Saturday's hand-painted postcard

This colorful handmade postcard arrived this week from Benilde, a Postcrossing member in Spain who is a cook. She also enjoys stamp collecting, architecture, jazz and the restoration of antique furniture, all of which sound like wonderful hobbies that don't require staring at a handheld screen all day. We should all send more postcards, but especially handpainted ones like this. I need to up my art game! 

Some Postcrossing arrivals

I've had some time to get back into Postcrossing a little bit, and I've received some nice cards and messages in the mail the past few days. 

The "A Call for Peace" postcard is a Karen Kerney design that's available from the Syracuse Cultural Workers website. Sender Misty, who lives in Georgia with her family, eight cats, dog and a tortoise, hopes for a better world for all.

The card featuring the "Outlaw Guns" and "No Nukes" buttons is from the collection of the Busy Beaver Button Museum and was mailed to me by a "friendly ghost" in Maine. "Friendly ghost" writes: "I hope the future is governed by science, peace, and collaboration."

And on the vintage card showing the southern tip of Manhattan, sender Amy writes: "This card came from my dad's apt. when I cleaned it out. Seeing the Twin Towers brings back memories of that sad day. I wish religion and politics would bring the world together — instead of tearing us apart. Pray for peace."

Saturday's postcard from Tokyo

Something cheerful for a grim state-of-the-world Saturday: This lovely postcard arrived this week from a fellow Postcrosser in Tokyo, Japan. I love that cat peeking in the doorway. The whole image reminds me of Fruits Basket, for some reason. On the back of the wonderfully decorated card (see below) she writes:

Hello, Chris, my name is Miki and I live in Tokyo. I want to be a journalist in the future, so I'm studying hard. The postcard's picture is Japanese traditional fall event. In Japanese countryside, people make dried persimmons. If you have a chance to visit Japan, I think autumn is the best season. I hope you are having a good day!

Here are some links for more on Hoshigaki (Japanese dried persimmons):

• Persimmons: A Sweet Autumn Tradition in Japan
• Hoshigaki: A Beautiful Fall Tradition
• Why I’m Hand-Massaging Persimmons Every Day (& Loving It)
• The History of Japan’s Autumn Harvest Festivals

Saturday's postcards

That's Devo, circa 1978, in the middle bottom.

For Postcard Saturday, here are some of my dandy recent arrivals from fellow Postcrossing members. 

• Lisa, a longtime Hello Kitty fan, writes that she just moved to the Vancouver, Washington, area and enjoys "being out in nature appreciating all the wildlife and beauty," including opossums and bald eagles. 
• Tilly, who sent the postcard in the top center, recently moved from right here in Pinal County to Wisconsin and says she misses the warmth. My response: It's 91 here today, and I'm a little weary of the endless warmth we're now going to have until Halloween or later. Tilly works in the antiques business and doesn't like cold pizza.
• Júlia in Slovakia writes that she loves gardening and talking to her parrots.
• Christa in the Philippines writes: "I was very happy to read your profile, especially where you wrote about accountability & transparency. It is also something we experience (or the lack thereof) in the PH. While I did not end up in journalism, I also enjoy writing (and journaling) as a means to practice good English, and to write about interests."
• Carol, who has sent and received more than 17,000 Postcrossing cards, writes: "First, let me say that I know how important good journalists are these days. I have my favorites. I was dismayed to see that a third of the staff of The Washington Post was laid off. But Bezos hasn't been a friend of the people, anyway. My fav book reviewer, Ron Charles, was laid off so I subscribed to his Substack."
• Renee sent the amazing postcard shown in the lower left above. She writes: "Hello and greetings from Iowa. ... I'm a retired librarian, widow since 2021. ... I share my days now with Sissie my 8 y.o. cocker spaniel and build doll houses." She adds in her profile that she likes books (of course!), playing the guitar and listening to metal turned "up to 11"! 

Finally, here's a lovely illustration of King Ghidorah, that meddling three-headed dragon.   

Handmade postcard of Wan-Long Tailor in Tainan West Market

This month I received this amazing handmade postcard via Postcrossing member Jyayu in Taiwan. It's an oversize card, measuring 5¼ inches by 7¼ inches, and was clearly drawn and painted with great care and love. It's one of my favorite cards I've received in more than 13 years of Postcrossing.

Her message on the back states:

Hello Chris!!

The Wan-Long Tailor store shown on this postcard has been in business for over 30 years. It's located in the Tainan West Market (opened in 1905). It was once the largest market in Southern Taiwan. In my hometown, Puli, there is a widely circulated story about a "Black Sorcerer - Maxa-daxedaxe."

Legend has it that the sorcerer feeds on the hearts of child to increase his magical power. Reportedly, He can fly as long as attaching banana leaves to his back. If he needs to go out at night to seek his targets, he will replace his own eyes with the cat's eyes, allowing him to see clearly in the dark. Because of this, in earlier times, parents would carry their children on their chest rather than on their back to prevent Maxa-daxedaxe from forcefully snatch the child.

This English-language website has a little more information about Maxa-daxedaxe as it relates to Indigenous storytelling. If anyone from Taiwan or with Taiwanese heritage knows any more about this legend, I'd love to read it in the comments section.

My 2,000th Postcrossing arrival

Here's Mama Orange posing with the "Happy Mother's Day" Postcrossing postcard that represents the 2,000th arrival in my mailbox since I joined in December 2012. On average, I've sent and received 13 postcards per month since I started this hobby 12½ years ago to have fun and help keep snail mail alive. 

According to my Postcrossing statistics, I've engaged with 83 different countries while either sending or receiving cards. Germany is the No. 1 country in both categories, with 451 sent and 434 received. Russia is still No. 2 in both categories, even though I haven't been able to send postcards to Russia since the U.S. Postal Service suspended service to that country in March 2022. The Netherlands is No. 3 in both categories.

And it's from the Netherlands that I "met" Marte, one of the many pen-pal relationships I've developed through Postcrossing over the past decade. We still exchange postcards about once per week. I've also had pen pals from Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, and Mexico, among other countries.

The 2,000th arrival is from Mia in Taiwan, who's been on Postcrossing since 2017. She enjoys map cards and lighthouse cards, and writes on this Hibeetle postcard that plum rain season has arrived in Taiwan and is very welcome. I learn something with almost every postcard! Here in Arizona, we're awaiting monsoon season. Maybe it will come early, maybe it will be right on time. Either way, we will happily welcome the rains.

March 2025 Postcrossing updates

Some Sunday afternoon postcard updates as I try to figure out why the theme song from 1975's Almost Anything Goes is stuck in my head — and why that early precursor of all of today's reality show nonsense has a rating of 8.5 on IMDb. I love 1970s culture as much as anyone, but sheesh. Anyway...

Postcrossing Arrivals

Gavin from Scotland, who works on technology that services pipelines, sent a photo postcard of snow-covered Castle Fraser and added in the message on the back: "We have actually had sun all week for a change. So hopefully spring is on its way." Alas, "Spring" is on its way here in the desert, too, as the forecast says we'll be in the mid-90s by the end of March.

Anke from Germany has a cat named Louis Vuitton and mentions that she's from Friedberg, which has a huge historic castle complex and a special connection to Elvis Presley, who was stationed there during his time in the U.S. Army.

Bona from Hong Kong, who prefers "chill" video games, writes: "It's pretty hot here too, but we are surrounded by water."

Victoria from Manchester, England, sent a postcard that features King Charles III's "Diversity and Community" postage stamp, one of four marking his new reign. Victoria writes: "I have a cat called Willow. She is the cutest in the world! When I adopted her in 2022 she had been there the longest as she was so timid, but she's really come out of her shell now. I think she's ready for a friend. I've been inquiring about kittens to join our family!"

Lothar from Germany, who is a retired mechanical engineer and works on model trains, also sent a great castle postcard featuring Meersburg. He added: "We visited it several times during our holidays in that region, but not in winter." He mailed the card with a stamp celebrating 500 years of the Wasunger Carnival.

Thanks and messages

from Postcrossing postcard recipients

Ari from Italy writes: "I received your lovely postcard (at the speed of light, too), thank you SO SO SO MUCH!! I love it, it truly made my day. And thank you for writing part of it in Italian, it warmed my heart so much. We are also very worried about the US's current situation, but I hope you'll be able to be hopeful towards the future; the world has known progress, peace and cooperation before, and I believe that oppression and violence won't survive for long."

