Sunday Stamps # 111

Hello and welcome, on this sunny yet wintry day (Here in the USA) to Sunday Stamps # 111, opening as usual on Saturday evening, to allow more time for everyone to post.  After all, it's Sunday already in Australia and in Asia!

Our theme this week: Space. Human exploration, planets, moons, or the aurora borealis and other phenomena.

I picked this theme because of the amazing sky show in Russia of a fireball and sonic boom, on the same day that an asteroid was going to fly by Earth, but not hit us.  Thank goodness no one (I believe) was killed, though some were injured by flying glass.

Anyway, on to stamps.

I have been lucky enough to see the aurora twice.  I do not live very far North, but during two episodes when the Sun was very active, I was able to catch the aurora at my latitude.  Wonderful, though not with the colors you see here.

What colors of Space have you to share??

Theme next week:  Open, anything you wish.

Viridian

Sepia Saturday Feb. 23

Good morning or good afternoon to you.

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt is an image of an unknown family.  From my perusing of antique stores here in the Midwest USA, I have picked up some unknown family groups also.  It is sad but true that photos leave their albums, or never get in an album.  And it's true that photos do not stay with the family, and end up at auctions or antique stores.

This photo is from Fairborn Indiana but there is no information on the back as to who this mother and daughter may be.  What pulled me into this photo is the real love and happiness shown here.  It is one of my favorites.

Please visit this week's Sepia Saturday for more unknown photos from the various contributors.

Viridian

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Sunday Stamps #110

It's February and that means it's time for the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. In fact I should have had this theme last week, as for 2013 the New Year was celebrated on February 10. However, my Chinese students tell me that the celebration is a month long, so I should be OK.

Above: Stamps of a bridge and of the Brown Eared Pheasant, recently received on a postcard from China. According to Wikipedia: "Due to isolated population, deforestation and still hunted although legally protected by China, the Brown Eared Pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. "

The Lunar New Year stamp for the USA has firecrackers on it.  I wonder if China or other countries issue a stamp for the New Year?  I hope someone can enlighten me. (Remember I am not a stamp collector - just a stamp accumulator!)

Wasn't it amazing, yet scary that on the same day an asteroid narrowly missed Earth, and a meteor exploded above central Russia?  Luckily no one was killed in Russia, though there were a number of people injured, mostly by flying glass.  And I heard on one news report that if the asteroid came by 15 minutes earlier (or later, I can't remember) we wouldn't be so lucky.  This event leads me to the announcement of next week's theme:

Theme next week: Space. Human exploration, planets, moons, or the aurora borealis and other phenomena.

Viridian

Sunday Stamps # 109

Welcome to Sunday Stamps # 109! This is my third post in two days, as I have been participating in Postcard Friendship Friday and in Sepia Saturday.

Theme this week:   Love, hearts, and flowers, in anticipation of Valentine's Day.

A stamp from Japan, with hearts and doves on the left, and

This year's LOVE stamp, from the US Postal Service.

Please join me with some love-ly stamps of your own this week.

Viridian

Theme next week: Lunar New Year, and Chinese stamps, a bit after the fact.