OK this is not from Postcrosser at least. My dearest penpal Sonia whose letters had failed to reach me these past few years, but after over one year, she replied my letter again and with this lovely card recently. In fact, throughout our friendship, she has always remembered my birthday.. although I didnt manage to remember hers this much! :/

From Anagahan. So this is the first birthday card from a Postcrosser arrived this year, and I am glad it came from a dear friend of GTKY. Thanks Ana, if you ever read this, you know you’ve been special to me! :)

From Wilma. HAHAHA I LOVE this card for my birthday!! :D It’s a real surprise from Arja-Liisa, she’s such a sweetie! Hugs to you! See my other cards of Kaj Stenval’s art here.

From Cockie. Though it’s actually a return card of birthday card I had sent to her friend (which I found a really wonderful way to cheer a friend!!), but knowing that I was having my birthday to come, Mieko also wrote this card as a birthday wish to me. Thanks so much for this pretty card!!

From Hadassah. HAHA Essi!! Are these you and me in the picture, perhaps in our 70s, celebrating our birthday together? On a tree! LOL it doesn’t look too bad! :D :D And thanks dear for this lovely wishes that cheered me up! Big hugs!

From Lauraarual. Another sweet friend of GTKY sent me a lovely birthday wish on this colorful card :)) I can’t be happier! And Laura included some lovely gifts and Holland souvenir, thanks so much – you’re so kind!! :) *hugs!*

Oh I love this card of this happening festival! Thank you for the birthday wishes!!

From Vagirl. I gasped in excitement when I opened the envelope and saw this posh-looking card, it’s just AWESOME!! :D I just love every bit of it, and thanks Chrissy for your lovely message and wishes, it really put a big smile on my face! :))

From Carolinechia. AHAHA I’m sorry others, but I have to say this is the coolest birthday card I ever got! :P Well yeah at least for a second I really thought I was smart and popular and good-looking as the card says! :P LOL I didnt know 20th June was a lucky day either :)) but every day is a lucky day when you’re born that day! ;) Thanks Carol for your lovely thoughts! You’re great!

From Ulpa. She included many of inspiring cards along with her letter! Ula thanks for all the cards you have sent me, as well as this super delicious birthday card… you’re the best!! *hugs!!*

No, it’s not the cake!! But cards!! :D Yes, the lovely Postcrossers have always cheered me up regardless I hate the fact that I get older on birthdays! :) In this post I would like to thank a heaven to everyone who spent some time writing and sending me your lovely wishes, you have no idea how much it means to me!! :) BIG BIG HUGS!!! (well yeah, I’m featuring cards from past years first, as this is officially the first birthday post for this blog – which only started this year – and in a few days I’ll be posting the cards which I have got for this year’s birthday :)). And actually, I have put several other birthday cards that had already fit in regular posts before, and they are equally special to me as well!!

Hugs to Anu!

Hugs to Mimma!

Hugs to Syairah06!

Hugs to SilentNight89!

Hugs to Wespe!

Hugs to Rwidiani!

Hugs to Ipuenktchen!

Hugs to Kungli!

Hugs to Seetas!

Hugs to Indirama!

Hugs to Anzuume!

Hugs to Ketupat!

Hugs to Padme_chandra!

Hugs to Wilma!

Hugs to Panarea!

Hugs to empty_mailbox!

Hugs to Newrule!

Hugs to rosnah!

Hugs to Taxingwoman!

Hugs to geeanuar!

Hugs to Swan!

OKAY that was  a postcards SPAM -______- but I can’t help it coz I did receive alot of birthday cards in past years!! (and of course, a portion of them are thanks to the fact that I put a “tiny advert” about my birthday on my forum signature once, well, hence those expected surprises :P and a few from Birthday tags and RR as well.. so I did not receive all these merely because I am a total celebrity or anything :D though it’s good if I were one lol). And still my dear friends Postcrossers, you are the best!!

This is Haris. A cool kitty, can be naughty at times and likes to eat alot! No wonder he looks as if he gained weight after one month traveling to Paris last February! Well, he started his journey on behalf of imajica (who wishes so hard that she could fit an envelope to travel Europe too -___- ) and has been to Paris, Rome, Budapest recently and now is staying with Essi in Lappeenranta, Finland! He will soon probably be visiting Poland and Macedonia!