"B" from Belgium writes: "I have recently received your postcard. I don't dare to say anything about the political trends in the US. All I can say is be patient during four years. ... I am a federal civil servant. In my country, the status of a federal civil servant is threatened. The current government want to eliminate it. I have already done a strike day. I have the impression that this is a general movement of which DT represents the hardest face. Thank you for your sending and for your words in my mother tongue. I appreciate it."

SimLing from Malaysia writes: "Hello Chris! Thank you for your cute postcard of your cats, it makes my day. I am so happy to receive the very first postcard from you since this account started. It will be the cover page of my collection. I've listened to 2025 remaster version of 'The Lamp lies down on Board Way' [sic] which just releases few days ago. Artistic!! And will always pay attention to the artist."

Jasmin from Germany writes: "Thanks a lot for your postcard! Your three cats on the picture are really cute. And I really appreciate your words. Well, D.T. is on the news every single day. And everyday I ask myself again: what the hell is he doing today? How he treats Selensky, how he speaks about Ukraine as if Ukraine caused this war. I spent some days in Hamburg last weekend and did not watch any news. But then one evening I suddenly read a headline that said Selensky was booted out the White House. And some people had annotated the article, complaining about his outfit — because he was not wearing a suit. I mean — what?? Everybody knows that what he is wearing is his kind of uniform. He even met King Charles wearing this 'normal' clothes ... Oh my goodness. As if there was nothing more important in this world. So I continued reading and started book no. 9 this year! Last year I read 55 books."

Lena from Latvia writes: "Hello Chris! Already felt the slight excitement and joy of receiving a postcard letter! I am 60 years old and writing letters to loved ones and acquaintances was a common thing once upon a time. I am glad that there is such a community of people postcrossing. It was nice to read some of the text in Latvian. (The content of this snippet is not joyful, though). A person always makes a choice where to direct his attention and with this attention feeds and supports an event, a phenomenon, a state. Just thinking out loud. ... I'm glad to live on this Earth! Every day is a gift! And people, all people are connected to each other like a single cloth, the fabric of being. We influence each other and we can do it consciously. You have powerful professional opportunities to influence the inner state of people, the vector of attention can be directed to the beautiful aspects of life. There are so many of them around! I seem to be getting carried away ... I've worked in different fields — now a school librarian. Today I taught a class at an elementary school about Astrid Lindgren's books and was pleased that some of the children took the books to read. For some reason, Fahrenheit 451 came to mind."

Fun-shaped Postcrossing arrival from Croatia

This nifty postcard arrived in my mailbox from Croatia, via Postcrossing. It was sent by Dorotea, a 21-year-old pharmacy student and philatelist who is a fan of Audrey Hepburn and Clint Eastwood.

Dorotea wrote: "Many friendly greetings from CROATIA! ... I come from a beautiful town of Sisak, which is famous for the fortress from 16th century and for three rivers, Kupa, Sava and Odra."

I also recently received a postcard from Zhizhi, who lives in Shaoxing, China, and is a fan of Taylor Swift. They wrote: "Contrary to you, it often rains here. I'm really tired of the rainy life everyday. It's just too painful, holding an umbrella every day. I am very interested in history, especially war history. I don't know why, but it really interests me, even though I'm someone who doesn't support war. Thank you."

I think our last measurable rainfall here in Florence was sometime in August, so I can't fathom the idea of disliking rain. 

To tie all of this together in an oddball way: Dorotea is a fan of Clint Eastwood and, coincidentally, Ashar and I watched Eastwood's Kelly's Heroes last night. It was the first viewing for both of us. I knew going in that it was more comedy than drama, but didn't expect it to be as trippy-hippie as it was. Also, parts of Kelly's Heroes were filmed in regions that are now part of Croatia. I think both Dorotea (Eastwood presence) and Zhizhi (historical war action mixed with anti-war messages) might find it interesting.

October Postcrossing wrapup

Halloween went wonderfully here in Florence. We had about 120 trick-or-treaters, all in good spirits (pun intended). October was also a good mailbox month. I received several autumn-themed or Halloween-themed postcards through Postcrossing. And the U.S. Postal Service did a perfect job of handling my mail-in ballot for the presidential election.

Kasia from Hungary wrote on her postcard to me: "After a very hot summer, autumn has finally come and I couldn't be happier about this change. Soon we will be able to see views like the one on the postcard during weekend hikes in nearby forest." (I'm so jealous!!)

