The Year of the Monkey, Incoming (2)

Surprisingly, the same day I received the second monkey postcard from FinnBadger, I found three more monkeys on my mailbox. These two wonderful Canadian stamps arrived on different pieces of mail: a postcard from Alberta and a letter from Nova Scotia. So, from both extremes of that big country. Isn't that amazing?

And still a monkey arrived on a postcard from Japan on the same very day!

And a week after arrived these funny monkeys... Can you believe these are stamps?

It seems that there is a discussion among philatelists, and most of them do not like the Animail stamps. Maybe because they are more fun to use than to collect? I find funny the way they hold on postcards and letters, too:

The Year of the Monkey, Incoming (1)

Unexpectedly, I have received some mail to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey from FinnBadger (the USA). (Can you see the golden monkey on the stamp?). This pictorial postmark arrived well protected inside this envelope with the label Cancelled Stamps Enclosed:

The postmark is on the back of this cheerful monkey postcard:

And still another beautiful postmark, for the first day of issue of this beautiful stamp. (But there is something odd about the days, isn't there?)

I like that the postmark was so perfect, and that it arrived also dutifully protected in a plastic envelope:

This second monkey arrived as a thank you for my first contribution to FinnBadger's The Year of the Monkey mail art call. If the theme inspires you, you have untill January 2017 to contribute as well.

Welcome, Smurfs!

Postcards sent by John (the UK). The first illustration by Stepsone, and the second by Darkdream.

And this amazing 3D collage was sent by Micu (Hungary). I guess it is made by reused materials, and the result is pretty. The little Smurfette is a real one. I just put her next to the mushroom to take the picture (and because I thought she could like it).

Clotheslines

I do not know if clotheslines is a common theme among postcard collectors, but it is not strange to find postcards about. In some postcards this is the main subject. And also sometimes you discover a clotheslines hidden in a landscape.

But it is certainly not a theme you find often on a stamp...

The stamp belong to the 2015 Children Stamps set, issued on 2 November.

I Love Windmills on Stamps

But I have also received windmills on stamps:

The postcard of the beautiful site of Kinderdijk that I posted yesterday arrived with this matched stamp. 

The second stamp shows one of the mills at the Zaanse Schans (again in the Netherlands). 

And the third, somewhere in the region of La Mancha (Spain), where part of the story of Don Quixote was set; and especially the famous windmill scene, with Don Quixote's attack on windmills that he believes to be ferocious giants.

This stamp was designed by a 16 years old girl, and won the prize for youngsters of Disello, a stamp design contest in 2015. By the way, the third edition of the contest is still open.

I am adding this post to Sunday Stamps-II (Today's theme is free).

I Love Windmills on Postcards

I have recently received some windmills on postcards and stamps. These were sent by Heleen (the Netherlands & Spain):

Whimsical postcard! I do not know where the picture was taken. Somewhere in the Netherlands.

Kinderdijk is an UNESCO Heritage site. All the sun on this postcard makes me really happy!

The illustrator is Mª Ángeles Sánchez Alcázar, and the windmill is supposed to be in Lo Pagán (Murcia, Spain).

Happy Mail inside This Teapot

Illustrated envelope sent to Laura (the UK).

You Did Not Take the Trouble

This letter was supposed to have been sent from the UK, but not through Royal Mail. It looks like one of that commercial letters that someone sends to the post company for they to print (Deutsche Post. But the French language on the envelope is a bit confusing). It was neatly printed on a boring white DIN A4 paper, and it did not bear any real signature.

But there is a thing I found funny. The letter starts:

Dear Eva, 

Thank you for sending us your letter. We're glad you took the trouble to send it, stamp and all. [...]

Well, all I can say is... you didn't take the trouble to stick any stamp!

Accurate Map Letter

Letter sent by Laura (the UK).

I love this stationery because it shows on the map where the sender and the recipient were, while we write/read the letter.

Not Just Canines

I thought I did not have any stamp for today's Sunday Stamps-II theme: Canines, But then I received these stamps on the back of a Canadian postcard. Well,,, One of them fits!

These stamps were issued by Canada Post on 22 April 2013. The aim was to call attention to the high number of homeless pets in Canada, and also educate the public about shelter animals and encourage adoption. More information here.

Lilac or Purple Cow

Lilac or Purple Cow drawn by Heleen (the Netherlands) on the back of a packet of biscuits. I have always thought that this cow and the Laughing Cow could be good friends...

Sweet Letter

Sweet letter received from Laura (the UK).

A Heavier Aerogram

This post brought me some snail mail that I published in this post that brought me the aerogram you see above, sent by FinnBadger (the USA).

This aerogram was issued by USPS in 1995, and the illustrations are really beautiful in person. After a disastrous attempt, the sender decided to insert a thick piece of paper to give the letter some thickness. Ironically, the aerograms were designed to be lighter than the normal letters.

The Snoopy Exhibition

I sent this envelope to the exhibition With love from Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang some time ago, and the Museum was kind enough to answer with this big cheerful postcard. And beautiful colour-matching stamps on the back!

Lake Louise

I received this stunning landscape from Bryon (Canada). I wish I could be there this weekend!

This information about the picture was written on the back:

Lake Louise is named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta(1848-1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and the wife of Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. The unique emerald colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water rom the glaciers that overlook the water (Lefroy glacier).