th Anniversary of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Australian Antarctic Territory

Hello to all the Sunday Stampers out there, to all interested in stamps, to all interested in science and well, to just anyone who has ended up here for one reason or another :).

For today we are talking about science on Sunday Stamps and here comes my contribution to it - 3 FDCs from the Australian Antarctic Territory commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (they are indeed issued by the Australian Post but for that AAT branch).

This was an Australasian scientific team that explored part of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. It was led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson (the guy on the stamp at the very right on the above FDC), who was knighted for his achievements in leading the expedition.
In 1910 he began to plan an expedition to chart the 3,200 km-long coastline of Antarctica to the south of Australia. The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science approved of his plans and contributed substantial funds for the expedition.
Accomplishments were made in geology, glaciology and terrestrial biology, unlike both of Ernest Shackleton's following expeditions which produced very little science. In a celebration of the achievements of Mawson and his men, a centenary scientific voyage, retracing the route of the original expedition, departed from Australasia in late 2013 and became stuck on 24 December 2013.
The team selected for the expedition came primarily from universities in Australia and New Zealand (there were also three British and one Swiss).

A fun fact: In order to maintain morale over the prolonged period of isolation Archibald McLean (Australian bacteriologist known for his role as chief doctor during this expedition) hit upon the idea of publishing their own newspaper to keep the confined men entertained. Expedition members contributed poetry, short fiction, and literary criticism as well as scientific articles and accounts of their daily activities. The result was the Adelie Blizzard which had five issues between April and October in 1913. They were never officially published for the general public until almost 100 years had passed when a facsimile edition was produced.

With regards to these issues, the first and the third FDC were issued on 18 February 2014, while the middle one was issued on 10 September 2013 - why is this I really have no idea. They've all been designed by Andrew Hogg though.

For more science from around the world, check out today's edition of Sunday Stamps!

The 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russia

Ok Sunday Stampers, I may be cheating a bit on this one since the map ain't actually ON the stamp itself but on the envelope...but I just couldn't resist posting this one....

You know that in general I find Russian stamps exquisite, and these are no exception.
This set of stamps was issued in 2013, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago (or in English, the Northern Land Archipelago).
It is fascinating that in the 20th century there were still things on this planet of ours that hadn't been discovered. I cannot even imagine that out of nowhere some scientists come today with the announcement that they have found a new piece of land on our planet; with all the technology available and ISS making its rounds over and over again, that is simply - unimaginable!
But it is facinating to read about things like this, esp. when they relate to the Arctic Circle for example =)
Severnaya Zemlya was first noted in 1913 and first charted in 1930–32, making it the last archipelago on Earth to be discovered. It comprises four major islands – October Revolution, Bolshevik, Komsomolets, and Pioneer – and around 70 smaller islands, covering a total area of about 37,000 km2 in the Russian High Arctic. These are uninhabited by humans, with the exception of the Arctic Base.

Regarding the stamps here, the middle one shows Boris Andreyevich Vilkitsky who led the expedition on the ships "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" shown on the other two stamps respectively.


Well, for more maps that are REALLY on stamps, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps :)

Because it is women's day =)

You may know that I am really not into such holidays, when there is so much fuss about it that one day of the year, like Valentine's Day for example....so much attention is being paid to it that if you don't really commemorate it with your loved one or give him/her a gift, it is as if you don't care or whatever...same here...I believe that you should show love and care to people throughout the year, not just on this day...and I also dislike it cos on such days I am kinda EXPECTED to do something, while personally I prefer surprises and buying for example flowers for my mum when she least expects it....but my mum even though she knows how I feel about such holidays, one year got really offended cos I didn't wish her Happy Mother's/Women's day...it is a kinda lost battle...

Well, today many companies give special treatment to the female employees, like taking them to restaurants, buying them gifts, letting them leave work early...even though some of those companies for the rest of the 364/365 days of the year they may treat them like crap and exploit them and all...so it is really hypocritical...