And a young woman from Ukraine wrote this message on her postcard: "Hello Chris! I'm 19 y.o. Ivanka from Kyiv, Ukraine. For me, Arizona is associated with 5C: cotton, climate, citrus, copper, cattle. This is also the state with sent McCain to the Congress. McCain Str is the one I love walking here in Kyiv.¹ As Russian scumbags destroyed most of Ukraine's energy generation, we spend long hours without electricity. Hence, this postcard is dedicated to energy workers who against all odds manage to keep the grid afloat. With best wishes, Ivanka."

Meanwhile, here are some of the emails I received in October from Postcrossers who received cards from me:

Kristina in the United Kingdom wrote: "Thank you so much for a spooky Halloween card! It reminded me that now's the time to compose a Halloween watchlist -- I'm not a horror person, but I do enjoy my fair share of Halloween-themed fantasy movies and TV shows. Happy Halloween to you and the cats!"

Satu in Finland wrote: "Thanks a lot for your nice Halloween card and stamps. We have quite nice weather now, but weather forecast has promised we will get snow soon. I hate winter. We have 4 Cairn Terriers and they love snow. Take care!"

Huang Yanju in China wrote: “I'm glad to receive your postcard. I really like these beautiful stamps. The building in the picture is very beautiful. It's also autumn here, which is my favorite season, but the climate is still hot now. There is no Halloween event here, but I really like to eat pumpkin. Good day.”

Footnote

1. Kyiv City Council voted in 2019 to rename Ivan Kudrya Street as John McCain Street. "John McCain, a U.S. senator who was a member of the Republican Party, was a strong supporter of the EuroMaidan protests in 2013-2014. He also visited the front lines in Ukraine near Mariupol after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in the Donbas in 2014," the Kyiv Post reported at the time.

October Postcrossings with witches and ghosts

Autumn and Christmas/New Year's are my two favorite times of year to ramp up my Postcrossing participation. Sending and receiving Halloween-themed postcards during spooky season adds to the fun, especially at a time when the daily 100+ temperatures here in Arizona are making it hard to think about pumpkins and hayrides. (Having COVID-19 isn't helping, either.)

Show above are two of the postcards that have come to our mailbox in recent days. The witchy cat is from a woman in Germany who says her postcard interests include castles, ruins, cemeteries and skulls. I wonder if I could get an outfit like that onto one of our cats. I could see Brave Sir Oliver or Spice fitting the bill, if they'd stay still.

The ghost parent with the baby carriage was sent by a longtime Postcrosser from Lithuania — she's mailed more than 10,000 cards — who is also a mother of three, harvests mushrooms and is a Pokémon Go trainer. Phew! 

Shown below is one of the postcards I've been mailing out to some Postcrosser this autumn. I love the vintage illustration. It's a reproduction of an image that was used on a Gibson pop-up Halloween greeting card in the middle of the 20th century. (Gibson, which dates to 1855, is now part of American Greetings.)

Ukraine correspondences

Postcrossing has allowed me to connect with many wonderful people from Ukraine over the years. But life changed drastically for many Ukrainians two years ago this month, when Vladimir Putin's murderous Russian forces invaded the sovereign European nation of Ukraine. Many Ukrainian citizens have fled the fighting and become refugees. Whether they are still in the country or not, their futures remain uncertain while the war rages. (And that uncertainty is certainly heightened by Congress failing in recent months to provide the Ukrainian government with the assistance it needs to counter the Russian invasion.)

In recent days I've received a handful of correspondence reminding me of the humans who are affected every hour of every day by this war. 

1. I received the above postcard a few days ago. The text covers the entire back of the card. It states:

"Hello Chris! I'm alive. :) I deeply appreciate your thoughtful card, which brought joy to my life and gratitude for your support of Ukraine. Though I received it on 25th of April, I'm sending this in December 2023 to add a touch of Christmas cheer. The image of a Ukrainian tractor pulling a russian tank is a real story, you can Goolgl it. The inscription means 'Good evening, we are from Ukraine.' Now it's popular phrase. russia is still bombing my country and killing Ukrainians I keep waking up from explosions and listening to missiles and drones shooting down. But we believe in our victory. :) Million times thank you for your card." 

The postcard is unsigned.

