Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Cherry Blossom in DC Signaling the Start of Spring


The National Park Service announced last Friday that the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin in Washington DC were officially at peak bloom on March 25, 2016 with 75% of the trees in full bloom. It was peaked more than two weeks earlier this year than last year.

Postcard US-3373353 to Czech Republic shows the cherry blossoms around the Lincoln Memorial with a matching USPS Gifts of Friendship stamp.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Vista of Capitol through Cherry Blossoms

Outgoing postcard US-3372297 to Japan was a reproduction of vintage linen postcard Vista of Capitol through Cherry Blossoms, Washington, D. C. by D.C. Reynolds Co in the 1930s. It shows the famed cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin with the U.S. Capitol Building in the background. It has one of the USPS Gifts of Friendship stamps featuring the U.S. Capitol building surrounded by white and pink dogwood trees.

According to a USPS news release, "in a ceremony at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of 3,020 flowering cherry trees gifted to the nation’s capital from the city of Tokyo. As a show of gratitude for this generous gift, former President William Howard Taft arranged for the United States to send 50 flowering dogwood trees to Japan in 1915. This reciprocal gift featured a species of tree native to the eastern United States and Canada."

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Feeding Deer in Snow


Postcard UA-1197815 from Ukraine features a child feeding a deer in snow during the Christmas time. However, with the advance of technology, Christmas activities have shifted to other things, such as playing drones ...

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Exactitude

Postcard US-2713420 from Illinois shows a 1932 Art Deco travel poster of train "Exactitude" by French artist Pierre Fix-Masseau (1905-1994). The original poster was a 39.25 inch x 24.25 inch color lithograph, part of the Modernism Collection in Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was a gift from Norwest Bank Minnesota.

Friday, December 27, 2013

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!


US-2518598 to Germany
According to USA Today, UPS was overwhelmed by a large number of Christmas packages, many of which were delayed nation-wide and would not arrive until today.

On a different note, quite a few postcards I sent to Christmas, Florida to get their postmarks reached their destinations without any postmarks. Postcard US-2518598 to Germany was one of them. Tracking information shows the package that contained those cards was delivered to the Christmas, Florida on November 25, 2013. I had attached post-it notes on the cards to request cancellations. If the "Christmas, FL" postmarks were applied, they would have made great Maxi cards.

US-2521528 (left) and US-2518598 (right) with postmark request notes
Similarly, postcard US-2521528 to Belarus didn't get any postmarks for the stamps either on the front or on the back. However, it did score a Belarus postmark on arrival. Maybe the bar code on the bottom would tell where it had been and what happened.

US-2521528 to Belarus
A couple of cards from the same package did get a  machine cancellation.


So, for those who received my postcards without "Christmas" postmarks, I initially felt horrible because I promised something that was eventually not delivered in spite of extra money, time, and effort that I spent -- The Grinch literally stole the "Christmas" from the cards. The Grinch is a bitter, grouchy, cave-dwelling fictional character, created by Dr. Seuss, who stole Christmas presents and expected to cause bitterness and sorrows. But to his dismay, he still hear the singing joyous Christmas songs from people who lost presents. I was overwhelmed by recipients' comments that how much they like the cards, with or without the promised postmarks.

In the end, Christmas is more than presents; and a sincere greeting is more than a postmark. For those whose Christmas gifts are delayed, hope you are grateful when you eventually receive the package. Someone special is thinking of you, and the holidays are not over yet.