Anyways, I just thought I'd share this cover with you (which inside had one of the most amazing things ever...I wonder if the sender recalls what it was :)).
Even though these stamps were not issued to something that is related to women, I still thought I'd share it, first of all cos of the flowers....and one always kinda thinks of flowers when it comes to this day...quite a stereotype...
This set of flowers was issued on 3 April 2013, to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the naming of Florida - so see, nothing really related to women, unless you want to consider Florida as a female, since it ends in 'A'  :)

These stamps celebrate the state’s floral abundance.
During the Easter season of 1513, Spanish explorers first visited the state we now know as Florida. They named the land “La Florida” for Pascua Florida (“Feast of the Flowers”), Spain’s Easter celebration, and for the verdant display of vegetation that they could see from their ship.
The four se-tenant stamps contain a cascade of blossoms that evokes the feeling of a tropical garden. Each stamp shows a particular variety of flower: red and pink hibiscus; yellow cannas; morning glories in white, red, and shades of purple; and white and purple passionflowers.

Now on this cover there are also four other stamps which commemorate four great figures from the early days of football, each with the postage value of 37cents: Walter Camp (1859-1925), Ernie Nevers (1903-1976), Red Grange (1903-1991), and Bronko Nagurski (1908-1990). All four players are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. The photographs that appear on these stamps have been colorized for the stamp art.

You may wonder what the hell they would have to do with women's day, esp. football players?? Well, nothing really, but then again, men and women just do go together now, don't day ;-)

Or to put it in other words (and a lesson on the importance of the use of commas):

- A woman, without her man, is nothing.
or
- A woman, without her, man is nothing.



=)

Prehistorical Animals - Australias Age of Dinosaurs, Australia

After an early 5 am morning rise for watching the Australian Open, it is time to post some Australian stamps too.
Ok, I will admit that I was actually a bit lazy to search for some nice shaped stamps I have...it was simply easier to go for something Australian...but it did fit in nicely with the current AO event :)

I really love this sheet of stamps issued in 2013, showing a number of dinasours. The colours are just so beautiful and even the dinasours dont seem so terrifying...except for that first guy with the name of Koolasuchus. My knowledge on dinasours is, let's just say, non-existent, so I'll just give you a few facts on each one, relying on what google has to say about this bunch of guys here.
I already mentioned the Koolacushus, which was an aquatic temnospondyl estimated to have been around 4 to 5 metres, with a mass of up to 500kg. It is an extinct genus of brachyopoid temnospondyl in the family Chigutisauridae. Fossils have been found from Victoria, Australia and date back 120 Ma to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Koolasuchus is the latest known temnospondyl.

On the following stamp we have two representatives of Serendipaceratops, a dubious genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period of Australia.

The third stamp shows the Timimus, a genus of small coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Australia. It was originally identified as an ornithomimosaur, but now it is thought to be a different kind of theropod, possibly a tyrannosauroid or unenlagiine

The fourth one, on the top, is a Diamantinasaurus, (meaning "Diamantina River lizard") is a genus of derived titanosaurian dinosaur from late Albian (Early Cretaceous)-age rocks of Australia

Below the River lizard are two representatives of the Qantassaurus, a genus of two-legged, plant-eating ornithischian dinosaur that lived in Australia about 115 million years ago, when the continent was still partly south of the Antarctic Circle. It was named after Qantas, the Australian airline ( in honor of the Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service, which shipped fossils around the country as part of the Great Russian Dinosaurs Exhibit between 1993 and 1996, and sponsored expeditions to South America and Eastern Europe).

And the last guy on our exhibit here is an Australovenator, (or a Southern hunter), a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Albian (Early Cretaceous)-age rocks (dated to 95 million years ago) of Australia.