2. In the meantime, I requested a new random Postcrossing user to send a postcard to this week, and I happened to receive the address of Ukrainian woman who is now living in Poland with her dog (Gerda) and cat (Murka). It's not clear from her profile whether she moved to Poland before the Russian invasion, or fled there during the past two years to escape the violence. Poland has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees — more than 1.6 million through last July. This Postcrossing member is seeking cards of koalas, owls, fairies, unicorns, Harry Potter and Avatar, so I'll do my best to send some good cheer her way.

3. Through Postcrossing, a Ukrainian and I became pen pals in the spring of 2021, exchanging postcards and letters often. She was (fortuitously?) on vacation in another country when the invasion began two years ago and has been essentially displaced ever since, trying to find a potential home, and perhaps new employment, elsewhere in the world. She's spent time in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and then Canada for a long stint in 2023. Recently, she had an opportunity to visit loved ones in and around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This is part of what she emailed me about the experience:

"And so, here I am — in the freezing, snowy and uncalm city of Kyiv. The atmosphere at the moment is much worse than it was in April when I visited last time. The mobilization policy has been toughened — local authorities catch males literally everywhere in the city and serve them a summons to join the Armed forces of Ukraine. All my male friends, who don't want to find themselves at the war front, panic and not go out much. So, for the last week, I only met with my two female friends. I also visited my company's new office in Kyiv, but it was so short — after the first two hours of working, we received a message asking everyone to go home immediately due to the upcoming military recruitment centre raid in that district. So, as you can see, it's very turbulent. I feel sorry for young men who don't want to participate in the war. I think that war is awful, and even when the country is at war, it doesn't mean that every single man can physically and mentally participate in it. ... So many professionals support Ukraine in another way. And it's so sad that Ukraine doesn't have enough resources and support to win the war, so it ends up using such dirty methods as catching males on the streets. None will be a good soldier by force. So, overall, everything is sad here. And I wish it to end soon (but surely it won't)." 

4. Finally, on February 2, I received this email notification that a Postcrossing card I sent to another Ukrainian on November 26 had finally arrived after more than two months:

"Hello Chris!! Greetings from KYIV!

"Thank you so much for your postcard! Too bad you didn't see my daughter's eyes! When she saw that a letter had arrived for her — she was shocked! It was so sweet and so precious. I took the letter while she was at school and did not open it. When we were leaving school, I said that something special was waiting for her. She was so happy!!!

You have beautiful cats and a big heart. After all, only a person with a big heart can love animals so much :)

"Many thanks to you and your family! I wish you only the best!

"P.S All Ukrainians are infinitely grateful to America! Honestly, it's only thanks to patriot systems that my daughter can sleep in her own bed and not in a bomb shelter.

"From Kyiv with big love!” 

Excuse me, but now I need to go and write more correspondence. 

Postcrossings to close out 2023

December was a busy month for sending and receiving Postcrossing cards and cards from some of my pen pals. Pictured are some of the jolly postcards that came to our mailbox. I got cards this month from France, Germany, China, Scotland, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Bangladesh, Slovakia, Czechia and elsewhere. 

One sender wrote of enjoying their first snow of the season. Another spread the message that we should be kind. A high school student shared that he's a movie lover and recently saw Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.

Also nice have been the email messages acknowledging receipt of Postcrossing postcards I've send around the globe. Here are a handful for the holidays:

Anne from Finland wrote: "We have some 30 cm of snow here and it's so beautiful outside. So it's going to be a white Christmas here as usual. I hope you'll get the rain you need there soon."

Sylvia from Ireland wrote: "Thank you Chris for your postcard with your nice message. We are sharing lots of hobbies — I also like collecting books — especially vintage ones; and old movies — Gone with the Wind, White Christmas are my favourites, and I have to say I did see all movies with John Wayne (my husband has all of his movies, so I had no choice); and folklore — especially Polish, as I'm originally from that country (just finished a beautiful chain for a Christmas tree made out of straw and crepe paper, from book published in 1920s). I'm reading books every morning before my kids wakes up. And I, actually my whole family, are animal lovers. We do have 2 cute dogs and nearly 16 years old cat lady. And I'm always on the go."

Marit from Norway wrote: "Thank you for your nice postcard. I am not a big fan of winter, especially when it snows a lot, then gets mild with rain, and then get cold again with ice as a result."

Simone from Germany wrote: "Thank you for your lovely card. It put a smile on my face. Now all the lovely snow is gone and it looks like a green and mild Christmas time for the rest of December. Now I am enjoying a hot tea and Postcrossing. I wish you a wonderful advent and Christmas time."