Please see Hari’s travelog on ToyVoyagers for his journey diary and loads of photos! And here’s the map showing his path (before Finland)

And what does this kitty toy have to do with Postcards, you ask? :) Now let’s take a look back at my previous postcards of Paris (and Eiffel Tower!), Budapest, Rome, and Finland all featuring Haris!! :D It’s really good to know (at least) I have some postcards with places he went to!

Happy PFF from Haris and imajica to everyone!! xx

Photo by Essi. So it’s the appropriate time for me to go and dig out sauna postcards I received from Finland.. and again, the fact that they do publish POSTCARDS about sauna… *happy sigh*

From Pirppt. Here you get the basic idea about Finnish sauna- the bench inside, the cottage, the kibu and kauha (which you use to throw water on the sauna heater so it produces steam – and thanks to GTKY people who eagerly helped me with these words :P), and a bunch of birch leaves called vihta or vasta. And after well heated and sweating in the sauna, the Finns would jump straight into a lake to cool down! Pirppt says all new houses and flats in Finland have saunas. Usually people go to sauna twice a week, but she goes there everyday! And she calls herself saunaholic! :D

From Sintukka. Here on the card it says, the SAUNA is an ancient Finnish institution. In olden times the Finns also used the sauna as a dwelling house: in that they were born, in that they lived and died. The sauna tempereature is 80-100 degree celcius. Why is it said so? Because Finnish women also gave birth in the sauna!

From Davynn. Yes it seems sauna and lakes are rather related :) First to sauna and swim in the lake! I also once heard from someone on the forum, they go to sauna to sweat themselves and shortly later jump off to the snow!

From Emmi. Trust me, I did not particularly choose this card to be sent to me, if that’s what you might think :P Emmi just said she was sending a sauna card.. but of course I was amazed to get more than sauna.. HAHAHA. And before this I only knew in Japan who people may share a bathroom/bath place somewhere being naked each other. I mean, it’s nothing in the culture in my place here if you must know. So these cards are better sent in an envelope :P

From Monna. Another card that made me gasp, but at the same time I was glad it taught me another quirky part of Finnish culture. Maybe they don’t mind being in the sauna together, well, both are female afterall. But the fact that they let them use this picture to publish postcards???? :o Though I don’t mind receiving these cards (which I rather see it in a cultural way :P) but I just had to photoshop the picture a bit since I dont know from which part of culture people who visit this blog may come from :P as I don’t want people have a wrong idea about this blog okay.

From Elina. HAHA some happy girls in the sauna. And yes, the vihta or birch leaves are the thing you use to beat your body inside the sauna, I don’t know how it technically functions, but it can make your body fresh and improve your blood circulation.

From Monna. This is a special sauna – Barrel sauna. Mostly they were built in the 1960′s and 70′s and they are light and easy to move if necessary. First you put firewood to oven. There’s also a boiler to warm water. If you want it hotter and more steam, just throw cold water onto the rocks on the top of the heater. And it will make a sound SSSHHHH… and give a biting heat! And you’ll find yourself sweating :) After sweating it’s great to swim in the lake or in the winter just go to roll in the snow :D Afterwards you’ll feel so relaxed. Sauna does sound exciting and a big pleasure!!

Oh I just have to show this comic strip of Viivi and Wagner that Emmi included with the sauna card!
Wagner : “Beer on sauna heater!”
Viivi : “It was no sense at all to do that!”
Wagner : “Oh! It came really strong aromas”
Viivi : “It will come really big cleaning bill from the apartment company.”
Wagner : “Well then we pay!

From Mingshu. (Thanks Essi for translation)

“Tips for lonely men
To a singing class,and quick
A guitar or a horn in the hand,
or any kind of fluit
something that beeps even a little
A player boy with red cheeks
is welcomed
even though he just drove all the other men out of the door”

FI-53938  from Jaana.

“Nightless night colours the surface of the lake
Night and morning go side by side
Don`t let the moment slip away,
treasure it,carefully save it in your mind”

From Wilma.

