Windmill Shaped Card from Holland

Windmill shaped postcard NL-2427110 from the Netherlands is perfect for marking the end of April as the spring season is on its full swing.  Locally, flowers are in full bloom at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Las Vegas. You can find Mr. & Ms. Green Thumb there for gardening tips daily in the morning from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. The Spring Celebration will continue through May 11, 2014 with live musical performances from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Sky Fair of the Urals

Postcard RU-2600386 from Russia shows "Sky Fair of the Urals”, an annual hot-air balloon festival held in a historic small town of Kungur in Russia since 2001. Located at the western slope of the Ural Mountains, Kungur has a population of 66,074 as of 2010. As the Ural Mountains range is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia, balloon racers have unique opportunities to flight cross over the two continents.

Fenway Park, Boston

Postcard US-2752817 from Oxford, MA shows the Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest Major League Baseball (MLB) ballpark, and has been the home of the Boston Red Sox MLB team since it opened on April 20, 1912. Due to the age and constrained location, it is the fourth smallest by seating capacity, second smallest by total capacity, and one of seven that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators among the all MLB baseball parks.

Fenway has hosted ten World Series, as early as in its 1912 inaugural season and as recent as in 2013 World Series. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 2012.

DIY Soy Milk Breakfast

I used to order soy milk with the Chinese fried bread sticks for breakfast in Las Vegas Chinatown in the Sunday morning. However, I found out how easy it was to make my own fresh soy milk after I got a high speed blender Vitamix. All you need are 1/2 cups of dried organic soybeans and four cups of water. With a high speed blender, you don't even have to soak the beans overnight. Blend on high for a minute; let it settle for 30 seconds; then blend it more for another minute. Filter it through a cheesecloth or a stainless steel mesh strainer. Put it in a large pot and bring it to boil, then let it simmer for 20 minutes, which will deactivate enzymes in the soy milk and get rid of the beany tastes.

The postcard was sent to my parents via TouchNote showing the first cup of my Do-It-Yourself (DIY) soy milk, serving with some Chinese fried bread sticks and cereals for a complete breakfast meal.

From Los Angeles to Chicago

Postcard US-2738798 to the Netherlands shows a map of Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago. Also known as the Will Rogers Highway or the Main Street of America, U.S. Route 66 was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926 with road signs up the following year, originally ran from Santa Monica, California, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, to Chicago in a distance of 2,448 miles or 3,940 kilometers.

According to Wikipedia, Route 66 served as a major path for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 after it had been entirely replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66". Several states have adopted significant bypassed sections of the former US 66 into the state road network as State Route 66.

The map was originally created in 1956 with inserts showing such famous scenes along the route as Joshua Tree Forest, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, Indian War Dance, Will Rogers Monument and the Mississippi River. The postcard is available for purchase at Zazzle.

A Man's World

Postcard NL-2458110 from the Netherlands, sent on April 22, 2014, has arrived within 3 days. It shows a 2006 oil painting on panel "A Man's World" (Mannenhuishouding) by Dutch artist Marius van Dokkum. Born in 1957 in Andijk, he studied at the Christian Academy for Expressive Art in Kampen, majoring in Illustration. He moved to Apeldoorn after the academy, working as art painter, illustrator and designer.

To see more examples of his work, visit his web site or follow him on Pinterest. 

Krakow, Poland

Postcard PL-749739 from Poland shows Krakow, the second largest city in Poland. Its history dates back to the 7th century, making the city one of the oldest in Poland. Krakow has been one of the leading academic, cultural, and artistic centers and one of the most important economic hubs in Poland.

Krakow was named European Capital of Culture in 2000. It is the host city for the next World Youth Day in 2016.