Linda from the Netherlands wrote: "Thank you so much for this cute postcard, I love it! And I get your love for cats. It so happens that my boyfriend (who's name is Chris) has a cat as well and I love snuggling with her and getting that unconditional love. Like you said, it is so wholesome in this world and how it is at the moment. I will check your blog out!"

Naomi from Japan wrote: "Thank you for sending me such a romantic postcard from the Arizona desert! I was surprised that you know so many old Japanese movies and actresses! I'm also a fan of Ozu. And his birthplace is very close to my house. It is now a very small museum and occasionally shows his films for free. By the way, my favorite American directors are Hitchcock and Nolan."

Hulya from Germany wrote: "Thank you so much for your beautiful card with the cats. My favourite films of Daniel Day-Lewis are My Beautiful Laundrette and Eversmile, New Jersey. I wish you beautiful Christmas days."

Postcard of cat on a broomstick

This is one of my favorite Halloween-themed Postcrossing cards that I've received this autumn. Unfortunately, there's no clear indication who the illustrator is on this Hogwarts-inspired card. 

It was sent by Yi-Ning, who lives in Taiwan with four cats — Bacon, Babao, Licon and iPhoenix — all of whom are rescued strays, which warms my heart. Yi-Ning has some limitations due to health issues, but works part-time helping elderly citizens at the hospital and is a powerhouse on Postcrossing, with more than 8,000 cards sent and received. Postcards really do let you travel the world and meet other people, with the mailbox serving as your magic portal. I'm glad our portals connected.

Cat postcard from Russia

I can't send Postcrossing cards, or any other mail, to Russia. But I can still receive Postcrossing cards from the residents of that country. 

This card from Vika arrived in my mailbox today after traveling for 38 days. She's a 31-year-old who likes Hayao Miyazaki films, weird houses and baking pies. Her postcard to me features the cat-filled artwork of Katya Maush. 

This was Vika's typed message on the postcard: 

Hello, Chris :) Warm greetings from Abakan, which is located in the south of Siberia. My name is Vika, I am 31 years old. I live with my husband and our cat named Nyura. I live in a small town, but with very beautiful nature. Abakan is surrounded by the Taiga Forest and the Yenisei River. In winter, the Yenisei never freezes because of the strong current. So on the Yenisei is one of the largest hydro-electric power stations in Russia. It is called the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric station. The beginning of summer turned out to be very hot for us :) although I don't really like summer, I prefer autumn more :) but at the same time we rejoice at every warm day, since our summer is short. I wish health to you and your family. Sincerely, Vika.

The postcard had this pretty nifty fairy tale stamp, too. I spy Baba Yaga.

Postcrossing card from Japan with Noboru Baba art

One of my recent Postcrossing arrivals was this postcard from Ayumi, who works at a library in Saitama, Japan, and likes Moomins, lighthouses, quokkas and the tulip fields of the Netherlands.

The illustration is from a book by writer/illustrator Noboru Baba (1927–2001). He was an award-winner whose children's books include (these are the English translations): Mountain Man of Fox Wood, Eleven Hungry Cats, Eleven Cats and Albatrosses, Eleven Cats Run the Marathon, Māsuke the Bear and It Is Time for a Catnap. Of these, Eleven Hungry Cats is probably the most lastingly beloved; there are multiple online reviewers writing about how it was their favorite childhood book, or their own child's favorite book 

We have far more than eleven cats. Here are some of them napping. Maybe I should write a book about them.

Cat postcard & cat tale from a war-weary Ukrainian

I recently received this Postcrossing postcard from Andriy in Dnipro, Ukraine, whose interests include archaeology, antiques, pirates and outdoor activities.

He penned his note to me in early March and wrote:

Hello, this is incredible, I have had this original card from the 70s for a year, and as if waiting for you. ... A little about myself. My name is Andriy. I also love cats very much. I have several of them, and they are very hard going through the war and bombing that we have almost every day.

That's it. There isn't much room to write on postcards. But this one succinctly notes the bond we share through a love a cats and the daily heartbreak of Putin's criminal war upon the innocent people, and animals, of Ukraine. 

Saturday's postcards: Postcrossing arrivals from around Earth

I've received some cool postcards through Postcrossing in recent days. First up is the above card, which features artwork by French artist Jean-Jacques Waltz (1873-1951), who was also known as Oncle Hansi and Hansi. It was sent to me by a pair of secondary school teachers who live in a small village in Catalonia. They write about their postcards on this blog (which you may need to translate to English using Google).

