This and That: A Blog

Part I and Part II   Officially Issued Cinderellas Some Cinderellas are issued by official government agencies, but not for postal purposes. For example, Railway Stamps . Railway Stamps These are specialized stamps issued by railway companies, either private or state run, to pay for letters, parcels, and newspapers by rail rather than the national postal services.  All of mine are Belgian dating from the 1920s into the 1940s.  Spoorwegen is Railway.   Railway Stamps emerged in Britain in 1891, allowing letters to be carried by rail, alongside a regular postal stamp. An earlier form was the 1835 sticker used by the Stockton & Darlington Railway.   These traditional paper Railway Stamps have mostly disappeared, although some restored or preserved heritage railways issue them as collectibles. 1935 - 100th anniversary of the Belgian Railways  Non-Government Issued Cinderellas  Fundraising or Charity Stamps You probably receive some ...

A Murder of Crows I think they were eating acorns. Do your street gutters drain into a body of water?  Mine drains to Bear Creek which empties into the Rogue River.  The river is one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.  Some of the utility covers and storm drain markers in the sidewalks remind us not to dump anything down them.   In California ours drained to San Francisco Bay.  Years ago my neighbor would change his own car oil and pour out the used oil down the storm drains.  We can't wash our cars in our driveways if we allow any runoff to get to the storm drains.  The auto dealers used to give a free car wash with an oil change, but the wash water now needs to be captured and treated, so it's too much cost and time for them.  We have a lot of car washes around town!   The first Buckeye butterfly I've seen this year.  Unfortunately Buckeyes only live for approximately two weeks....

 Celebrations and Festivals are up this week for Sunday Stamps .  USA 2015 Neon Celebrate! People's Republic of China 1984 1 of 3 commemorating the  Grand Gathering of Chinese and Japanese Youth ,   1984 Sino-Japanese Youth Friendship Festival   Celebrating Friendship With Song and Dance Japan 1999  Sendai Tanabata Festival in Miyagi Prefecture Switzerland 1977  Gansabhauet ( Cutting of the Goose ) festival in Sursee from the Folk Customs series.  This will be celebrated in a few days, Nov. 11.  It's origins are unknow.  While they no longer "cut" or kill the goose during the event, actual dead geese are used in a decapitation game. When participants aren't attempting to behead a dead goose, the children are given pieces of cheese in exchange for making silly faces. It sounds like a strange version of hitting a  piñata.  But with a dead goose...and cheese instead of candy.   Pottery and/or China is next week's stamps...

  NaBloPoMo  National Blog Posting Month - post every day in November

Skywatch Friday Skies from the grocery store parking lot. One for The Weekend in Black and White . NaBloPoMo  National Blog Posting Month - post every day in November

 The November theme for Thursday Postcard Hunt is Weather.  This week is Blue Skies. Three Blue Skies from around the USA. The Golden Gate Bridge in California connects San Francisco to Marin County. It spans the Golden Gate Strait.  Turret Arch near Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. The West Quoddy Head Lighthouse is the most easterly point i n contiguous United States.  Blue Skies turn to Cloudy Weather next week. NaBloPoMo  National Blog Posting Month - post every day in November

 I went to the Farmers Market last week.  Or, the Growers Market as its called here.  Too many baked goods and crafts.  The 19th is the last day for the year. As soon as I left I forgot what kind of apples and pears I bought!   The potatoes are fingerlings, good for roasting the grower says.  There is nothing like fresh carrots, which I have never been able to grow.  I cooked up the butternut squash to use like pumpkin for pies, cookies, and muffins.  No squash savories for me.  It's really the spices that make the taste of pumpkin baked goods.    They have free tote bags for purchases.     Of course sponsored by a bunch of local businesses! Reading of vets (ad in the corner), Mickey has an appointment for a new one next month. It's not as close to home, which is a shame, but it sounds like it will be a good fit for him.  I wrote about the old vet here .  What happened there was quite a bit worse than I...