greeting tree

A pretty Christmas postcard from a postcrosser in Germany.

a flurry of stamps

Top to bottom, stamps from Estonia, Japan, and the Netherlands. The Estonian one may be a repeat but it's dramatic enough to warrant a second post.

balloons of happiness

An Estonian postcrosser sent this happy card and wrote: "Since it's impossible to be unhappy when you have a balloon, I added a few hoping that the amount of happiness will increase with the number of balloons!" I wish her a colorful life filled with balloons!

juar postcard museum

This postcrossing card from Hungary is all about the Juar Postcard Museum in Hegyfalu, which just happens to be in the region that some of my ancestors are from. The museum was started in 2001 and is looking for postcards. Good luck to all involved.

"sleigh bells ring"

This Christmas postcard, made by friend Sandy Sapienza, brought song lyrics to mind.

downtown pix

Downtown Pix, on from January 12 to April 3 at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University, in New York City, features more than 300 photographs and printed materials from the Downtown Collection in the Fales Library at NYU.

china and malaysia

Two stamps, one a misty landscape from China and the other an illustration of a jicama, from Malaysia. Jicamas, native to Mexico, turn out to be popular in Southeast Asia.

knitted, knotted, netted

There's still time to see this satisfying exhibit at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey, but make sure you don't miss it. Featuring 12 contemporary artists, it will make you think anew about some old techniques. Knitted, Knotted, Netted runs until January 24.

blue bumpers

Sandy Sapienza made this handsome postcard from a photo of a tugboat that she took on a recent cruise with her husband Louis. She wrote: "The tugboats in Nassau harbor had beautiful blue rope bumpers. Wonder how they got that rich color and luscious texture?" This was her favorite photo from the cruise. Love it!

old places

I made this postcard from a map that my last landlord in Japan drew for me so that I would know all of my neighbors in our hamlet. He brought it to my house a couple of days after I moved in. I was touched and impressed. The man had lost an arm in an accident as an adult and had had to relearn his approach to life.

three kings

This Christmas stamp was on a pretty postcard from Australia.

stand tall

This was part of a card from the American Visionary Art Museum, a national treasure. The other part showed a giant whirligig, made by Vollis Simpson and now in the museum's permanent collection. Simpson, a 90-year-old farmer, decided at age 60 that he had to do something with all the junk he had and started making whirligigs or, as he calls them, 'joy machines'. You can visit his Windmill Farm in Lucama, North Carolina.

wild cat and acorns

I'm sending this postcard to a postcrosser who says she likes cats and astronomy. It's an illustration for a Miyazawa Kenji short story called Yamaneko to donguri, about some acorns who want a wild cat to decide who is the best. It sounds goofy but it's a sweet tale (oops). I like the way the acorns mimic a constellation, suggesting Kenji's passion for astronomy. Actually, I like everything about this card, from the wild cat's polka dot muffler to the blue bird on the stump.

temari

Lynn Berkowitz sent this card of colorful temari made by Janice Arrowsmith.

a surprise altered card

JoAnn Castagna sent this cool card, which she found in a grab bag of postcards she bought from ShopGoodwill.com. She altered it with colored pens from American Science and Surplus. Thanks for the surprise and for taking part.

new pots by willi singleton

Willi Singleton is holding an open house today and tomorrow at his Pine Creek Pottery in Kempton, Pennsylvania. New pots from the fall firing are featured. It's snowing today and it should be lovely out Willi's way, which is near Hawk Mountain.

the influence of a teacher

I'm looking forward to this show at the Hunterdon Art Museum, featuring four artists who studied with famed ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu while she was teaching at Princeton University.

native peoples of taiwan

Another clever card, this one from a postcrosser in Taiwan. Spin the wheel and you see the names and typical textiles of the various tribes indigenous to Taiwan. Interesting that this card and the one below arrived together.

sun yat-sen university

This postcard, sent by a Chinese postcrosser who studies at Sun Yat-Sen University (shown), had three perforated edges. When I tore them off, the card opened up. The top half, printed with New Year's greetings, had space for a message, while the bottom half showed a picture of school motto chiseled into stone. Very clever!

silver surfer

A Canadian postcrosser, pleading no 'creative juice', sent this Marvel postcard instead with an invitation for me to alter it. Who am I to mess with the Silver Surfer?