I really wish there was some place on Earth where dinasours still existed...for me it is somewhat difficult to grasp the idea of such animals walking around and the whole concept of such creatures existing is really cool! Just don't ask me to pronounce all those names and genus and stuff :)

For more fun choices, visit Violet's blog.

Sunday Stamps

Year of the Snake, Indonesia

after a break last weekend, here I am back with Sunday Stamps...with the subject of reptiles. I have to say that I've never really managed to grow some fondness of reptiles...well, apart from turtles and tortoises maybe....but all others are like a big NO NO NO to me...and I'd just like to stay as far away from them as possible (which is not always manageable, since every single summer we have these small lizards climbing our house walls...Im not gonna be telling you this story of this time when I actually found one inside my room...I wasn't freaked out...it was more like a ewww feeling of 'what if it falls over me' or 'what if it ends up inside my bed without my noticing' and stuff like that...my reaction to reptiles is more or less like this:

yeah, sorry Agi...and all other reptile lovers...they may be fascinating...but keep them away from me por favor! :)

with that confession made, here comes my choice for today...hm, well I wasn't really sure if this is appropriate to be posted cos in a way it covers a completely different subject, the Year of the....theme...but then again, being it is a Year of the Snake issue, I said, hey, why not...the 'topicality' of the issue has long time gone...and on top of that, I've realized I have never posted something Indonesian here before, so here it comes...a fascinating FDC issued by the Indonesian postal service for the Year of the Snake (which was last year)....it is strange that I call something reptile-related, fascinating, but in all fairness, as an issue, it really is.

In my possession I have the FDC that was issued with the souvenir sheet...there is one with stamps only as well...date of issue: 22 January 2013

a few words on the holiday and its importance in Indonesia...

 The Lunar New Year is considered the most important festival for the Chinese people in Indonesia and around the world. The festival celebrates the arrival of the first day of the first month of Chinese calendar as well as the coming of spring. In Indonesia, the Chinese Lunar New Year is a national holiday, where 2013 was denoted by the snake shio with the element of water.


To welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year 2564, stamp series were issued depicting the object of snakes and water elements, namely:

Naja sputatrix - an Indonesian cobra or locally known as Sendok Jawa snake, which is a  poisonous,  snake and can be found in the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo and Flores. With a maximum length of 2 meters, this snake is capable of spraying venom directed to the eye. The color varies in each region. Black in western part of Java, brownish to yellowish in East Java and Nusa Tenggara. Its habitats are usually damp but warm, like under a bamboo tree or it may occasionally be seen near the river. Although not included in the endangered species list, a number of species tends to decline each year due to trading of snake skin and as pets.

Dewa Ruci - The legend of Dewa Ruci, a story of Javanese traditional puppet play called wayang, began when Bima was instructed by his teacher, Resi drona, to find Prawitasari holy water in order to reach peaceful mind in life. The Prawitasari holy water represents the essence of divine spiritual knowledge for the human being. Bima eventually realized that the Prawitasari holy water was located at the bottom of the ocean. Undoubtedly, he jumped into the ocean, but there he faced a giant sea snake - the symbol of evil traits that must be fought. Once he got rid of the obstacles, Bima met the tiny God Dewa Suksma Ruci who knew Bima's purpose of coming to the center of the Ocean.

 Naga Seba is batik design depicting dragon (snake) and birds (wings). Considered as Keratonan batik style, the design is highly influenced by the Hinduism and thw Islam. As also founded in the chariot of Singa Barong and Paksi Naga Liman, the ornament of Naga Seba combines snakes and wings as a symbol of the Sultanate of Cirebon. Typical Cirebon traditional glass paintings often use Naga Seba as objects.

that would be my contribution for today...for some more, ermmm, interesting (?) creatures, visit Viridian's blog :)

European Capitals on Stamps!

