A Handmade Origami Kimono with Washi Paper on a Postcard

The sender writes:
Dear Brenda,
Hi from Japan!  You're also a creative person and will also receive many ordinary landscape cards. So here I'm sending something more typically Japanese.  This is an Origami Kimono.  The paper is Wahsi genuine Japanese paper, handmade and handprinted with woodblock. You might hear Washi was recently designated as an Invisible World Heritage.  Origami is our traditional art of folding paper.  May your mailbox and also your life be filled with happy surprises!
Fumiko

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Fumiko hand-made this postcard for me and stamped it with a kimono stamp.  Then she had it hand stamped at the postoffice and put it in a clear plastic wrap so it would not get ruined while on its way to the United States.

I am so impressed with this postcard!  There is so much work and thought that went into it.  It is postmarked in 2015 and will always be one of my favorites.

Japan (Nippon) stamp 2014

Japanese Traditional Craft

Chichibu-Meisen Textiles, 82

Greetings From Barbados

Greetings from Barbados

Barbados, West Indies

Upper View - Beautiful Tropical Beach

Lower View - Fountain gardens and Carnage, Bridgetown

This 'Dexter Press' postcard is postmarked in 1974 with two Barbados stamps. 

Barbados stamp 1970

Local Motives

Montefiore Drinking Fountain, 3 c

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Barbados stamp 1970

Local Motives

Barbados Museum, 12 c

A Sticker Chain Round-Robin Postcard

This is a sticker round robin.  The sender placed stickers on the front of the card, then on the back, they covered up their address with stamps and sent it to the next country until it was mailed back to me.  This one took almost 5 months to finish.  It is postmarked in 2011 with stamps from Russia, Germany, USA, Taiwan, China, Thailand , Belgium and Japan.

The Original Pony Express Station in Nebraska

Original Pony Express Station

Gothenburg, Nebraska 

City Park

The Original Pony Express Station in Gothenburg, Nebraska is a very interesting stop for tourists on U.S. 30 on Interstate 80.  The station was used from 1860 - 1861 and contains many historical items from the Old West.

Free picnic area.

Ektachrome by Harold Pospeshil

This is postmarked in 1978 with a USA 10 cent stamp.

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Original Pony Express Station

Gothenburg, Nebraska

Greetings from the original Pony Express Station, City Park, Gothenburg, Nebraska.

Thousands of tourists traveling U.S. 30 make a very interesting stop in Gothenburg and visit the famous Original Pony Express Station, used from 1860 - 1861 and dedicated to all the Pioneers who passed this way to win and hold the West.

Free picnic area.

Color by Gene McConnell

This 'Plastichrome' postcard is unused. 

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USA stamp 1974

We hold these Truths ... 

Jefferson Memorial 

United States 10 cents

Balafon (Wooden Xylophone) Players in Gabon, Africa

Region du Woleu-Ntem (Gabon)
(Regions of Woleu-Ntem, Gabon)

Joueurs de Balafond.
(Players of Balafon.)

Photo: J. Trolez
This postcard is unused.

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Woleu-Ntem is one of Gabon's nine provinces. The provincial capital is Oyem.

The Balophon is a kind of wooden xylophone or percussion idiophone which plays melodic tunes and usually has between 16 to 27 keys.  It has been played in Africa since the 1300s.

A Glass of Wine at the City Cellar Restaurant in Florida

There is always Time
For a glass of Wine

City Cellar
Wine Bar and Grill

The back of this postcard (shown below) has a red wine stain on it.  Very clever.

The sender writes:
This is our favorite restaurant.  This weekend they had free advertising postcards!

I have two of these cards.  One is unused, and the other is postmarked in 2015 with a Julia child stamp.

USA stamp 2014

Celebrity Chefs, Julia Child

Forever a first class rate

A Multiview Postcard from Firenze (Florence), Italy

Firenze (Florence)

Incanto Notturno (Enchanted Evening)

Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge)

Panorama

La Catterdrale (The Cathedral) 

Photo's by Atlantide

This postcard is postmarked in 2015 with two Italy stamps. 

