Yesterday while running errands, I stopped by the post office to pick up some stamps and a pair of postage-paid postcards! I may get some other holiday stamps (CP has this year’s Hanukkah and Diwali ones out now and they’re lovely) but I haven’t decided yet - I don’t celebrate those holidays, so I’m not sure if it’s appropriate? Hmm.
At any rate, here’s some photos of my new stamps! Some of the stamps came in booklets rather than sheets, so I’ve included a close-up of those. The Remembrance Poppy and the discovery of Insulin are both celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, apparently!
Okay, I know I will make so many people jealous with this, but I’m so thrilled because I found this treasure. First of all, I took a little detour after my half day work at school to pick up 2 postcard books I had bought via a 2nd hand website (Taschen - Piet Mondriaan and Gama-Go). But then… ah then… I had some time left before I had to get my twins from school, so I decided to pay a visit to my favourite thrift shop (I thrift shopping!). All thrift shops have a rack with postcards, but mostly these are double cards or not really suitable for postcrossing. Cards without envelopes cost 10 - 30 eurocents. My local one charges 30 eurocents…
For some reason, they had literally hundreds of postcards of ‘nouvelles images’. The kind that looks longer, but you have to fold 1/3 to cover the writing on the card. Once folded, it is the normal postcard-size. I spent quite some time going through them all and settled for 180 (including some smaller cards (also nouvelles images) still in their plastic wrappers and one cute chimpansee card ). Yes, that’s right… one hundred eighty! Because I’m a regular in that thrift shop, I spoke to the manager to ask if I could get a reduction, knowing that some shops only charge 10 eurocents. He let me have them for 15 eurocents/piece. So, that’s 27 euros for 180 amazing cards featuring all possible topics and images! It’ll take me a while to sort them all by genre (animals, flowers, children, art, …). But I’m soooooo over the moon with this catch.
And yes, I already have way too many cards to send, but then again, a postcrosser can never have enough cards to choose from, right?
A few days ago I had the pleasure to visit good friends of mine who I have seen last time was in Summer 2019. Due to the pandemic I traveled nowhere.
Next to my online ordered postcards (first pic), I found some paper shops and book stores where they offered great postcards. I also bought 3 of these special greeting cards again. Don’t ask about the money.
I went to the Post Museum and bought a sheet of last year’s Christmas stamps and a few other stamps too.
Heroically I refrained from buying those lovely reprints of old Christmas postcards (already have a bunch from earlier years) and washi tape (have way too many rolls in stock).
I then took a stroll along Västerlånggatan - the main street of Stockholms Old Town with lots and lots postcard selling shops - and DIDN’T buy any postcards there either! I am either crazy or a hero - or probably both! (I have enough postcards for at least a decade of hardcore postcrossing at home, so I try not to buy cards. For once I succeeded, which doesn’t happen that often.)
thrift shopping!). All thrift shops have a rack with postcards, but mostly these are double cards or not really suitable for postcrossing. Cards without envelopes cost 10 - 30 eurocents. My local one charges 30 eurocents…
). Yes, that’s right… one hundred eighty! Because I’m a regular in that thrift shop, I spoke to the manager to ask if I could get a reduction, knowing that some shops only charge 10 eurocents. He let me have them for 15 eurocents/piece. So, that’s 27 euros for 180 amazing cards featuring all possible topics and images! It’ll take me a while to sort them all by genre (animals, flowers, children, art, …). But I’m soooooo over the moon with this catch.