Good morning all! It is a nice Sunday morning and it is time for Sunday Stamps!
I feel like Im gonna have a lazy day in general, and spend it mainly on cards, stamps and blogging on the same topics...yeah, I've been allowing myself a lot of lazy days lately, but come on, it's summer, so why not :P

Theme of today...faraway (exotic, romantic) places....hmmm, at first I thought this should only be about some places far far away, and I had the association of  'rare' countries in my head as well, don't know why....but then I saw Viridian's post, and I realized I could probably show these beauties, and I've been wanting to for a long while. After all, a faraway place is a rather relative thing, depending where on Earth you actually are...and same goes for romantic/exotic...it is an individual perception (and you'll see a clear example of this somewhere below).

So ladies and gentleman, fasten your seat-belts, and get ready for a short European tour through these awesome sheets of stamps issued by the French postal service! Each year, they portray a European capital. So far they've covered around ten I think...I do not have all the issues yet, but I hope to acquire them over time :)

And first comes Budapest, Hungary's capital, issued in 2011!

Beautiful city, that I had the chance to visit back in 2001, but I'd like to visit it again one day since I don't think I was able to absorb enough of it back then, neither enjoy the small cosy moments of just sitting at a cafe and doing nothing but relaxing and observing people.
On the sheet you can see the Parliament (which I believe is like on almost every Budapest postcard), the Great Synagogue, the famous Chain Bridge (one of the many bridges over the Danube), the Royal Palace (which I actually do not remember seeing), the Széchenyi thermal bath (haven't seen it either), the Matthias Church, the Heroes' Square, and that round thing in the middle that at first glance looked like a coin to me, actually represents St. Stephen's Basilica (or as it is in French, Basilique Saint-Étienne).





In 2010, it was Paris. And here comes the clash of romantic vs non-romantic for me. Yeah, I know Paris is considered as one of the most romantic and beautiful cities and all...but how do I put this...Paris has been one of the greatest disappointments in my life, and to me it is just way too overrated! Sorry guys, nothing personal and no offence, but Paris doesn't give me thrills no chills...and that's why at the beginning I said that 'a romantic place' is also a rather relative and subjective thing :)

However, out of all the stamps issued for the European Capital series, I do believe the one portraying Paris is the most beautiful one. Well, ok, it is issued by the French postal service after all, maybe they were biased :P
My favourite part of the sheet is the cafe atmosphere shown at the very left, plus I love the detail of part of the building being shown.
Other than that, you have the Triumphal Arc (we have one here as well I must say), Notre-Damme, the Eiffel Tower (how does it feel to climb on the Eiffel and all you see below is fog fog fog? terrible! =/), the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, Palais Garnier (a famous Opera House in Paris), a Champs-Élysées street plate...and at the very top, something that is called "Under the roofs of Paris".

If out of nowhere someone French stops talking to me/unfriends me or so, I'll blame it on this post :)





The latest issue from the series (issued this year, that is) is the beautiful beautiful Vienna! ❤

Visited it the same year as Paris, but was left with two very different impressions (so I dont know, maybe someone could tell me here something about my personality, something I am unconscious of, based on the places I like and dislike :))

Vienna is portrayed with the Secession Building (or also known as the Secession Pavilion), the Belvedere Palace, the Karlskirche, and the Hofburg Palace.
What I can't possibly understand here is how come they excluded the Schönbrunn Palace...

Well, Vienna is a place I fell in love with at first sight...a place where I felt at home, due to its lovely atmosphere and the overall high percentage of Serbian/Croatian languages I could hear spoken in the streets...for someone having grown up in Yugoslavia, yeah, that makes you feel like home...and it was simply my all time favourite place that I've been to...that is, until I visited Prague last year...




and yes, here comes Prague, issued in 2008! ❤❤❤

Another city that is probably spoken about and praised too much..but here, things clicked from the starters...I'll never forget the early morning when the bus arrived to Prague...and I just looked outside the window...and was in love! It is one of those places that captivated me IMMEDIATELY! I didn't even have to walk around...the very first view from the bus was just enough...spending a few days there just cemented our relationship...and it was then when Prague took over the pedestal from Vienna and has been there ever since...I wonder if there will be a place that will dethrone Prague..and I really wonder which place that's gonna be :)