Here are the handwritten notes from the other recent arrivals:

Nadia from Italy writes: "In life I teach art history! I love reading (thriller), painting and traveling!"

Marie, a kindergarten teacher in Hamburg, Germany, who likes to read novels about paintings, sent a card that features this quote: "Cats love people much more than they want to admit, but they have so much wisdom that they keep it to themselves!" 

Karin, a nurse in Germany who is interested in Hildegard of Bingen and loves The Lord of the Rings movies, writes: "Once a year, go someplace you've never been before." That's fun advice. Two places I've been mulling in Arizona are Lake Havasu City (to see London Bridge) and the ghost town of Santa Claus. They're both quite a hike, though. I may need something closer.

Daniel, who lives in Israel and misses attending ice hockey games, writes: "Greetings from Israel! Incidentally, I was born and raised in Arizona. I hope this finds you well."

Sandra, who lives in Germany and likes watching handball matches and knitting socks for homeless people, writes: "Today you find a postcard from Germany in your mailbox. My name is Sandra and I live in Frankfurt. One of my favorite fairy tales is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Stay safe, happy and healthy."

And Bernadette, who lives in Germany and likes postcards of painted snow globes, writes: "I live alone in a small flat in a small village not so far away from Heidelberg. I have a boyfriend. He visits me often. I have no pets because of the small flat and that I work fulltime." Bernadette's postcard is pictured below, with the help of Toffee (aka Toffmeister T).

 

Package-filler postcards deserve some attention, too

I bought a cute postcard of a hedgehog on eBay so that I could mail it to a fellow Postcrossing user in Vilnius, Lithuania, who loves hedgehogs and ice hockey. When the hedgehog postcard arrived, it was protected in the envelope between two used postcards. 

Obviously, it's good to protect the items you're mailing, and I can understand that, if you're a postcard dealer and have a bunch of them around, it's cheaper to use them in packaging than cardboard. Still, it made me a little sad that think that these are just unwanted postcards, serving as filler that's expected to be thrown away.

I won't throw them away, of course. I'll find a way to use them or pass them along to another postcard collector who might appreciate them. Because every piece of paper tells a story, right? 

Pictured above are the fronts and backs of the two postcards that protected my hedgehog. The top one shows a beautiful pastoral setting in Almelo, Netherlands. It was mailed in 1968. If anyone wants to translate the full cursive Dutch message, please do so in the comments. (I did make out the phrase alles goed en gezond — "everything good and healthy.")

The bottom postcard features another peaceful scene, this one in Zwolle, Netherlands, parts of which date to the Bronze Age. From Wikipedia, I learned that residents of Zwolle are called Blauwvingers; that Zwolle is partly known for a historic district of Art Nouveau buildings; and that Hein Boele, the actor who provides the voices for the Dutch versions of Elmo and Gobo Fraggle, was born in Zwolle. So there's your story from that piece of ephemera.

A trio of cat postcards

With a little help from Bandit, here are three dandy cat-themed postcards I received in the mailbox via Postcrossing over the past week...

Above: This postcard is from Manon, a 24-year-old from Paris who loves cats. The black-cat illustration is by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923). Manon writes: "Living with 17 cats sounds like a dream to me. I like them so much. I'm catsitting this summer for their very much welcome company." 

We're actually now down to 14 cats. Three of the 10-week-olds found their new forever homes last week and, fortunately, their mother (Orange) is adjusting fairly well to their absence. I think more adoptions, getting us down to 11 cats, would end up being our best "running speed" moving forward. But if it ends up being 12, 13 or 14, it's not a huge deal. They're just adorable.

Above: Rob from Canada writes: "17 cats wow. We have one hedgehog named Polo that is enough. :) For fun I have a YouTube channel called That Dad Guy. Stay safe."

A lot of Rob's YouTube videos involve Postcrossing and stamps, which is pretty cool!

By the way, if I had a pet hedgehog, I'd name it Spiny Norman. And I'd give one of our naughtiest cats the nickname Dinsdale. 

One of our 10-week-old kittens, by the way, is named Osmond Portifoy. That's because I fancy being able to wander around the house in my bathrobe, holding a brandy snifter and calling out endlessly for Osmond Portifoy. Yes, it's a weird kind of cosplay here.

