Sunday Stamps | Country Maps

Some original maps of different countries for today's theme in Sunday Stamps:

The Netherlands
Network of Lights, 2015
(See here the complete set)

Hungary
Hungarian Meteorological Service 150th Anniversary, 2020

Canada
James White & 100th Anniversary Atlas of Canada, 2006

Belarus
Coat of Arms, 2016

#xtremephilately

Do you know the hashtag #xtremephilately? It was first used by @ExploringStamps back in 2017, and it is used now for philatelists around the world. 

Extreme philately consists on taking a picture of a stamp in front of the motive (place, building, person, event, animal, plant, etc.) it features. This has been my first attempt:

Go take a look on Twitter or Instagram.

The Random Letter Project

Random Letter Project is an interesting project. It is simple: there is a writing prompt every month. If you feel inspired, you write a letter; then, you got a random letter about the same subject sent by another contributer.

You can read on the project site how it works:

WRITE YOUR LETTER

Monthly we'll post a new topic to write about. Write as much or as little as you'd like. 

SEND YOUR LETTER

Random Letter Project

6929 N Hayden Road C4

#502

Scottsdale, AZ 85250

WAIT

A random letter from another person who contributed will be dropped in your mailbox when you least expect it.

YOUR HOME ADDRESS

Yah, we never share this info with anyone. All letters come to one location and we swap them from one envelope to another. 

BUT HOW?

When you send your letter, be sure to include your return address on the envelope. We'll use those details to send you a random letter back. 

YOUR LETTER GETS A NEW ENVELOPE

Just want to reiterate - we swap your letter from one envelope to another. Don't worry about your address being on there. It's what we'll use to send you a random letter back. 

I tried in November and got my random letter back. No letter received for my December letter, though.

Another Postal Mystery

This letter was sent by Bryon to Canada on 7 March 2020, to be postmarked with the special postmark of the Apple Blossom Festival. But it only get the postmark on 26 October, and reached me on 3 December. I was puzzled when I read it whishing me a happy Spring!

Maybe the festival was delayed, maybe it fell between cabinets in a post office where a janitor eventually found it... Where it was between March and October will remain a postal mystery.

Exotic Markets on Postcards

Don Manora
(Floating market around 2 hours by car from Bangkok)

So much fun, by Lee Kow Fong
(Aquarium shop)

Postcards sent by Weena (Thailand) and David (Singapore).

Sunday Stamps | Writers

A long catalogue of Writers for today's theme in Sunday Stamps...

Hanna Arendt (1906-1975)
Germany, 1988

Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)
France, 2021

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
USA, 2007

Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865)
UK, 1980

Nella Larsen (1891-1964)
USA, 2020

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)
USA, 2021

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
USA, 1992

Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980)
USA, 2006

Anne Spencer (1882-1975)
USA, 2021

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
USA, 1981

Freya Stark (1893-1993)
UK, 2003

Elsa Triolet (1896-1970)
France, 2021

Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969)
France, 2019

Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910)
USA, 1987

Greetings from Delaware

Mail sent by Phillip (the USA). Please, notice the matching stamps...

Universities

More postcards for my Universities album...

University of Illinois Walking Past Foellinger (USA)

Freiburg im Breisgau. Haupteingang der Universität (Germany)

King's College, Cambridge (UK)

Sent by Mary (the USA), Heiner (Germany) and Laura (the UK)

Made of Food Packaging

More postcards made of food packaging...

SENT

From a biscuits box. It features the town of Camprodon.

RECEIVED

From Bryon (the USA)
Made of beer packaging. It made me think of...

From Bryon (the USA)
Biscotti packaging
(front)

(back)

Sunday Stamps | Blue Space

Blue space travelling for Sunday Stamps... 

La Francophonie
Serbia, 14 July 2021

Anniversaries and Events in Space Research
Hungary, 10 November 2015

Enceladus has geysers of water ice and vapour
Visions of the Universe
United Kingdom, 11 February 2020

Imagine...

...2022 is the best year of your life!

Postcard sent by Bryon.

Artwork by Lie (Spain). It says "Happy New Year", too!

Magi

Australia

Canada

Dominica

Germany

United Kingdom

More stamps featuring the Three Wise Men on last year's post.

Perfect

Knitting + books + letters = the perfect winter day (I just would add a cup of tea!).

Card and letter sent by Rosemary (Canada).

Do You Feel Like Travelling?

The Boeing Everett Factory
(the largest building in the world by volume!)

1957 Chevrolet

Postcards sent by Bryon and Jim (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | Matrix Code

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is New/recent issues. Searching among the latest stamps I have got, I have found these from Germany:

From February 2021, all new German stamp editions receive an individual matrix code (DataMatrix). So, each stamp have a unique individual identifier. 

This is intended to:

a) Prevent counterfeit production and fraudulent multiple use;

b) Allow shipment recording and control and tracking;

c) Provide philatelists and interested customers detailed background information about the stamps.

Apparently, it also means that cancellation is not longer necessary. However, you see that these stamps have been cancelled...

Do you like the idea of the code?

PS If you are very interested, you can read  here a forum thread about this matter.