Starting with the Charles's Bridge..then the Powder Tower, St. Nicholas's church in the Lesser Town, the famous Astronomical Clock, which is beautiful, but to me the performance is just plain boring and not worth the fuss (same goes with the one in Münich)...then you can see here the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Castle, the nice and charming Golden Street....and a candelabra at the Hradčany, or the Castle District.
Ahhh, Prague......




Next comes the capital featured on the 2013 stamps...and another place due to which people may mysteriously stop talking to me...Madrid.

Well ok, I like it more than Paris..but however, this is another place I have not been impressed with...and couldn't find that bond...the city is nice and all and there are some great places to see, but personally just wasn't my type...I don't know if the fact we didn't bond was also due to the fact that during the time I was there, there were protests and I didn't really feel at ease...but however, I left Madrid rather disappointed...probably the best thing about it were the churros! Oh boy, those churros....a heavenly delight! I tried churros in Mexico too, but they didn't even come close to the ones in Madrid. I didn't try churros anywhere else in Spain, and Madrid has the Chocolateria San Gines, recommended on all travelling websites about 'places to see and do in Madrid'..so I guess if I ever wanna go back to Madrid, it would be to indulge into those churros again...and oh yeah, go to Madird Atocha, since I didn't get to do that last time (that is the Railway Station in Madrid :))
A quick go-through the places shown: Plaza Mayor, the Almudena Cathedral, the Plaza de Cibeles and the Royal Palace...where we wasted two hours waiting in a row, on what was supposed to be a free entry in the afternoon, just to find out that the 'free' entry was not valid for countries outside the EU...or unless you are from a Latin-American country...yeah, just to add to the annoying Madrid experience :))
Btw, I believe those 'artistic' pictures come from the Prado Museum..





And last comes the only place out of these that I haven't had the chance to visit, but that I'd really love to one day...there is something just so inviting about Lisbon!

Since I cannot give my personal insight here, I'll just name the places shown (and I'm familiar with most of them thanks to the postcards I have :))

So you have the Jerónimos Monastery, the Santa Justa elevator, the National Tile Musuem, the Belém Tower, the Bairro Alto District, St. George's Castle and the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos).


Well, a bit of a longish post, though I tried not to get into details about each of the place shown on the stamps.

And I have to give a thank-you note here to Eric, thanks to whom I have these beauties in my collection!

If you wanna check out some more faraway/exotic/romantic places, click on the button below...and have a great Sunday!

I ❤ Postcrossing, Finland

Time for another Sunday Stamps post, and a theme of 'anything you wish'...and NO, it won't be a train post :) When Viridian mentioned that we could maybe choose something that doesn't really fit into another theme, I don't know why but my choice fell on this Postcrossing FDC...yeah, I could probably squeeze it into a 'mail-related' subject, but who knows...I may miss that one time..and to admit, it is always really difficult for me to pick one thing when I have anything to choose from, so in order not to get stuck into an infinite loop here, I'll go with this one :)

This FDC was issued last year by the Finnish post, to commemorate the fantastic project of Postcrossing!. In case for whatever reason someone reading this is not really familiar with it, I highly recommend it that you check it out..if you've stumbled here than you probably love mail, and if you love mail, you will definitely love Postcrossing! I accidentally discovered it more than 6 years ago (yep, it's been that long), and I am not overreacting when I say that it is one of the best things that has happened to my life! Seriously!

