Three sweet muffins

In my first swap with Helga, from the Netherlands (FB swap), I got theese three beautiful muffin postcards.
(Received on: 19.07.2012)

Interesting fact from the muffins' history: Recipes for muffins, in their yeast-free "American" form, are common in 19th century American cookbooks. Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called "common muffins" or "wheat muffins" in 19th century American cookbooks, can be found in much older cookbooks.

Muffins

These yummy muffins were sent by Moniek (Netherlands), I got this card through FB-swap.
(Received in July, 2012)

A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. They may be filled with sweet fillings, such as chocolate, toffee, lemons or blueberries. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins or cheese muffins or sometimes just plain muffins, also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.

Outside the United States of America, muffin can also refer to a disk-shaped muffin, usually called an English muffin outside the United Kingdom. As American-style muffins are also sold in Commonwealth countries, the term muffin can refer to either product, with the context usually making clear which is meant.

There are many varieties and flavors of muffins made with a specific ingredient such as blueberries, chocolate chips, cucumbers, raspberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, date, nut, lemon, banana, orange, peach, strawberry, boysenberry, almond, and carrot, baked into the muffin. Muffins are often eaten for breakfast; alternatively, they may be served for tea or at other meals.

Moi, ça va! - Et toi?

This very cute Diddl postcard is an official Postcrossing card, sent by Monique (Netherlands).
Postcard ID: NL-1301206
Received on : 5 Jul, 2012

("Moi, ça va! - Et toi?" = "I'm okay! - And you?" )

Two Miffy cards from Moniek

I got these two adorable Miffy postcards from Moniek (Netherlands), through FB-swap.
(Received in July, 2012)

Three Miffy cards

These three Miffy-postcards are from the Netherlands, sent by Natascha. I got them through direct-swap on Postcrossing.
(Received in June, 2012)

 

Miffy was created in 1955 after Bruna had been telling his one-year-old son Sierk stories about a little rabbit they had seen earlier in the dunes, while on holiday at Egmond aan Zee. Miffy became a female after Bruna decided that he wanted to draw a dress and not trousers on his rabbit. Depending on the story, Miffy can be a baby or four years old.

At first Miffy looked like a toy animal, with floppy ears, but by 1963 she looked the way we see Miffy today. Miffy is drawn in a minimalist style, requiring only a few lines and one or two primary colors. There are some colors that are never used, and Bruna can be picky about a certain shade of color, brown and grey for example, and will search for it until he is happy. Even though the things that he draws are not realistic, they are instantly recognisable, and Miffy is obviously a rabbit.

Children in winter

This vintage-postcard came from the Netherlands, as an official Postcrossing card, sent by Patricia.
Postcard ID: NL-1269847

Received on: 19 Jun, 2012

Trees in snow

This is an official Postcrossing postcard from the Netherlands, by Janneke.
Postcard ID: NL-1230480

Received on: 29 May, 2012

Baby Bees

My second Anne Geddes-card is from the Netherlands, sent by Marga (FB-swap).
(Received in May, 2012)

Anne Geddes, (b.13 September 1956) is an Australian-born photographer, clothing designer and businesswoman who now lives and works in New Zealand. She is known for her stylized depictions of babies and motherhood. Typical images show babies or young children dressed as fairies and fairytale creatures, flowers, or small animals. She has described herself as "a baby freak. Geddes' books have been published in 83 countries. According to Amazon.com she has sold more than 18 million books and 13 million calendars. In 1997, Cedco Publishing sold more than 1.8 million calendars and date books bearing Geddes' photography. Her debut book, Down in the Garden, made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been translated into 23 different languages.

Holland

Through FB-swap, I got this card from the Netherlands, sent by Marga.
(Received in May, 2012)

Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is also frequently used as a pars pro toto to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but disliked by Dutch people in the other parts of the Netherlands. From the 10th century to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region, a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic. Today, the former County of Holland consists of the two Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland, which together include the Netherlands' three largest cities: country capital Amsterdam; seat of government The Hague; and Rotterdam, home of Europe's largest port.

Home-made card

It's my first received home-made card, it came from the Netherlands and it's an official Postcrossing postcard, sent by Brigit.
Postcard ID: NL-1209685

Received on: 11 May, 2012

Zwolle

This city-view card is from Karin (Netherlads), received through snail-mail.
( Received in March, 2012 )

Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam.