Enjoying Spring

Letter sent by Laura (the UK).

Sunday Stamps | O Is for O Beautiful

America the Beautiful is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. Bates wrote the words as a poem, and it was first published in the Fourth of July 1895 edition of the church periodical, The Congregationalist. At that time, the poem was titled America.

On 4th July 2018, USPS issued a 20-stamp sheet where each stamp features a photograph that helps illustrate one of five phrases from the song’s famous first verse: “Spacious Skies,” “Waves of Grain,” “Mountain Majesties,” “The Fruited Plain,” and “Sea to Shining Sea.”

I have got some of the stamps:

Spacious Skies

Mountain Majesties

The Fruited Plains

Sea to Shining Sea

You can go to Sunday Stamps to see more O-related stamps.

Postbox Saturday | La Galera

 

The postbox of La Galera. Usually, it is a lonely one: the bar is a temporary one, because of a fair.

Libération

Liberation of concentration camps, 80 years
2025

 

Liberation of concentration camps, 30 years
1975

Déportation
Liberation, 20th anniversary
1964

Résistance
Liberation, 20th anniversary
1964

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Arctic Refuge

Polar bear, Ursus maritimus, cub checks out eskimo elder Daniel Akootchook, on his ATV out on the pack ice, 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Postcard sent by Susan (the USA).

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
May theme: PARKS AND GARDENS

• Week 1 - National Parks
• Week 2 - Public Gardens
• Week 3 - Beaches
• Week 4 - Forests

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Penny Black Day

Envelopes sent by Alan (the UK).

I have also received this commemorative stamp from Isle of Man:

Is there a Penny Lilac Day?

Cinco de Mayo

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA).

From Wikipedia:

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for 'Fifth of May') is an annual celebration held on May 5 to celebrate Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 —Not to be mistaken for Mexican Independence Day.

More popular in the United States than in Mexico,Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. Celebrations began in Columbia, California, where they have been observed annually since 1862. The day gained nationwide popularity beyond those of Mexican-American heritage in the 1980s due to advertising campaigns by beer, wine, and tequila companies; In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades or battle reenactments. 

Year of the Fire Horse [OUT]

Mail sent to Heleen (the Netherlands), Fabienne (France) and Phillip (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | N is for Nuclear

20th Anniversary of the Atomic Energy Commission

France, 1965

Windscale reactor
British technology
UK, 1966

Phénix Reactor
France, 1974

Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons
UN, 2025

More N-stamps on Sunday Stamps!

Chocolate Packaging [OUT]

Envelopes made of chocolate packaging, sent to Fabienne (France), Bryon (the USA) and Phillip (the USA). It seems they lost some stamps during their journeys...

Chocolate Packaging [IN]

Envelope made of chocolate packaging, made by Phillip (the USA). And a bit difficult to open!

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Blue Skies

Zaanse Schans
Netherlands

La Ciotat
France

Moulin Vendeen
France

 Postcards sent by Fabienne (France).

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
April theme: COLOURS OF THE SPRING

• Week 1 - Pink
• Week 2 - Yellow
• Week 3 - Green
• Week 4 - Purple
• Week 5 - Blue

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Year of the Fire Horse [V]

Back of a big envelope sent by Imma (PC). 

The front is equally nice, drawn by the sender:

Misadventure

I sent this envelope to Alan (the UK). It was made out of an old encyclopaedia. But I did not realised the paper was too weak to resist the modern postal machines: two edges were broken and the envelope arrived empty. 

Women on Postcards | R is for Reader

Reading Lesson (1865), by French painter Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890). Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA).

[Women on Postcards - 2026]