Why I love it?  Well, I've always been into snail mail and after simply ceasing contact with my long-term penpals (that's both sides to blame, we just didn't have the time), I realized how much I actually miss stalking the postman, checking my mailbox dozen times a day and finding something inside that's not bills or commercial leaflets. And thanks to Postcrossing, my mailbox started feeling happy again...and me as well. Because it is not just about the cards you receive but also the fantastic people you meet on your way along...and I've had the greatest pleasure of meeting some of those people in person. And when I look back, I can't believe it how much this project has shaped and changed my life...for the better! May sound pathetic, but finding cards in your mailbox is one of the rare things sometimes that can brighten up your day and make you feel better instead wallow into your own misery...yeah, something so trivial can have such great powers :)

Btw, I am more than proud to be the number 1 postcrosser from Macedonia :D

Me at Postcrossing :)



Hope you are all having a nice Sunday...and enjoy the variety of stamps and themes today!

Modern Art in America - The 100th Anniversary of the Armory Show, USA

a very hot Sunday here...and cloudy...making it unbearable...esp for people like me with low blood pressure...I barely function on days like this...and all I do is sleep...but then it is also a perfect day to idle,  and dedicate your time on stamps and cards!

Today's subject is "Artists and Illustrators" and it took me a while to figure out what would fit...and I hope I nailed this one right...

Here I have a fantastic cover...sent by Bryon of course, featuring the set of stamps USPS issued last year to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armory Show.

The information I have come from the paper Bryon included (as he always does for which I am extremely grateful!)
Might be a long read since there is a short text on each and every stamp...but I hope you wont be too bored :)

After the International Exhibition of Modern Art known as the Armory Show, opened in New York on February 17, 1913, the work of Marcel Duchamp and other European artists greatly influenced their American counterparts. Like Duchamp, who became a U.S. citizen, modern art soon found a congenial home in America.

(in order of appearance on the cover)

Joseph Stella, Brooklyn Bridge (1919-20)
Joseph Stella, an Italian immigrant, painted multiple images of the Brooklyn Bridge and other New York icons. Brooklyn Bridge was inspired by Stella's experience standing late on night on its promenade. "I felt deeply moved", he later wrote, "as if on the threshold of a new religion or in the presence of a new divinity."
Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 (1912).


Charles Demuth, I saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928)
Charles Demuth created a series of "poster portraits" of friends such as William Carlos Williams, whose poem, "The Great Figure" describes a speeding fire engine. Lines from that work gave Demuth his painting's title. The words "Bill" and "Carlos" appear - the latter on a marquee in the backgroun - and the poet's initials are painted at the bottom.


Marsden Hartley, Painting Number 5 (1914-15)
Marsden Hartley spent time in Germany during World War I, when he painted a series of works sometimes called the German Officer paintings. Painting Number 5 is a composite portrait of Karl von Freyburg, a young German officer who was killed in the war. Symbols related to his identity and personality combine like puzzle pieces.


Aaron Douglas, The Prodigal Son (1927)
Aaron Douglas's modernist illustrations, created for some of the most important books of the Harlem Renaissance - the flowering of African-American culture centered in New York during the 1920's - drew partly on African artistic traditions. His Paintings for James Weldon Johnson's book God's Trombones included The Prodigal Son, which imagines the biblical parable in terms of African-American experience.


Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 (1912)
Marcel Duchamp was famous in the US before he ever set foot here. His Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 was the most talked-about work at the Armory Show of 1913, an exhibit that introduced many Americans to modern art. Nudes were traditionally depicted bathing or reclining, not as abstract figures going down staircases!


Stuart Davis, House and Street (1931)
The paintings of Stuart Davis were heavily influenced by jazz. His vibrant depiction of contemporary commercial objects such as advertisements and cigarette packages made him an important precursor of the later Pop artists. House and Street presents a street in New York from two angles, forcing the viewer to be in two places at once.


Gerald Murphy, Razor (1924)
In his brief career as an artist, Gerald Murphy produced slightly more than a dozen works, about half of them now lost. His first surviving picture, Razor, presents a razor and other items seen from multiple angles. It is typical of Murphy's work in its flat, stylized depiction of commonplace objects, presented at a larger scale.


