Tuesday 19 March 2024

A Postcard a Day - Tuesday 19 March 2024 - T for Turku, tea (and lots of coffee)

 Hello lovely ladies,

   Are you ready for this? Another T-Party hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. A drink is in order. But more of that later. Let me show you my postcard for today which comes to me from Finland.

It shows a window of the Cathedral in Turku, a town in Finland.  Here is the map to give you an idea where Turku is:

Wikipedia writes:
It is is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of FinlandConsidered to be the most important religious building in Finland, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

The cathedral is situated in the heart of Turku next to the Old Great Square, by the river Aura. Its presence extends beyond the local precinct by having the sound of its bells chiming at noon broadcast on national radio. It is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations.


The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the Catholic bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards. 
Below is the cathedral before the fire:

The stamps are very nice too:

The bird on the left stamp is the melanitta fusca: The velvet scoter, also called a velvet duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic west of the Yenisey basin. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta "duck". The species name is from the Latin fuscus "dusky brown".

Elizabeth has been showing us what types of coffee could be found at that fantastic store, The Spice Merchant. So I thought I'd show you which coffee I drink.
I like Colombian coffee:
I keep my coffee in the fridge. (Don't ask! It's an old Italian habit).
I also have a decaf coffee as I sometimes fancy a coffee in the evening:
Here's another decaf coffee (I have taken the coffee out of the bag and put it in a jar):
It's Brazilian coffee, washed in water.
I also have another Brazilian coffee:

It mentions milk chocolate and caramel, but I don't taste that at all. It just tastes like coffee.
I make coffee in a French press:
I put a heaped teaspoon of coffee in the glass jar, pour over boiling water, stir and put the lid on with the plunger up. After a few minutes I froth the milk separately. Then I push the plunger down so the coffee dregs get pushed to the bottom. I pour my coffee and add the froth and a teaspoon of sugar to my (large) cup. That is how I like my coffee.
On Thursday I was invited by friends, one of whom is Colombian. She made me Colombian coffee (of course):
Here is a close-up of the bag:

She makes coffee differently to me. She brings a pan of water to the boil and then adds previously ground coffee. It boils for a few minutes and then left so that the dregs sink to the bottom. It was very nice, not at all bitter. 

I was going to tell you all about my visit to Huescar, but that will have to wait. This post is already long enough.
I went to visit my best friend's daughter, Isa, who has just moved in to their recently renovated farm house. The kitchen hadn't arrived yet so it is an improvised cooking space: 

The bags you see in the foreground are different types of tea.

That is it from me today. Next time I'll show you more.

Take care now,

keep smiling,

Hugs,

Lisca























Friday 15 March 2024

A Postcard A Day - Friday 15 March 2024 - Friday Smiles

 Hello lovely girls,

How are you all?  Here we are again to share our smiles of the week.  I've been a busy girl and have lots to smile about.

Not least of all my postcard for today:


The card comes from France, from a place called Agen. 
The commune of Agen is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne 135 kilometres southeast of Bordeaux. Wikipedia

Agen is the "capital of the prune", a local produce sold as a sweet (stuffed with prune purée) or as an after-dinner delight (prunes soaked in Armagnac – a type of brandy). Every September, the Prune festival organizes rock concerts, circuses and prune tasting.

On the card you can see the drying and sorting of the prunes. 

The stamp is very beautiful:
It shows a vegetable garden. And the names of fruits and vegetables are scattered al around the outside border of the stamp. (I'm sure this bit will have a special name but I don't know it).

On September 25, 2023, La Poste issues a stamp on shared gardens, as an extension of the allotment gardens that appeared in the 19th century, throughout the territory, these green spaces, run and cultivated jointly by residents, promote biodiversity and strengthen links between generations.

I haven't been to see my own garden for a while (It's not near my house), but I have enjoyed all the blossom on the trees in our village.
We are having strange weather. Some days it's sunny and warm, other days there is storm, rain and, on the mountains, snow.This is the view from my window. There is snow on the mountain.
My cleaner came on Wednesday and she cleaned all the windows:


Yes, that does make me smile.

Another smile is that I have got new routers in the house (for Internet). Because my house is over 4 floors I have two routers.
This nice young man came to place them and install them. If you look carefully my new router looks like a beaker of yoghurt. (The guy is holding it) My previous one was flat and hung on the wall by my desk. This one is cylindrical and stands on top of my computer. Strange...

This morning (I'm writing this on Thursday) I went to a place called Huescar to visit a friend from church who wasn't very well. It was three quarters of an hour's drive. I went with three other people and we also had a walk through the town which is quite pretty. Photos on Tuesday as I haven't got them ready yet.