The sender writes:

So far my trip has been a great experience and the weather is absolutely amazing.  I'm constantly walking the streets and feeling surprised by all the wonderful views.  And some Italian men look quite nice too  ;-)

Italy (Italia) stamp 

Woman in Art, 0,90

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Italy (Italia) stamp 2004

P - Posta Prioritaria, Priority, 1,40

Guernsey 'Happy Postcrossing' Postcard

Guernsey

Post

This postcard features a Map of Guernsey with the words Happy Postcrossing and is postmarked on the first day issue of the matching stamp. 28th of May 2014.  

The back reads:

Love receiving postcards?  Then why not join Postcrossing to send and receive postcards from all over the world!  It is completely free to join and anyone with an address can create an account, just go to www.postcrossing.com.  The postcards themselves and postage fees to mail them are the responsibility of each user.

The Guernsey postcrossing stamp, designed by Guernsey Post's in-house marketing team, depicts an outline of Guernsey with a smiley face, giving the 'thugs up' to the hobby of Postcrossing. 

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This was sent to me and signed by the creators of Postcrossing, Ana and Paulo! 

Vieille Lighthouse and Raz de Sein in France

Bretagne (Brittany)

Le phare de la Vieille dans la tempete

Storm over the Virile lighthouse

This postcard is postmarked in 2014 from France.

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La Vieille ("The Old Lady") is a lighthouse in the département of Finistère at the commune of Plogoff, on the northwest coast of France. It lies on the rock known as Gorlebella, guiding mariners in the strait Raz de Sein*.

Initial planning talks began as early as 1861, though the construction project was not confirmed until twenty years later. Fierce tides limited the period in which building work could take place to less than half of each year. After five years, construction was complete and its beam first shone in 1887. A foghorn was installed in the early twentieth century.

* Raz de Sein is a very dangerous zone for navigation due to the violent sea currents from the tides (up to six knots during the spring tides).

France stamp 2014

Boulogne-sur-Mer (City in Northern France)

Pas-de-Calais (Department in Northern France) 0,61

The City Hall and Puijo Tower in Kuopio, Finland

Kuopio, Finland
Foto: Markku Wiik

This postcard is postmarked in 2015 from Finland.

The sender writes:
This card is a picture of our hometown Kuopio.  The biggest building is our townhall, the white one is our market hall and then there are 2 pics of "Puijon torni", the Tower of Puijo, where there is located also ski jumping ramps.

We have lots of snow now.  On Friday my children have an outdoor school day and they are going to ski, ice skate or slide down the hill for the whole school day!

Finland stamp 2012

Bottenhavets National Park, 1 LK KL

from the series: National Parks of Finland

Buy More War Bond

So We'll Meet Again
Buy more WAR BONDS

This postcard was mailed from a soldier in January of 1944 from the Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.
He writes:
Dear Mary,
Right now, I'm taking advantage of the free mail - the advantage of being a soldier.  I'm at the Jefferson Barracks in the middle of being processed and I'll be released from here Friday to return to school.  So far I haven't heard from you, but then I've been gone since Monday.  Hope to hear from you soon. Same address as before.
Lots of love

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Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totalling approximately $185 billion.

A Map of Iceland

Island
Iceland

This postcard is postmarked in 2009 with two Iceland stamps.

the sender writes:

Iceland has one main road around the whole island.  Above you see the road.  Except in the Highlands, it's quite hard to get lost in Iceland.  There are not so many roads at all.  Just 300,000 people live here.  Most of them in the area of the capital, Reykjavík.

Island (Iceland) stamp 2007 

Eystri Hagafellsjokull / Langjokull

(names of glaciers) - 60

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Iceland (Island) stamp 2007

Skograektarlog 1907-2007

This is from the series: 

The 100th Anniversary of Reforestation - 60 

Westminster Abbey in London, England

Westminster Abbey
West Front
Te Nave from the quire screen
The Lantern Roof
The Lady Chapel

This postcard is postmarked in 2014 with a Great Britain queen stamp.

The sender writes:
Today we went to church in Westminster Abbey! The choir sounded beautiful.  We sang along when we were told to, the music and words were in the church program.  So now we can say we sang with the choir in London's Westminster Abbey.  :D

Great Britain stamp 2014

Queen Elizabeth II

Purple 97 p