John Marin, Sunset, Maine Coast (1919)
John Marin was the preeminent watercolorist of his era. He spent most summers on the rocky coast of Maine, where he painted the sea and sky in their many moods. Marin once wrote in a letter that sunsets on the coast were "the kind - No Artist can paint." But that didn't stop him from trying.


Georgia O'Keeffe, Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie's II (1930)
Georgia O'Keeffe loved the New Mexico landscape. She spent some time in the upper Rio Grande Valley near the village of Alcalde, visiting her friend Marie Garland, and made several paintings there. "It was the shapes of the hills there that fascinated me," O'Keeffe said. "The reddish sand hills with the dark mesas behind them."


Arthur Dove, Fog Horns (1929)
Arthur Dove was one of modern art's earliest abstract painters. Fog Horns shows his interest in synesthesia, the phenomenon of stimulating one sense by means of another. The gray background suggests the ocean, while concentric rings of paint grow progressively lighter as they emanate outward from the center, conjuring foghorns blaring in the mist.


Charles Sheeler, American Landscape (1930)
In 1927, when Charles Sheeler received a commission from an advertising agency to photograph the Ford Motor Company plant in River Rouge, Michigan, he concentrated on the power of the machines and the plant architecture, emphasizing the impersonal grandeur of the scene. He went on to explore this vision in several paintings, including American Landscape.


Man Ray, Noire et Blanche (1926)
In Paris, American artist Man Ray made several iconic images of a woman known as Kiki di Montparnasse. Noire de Blanche is from a series of photographs juxtaposing Kiki's face with a West African mask. Man Ray and his contemporaries turned to African artifacts partly from a sense that Western art had exhausted its possibilities.

well, hope you liked at least some of the paintings!

for more artistic stuff, visit Viridian's page! And I apologize in advance that I will take at all the posts and leave my comments later today or tomorrow

World Natural Heritage of Russia - Republic of Tyva, Russia

I've been feeling so sick all day long that I almost missed today's Sunday Stamps' episode...but thanks to the different time zones, the deadline is convenient, so here is my contribution for today's theme on Landscapes :)

I've chosen this Russian FDC - Russian stamps often feature some beautiful landscapes, though unfortunately I do not have many of those in my collection.

Here you can see the Uvs Nuur Basin, , which is a UNESCO whs and is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia (on the territorial border of Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva in the Russian Federation). It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds.


Enjoy more breathtaking views over at Viridian's!

The 75th Anniversary of Superman, Canada

In today's Sunday Stamps post, I'd like to ask you all a small favour. I usually don't do this, but sometimes life situations call for it and right now, all help is more than welcome...not to me, but to the people in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have been struck with one of the worst flooding disasters in more than a century. The images from there are heartbreaking. And right now these two countries need all the help they could get. The current situation is terrible, but its consequences are gonna be a real struggle as well.
I know that not everyone is able to donate money or goods, but sharing the news and making others aware about the actual situation is of great help as well and would mean a lot to me.
In the following Facebook links you can read more about it, follow the situation and see how you can donate if you want to.
https://www.facebook.com/HelpSaveBosnia?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/helpforserbia?fref=ts
http://revolution-news.com/call-help-worst-floods-bosnia-serbia-contact-info-vital-donations-supplies/

We may not be superheroes like Superman. Superman tried to save the world and help the people in need. But people can be superheroes in their own special way and help the ones in need!


And I have these two Superman covers, one containing the stamps, the other one the mini-sheet. Sent by one of my mailbox superheroes! And they just came in appropriate for today.

The stamps were issued to commemorate the 75th Superman Anniversary...one of my favourite childhood characters - with Christopher Reeve being my favourite Superman of all times! (never really read the comic books I must admit)

Since this is an 'anything you wish day' click on the button below to be surprised at the variety of thoughts and ideas for today's entries