Sunday Stamps: Western hemisphere

Today's theme for Sunday Stamps is 'Western Hemisphere'. From the physics point of view I always think it hard to distinguish where the 'west' begins and ends, as well as where the 'east' does. North and south is easy, as the earth turns around the north-south axis. But from for example Greenland's point of view, we, the Dutch, are living in the east, and someone from New Zealand might consider India located in the west and the Americas in the east.
So today I think stamps from all directions will be okay :-)

Nevertheless I choose stamps from the 'West', from Dutch point of view and also generally accepted.

The following stamps I received from Dulce from Mexico. It doesn't happen often that I see newspapers being honoured by the Post, but the 100th anniversary of El Universal, last year, was a good opportunity to do so.
Also combs won't be pictured often on stamps. The original comb you can find in the Museo de Arte Popular.



Inside the pretty decorated envelope there was a great stamp, which I posted on instagram.


This stamp sheet I chose, regarding the things said in the first paragraph. It connects north and south, and from the physics point of view it connects east and west, and from generally accepted point of view, both countries mentioned are western. And, an extra: it connects history and present days.



It is from a serie of three stamp sheets, Dutch PostNL issued last year. All sheets contain similar stamps but the selvage is different. The series is from the 'Grenzeloos' ('Borderless') serie and this last year deals with the connection between the Netherlands and Australia.
The theme of this stamp sheet is 'Dutch emigration to Australia'.
The text says, that between 1950 and 1961 about 116,000 Dutch emigrated to Australia, because of misery in their homeland (the Netherlands) and the increasing threat of a Third World War in those years.
Does it sound familiar? I think, if populist leaders would know their own (personal, family's, country's) history they should have a more open, friendly view to everyone who is looking for a better place on this - our - earth. The immigrants in the fifties, sixties, were welcomed (and we forget that our ancestors of earlier centuries, colonial times, forced themselves to be welcomed in the 'new world', with negative impact to the people who were native since ages). So, even though PostNL obviously didn't intend to do, I think a stamp issue like this should plea for a warmhearted world, in which everyone is connected.

I think, besides all mail lovers who already connect, especially the hosts of stamps and postcard links sites have made a good start with it! Like Sunday stamps: see more stamps on the theme 'Western hemisphere' at and via today's Sunday Stamps!

Postcards for the weekend: Love

The following postcard I happened to have received recently. It matches so well to this weekend's Postcards for the Weekend theme!

Rio and I exchange a postcard every now and then. She happened to have a serie of postcards of her hometown Venezia, and randomly chose this one to send to me. Voilá, this is clearly the theme, Love.



Two people, many hearts, and sharing a pizza.

On the back side Rio added pretty stamps. I imagine that the couple of the front side of this postcard, after finishing the pizza, will visit the museum on the left, and subsequently will enjoy a great evening at the theater on the right.



Thank you very much, Rio, grazie mille!

See more postcards on this theme at and via Maria's blog of this weekend.

In: from the United Kingdom

It is still winter, here in the northern hemisphere. After a few days of plus 6 to 8 degrees Celsius I was hoping that my favourite season, spring, would be back again. Alas no, more coldness on its way. The weather forecast predicts frost in the coming days, and maybe snow.

Reflecting about the four seasons, I came across this postcard John had sent me last October, two days before an other kind of spring (off-spring?) would enter his life :-) .
I love trees, and this European oak in the autumn sunlight makes a nice picture.



On the back side John added two postal related stamps: the Falmouth packet ship which traveld in the 1820s and a Traveling Post office (1890s).

Thank you very much, John!

Postcards for the weekend: Happiness

This Postcards for the Weekend's theme is 'Happiness'!

One of the things that make me happy is nice mail. And it always is good to see the postman being happy by delivering mail, too:



Also this smurf is very happy, only he cannot bring the edges of his mouth upwards because he has to play the posthorn:



Nice mail brings happiness, both to the sender and receiver:





Happiness is for everyone, for the young and for the old.

Dutch illustrator Fiep Westendorp drew people of all ages, but she became most famous by her children's illustrations. This one of a child and cat, warmly packed against the cold, sharing happiness in the winter snow:



Finnish illustrator Inge Löök is famous for her illustrations of two very happy old ladies. Here the cheerful ladies are enjoying a nice day in the spring sun, with a drink and a play:



Enjoy more happy postcards at and via Maria's Postcards for the Weekend!