Above: Alexandra from Germany, who has a pet turtle named Manni 007, writes: "This postcard is from a cat cafe. There you can sit and pet the cats which live there. Maybe it is an idea for you? I think it must be wonderful with 17 cats. Meow!"

The cat cafe is Zur Mieze - Katzenmusikcafé in Berlin. According to an English translation of its website, cats Gretta, Caroline, Ali, Jewels and Kenzo "find their home here and contribute to a quiet, relaxed and stress-free atmosphere in the middle of the big city. Our kitties were from the animal welfare association."

The tale gets even more heartwarming. The animal welfare association is Hand in Hand for Cats eV, which has been working throughout the year to help Ukrainian refugees, their pets and animal-rights activists who courageously remain in Ukraine. They accept PayPal donations, if you want to help them continue their necessary work.

OK, that's all. Bandit is all tired out.

From the readers: Bookdumping, needles and pronouncing Mousehole

The first message in today's roundup is a combination Postcrossing/Papergreat message. Through Postcrossing, I sent Cindi in the UK a postcard of the Lewis chessmen and told her about the cats and how hot it is here in Arizona. After receiving the postcard, she went to the blog and read the August 7 post Kipple 'n bytes: Thoughts on what we do and don't preserve. These are her thoughts on it all:

"Hi Chris, what a beautiful card you sent me, thank you! And you gave the temperature in C, which is helpful. The record here in England is 40.3, Alexa tells me. Poor fluffies! That can’t be fun, I’ve heard it said that paws can be burnt on hardstanding in that heat. Thanks for your blog. Re: kipple, after lessons learned after a maternal death, we decided to downsize about 8 years ago. Now we live in a small flat where we can’t accumulate. Quite often, as we only have a few bookshelves, we go ‘bookdumping’ at our local train station. It’s really fun placing books all around the place, then scuttling to the upper shopping balcony to observe who picks them up. I have also become acquainted with the concept of library books! Currently munching my way through a sandwich of Christopher Isherwood and the harder to understand (because of culturally very different references) Joan Didion."

That's definitely the kind of "bookdumping" I can get behind! So wonderful! Also, hardstanding seems like a much better and more precise word than pavement. 

From the Readers (2022 edition), plus many cats: Jarak Dekat wrote, "Oh my God, manies cats. I love it," and now I think that Oh my God, Manies Cats has taken the lead for the title of my eventual autobiography.

And Inky from the On Shoes and Ships and Sealing-Wax blog wrote: "Hooray, you're back!!! It seems you are leaning towards your own version of Millions of Cats. (I must add I've been enjoying all the pics of them on your Twitter page.)"

Regarding that: The long, long Twitter thread of daily cat pictures can be found here.

"Prinzess Victoria" and a tiny old package of sewing needles: Cat from the Cat's Wire blog wrote: "Very interesting, thank you! I just wrote a blog post about needles myself — among them Princess Victoria needles — and was amazed at all the different labels I could find for them online! My own are 'Finest silver eyed sharps' in a size 12, no country of origin and 'Princess Victoria'."

1911's "The Isle of Wight," its provenance and Joseph Sadony: Roger Allen wrote, very helpfully, "In the first inscription Blenheim could be name of a house — Mrs. Paterson's, Mrs. Mitchell's — in Newport. In local directories it may just be recorded under the street number, which would make it difficult to identify."

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Unknown wrote, "I sold them for years. I too am 66 and had a loyal customer base. So much so that when I stopped I had customers calling me. Only reason I stopped was when they sent out this year's kit and several weeks later sent the letter asking if you wanted them!"

The somewhat obscure "Mousehole" by Nettie Mann Pender: Roger Allen, kindly checking in again, wrote, "Mousehole — the village — is pronounced 'muzzle' or to rhyme with 'towsle'."

Thoughts on aspirational reading: Finally, Brian Busby of The Dusty Bookcase, wrote: "In the early nineties, I made a point of taking on the longest book I owned, but had not read, to bridge an old and new year. For example, I remember starting David Graham Phillips' Susan Lenox, Her Fall and Rise in December 1990, and finishing it in January 1991. Others tackled included Norman Mailer's Harlot's Ghost and The Executioner's Song. Don't know why I stopped. Dreiser's An American Tragedy beckons! Must admit, there's no form I admire more than the novella."