This and That: A Blog

If you missed Part I, it's here .  Dune Stamps There is a type of Cinderella from the Arab states that are sometimes Illegal . Dunes . Produced in the Trucial States (now the UAE) during the 1960s and early 1970s, these were marketed to international collectors. They were often unrelated topical themes. “ Dune ” is a pejorative label reflection their origins in the desert regions. The Trucial States were a group of seven sheikdoms in the Arabian Peninsula under British protection from 1892 until 1971. In 1963 Britain handed over postal responsibility to the rule r s of the sheikdoms. The next year an enterprising American secured a deal to produce stamps for the sheikdoms, starting with Aijman. They were printed in Europe, C anceled-to- O rder ( CTO ), and sold to the global collector market. More about Canceled-to-Order , or CTO s, in a bit. Dunes were often printed as souvenir sheets, or using unusual materials, such as gold foil. This 1971 Fujeira souvenir sheet is a Dune ....

  Day 2 of NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month.  A post a day during November.  Easier than a novel, which was  NaNoWriMo's goal.  Yes, was ... while there is still a community of writers carrying on with the challenge, the official non-profit shut down last year due to "scandals and financial issues."                     Join up for NaBloPoMo  here .    I had my Grand Jury Orientation Friday morning.  I took a drive to check out the location of the parking lots Thursday in the daylight, as I had to be there Friday by 7:15am, and it's still a bit dark then.  I don't like driving in the dark. I will be serving on Thursdays until the end of the year, excepting Thanksgiving.  At least those days won't start until after sunrise!  I did notice this morning sunrise is later since we changed the clocks, so I'd have been fine anyway. Halloween was slow.  There were only ...

Day 1 of what?  National Blog Posting Month ( NaBloPoMo ). This week for Sunday Stamps we have Fashion.  Austria 1967  100th anniversary of the Vienna Ice Skating Club Greece 1947  Dodecanese clothing, to commemorate the union of the Dodecanese islands to Greece Hungary 1963  Woman from Karancssag in traditional dress Poland 1968 Puss in Boots in noble attire, which is the " cat's meow ."  Or is he a " cool cat "?  Sorry... Russia 2009  At the Dressing Table , a self-portrait by Zinaida Serebriakova Between 1948-1952 Austria issued a series of Provincial Costumes that are worth checking out.  Next Sunday is Celebrations and Festivals!

🎃 Happy Halloween!  🎃 Although Halloween is actually the eve of All Saint's Day, All Hallows' Eve, so saying that in the morning isn't correct.  You may have seen some of these decorations before.  Most of them came from the Goodwill Bins. These spiders are starting to look a bit ratty!  They are over 15 years old, so that isn't surprising.  Plus they usually get rained on.   This one is new.  Or not new, but new to me.  The Goodwill Bins had a lot of different occasion flags.  I got this and one for Christmas. 

It's almost Halloween, so it's fitting this week's theme for Thursday Postcard Hunt is Halloween! Or, the traditional colors of Halloween, black and orange . Why black and orange ?  Some say they symbolize the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain's harvest bonfires lit against the dark nights of winter ahead.  Others that they are the natural colors of harvest, orange pumpkins, chrysanthemums, hay bales... and the creatures associated with Halloween, witches with their black hats and cats and bats. These postcards belong to my son, who bought them on a trip to Atlanta where he visited the Netherworld Haunted House .  He's still insisting, " I don't collect postcards !"   Next month the postcard theme is Weather.  First up next week is Blue Skies.

  Hodgepodge Questions - Volume 677 1. What most recently gave you goose bumps?   Nothing comes to mind.   2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate?  I decorate both outside and in. Lights around the handrail on the porch, lit up string of pumpkin lights in the window, fake tombstones… that sort of thing. I have Jack-o-lanterns, electric, inside, and a very old clay Mexican Jack-o-lantern that my mother always had around. Little Halloween knick-knacks. The neighborhood has a lot of inflatables, but mine gave out last year. Yes, I participate!  I live a block from an elementary school, on the same street, so there are lots of neighborhood kids trick-or-treating.   3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia...your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe?   I don’t like chia seeds. I don’t care for p...