What else made me smile this week? I was having a drink with friends over the weekend and behind my chair there was a book case and I saw this:

And just to finish I want to show you the rainbow I saw on Sunday morning as I was going to church. I stopped the car to take the photo:
That really made my day!

That is all from me. 

It's time to visit Annie at A Stitch In Time and share some smiles.

As per usual, I will add some funnies at the end, but for now I'll say: 
Take care and have a lovely weekend,

Keep smiling!

Lisca




























Tuesday 12 March 2024

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 12 March 2024 -T for Kazan, drinks and cats

 Hello lovely peeps,

Here we are again on Tuesday. Time for a drink at the T-Party hosted by Bluebeard and Elizabeth. But before I show you my drink, lets look at this postcard that was lurking at the back of the pile:

It's the Cathedral of St peter and St Paul in Kazan.
Wikipedia writes: 
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral  is a Russian Orthodox church in Kazan (Tatarstan). It is one of the most famous churches in Naryshkin Baroque.

The temple was consecrated in honour of heavenly Tsar Peter I of Russia patron.

Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1722. Construction was commissioned by the merchant Ivan Afanasievich Mikhlyaev, the head of the imperial factories in Kazan. Most likely, its oriental-like cathedral and its bell tower were constructed by Moscow and Kazan masters.


I also found a photo of the interior:

Spectacular or what!

The stamps are beautiful too:
The stamp with the ship shows the Sloop Mirny. I found this information:
Mirny (Russian: Ми́рный, literally "Peaceful") was a 20-gun sloop-of-war of the Imperial Russian Navy, the second ship of the First Russian Antarctic Expedition in 1819–1821, during which Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (commander of the lead ship Vostok) and Mikhail Lazarev (commanding Mirnycircumnavigated the globe, discovered the continent of Antarctica and twice circumnavigated it, and discovered a number of islands and archipelagos in the Southern Ocean and the Pacific.
Mirny and its Captain Mikhail Lazarev on a commemorative coin of the Bank of Russia.


Wow! Who knew? How interesting!

Let's get back to the order of the day. What have I been up to? I have been cooking my own meals all week. One of them being a chicken thigh in the air fryer with a broccoli salad:
The recipes can be found in the links.
The small blocks you see in the salad are pieces of (Dutch) cheese. And of course the drink is my white wine (Chardonnay) in the small box.

On Saturday we had our Intercambio meeting (Spanish/English conversation group). Afterwords some of us go for a drink:
My drink is a 'clara con limón', which is lager with lemon in it. My friend is drinking darker beer called 'tostada' and that was my second drink. 
I have told you before I think, that here in the Granada province, we always get a snack (tapa) with every drink. This was our tapa:

Lovely home made croquetes. (We got one each).

Then on Sunday my friend Beth and I went to church. We took a photo outside to send to her mum:

Now I have one more drink and this one is for Erika:

And two funnies for all you cat lovers out there:


That is it from me today,

Bless you all,

Hugs,

Lisca
























Monday 11 March 2024

Monday Murals: Monday 11 March 2024 - Albox market

 Hello, I sometimes look at Monday murals through Elizabeth and Bluebeard but I have never participated. But I photographed a mural the other day:


It is found on the wall of the indoor market in Albox, in the province of Almeria in southern Spain. 


I live an hour and a half drive away (Blue dot on the map) from Albox (Red marker on the map) and my friend suggested we visit the (outdoor) market on a Tuesday. We eventually found a parking space and when I park in an unknown area, I always turn round and take a photo of where I am parked so it's easier to find the car again. Of course now I also have a photo of this fantastic mural. I'm afraid I don't know the artist as I didn't look for a signature. Also we did not go inside the indoor market. I don't even know if there was an indoor market.

Here are some images of Albox found on the Internet.
Albox is set amidst a stunning landscape of arid hills with olive groves, citrus fruit orchards and almond trees, and dramatic hills and valleys. Situated in the basin of the Almanzora River, Albox is bisected by one of the Almanzora’s tributaries, a mostly dry riverbed known as the Rambla, which is crossed by three bridges. The town has around 12,500 inhabitants. (Saskia Mier)

The town has a significant British ex-pat population, and although I am not British, I do like 'fish and chips' . So my friend and I treated ourselves to a fish and chips lunch at a restaurant called Chapman's:
The weather was nice enough to sit outside, which is good as my friend has dogs.

And this is what we got:
The green blob on the right is 'mushy peas' . Again a British peculiarity. Wikipedia writes this:
Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water with baking soda, and then rinsed in fresh water, after which the peas are gathered in a saucepan, covered with water, and brought to a boil, and then simmered until the peas are softened. The mush is seasoned with salt and pepper. Wikipedia

Thank you for reading my contribution to Monday Murals.

Take care and

Keep smiling!

Lisca