“You don’t always have to be excellent,
if you just have a little bit of luck”

From Ultzi.

“To a bokworm
your walls don’t seem to need wallpaper
You could cover them with books.
Though noticed I have,
you could turn your mailing address to the library.
But I would, if I was a writer
weite a bestseller of our friendship.”

From Mingshu.

“The most important thing in life is not where we are but where we are heading.”

From Kuaka.

“Good moments are even better when you share them.”

FI-14619 from Niko.

“Summer without be summer without strawberries,
without wisps of clouds and daisies.”

From St-Angel.

“Water seeks strand, bird seeks branch, human seeks friend” :)

From IreneK. “Taivimaisema” (Winter Landscape), 1875, by Hjalmar Munsterhjelm.

From Juxu. “Taistelevat metsot” (Fighting Tetraos),  1886, by Ferdinand von Wright. Tetrao is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily which is like chickens.

FI-138853 from Hannde. “Väinämöinen laulaa Joukahaisen suohon temperamaalus” (Väinämöinen sings Joukahainen into a fen tempera painting with a motif from Kalevala), 1912-1913, by Joseph Alanen. Väinämöinen is a character in the Finnish epic Kalevala.. he was described as a Finnish god, then as an old and wise man, and possessed a magical voice.

From IreneK. “Kyyhkysia” (Doves), 1970, by Ferdinand Von Wright. He was a Finnish famous artist from Kuopio and well-known especialy for bird paintings.

From Kilona. “Larin Paraske”, 1893, by Eero Järnefelt. Larin was a Finnish oral poet and considered as a key figure in Finnish folk poetry.

From Tellu. “Porilaisten marssi” (Finnish Soldiers in the war of 1808-1909), 1892, by Albert Edelfelt. The war was fought between Sweden and Russia and as a result, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

From Napu. She said almost everyone in Finland had a summer cottage near sea or lake (except her..) and it could be a real house with electricity and washing machine, etc or just a little red cottage without any comforts but beautiful nature around.

From Iinaj. Ohh I love a cottage near a lake like this!!

From Miaumeow. The cottages are often painted red.. which I am not sure why but red is a traditional color in Finland. And these little cottages are called “granny cottages” :D and usually with one room and a small kitchen.

From Katjus. If red color is traditionally used to paint the cottages, the windows are usually painted white! The basic idea is they use natural coloring materials, hence red and white.. I guess.

From Tiiti. This is a farm house where they are making hays in traditional way.

From Peppi06. This one looks a bit posh with a little fence. It’s a rented cottage in Nauvo, a Finnish archipelago near Turku. Many Finns have a summer cottage here. You must get a ferryboat to Nauvo, which according to Peppi a very beautiful place, and it does look so!

From Dollart. Tiny fence and path and little flower garden.. ohh this is my perfect summer cottage!! I don’t even mind to live here all year around either :)

From Wilma. “Summer is here again…” as it’s written here. And yes, summer seems very beautiful with bright greeny field like this.

From Vixen.

From Uimapipo.

FI-482484 from Terttu.

From Verna.

FI-6946 from Jaana.

FI-21772 from Pilvi.

From Marika.

From Mervi.

FI-18631 from Katjus.

From Tiinu.

From Zeeta. This card came with that bite mark! Who ate my postcard half?? Probably this sleepy Garfield. He says, “I would like moreof the mornings is they started late” :D I think EXACTLY like you do, Garfield!

From Snow. “Congratulations!” and this is for my 23rd birthday!! Snow shares birthday with me, yay!

From Mimma. Garfield is funny enough already he doesn’t even need to be a clown!

- 188,000 lakes
- 33,000 square kilometres of inland waters
- 52,760 square kilometres of sea
- 647 rivers
- 314,000 kilometres of sea and lake shoreline
- 750,000 boats
- 465,000 summer cottages
- 1.8 million saunas (!!!!) … which reminds me, I’ll put Sauna postcards soon ;)
- Almost all Finnish cities are located by lake, sea or river
- One of world’s biggest archipelagos

From Ultzi.

FI-151548 from Krista.

From Moisianu.

From SanPa.

From Jatta.

FI-16547 from Karoliina.

From Davynn.